American Freethought Podcast

I interview Christopher M. Finan, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and author of the new book How Free Speech Saved Democracy: The Untold History of How the First Amendment Became an Essential Tool for Securing Liberty and Social Justice. 

Buy a copy of How Free Speech Saved Democracy for yourself!

For more about Chris Finan, visit ChrisFinan.com.

For more about the National Coalition Against Censorship, visit ncac.org.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com (also SnideShow.com)

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT (also @johncsnider)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview Kevin Bolling, Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate high school and college students about the value of scientific reason and the intellectual basis of secularism in its atheistic and humanistic manifestations. We talk about how SSA was affected by the pandemic, about the organization's plans in a post-pandemic world, and what today's young people's religious and social attitudes mean for the future of America.

For more about the Secular Student Alliance, visit SecularStudents.org. You can find them on social media @SecularStudents.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com (also SnideShow.com)

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT (also @johncsnider)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview Andrew Fiala about his new book Tyranny from Plato to Trump: Fools, Sycophants, and Citizens. It's an exploration of the psychological and social dynamics involving tyrants and would-be tyrants, their enablers, and the mobs who cheer them on.

For more about Andrew visit AndrewFiala.com.

Buy a copy of Tyranny from Plato to Trump here.

Also, check out my review/essay about the book at SnideShow.com (my new online project featuring book and movie reviews, essays, and commentary). 

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com (also SnideShow.com)

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT (also @johncsnider)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview Crawford Gribben, author of The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland, a fascinating history of the island from the late Roman Era through the rapid secularization of the 21st century.

Buy a copy of The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland for yourself!

Follow Crawford on Twitter @GribbenC.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

On the tenth anniversary of the death of Christopher Hitchens, I talk with philosophy professor and fellow podcaster Ben Burgis about his new book Christopher Hitchens: What He Got Right, How He Went Wrong, and Why He Still Matters.

Buy a copy of Ben's book Christopher Hitchens for yourself.

For more about Ben visit BenBurgis.com.

Check out Ben's podcast Give Them An Argument.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

From Pepe the Frog to the kidding-not-kidding white power hand sign, conservatives are increasingly using "humor" and weird "inside jokes" to spread hate-speech, bigotry, and violent threats. The latest tiresome fad is the phrase "Let's Go Brandon," which is a not-so-thinly-veiled substitute for the more blunt "Fuck Joe Biden." Republican congressmen repeat it in floor speeches, or wear face masks emblazoned with it, in the House chamber. On at least one occasion, a conservative crowd chanted it in church.

Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has been censured by the House for tweeting a modified anime video depicting him killing fellow Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and slashing at President Joe Biden. Unrepentant, he retweeted the video immediately after his censure. Meanwhile, over the Thanksgiving weekend, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joked that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a Muslim, was a member of the "Jihad Squad" and implied she could be a suicide bomber.

Newsmax White House correspondent Emerald Robinson has been pulled from the air after tweeting bizarre warnings about the (real-life) COVID-detection process SATiN that uses a drop of blood and the bioluminescent enzyme luciferase. Mark of the Beast or some such nonsense.

Plus:

Thanksgiving turns 400, and Native Americans still struggle to counter the ahistorical mythology surrounding it.

Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn says the United States must have "One nation under God, and one religion under God." If the Founders could hear him, they'd never stop throwing up.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview Duquesne law professor Bruce Ledewitz about his new book The Universe Is on Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life. Bruce is a secularist who nonetheless proposes that the current societal crisis in America (and perhaps the entire Western world) is rooted in the aftermath of what Neitzsche called "the Death of God." It's a controversial proposition, as is his prescription for a way forward.

For more about Bruce visit BruceLedewitz.com or follow him on Twitter @bruceledewitz. 

Buy a copy of The Universe Is on Our Side for yourself!

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview David G. McAfee about his new book Hi, I'm an Atheist!: What That Means and How to Talk About It with Others.

Buy a copy of Hi, I'm an Atheist! for yourself.

For more about David, follow him on Facebook.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview Leigh Eric Schmidt, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and author of The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: A Religious History of American Secularism, which looks at the struggles of 19th century freethinkers to define themselves in contrast to traditional religion and traditional religious organizations.

Buy a copy of The Church of Saint Thomas Paine for yourself!

Learn more about Professor Schmidt and his fellow faculty members at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.

Plus:

There has been a spate of Islamic terrorism-related incidents on the international front. In the UK, Conservative MP Sir David Amess was stabbed to death by a Somali immigrant during a public appearance. In Norway, a recent convert to Islam murdered five people using--of all things--a bow and arrows. And in Afghanistan, ISIS-K claims responsibility for two bombings of Shia mosques that killed 93 worshippers altogether.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]

I interview philosopher and author Thomas Cathcart about his new book There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother, a thought-provoking exploration aimed at ex-Christians and even atheists, which asks whether Christianity can be credible, meaningful, and practical absent the traditional theological formulas and doctrines.

Buy a copy of There Is No God and Mary Is His Mother for yourself.

Plus:

Liberal Christians mourn the death of 90-year-old Bishop John Shelby Spong, the Episcopal Bishop who fought for the rights of women and LGBTQ people, and rejected the mythological aspects of Jesus (the Virgin Birth, miracles, even the Resurrection!) while still embracing what he saw as the spiritually transcendent experience of the Christ. I didn't agree with Spong on that last part, but I considered him an ally nonetheless in the quest to foster a more rational, tolerant Christianity and thus create a better society.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Contact: [email protected]

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to [email protected]