Friendly Atheist Podcast

Vyckie Garrison was named American Atheists' 2015 Atheist of the Year. She's also the founding editor of No Longer Qivering, a website based upon the "quiverfull" lifestyle that she left years ago. (Why that spelling? Because, she says, there's no "you" in quivering.) Jessica spoke with Vyckie about how she left the movement made famous by the Duggar family, whether her children are still religious, and why patriarchal thinking hurts men as well as women. (Image via Josiah Mannion on Facebook) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lloyd Evans is the founder of JWSurvey.org, a website that focuses on the problems with Jehovah's Witnesses. For most of his life, Lloyd was a Witness. But that changed not too long ago. Now he's trying to help others leave the faith. On a personal note, I've learned so much about the seedy underbelly of the religion by reading his work. We spoke with Lloyd about why JWs are suddenly getting more attention, the most painful aspect of leaving the faith, and the awful afterlife in store for those who didn't make the cut for the "chosen" 144,000. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Ryan T. Cragun is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa and the author of books including What You Don't Know About Religion (but Should). His latest is called How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps. We spoke with Dr. Cragun about whether religious fervor is cyclical or fading, why religious holidays should become secular, and the surprising thing churches can do to stop the shifting trend away from religion. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jennifer Michael Hecht is a historian, philosopher, and author of several bestselling books including Doubt: A History. Her latest book is called Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with Jennifer about how thoughts of suicide differ between atheists and religious people, how more people in history have been atheists than believers, and whether it's possible to discern what certain historical figures thought about God. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gerald Posner is an investigative journalist and author of several books, including ones about the assassinations of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His latest book, God's Bankers, is all about the Vatican's finances, and how the Church got involved with the Mafia and money launderers. We spoke with Gerald about how he followed the trail of the Church's money, what the Vatican Bank is used for, and the advice he has for investigative journalists. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff are writers and actors best known for their work on Mystery Science Theater 3000. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with Trace and Frank about the genesis of MST3K, what they think about podcasts, and whether it's tough to be known only for the show rather than their other projects. (Image via Tim Dorr on Flickr) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Megan Fox is the apparent evolution-denier who "debunked" a science exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History and posted the video on YouTube. In a long, far-ranging, and sometimes infuriating interview, we talked about the reactions to her "audit" videos, whether her gender plays a role in the backlash, and why she doesn't consider herself a Creationist. We also discussed why she believes not censoring the Internet in a local library's adult section sanctions "taxpayer funded access to child porn." (In response to her battle with the Orland Park Public Library, readers of Friendly Atheist raised nearly $7,000 for the library's general fund.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Susan Blackmore is a writer, researcher, and speaker best known for her book "The Meme Machine." At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with Susan about the mystery of consciousness, Blackmore's fascination with memes, and why she avoids most forms of social media. (Image via Wikipedia) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jason Heap is the Executive Director of the United Coalition of Reason, an organization that has placed billboards promoting local atheist groups all over the country. He is also trying to become the first Humanist chaplain in the United States Armed Forces. I spoke with Jason about the strategy behind putting up non-aggressive billboards, how he left the evangelical Christian faith he was raised in, and why politicians are working so hard to prevent Humanists from becoming officially-recognized chaplains. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jerry DeWitt was a Pentecostal preacher from Louisiana whose faith began cracking a few years ago. At first, he battled with his doubts internally, but he soon realized he no longer believed what he had been saying from the pulpit for nearly 25 years. When he finally declared -- publicly -- that he was an atheist, his life began to fall apart. He wrote about his deconversion in his book Hope After Faith. You may have also seen him in the recent CNN special "Atheists: Inside the World of Non-Believers." Hemant spoke with Jerry recently about what led him to initially doubt his religious beliefs, his journey through the Clergy Project, and how he can still get himself into "preacher mode" when speaking. (Jessica will return to the show in a couple of weeks!) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.