Graceful Atheist Podcast

Author Stella McCormick has written a powerful memoir, Deliver Us From Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me. The story she tells in the book and shares with us on the podcast is one of surviving a single family cult, purity culture, sexual assault and desconstruction.

Stella is more than a survivor. She has thrived. Today she is a sexual assault advocate for the Army where she helps other victims of sexual assault process their experience.

Links

Stella on TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@stella_mccormick

Amazon Paid Links

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon Commissions Earned:

Deliver Us From Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me

https://amzn.to/4yzxb0Y

Interact

Show Notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/09/14/stella-mccormick-surviving-a-single-family-cult/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Karis Burkowski and ​David Fitzgerald have written an amazing book called Clearly Written by Boys: A Woman’s Guide to the Bible. The book takes this question seriously:

What if women mattered, really mattered, to the authors that wrote our Bible? Not just the queens and concubines, harlots and handmaidens, and barren women in need of a son’s miraculous birth; not just the unnamed mothers, wives and daughters; but all women?

Clearly Written for Boys is a book about the Bible, and Christianity, and the problematic relationship both have had with women throughout their histories. Karis and David come from Christian backgrounds and are “cleaning up their own house.”

Join me in hearing from these two amazing authors and the critical message they have about women in Biblical history and for women of today.

Links

https://www.clearlywrittenbyboys.com

Amazon Paid Links

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon Commissions Earned:

Clearly Written By Boys: A Women's Guide to the Bible

https://amzn.to/4wf8NAk

Interact

Show Notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/07/20/steve-ghikadis-humanism-from-the-heart/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Steve Ghikadis is the author of Humanism From the Heart: Building Bridges Beyond Belief.

Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant, who conducts secular marriages, memorials, and many more meaningful life-affirming celebrations.

Raised as a freethinker, Steve has been married to a Christian for over a decade. He and his wife, Cindy, believe in the importance of bridging the gap between believers and non-believers. Their two young children are being raised in an interfaith household and are free to choose their own path.

He serves as an Ambassador for Humanist Canada, Recovering from Religion, and Sunday Assembly.

Links

Website: 

https://steveghikadis.com

Facebook profile:

https://www.facebook.com/share/14bX5omASis/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Amazon Paid Links

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon #CommissionsEarned:

Humanism From the Heart: Building Bridges Beyond Belief

https://amzn.to/3RLmMQ2

Interact

Show Notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/07/20/steve-ghikadis-humanism-from-the-heart/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Julia tells her story of deconstructing the Jehovah's Witnesses and the expected life of suburbia.

Julia was torn between two grandmothers: an evangelical and a Jehovah's Witness. She became a Jehovah's Witness and was all in. She got married and had kids and supported her husband who was an elder. That is when the boredom set it. She wanted more, she wanted to travel and be a need-greater. Before they were to leave to Ecuador, her husband tragically died of cancer refusing blood transfusions along the way.

Julia's life became messy as she started a long process of deconstruction. This included low-lights like having her children tell on her to the elders. And highlights going out on her own to travel and meet people's needs with out dogma.

Today Julia is free. She kayaks, bikes and travels internationally. She says "I wake up every day thinking, 'I love this world, and I love this life.'"

Interact

Show Notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/06/29/julia-deconstructing-jws-and-suburbia/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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The Consciousness Delusion

In this solo episode I discuss Artificial Intelligence. Should we agree with Richard Dawkins that Claude is conscious? Probably not, for several reasons. I talk about how LLMs work, why I don't think they are conscious and how a humanist should respond.

Topics:

• (Semi) Technical description of how Large Language Models work
• LLMs are trained on the sum total of human hopes and fears
• Why all the intelligence in AI systems is from human sources
• Why I do not believe LLMs can be conscious in principle
• The Hype problem
• The Humanistic response to AI

Links

Show notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/06/07/humanism-and-ai/

Here are several source material links from my research for this episode:

• When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious?
• https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/?edition=us
• ELIZA and the missing secretary
• https://theconversation.com/my-search-for-the-mysterious-missing-secretary-who-shaped-chatbot-history-225602
• Alan Turing and the Turing test
• https://academic.oup.com/mind/article/LIX/236/433/986238?login=false
• Metaphors for how the brain works
• https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/bill/teaching/w14/phil151/metaphorsandconceptionsofbrain.pdf
• Alison Gopnik on Sean Carroll’s pdocast
• https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/03/17/308-alison-gopnik-on-children-ai-and-modes-of-thinking/
• Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Late Show with Steven Colbert
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qon72VKH30
• AI as normal technology
• https://knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-as-normal-technology

Counter points to my argumetns on LLMs:

• Are LLMs conscious?
• https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/08/10/363-chandra-sripada-on-how-llms-and-humans-are-cognitive-cousins/
• Do LLMs plan?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=locKEKxG3os

Interact

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Liam is a friend and a colleague of many years. He is a member of the Religious Society of Friends often called Quakers. Liam and I have shared deep conversations before and after my deconversion. I respect the way Liam holds and lives out his beliefs.

