Everyone's Agnostic Podcast

Episode 58 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast features Cass Midgley and Bob Pondillo discussing how non-religious, naturalist thinkers frame the issue of death and whether or not we have an honest narrative that is, in fact, comforting to those grieving their lost loved ones. We borrow clips from Hemant Mehta’s podcast, the Friendly Atheist, where he interviews Bart Campolo, a Humanist Chaplain for USC and UCLA. You can listen to that entire interview here.

This episode was taped on August 1st  2015.

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

All other music written and performed by Cass Midgley

Thanks to Hemant Mehta for letting us use clips from his podcast The Friendly Atheist.

Check out Bart Campolo’s podcast Wonder-Full Life at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-wonderfull-podcast

Bob and Cass interview one of the most exciting new voices in atheist podcasting, Lydia Allan. David Smalley, of the ground-breaking podcast Dogma Debate, discovered Lydia as she was speaking at a local freethinkers meetup in Dallas. He was so impressed with her that he approached to come on his show as a regular co-host and we all benefit from his intuition. Her undergraduate degree was in Psychology, she holds two Masters degrees in Neuroscience and  ? and is currently working on a PhD in The History and Philosophy of Science.

In the spirit of “the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” Lydia bears a refreshing humility while be very smart and well educated and even feisty at times. She’s exactly the kind of voice we want at the table. One of the best mixes of learned, empathic, angry, and compassionate I’ve ever interviewed.  I think you’re going to like this talk. 

This conversation was taped on July 27th  2015.   

Subscribe to our podcast on Patreon, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn and most podcast platforms.  

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

All other music written and performed by Cass Midgley

On episode 56 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast Bob and Cass interview Charlie--a pseudonym. He writes and performs music on a Youtube channel called Skeptic Muse. This music chronicles the arguments for atheism and against theism that charted Charlie’s deconversion from Christianity. We feature 4 songs during the interview. Charlie’s a very talented musician and just a great guy. I think you’ll enjoy our talk.  

This conversation was taped on July 19th.  Our opening monologue is an excerpt from a Youtube called “Towering Mountain of Ignorance” by Hank Green. The opening music is “never know” by Jack Johnson, and The musical segues on this episode were written and performed by Skeptic Muse. 

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn and most podcast platforms.  If you’re feeling grateful for our podcast, Patreon.com is like a per episode tip jar for our work. Patreon.com/eapodcast. 

Cass interviews Sarah Green and Adam House. Sarah is the Tennessee Regional Director of American Atheists. Adam is an ex-pastor and an Afghanistan war veteran. Both raised Baptist, both now agnostic atheists. We talk misogyny within Christianity, PTSD, the medicinal benefits of marijuana for PTSD, atheist activism, bravery, shifting social mores, and a rare sighting of theist/atheist siblings supporting each other. Who knew? Bob was on vacation at the taping of this show, which was July 11th, 2015 

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro music "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

All other music written and performed by Cass Midgley

A native of Birmingham, AL, Jennifer graduated from Samford University in 1996 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. For 13 years, her career progressed as an advertising executive developing campaigns for major global brands such as Citigroup, MasterCard and Chase. This work took her from Atlanta to New York City, where she also spent time working in theater, independent film, commercials and playwriting. Intrigued by the power of story to increase human empathy, and the dynamic effect of popular culture and personal narrative on political persuasion, faith practices and ideological identity, Jennifer left her business career to attend Union Theological Seminary in New York City. At Union, she studied inter-religious dialogue, Christian ethics and feminist theology, and immersed in faith-based social justice initiatives. She graduated in 2011 with a Master of Divinity.

Jennifer has since applied her mix of skills and interests in non-profit executive positions at the nation’s largest inter-religious media company, Odyssey Networks, and the inter-faith dialogue and advocacy organization Intersections International. She is also Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at the Int’l Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington DC where she serves as liaison to the United Nations.

She writes regularly for Patheos and Huffington Post as Femmevangelical: The Modern Girl’s Guide to the Good News, and hosts a monthly radio show segment about women, faith and politics on national Fairness Radio.

She speaks charitably of a term Jesus used most commonly translated as the ‘kingdom of god” but she calls it “the realm of God” perhaps because, like so many biblical terms, the old vernacular carries too much baggage. I imagine “kingdom” sounds too much like dominionism, and she also reclaims the word repentance. To Jennifer, it’s simply a changing of the mind, a newly informed world view that is often a complete 180 from previous assumptions. It represents being teachable, staying in the room with difference, and actually listening and learning new perspectives. 

