A freethinking Vietnam War veteran who is astonishingly multitalented is the guest on Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” show this week.
Robert Richert was an “atheist in a foxhole,” serving in the Army infantry in the Vietnam War, where he earned an Army Commendation Medal for valor. His book, Open Wound: My Physical, Psychological and Philosophical Journey Through the War in Vietnam, tells the story, taking the reader inside every aspect of a soldier’s life. Richert is also an accomplished artist, photographer, writer and public speaker whose work will be featured in FFRF’s 2025 calendar. We’ll be seeing some of his photos and art during this show. His newest book, Apple Pie Atheist, is a personal memoir that shows how a nonreligious family can have love, value, joy, meaning and hope even in the face of suffering and adversity.
“I describe my childhood and I say, ‘Leave it to Beaver,’ ‘Ozzie and Harriet,’ ‘Father Knows Best,’ — they were like my family, American as apple pie,” Richert explains the title of his book to “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “And then I go on from there to say, ‘You don’t know me.’ I was raised in a home without the bible and never went to church, never believed in God, never believed in Jesus. And I say toward the end, ‘I’m an apple pie atheist. Do you want to know me?’”
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., 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.)
Upcoming shows include an episode that spotlights a recent debate Dan Barker and Phil Zuckerman had with religionists at Oxford. You can catch interviews from past 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!
