Freethought Radio

This week, we comment on President Biden's State of the Union address as it relates to state/church separation, abortion, and LGBTQ+ rights. We hear Dan Barker's performance of the feminist anthem "Bread and Roses." Then we speak with journalist and author Katherine Stewart about her powerful cautionary column in the Sunday New York Times: "Why was a Catholic hospital willing to gamble with my life?"

Guests: Cynthia McDonald and Andrew Seidel. FFRF's Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel announces the new major report by FFRF and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty called "Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection." Then activist and podcaster Cynthia McDonald tells us about her comprehensive article about the secular case for reparations: "Black economic justice from an atheist's view."

Guest: Larry Shapiro. President Biden should not have attended today's divisive National Prayer Breakfast. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin tells us why it is important to memorialize America's "forgotten Founder" Thomas Paine. Then we speak with philosopher Lawrence Shapiro about his new book (co-written with Steven Nadler): When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us From Ourselves.

Guests: Margaret Downey and Gary Berton. We talk about the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Breyer with a proponent of state/church separation. After hearing Dan Barker's tribute to Thomas Paine, "The World Is My Country," we talk with two Paine experts: Margaret Downey, president of the new Thomas Paine Memorial Association, and Gary Berton, president of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association, about the drive to erect a statue to the "forgotten founder" in Washington DC.

The Supreme Court has recently taken a number of troubling cases dealing with religion. FFRF's Legal Director Rebecca Markert joins us to talk about the Supreme Court oral arguments in a case about the city of Boston being forced to fly the Christian flag. Then we speak with atheist bible Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou about her new book God: An Anatomy.

After reporting on national and local state/church news, we hear singer/songwriter Shelley Segal's feminist song "Eve" from her Atheist Album. Then we listen to Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times columnist and Supreme-Court observer Linda Greenhouse's "Cheesecake, anyone?" remarks as she accepts FFRF's "Clarence Darrow" award recognizing excellence in journalism about state/church separation.

We mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by hearing FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel describe the Christian Nationalism of the rioters. Representative Don Beyer (VA) explains why he is a member of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and we hear Representative Jamie Raskin (MD) stressing the need to talk about fascism. Then we talk with former evangelical minister and Christian apologist, John W. Loftus, about his new anthology God and Horrendous Suffering.

We listen to part of the interview that Annie Laurie Gaylor did with Gloria Steinem at FFRF's Boston convention. We see out the old year by remembering and honoring freethinkers who have left us in 2021. Then we welcome the new year by listening to some freethought songs that respond to the events of last year—some irreverent, some funny, some cautionary, and some optimistic songs that hope for better days in 2022.