Humanize Me

Well, are we? It’s a weird thought that the experience we all share – of making our own decisions, freely choosing our next move – is nothing more than an illusion. But the science leans that way, and Dan Barker has engaged with the subject more than most. Dan is an activist, an author and speaker who serves as the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He’s sued the government, talked about atheism with Oprah, debated with Sean Hannity and hung out with Christopher Hitchens. And he agrees with Sam Harris about free will, but has his own thoughts on the implications of that conclusion.

In this episode Bart talks (a lot) with new pal Mike McHargue, aka Science Mike, whose two podcasts, Ask Science Mike and The Liturgists (with Michael Gungor) are huge among the still-kinda-Christian-but-with-lots-of-questions crowd.

It's here! For all of you who have been waiting patiently to see the documentary film Leaving My Father's Faith – capturing Bart's conversation with his dad Tony Campolo on the subject of his leaving Christianity – the film is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo On Demand. This episode is a chat between Bart, Tony via phone and John Wright, the director of the new film. They reflect on the release of the film, what it captures, reactions to it, and how they feel it portrays them and their interactions on this touchy but important subject.

Daniel Bogard is a Jewish rabbi who’s passionate about building bridges across faith and cultural borders. He’s also a deep thinking, warm feeling, easy talking person with whom Bart has a terrific conversation about, well… a whole bunch of stuff.

Jennifer Wright-Berryman is a suicidologist in the School of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati and is currently the lead researcher for a peer-to-peer, school-based program called Hope Squad. Jennifer is an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati and has a PHD in Social Work from the University of Indiana.

Ryan Bell is a former pastor who became an atheist after spending a year without God as an experiment. He started and hosts the popular blog and podcast Life After God and is now both the National Organizing Manager for the Secular Student Alliance, as well as the new Humanist Chaplain at the University of Southern California, a position that Bart held before moving back to Cincinnati.

What does a real apology look like? What is the difference between remorse and regret? Between saying sorry and asking for forgiveness? Bart talks about how to make an authentic apology and shares some stories from his own life that have shaped his own apologies.