Doing their rational best, some people leave their religion once they discover it doesn't make sense. So if they're so smart, how do some of these people wind up neck deep again in the same mystical mindset?

As you abandon your pursuit of happiness and keep others from theirs, throw in a few financial and medical problems. Add a generous helping of undeserved guilt. Then, for good measure, postpone justice and murder a few million people in countless religious skirmishes, wars and crusades. What harm, you say? Don’t get us started.

A lot of the people who don't subscribe to podcasts like this do subscribe to woo-woo. We'll tell you how to recognize woo-woo when you see it and even teach you how to make. Hopefully our woo-woo is the only woo-woo you'll ever need.

Especially when grandparents get involved. Enough said. Of course that won't stop us, so tune in for one of Doug's vintage rants while you're at it.

I'd like to introduce you in this episode to a good friend of ours, Gail Paquette. She's been an Objectivist for over twenty years, and what's more, *she's nice*.

Things certainly happen for a reason. But is it the reason everyone seems to agree on, or is it something simpler?

Yeah, I went on a mission. Best two years of my life? Hardly. And I'll bet if you're reading this, it wasn't exactly the bowl of cherries they promised you. Or if it was, you got sent home early. Either way, we hope you enjoy the show.

We've got a good one for you this week...our first drink of the week from a listener, listener email and a short but energized discussion on the hypocrisy of religion when it comes to charity.

Our crime was trying to predict the pregnancy in our future. The punishment, though pleasant, is parenthood. The problem with parenthood is proactively pointing your punk down a productive path without permanently poisoning your relationship. So please, put together a pick-me-up, pass this program around to a couple pals, and put us on your pod.

Maintaining happy, healthy family relationships can be tricky enough, but when you have differing ideas of philosophy and religion is the resulting pressure something you can work around? You'll also want to tune in for a very special announcement.