Friendly Atheist Podcast

Wendy Thomas Russell is a journalist who spent years covering criminal justice. In 2008, she began writing books for and about children, including three books for the Girl Scouts. In 2011, her focus shifted to secular parenting. Not only does she blog on Patheos at Natural Wonderers, she is about to release a new book called Relax, It's Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You're Not Religious. We spoke with Wendy about whether or not it makes sense to raise your child as an atheist, why the "sex talk" is easier than the "God talk," and what she learned from the authors of other books about atheist parenting. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nancy French is a four-time New York Times best-selling author who has written books with Sarah Palin, Bristol Palin, The Bachelor star Sean Lowe, and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson. We spoke with her about whether liberals misunderstand Sarah Palin, how she came to support Mitt Romney (who doesn't share her faith), and why all of her collaborations have the same starting point. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to Alex Blumberg's popular podcast StartUp which is all about his journey beginning his own podcasting company. In one episode, he aired a conversation with Trevor McKendrick, an atheist who was making quite a bit of money selling a Spanish-language Bible app for your phone. So you know we had to talk to him ourselves. We spoke with Trevor about the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the story, how it publicized his atheism more than he expected (especially as an ex-Mormon), and what Bible-buying trends look like online. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Daniel Genis (rhymes with "tennis") grew up in New York City, where he attended Stuyvesant High School and New York University, graduating with a degree in history and French. In 2003, however, he committed five armed robberies, which led to a decade behind bars. During that time, he wrote a novel called Narcotica. Now that he's out, he's been writing about the intersection of religion and incarceration for publications like Vice, Deadspin, the Washington Post. New York Daily News, and Newsweek. We spoke with Daniel about the soul exchange that got him in trouble, why we should feel any sympathy for him, and what he hopes to do now that he's a free man. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ross Blocher is the co-host of the Oh No, Ross and Carrie! podcast, in which the hosts don't simply talk about the paranormal, but "dive right in by joining religions, attending spiritual events, undergoing "alternative" treatments, partaking in paranormal investigations, and more." Jessica caught up with him during a recent trip to Los Angeles and they spoke about how the podcast began, along with some of his favorite investigations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peter Boghossian is a philosophy professor at Portland State University and the author of A Manual for Creating Atheists, a book in which he talks about "street epistemology" -- essentially how to talk people out of their faith. He's currently working on a phone app that'll guide people through that process. We spoke with Peter about why his approach isn't just "atheist evangelism," why smart people can believe silly things, and whether his techniques work on his own children in other areas of life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Linda LaScola is a research consultant perhaps best known for her work with philosopher Daniel Dennett in which they speak with pastors who may secretly be atheists. She co-founded the Clergy Project -- a site for religious leaders harboring serious doubts about their faith -- and she is about to re-release her book on the topic, "Caught in the Pulpit," with updates and additions. She also blogs on Patheos at Rational Doubt, a site that features several articles by doubting pastors. We spoke with LaScola about how the Clergy Project began, whether coming out as an atheist (when you're a pastor) is a good or bad idea, and the surprising book that finally turned one pastor into an atheist. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Noelle George is a secular activist interested in making a tangible difference in the world, rather than simply arguing about religion behind a keyboard. She founded the SECULAR Center in Houston and is the Director of Special Projects for Foundation Beyond Belief (a group I work with). But her latest endeavor is aimed at helping those people who most need it. It's called Secular Avenue. The website is SecularAvenue.org. And the group will assist those who are unsafe at home because they are no longer religious, living under religious extremism, victims of domestic abuse, or coming out as LGBTQ. Secular Avenue will offer those people financial help, counseling, and legal assistance, among other things. We spoke with Noelle about how people in need can get help, what we can do to pitch in, and why it's so important for atheists to find a way to volunteer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katherine Stewart is an investigative journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New York Times, and the Guardian. She may be best known as the author of The Good News Club, about an organization bringing religious fundamentalism to elementary schools across the country. We spoke with her about the evil genius behind the "4/14 Window," whether a "Better News Club" for children of atheist parents is a good idea, and how writing about religious fundamentalism is like going back to a bad boyfriend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Niose has been the president of two major organizations, the American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition for America. He currently serves as the AHA's legal director. He's also a lawyer who has argued in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court about why the Pledge of Allegiance shouldn't be recited in public school classrooms. And he's the author of the fantastic book Nonbeliever Nation. His latest book is called Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason. We spoke with David about how we can convince unreasonable people to embrace reason, why the election of George W. Bush was a turning point for organized secularism in America, and which atheist ad campaigns are the most effective. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.