Josh Cowen is a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. He’s written about education, politics, school choice and culture wars for The Hechinger Report, the Houston Chronicle, The New Republic, Slate, Time magazine and others. Cowen, who spoke at FFRF’s national convention in September, is the author of a new book titled “The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers.” He explains on the show that many religious schools now receiving public funding were actually started to counter desegregation.
“The schools can’t write down that they’re a white-only school; that’s just not how it works in 2024,” Cohen tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “But they can segregate. They can require students and families to sign, for example, sexual morality pledges is what they’ll call them, overt anti-LGBTQ language and things like that. So apart from the issue of race, private schools on the public dime using vouchers have a wide leeway according to law for what they can and can’t deny admission on the basis of.”
“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 the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
Upcoming guests include former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, Tia Levings, author of “A Well-Trained Wife,” and famed ex-Muslim activist Maryam Namazie. You can catch interviews from earlier this fall, including with Rep. Jared Huffman, and 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!
