Friendly Atheist Podcast

John Dehlin just completed his PhD in clinical and counseling psychology. But you may know him best as the founder of the Mormon Stories podcast, one that celebrates the faith and also critiques it when necessary. Because of some of his views supporting same-sex marriage and the ordination of women within Mormonism, Dehlin was excommunicated from the Church earlier this year for apostasy. That story was covered in the New York Times. We spoke with John about how discovering the truth about Mormon history pushed him away from the Church, why he still has a soft spot for the faith, and why Mormons have strategic reasons for standing firm against LGBT rights. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shulem Deen is a former Hasidic Jew. Since leaving that world, he's founded the website Unpious which is a voice for other ultra-Orthodox Jews who may be rethinking their faith. His new memoir is called "All Who Go Do Not Return." We spoke with Shulem about the hypocrisy of Hasidic Jews regarding modern technology, how that community reacted to an episode of This American Life focusing on them, and how America Online became his gateway to the outside world. 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 a former evangelical Christian leader (and son of famed pastor Tony Campolo) who currently serves as the Humanist Chaplain at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. We spoke about progressive Christianity, what it was like coming to terms with his Humanism, and death. Lots about death. In all seriousness, it's one of the most interesting and inspiring conversations about death I've ever had. That segment begins around the 27:00 mark. Do yourself a favor and listen to it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Paul Offit is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of Vaccinology and Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He's written tons of published peer-reviewed papers and received countless awards for his work. His latest book, Bad Faith, is all about how religious belief can undermine modern medicine. On the day of taping, California had just passed a law making vaccinations all but mandatory, Jim Carrey had gone on a Twitter rant about vaccines, and a woman had died of measles. We spoke with Dr. Offit about why people still don't get vaccinated, how he responds to the most common arguments offered by anti-vaxxers, and why Bill Maher is wrong when he says we don't need to get flu shots. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Evangelist Ray Comfort has released a film called "Audacity" with the goal of convincing gay and lesbian viewers to renounce homosexuality. Jessica and I watched the film (so you don't have to) and we give you the play-by-play along with commentary. So there's your spoiler alert! After that, beginning at the 34:44 mark, we have an *exclusive* interview with the film's star Travis Owens. He plays Peter, a very devout Christian who wants to spread the Good Word, but sometimes hesitates because it might be awkward. Because he hesitates, bad things happen -- especially to gays and lesbians who didn't accept Jesus into their lives. In real life, Travis is actually very supportive of LGBT rights, which makes his appearance in this film both questionable and fascinating. We spoke with him about what it's like to work with Ray Comfort, whether he's received more feedback from LGBT viewers or Christians, and why he took on a role that contradicted his personal beliefs. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Linda Stephens was one of the two plaintiffs in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the 2014 Supreme Court case that legalized religious invocations at government meetings (with a few caveats). She worked as a librarian for two decades, served as president of the Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and was vice president of a local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. We spoke about the worst moment of the oral arguments, how she followed SCOTUSblog.com to get updates on her own lawsuit, and why losing the case has ironically worked out in atheists' favor, See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Dillahunty is a former fundamentalist Christian who now debates religious apologists. He was the President of the Atheist Community of Austin for several years and co-hosts The Atheist Experience call-in show. He recently began a video series teaching viewers how to respond to frequently-used apologist arguments. Jessica spoke with Matt about his religious upbringing, why he loves debates, and what he sees as the future of faith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dianna E. Anderson grew up in South Dakota, and after stints as an English teacher in Japan and a radio producer in Chicago, she's turned her focus to writing. Her first book, out now, is called Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and it's all about the intersection of the church and sexuality. We spoke with Dianna about why sex is often seen as shameful in parts of Christianity, what conversations the broader evangelical church is having about sex, and whether the church can ever become sex-positive. Lots of sex. #Sex See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Muhammad Syed is the co-founder and director of operations for Ex-Muslims of North America. Heina Dadabhoy is an ex-Muslim atheist and feminist who writes at Heinous Dealings. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with them about the various challenges of leaving Islam and why, if you're having religious doubts, it's better to act on them instead of staying in the faith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica Hagy is a cartoonist and writer best known for her insightful and hilarious webcomic Indexed, in which she draws charts and Venn diagrams connecting completely different ideas and getting us to think about them in different ways. Her latest book is The Art of War Visualized. It's the Sun Tzu classic reworked and with illustrations. During a recent stop in Chicago, we spoke about her career change from copywriter to professional author/illustrator, where she finds inspiration for her work, and how her cartoons made their way into my math classes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.