Freethought Radio

FFRF attorney Rebecca Markert updates us on the appeal by the City of Pensacola of our successful lawsuit over a Christian cross in a city park. FFRF attorney Andrew Seideldiscusses the impact of of the congressional appropriations bill directing the IRS not to enforce the Johnson Amendment that prohibits churches from engaging in political activity. Then we talk with actor John de Lancie (best known for his role as “Q" in the Star Trek series) who played Clarence Darrow in “The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial” play and who will join FFRF at the unveiling of the new Darrow statue in Dayton, Tennessee this week.

Kentucky student activist Lydia Mason, whose essay “Breaking The Chains” won FFRF’s David Hudak Memorial Freethinking Students of Color High School Essay Competition, tells us about the challenges of being a minority within a minority in a highly religious state. Then we talk with a former preacher who is now the president of The Clergy Project, Drew Bekius. His new book, which narrates his exodus from the evangelical pulpit, is The Rise and Fall of Faith: A God-to-Godless Story for Christians and Atheists.

Cardinal George Pell of Australia, highest-ranking Vatican official (whom Dan Barker has debated) is once again accused of sexual misconduct with minors. After dissecting the fallout from the bad Supreme Court Trinity Lutheran decision, we talk with FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne about his efforts to “Educate Congress” lobbying (about vouchers and the Johnson Amendment) with FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott in Washington, DC. Then we talk with Stanford neurobiologist and primatologist Robert Sapolsky about his epic new book Behave: The Biology of Humans at our Best and Worst.

FFRF Victory! Staff attorney Madeline Ziegler joins us to talk about our recent victory in federal court removing a 34-foot-tall Christian cross from a city park in Pensacola, Florida, a decision that has upset prominent evangelicals like Franklin Graham, Mike Huckabee, Bill Donohue and Marco Rubio. After hearing Lena Horne’s performance of the irreverent Yip Harburg song “Ain’t It The Truth,” we talk with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Frances Fitzgerald about her new book, The Evangelicals: The Struggle To Shape America.

Freethought Radio bonus! This is the audio of the second show of FFRF's new Facebook Live video "Ask An Atheist," which aired June 14 at 12:00 noon Central. Hosts Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, and Andrew Seidel address the question often asked by the religious right: "Why doesn't FFRF go after Islam?" Then they take questions from the audience.

After honoring “Champions of the First Amendment” Roy Torcaso (1961, Torcaso vs. Watkins) and Ed and Ellery Schempp (1963 Abington vs. Schempp), we talk about atheist rock climber Alex Honnold, who this month made history by ascending Yosemite’s El Capitan free-style with no rope. We hear Roy Zimmerman’s hilarious song “Creation Science 101,” and then talk about the 1925 Scopes Trial with historian Andrew Kersten, author of the book Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast.

Freethought Radio bonus! This is the audio of the debut of FFRF's new Facebook Live video "Ask An Atheist," which aired June 7 at 12:00 noon Central. Hosts Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, and Andrew Seidel discuss each of the Ten Commandments and how they relate to morality and law. Then they take questions from the audience.

We announce FFRF's new “Ask an Atheist” Facebook Live show. Is the Kentucky Governor right to fight crime with prayer? Should religious hospitals be exempt from pension-plan regulations? FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott tells us about the recent Supreme Court ERISA decision that privileges religious companies and thereby endangers their employees. After hearing the irreverent song “Experiment,” by the non-religious songwriter Cole Porter, we talk with professor Steven Nadler, author of the new book Heretics! (illustrated by his son Ben Nadler), about the 17th-century scientists and thinkers who brought philosophy into the modern world.

FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel tells us how we know George Washington did not say "So help me, God" at his inauguration. Dan Barker performs the song "Poor Little Me" that he co-wrote with Broadway composer Charles Strouse, whose birthday is this week. Then we talk with internationally acclaimed sculptor and atheist Zenos Frudakis about the bronze statue of Clarence Darrow he is making, which will be unveiled in July at the courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, where the 1925 Scopes Trial took place.

We announce our full-page ad in the New York Times: "Mr. President, we are not a nation of believers.” A Virginia sheriff removed a bible verse from police vehicles after hearing from FFRF. Staff attorney Patrick Elliott explains why Trump’s budget is a disaster for education, and FFRF’s thoughtful Communications Director, Amit Pal, discusses the religiously motivated bombing in Manchester, England. After hearing Mike Tramp’s irreverent song “Trust in Yourself,” we talk with former nun Maureen Hart, currently on the board of the Clergy Project, about her journey to kick the habit.