FFRF TV show pays tribute to acclaimed philosopher Daniel Dennett 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s TV show this week is in homage to one of the most famous thinkers of our time.Philosopher and FFRF Honorary Director Daniel C. Dennett, who died last month at age 82, was a leading figure in academia, as well as an eloquent popularizer of philosophy, ethical ideas and atheism. He was university professor emeritus at Tufts University and the author of many books, including Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, Consciousness Explained, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking and the bestselling Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. In honor of his life and work, FFRF is rebroadcasting an interview with him that first aired last November about his recent memoir, I’ve Been Thinking. 

“The cause of it is the physical universe — without any meaning, without any purpose,” Dennett told “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor in answer to a question about the meaning of life and its cause. “But that has made wonderful things for you and our friends and democracy and art and music. All these fantastic phenomena, they’re all products of a churning and ultimately Darwinian process. Why isn’t that meaning enough?”

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.

“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 10:00 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.

(To view details on channel variations depending on your provider, click here.)

“Freethought Matters” goes on summer hiatus in a couple of weeks before resuming on the first Sunday in September. Don’t miss the final show for the spring season airing next week, which documents FFRF Co-President Dan Barker’s recent trip to Oxford to debate whether “God is a delusion.” The episode also prominently features secular studies pioneer and author Phil Zuckerman, who was part of the debating team.

Catch interviews from past seasons here.

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!