Friendly Atheist Podcast

Kelly Carlin is the author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, an autobiography and one-woman show that talks about growing up with her famous father, comedian George Carlin. She's also host of the podcast Waking from the American Dream and a speaker at the upcoming Reason Rally. We spoke with Kelly about what her father was like off the stage, how being the daughter of a world famous comedian can be a mixed blessing, and how she created her own identity. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Runnells was raised in the Church of Latter Day Saints as a 6th generation Mormon. He went on his two year mission. He graduated from BYU. He was an Eagle Scout. But in 2012, he began doubting some of his beliefs. He was asked by a Church Educational System (or CES) director to share his concerns. Jeremy did that in what became known as the Letter to a CES Director, or the CES letter. It is a damning document that exposes so many holes in the Mormon faith and it quickly went viral online, giving a lot of people reason to leave the Church themselves. And then, earlier this year, wouldn't you know it, Church officials began a process to kick him out. Before they could excommunicate him for good in April, Jeremy announced he was resigning from the Mormon Church himself. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of kicking him out. We spoke with Jeremy about what led him to start doubting his faith, how the "Mormon moment" from a few years ago has come to an end, and why he left the Church before it could get rid of him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Dawn Eden was born into a Jewish family, became an Agnostic during her teenage years, and then found God and became a Catholic in her 30s. Along the way, she was a rock journalist and worked as an editor for the New York Post and Daily News. Since her conversion, she's written several books including The Thrill of the Chaste and Remembering God's Mercy: Redeem the Past and Free Yourself from Painful Memories. She's also a long-time blogger at the Dawn Patrol. Before giving a talk at a church just outside of Chicago recently, we had 20 minutes to chat. We used the limited time to talk about her unique religious journey, whether allowing priests to have sex is a good idea, and how she arguably kickstarted my own career with one blog post. (As I make clear in the podcast, there were several points I would love to have pushed back on and debated further, but time didn't allow for it.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Monica Miller is Senior Counsel at the American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center. If the AHA is involved in a lawsuit, she's the person doing the legwork, and that involves everything from letters to city councils to amicus briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court. We spoke with her about when anonymity can be used in a case, the surprising number of religious people who complain about church/state violations, and when a Christian cross isn't a Christian cross. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reddit Atheism may be the largest online community in the world for atheists. Whenever you have an anonymous group of that size, bad things may happen. And the site certainly has a reputation for low-brow memes, smugness, anger, and a disdain for the religious. But they've also used their power for good, raising money for groups like Doctors Without Borders. We spoke with two of the moderators of the atheism "subreddit," Feinberg and LurkBeast, about the positives and negatives of the site, the power of the ex-religious subreddits, and why r/atheism isn't as bigoted as one research paper claimed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Teresa MacBain is a former Methodist pastor and the first female member of the Clergy Project to publicly "come out" as a nonbeliever. She did that at the 2012 American Atheists convention. She's now the director of the Hotline Project, which offers callers who are grappling with their faith a chance to talk (anonymously) with an atheist about any questions or concerns. Their number is 1-84-I-Doubt-It (1-844-368-2848). We spoke with her about how she began having doubts about religion while in the pulpit, the type of people who call the Hotline Project, and how to volunteer to be on the receiving end of that call. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're talking about the presidential race and how religion plays a role in it. We discuss our primary votes, which Republican candidate would be the worst case scenario for atheists, and the openly atheist candidates running for state and federal office. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're celebrating our 100th episode with the conversation we never get to have because we're always talking to other people. Our goals for the near future are having more in-person interviews, talking to big-name guests, and making sure we're always asking the questions you want answered. Thank you for sticking with us and we hope you continue listening! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anthony Magnabosco is best known as a Street Epistemologist. He's like a preacher you might run across on your college campus, except he's not trying to convert you. He just wants to ask you questions about religion and get you to think. He posts videos of these interactions on YouTube and they're fascinating to watch, in part because he deconstructs what went right and wrong each time. We spoke with Anthony about his surprising goals when it comes to chatting with people about religion, why people would ever talk to him at all, and whether debates about God are ever useful. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Phil Torres is a philosopher and author who writes extensively about the intersection of religion and technology. He's a regular contributor at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. His latest book is called The End: What Science and Religion Tell Us About the Apocalypse. We spoke with him about why super-intelligence could come back to haunt us, how religious thinking mixed with weapons could bring us closer to doom, and whether we can reason with those who want to get closer to the afterlife. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.