Jennifer is a Christian reforming from within. Something I was not able to do. I have a special appreciation for those who are helping the church regain relevance and Jennifer is one of those. She holds on to a lot of scriptures, but especially the radical Jesus. Unfortunately I didn’t get to the more dogmatic questions as to where she stands on some doctrinal issues

This conversation was taped on June 27th, the day of after the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality. Bob was out of town at the time so I invited my friend Chrissy Miller to co-host with me.

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

All other music written and performed by Cass Midgley

This week Cass is in conversation with former pastor, Drew Bekius of The Clergy Project. Drew serves on TCP's Board of Directors and as Chair of the Communications Committee. The Clergy Project’s Mission is to provide support, community, and hope to current and former religious professionals who no longer hold supernatural beliefs. Drew blogs at drewbekius.com and is working on a book tentatively titled “The Rise and Fall of Faith.” EA co-host Bob Pondillo was on vacation when this conversation was taped on June 20th, 2015 so this is just two ex-pastors in conversation. 

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

All other music performed by Nikolay Gavlishin

One year birthday of the Everyone's Agnostic podcast! This week we feature Dr. Sheldon Solomon lecturing on Ernest Becker's Pulitzer Prize winner book, "The Denial of Death." Becker reveals how and why we humans look to constructed narratives to ease our anxiety around death. This is the crux of why we need religion and why we so easily feel threatened by those with different beliefs. If this won't change your life, nothing will.  

This episode was recorded on June 27th, 2015. Our opening monologue is an excerpt from a Youtube called “Towering Mountain of Ignorance” by Hank Green. The opening music is “never know” by Jack Johnson, and The musical segues on this episode were written and performed by Cass Midgley.

We discuss the murders in Charleston last week and how some people refuse to talk about the true motive of the crime. I believe religion plays a role in this and many other denials of reality. And speaking of beliefs, we discuss what would happen if we shed all beliefs. As a result of this talk, Cass decides to fast from beliefs for a season to see what effect it has on his life.

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn and most podcast platforms. If you’re feeling grateful for our podcast, Patreon.com is like a per episode tip jar for our work. That’s p a t r e o n dot com slash eapodcast.

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

Music written and performed by Cass Midgley

Cass Midgley and Bob Pondillo interview Wendy Thomas Russell, author of “Relax, It's Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You're Not Religious.” Wendy is a blogger on Patheos under “Natural Wonderers” and her work has been published in Psychology Today, The Washington Post, New York Times Magazine’s Sixth Floor Blog, Time Magazine, AlterNet, Salon, and the Humanist Community Project at Harvard, and other outlets. She also writes an online parenting column for the PBS NewsHour.

This episode was recorded on June 13th, 2015. Our opening monologue is an excerpt from a Youtube called “Towering Mountain of Ignorance” by Hank Green. The opening music is “never know” by Jack Johnson, and The musical segues on this episode is classical guitar performed by friend of the show Nikolay Gavlishin

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn and most podcast platforms.  If you’re feeling grateful for our podcast, Patreon.com is like a per episode tip jar for our work. That’s patreon.com/eapodcast. 

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

Music performed by Nikolay Gavlishin

Back on April 4th, I taped a few random interviews at the American Atheist Convention in Memphis, so today I’m posting a few selections from that experience.

The first is a 9 minute interview with Dave Kong. Dave was personal friends with Madalyn Murray O’Hare, the founder of American Atheists and has witnessed the movement from the beginning. He served on the board for 27 years. And for those who may have little exposure to Madalyn, I’ve posted an 11 minute excerpt from a speech she gave at the 1972 AA convention, 10 years after she founded the movement. .

Next is a 6 minute interview with comedian Keith Lowell Jensen who performed a stand-up routine at the conference. I tacked on a 3 minute excerpt of a bit he performed there. Keith has his own podcast called, “It’s Funny Because” available on iTunes and Facebook.

Lastly, I play a fascinating talk given by Dr. Jennifer Michael Hecht called Poetic Atheism. She wrote a book that changed my life called, “Stay: A History of Suicide and the Arguments Against It.” She argues that to say that there is no meaning to life, or that we have to make our own meaning seems misguided and that meaning has always been a part of community and culture, we need not invent it. She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in the History of Science and European Cultural History. She is the author of 3 other books, including “Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson,” and “The Happiness Myth: The Historical Antidote to What Isn't Working Today.”

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, TuneIn and most podcast platforms. If you’re feeling grateful for our podcast, Patreon.com is like a tip jar for our work. That’s patreon.com/eapodcast.

Credits:

"Towering Mountain of Ignorance" intro by Hank Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v3S82TuxU

Intro bumper "Never Know" by Jack Johnson

Music performed by Nikolay Gavlishin