On the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Sunday TV show, the co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus reveals the Christian nationalist agenda of Speaker Mike Johnson.
Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents California’s 2nd District, is co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, which now numbers 20-plus members and works to protect the secular character of government.The members include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, other believers — and nontheists like Huffman. The caucus released last month an important report highlighting the Christian nationalist views of recently appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson, a man now only two heartbeats away from the presidency.
“He’s obsessed with banning abortion, of course,” Huffman explains Johnson’s agenda to “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “He’s obsessed with homosexuality, which he regards as a sin that is going to bring broad societal wrath from God on all of us. And if he wants to have these extreme beliefs in his personal life, that’s one thing. But when you step into the role of being a legislator and certainly as the speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency, it’s not okay to advance these types of agendas because they are fundamentally at odds with who we are as a country.”
Alas, the number of stations broadcasting “Freethought Matters” has reduced this year due to budgetary constraints. 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 8:30 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.
Upcoming shows include a discussion with sociologist and “None” expert Ryan T. Cragun, Humanist chaplain Devin Moss, former Americans United director Barry Lynn plus an episode that spotlights a recent debate Dan Barker and Phil Zuckerman had with religionists at Oxford. You can catch interviews from previous seasons here, including 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 also 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!
