Friendly Atheist Podcast

Susan Gerbic is a photographer and skeptical activist from California. She contributes to the Skepticality podcast and Skeptical Inquirer magazine. In addition to co-founding the Monterey County Skeptics, she leads a group called Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. We've spoken before about her group, but we spoke this time about how to spread our ideas beyond our bubble, how to support other atheist activists, and why updating Wikipedia is so vital. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why does Vice President Mike Pence have to eat alone? Why can't ultra-Orthodox Jews handle looking at a picture of Smurfette? Who fears death more: Atheists or the devoutly religious? We discuss all these stories and more in this episode. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anne Bouleanu is a freelance journalist from Chicago. She has worked in digital media and television covering a range of topics including U.S. politics, women's rights, conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, political tensions in South America, and police brutality and race relations in the United States. She covered the primaries during the 2016 U.S. presidential race, focusing on policy issues and increasing divisions among the American electorate. During her time at Al Jazeera America, Anne produced breaking news segments as well as packages on underreported global issues. Prior to this, Anne worked at Bloomberg TV focusing on global and domestic financial news. Jessica spoke with Anne about her experience in South America over the summer, their experiences as women in a largely male workplace, and what the media will look like under Donald Trump. (Full disclosure: They've been friends and coworkers for years... in case that's not abundantly clear!) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bart Campolo is the Humanist Chaplain at the Univ. of Southern California, the host of a fantastic podcast called "Humanize Me," and the author of a new book written with his evangelical father Tony Campolo called Why I Left, Why I Stayed. Bart, if you haven't figured it out already, is the one who left Christianity. The book is all about that conflict, and their love for each other, and how they can both advocate for beliefs that are in direct competition with each other without losing their own bond. I spoke with Bart about how his parents were devastated by his apparent apostasy, what atheists don't get about Christians, and why hot dogs aren't the key to a happier life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Louis Theroux's new film, My Scientology Movie, the Church of Scientology doesn't give him access to the key leaders or buildings themselves... That sounds like quite the obstacle for a documentarian, so Theroux does the next best thing: He hires actors to recreate well-documented scenes in Scientology's history. All the while, the actual Church seems to be keeping tabs on him. Theroux has worked with Michael Moore, and his projects have often focused on interesting subcultures -- everything from the KKK to Westboro Baptist Church. I spoke with him about Scientology's version of "turn the other cheek," the harassment that one key defector of the Church still has to put up with, and what one thing could hurt the Church the most. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Richard Hatch is the winner of the first season of Survivor, where he basically created the whole concept of an alliance. He also competed on the 8th season of the show (Survivor: All-Stars) in 2004. In 2011, he was on Celebrity Apprentice, and last year, he appeared on The Biggest Loser: Temptation Nation. Along the way, he spent time in jail over unpaid taxes, though he maintains his innocence in the matter. We spoke about whether he'll be returning to the show he helped popularize, his journey out of religion, and whether there's anything redeeming about Donald Trump. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about some of the biggest stories from the week involving religious and politics. They included: - A Danish man charged with blasphemy. - Death threats to a mother who fought to take down a Ten Commandments monument outside her daughter's public school. - The Broken Windows Theory of Church/State Separation - How Christians still feel persecuted despite having all the power. - The Pope's backhanded compliment to atheists - What happens when a fake psychic pretends to be a real psychic (who's not really psychic). - Communion: Is it really haunted bread? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alex J. O'Connor is a YouTuber who makes videos on the Cosmic Skeptic channel. He also runs a blog of the same name. I've really enjoyed his work in the few months since he began posting content and this was my first opportunity to talk to him. We spoke about advice he would offer aspiring YouTubers, why anyone interested in becoming the next Richard Dawkins should start now, and whether there's a difference between atheists who were influenced by the New Atheism books versus those influenced by YouTube (and if one is better than the other). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Daniel Dennett is a philosopher, professor at Tufts University, and author of several books including Breaking the Spell and Darwin's Dangerous Idea. His research also led to the formation of The Clergy Project, an online forum for closeted religious leaders who no longer believe in God. His latest book is called From Bacteria to Bach and Back, and it's all about how our minds evolved. I spoke with him about why our minds are like a loaded iPhone, what we would do if the internet broke, and his new art exhibit. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jack Moline is President of Interfaith Alliance. In his long career, he's become a powerful voice fighting for religious freedom for all Americans, regardless of their faith or belief system. As a rabbi, he has worked to create common ground between people of diverse religious and secular backgrounds. He's advocated for a number of issues, including services for this disabled, affordable housing, marriage equality, pay equity and civil rights. Rabbi Moline has authored two books and offered commentary on a number of news programs. I spoke with him about whether Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch could be a surprise on church/state issues, why Trump's proposed repeal of the Johnson Amendment would be a disaster in more ways than you might think, and what role atheists play in the interfaith movement. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.