Anthony B. Pinn is a distinguished professor of humanities and religion at Rice University. He’s also the founding director of Rice’s Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning. He’s a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa. And he’s the director of research for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Pinn, a recipient of FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award, is the prolific author of many books, including “The End of God Talk,” “The Interplay of Things,” “Writing God’s Obituary,” which is his memoir, and “When Color Blindness Isn’t the Answer.” Anthony Pinn’s newest book is called “The Black Practice of Disbelief: An Introduction to the Principles, History, and Communities of Black Nonbelievers.”
“Black humanism is a philosophy of life that questions, at the very least, and more typically rejects ideas of the divine that is committed to science, region, reason and logic, but also understands that race has been a significant element in the life of the United States,” Pinn explains to “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “These are communities that without God and without any allegiance to cosmic realities are about the business of human accountability and responsibility for shifting and shaping the world.”
Due to our national convention over the past weekend, we missed sending out a notice on last week’s episode with Amy Sohn, author of the impressive recent book, “The Man Who Hated Women,” about Anthony Comstock. Watch her takedown of Comstock on our YouTube channel to learn more about why this Victorian-era statute threatens reproductive rights.
“Freethought Matters” now airs in:
- Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 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.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- San Francisco, KTVU/KICU-IND (on broadcast Ch. 36 and Cable 6), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.
If you don’t live in any of the marquee towns where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch Pinn’s interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
Upcoming guests include an author of a new book on the Scopes Trial and another author writing on the dangers of vouchers to aid religious schools. You can catch interviews from previous seasons here, including with Gloria Steinem, Ron Reagan, author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and award-winning columnist Katha Pollitt.
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!