You might be surprised. The British Liberal Quakerism Liam lives out on a daily basis is very close to my version of Humanism, Secular Grace. He is a great example of a religious humanist who cares about people over dogma.

Links

Quakers in Britain: https://www.quaker.org.uk/

Quaker Faith: https://www.quaker.org.uk/faith/read-about-quaker-faith

Quakers in USA: https://www.fgcquaker.org/

American Friends Service Committee (Charity): https://afsc.org/

Interact

Show Notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/05/24/liam-a-friend-and-a-friend/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

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I recently read Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova and it blew my mind. Just reading the intro I knew I needed to do an episode on the subject. Almost everything about deconstruction and deconversion is antimememetic. It is a significant idea that resists spreading. Listen to the episode to find out how.

All of the following are antimemetic:

• Doubt
• Deconstruction
• Deconversion
• Atheism
• Humanism
• Secular Grace

Links

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/05/03/doubt-is-antimemetic/

SNL Skit: Mom Confession

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQhY5CMMl4

Amazon Paid Links

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon #CommissionsEarned:

Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading

There is No Antimemetics Division

Interact

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group!

Support the podcast

Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Paypal: paypal.me/gracefulatheist

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

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Mark Anthony Diaz is the author of Reedkeeper's Journey and one of my best friends. Mark and I grew up together. We had the same sarcastic friend group in high school. We did ministry together. Crucially, Mark stuck with me after my deconversion.

Mark is a person of deep conviction, and while he's a talented EMT, author, and podcaster, it's his personal journey that truly resonates. Growing up with severe asthma made for a challenging childhood, but Mark's story is one of overcoming.

Mark is very much a believer and I respect Mark's faith. Mark lives up to the honesty contest ethos of the podcast. I wanted to have him share his life's story with us because I believe every human being's story is powerful.

Search for his serial podcast "Readkeeper's Journey" wherever you get your podcasts.

Links

Read Keeper's Journey: The only way back is forward

https://www.reedkeeper.com/

Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reedkeepers-journey/id1529380366

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5echbOBs2MXtlHolNMe0rz?si=e06f0385c8d94cad

Interact

For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes

https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/04/19/friends-and-family-mark-anthony-diaz/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion

Support the podcast on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Secular Grace

https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

Deconversion

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Deconstruction

https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/

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Welcome back Colin Ryan, author, storyteller, comedian and survivor of Bipolar 2, OCD and ADHD. Colin has written Epic Tiny Victories: A hopeful story about depression anxiety and reframing your life. It is hilarious, honest and poignant.

Colin describes in the book growing up Evangelical, purity culture and his deconstruction process.

Join us as we catch up on where Colin's deconstruction journey is at. We discuss his mental health journey. Colin tells stories from the book.

Get Epic Tiny Victories today.

Links

http://www.epictinyvictories.com/

https://www.colinryanspeaks.com/

2020 Deconversion Anonymous episode of GAP
https://gracefulatheist.com/2020/11/29/colin-deconversion-anonymous/

Chapters

00:00 Graceful Atheist Podcast Intro
01:36 Welcome back Colin Ryan
03:50 Deconstruction Journey since 2020
15:27 Epic Tiny Victories and we were all 11
29:44 Impact of therapy on Colin's Life
47:49 Mental Health takes work
52:36 The book process and how to get ETV
64:40 Final thoughts on the episode
66:43 Secular Grace thought of the Week

Interact

For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/03/29/colin-ryan-epic-tiny-victories/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion

Support the podcast on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/

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Reflections on ten years of deconversion. I re-tell my deconversion story and reflect on what has changed and what has stayed the same.

Links

Apostate: Stories of Deconversion

https://amzn.to/4rj7TA6

Interact

For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes
https://gracefulatheist.com/2026/03/08/10-year-deconversion-anniversary/

Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion

Support the podcast on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist

Secular Grace
https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/

Deconversion
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/

Deconstruction
https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy