Freethought Radio

Highlights from Dan Barker's historic debate on religion with Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia, will be featured. Dan, along with cohost Annie Laurie Gaylor, will talk a bit about freethought "Down Under" and then interview Ryan Valentine, deputy director of the Texas Freedom Network, about the latest fundamentalist incursions on textbooks in the State of Texas.

FFRF Staff Attorney will serve as Freethought Radio's special substitute host, joining Annie Laurie Gaylor while cohost Dan Barker is in Australia. Rebecca Markert will talk about her recent FFRF state/church victories, then First Amendment hero Michael Newdow will join the hosts to dissect the recent decision by the Ninth Circuit of his challenge of "under God in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the wonderful dissent in Mike's favor by Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

State/church separation and controversies will be discussed with Law School Prof. Jay Wexler, author of the entertaining new book, "Holy Hullabaloos — A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars." Bonus: Excerpts of an ode to Wexler's book, written and performed by Mike Newdow.

Guest Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of "Infidel," will talk about her escape from an arranged marriage in Somali, about becoming an atheist, and how religious terrorism has changed her life. The entire show will be devoted to the harm of religion to women, in honor of International Women's Day.

This weekend's guest, Prof. James Coors, will talk about evolution in tribute to Charles Darwin, born in February. Jim is the Foundation's newest officer and a retired professor of agronomy. Also featured: A clip of Dan Barker's opening remarks in a recent debate, "Can you be good without God?"

A lively show dedicated to the contributions of African-American freethinkers during Black History Month will include an interview with Norm Allen, editor of "African-American Humanism: An Anthology," and will feature music and movie clips.

TOPIC: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND A STAMP HONORING MOTHER TERESAJournalist Christopher Hitchens, author of "God Is Not Great" and an expose on Mother Teresa, "The Missionary Position," gives a sneak preview of his April Vanity Fair article about the Ten Commandments, and talks about the controversy over the Mother Teresa stamp, among other topical issues. The hosts also parse Pres. Obama's speech before the National Prayer Breakfast.

Professor Richard Dawkins discusses his latest book The Greatest Show on Earth.

Nonbelief relief for Haiti and the biblical roots of Islamist brutality toward rape victims will be discussed. Guest Jerry Coyne is professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, where he speciallizes in evolutionary genetics. His new book, Why Evolution is True, has been much praised by Richard Dawkins, next week's guest!

Saturday's program features interviews with Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation over "Jesus rifles" and with freethinking novelist and MacArthur Fellow Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, whose new book, Thirty-Six Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, was just released (and was reviewed yesterday in The New York Times). Goldstein is married to evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, who serves on the Foundation's new honorary board.