Secular elected officials get heard on FFRF Sunday TV show

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s TV show this Sunday features two guests who represent the growing numbers of nonreligious elected officials around the country.

The show first interviews Minnesota state Rep. Mike Freiberg, who co-founded the state’s new Secular Government Caucus working to resist Christian nationalism and defend state-church separation. Freiberg, who was first elected to the Legislature in 2012, identifies as an agnostic. On the second half of the show, the guest is Leonard Presberg, founder of the Association of Secular Elected Officials.

“We have members of the Secular Government Caucus who won by pretty narrow, narrow margins,” Freiberg tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “And as far as I know, it hasn’t been an issue in any of their races. More and more legislators aren’t afraid, at the very least to advocate for the separation of church and state, if not even to identify as nonreligious themselves.”

If you don’t live in the quarter-plus viewership of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.

“Freethought Matters” airs in:

  • Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
  • Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
  • Houston, KIAH-CW (Ch. 39), Sundays at 11 a.m.
  • Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
  • Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
  • Minneapolis, WFTC-29, Sundays at 7:30 a.m.
  • New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 a.m.
  • Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
  • Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
  • Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
  • San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sunday at 10 a.m.
  • Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
  • Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.

Upcoming guests include Nation magazine Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal, eminent philosopher Daniel C. Dennett and Kate Cohen, atheist and contributing columnist for the Washington Post.

You can catch interviews from past seasons here, including recent ones with Gloria Steinem, Ron Reagan, “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead, author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and award-winning columnist Katha Pollitt. Past interviews include Julia Sweeney and Reps. Jared Huffman, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson and Eleanor Holmes Norton, among many other notable authors, activists, musicians, actors and freethinkers.

Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.

P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers — your antidote to religion on Sunday morning!

If you are an FFRF member, sign into your account here and then update your email subscriptions here.

To become an FFRF member, click here. To learn more about FFRF, request information here.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

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