Well, good news: I did NOT get decapitated.

After a guy on Facebook told me he'd like to cut off my head, I somehow turned the whole thing into a comedy routine. Because when people say truly unhinged shit to you, sometimes laughing is the only reasonable response.

This week, we get into bigotry, threats, religion, LGBTQ+ community, toxic masculinity, and the strange things people apparently feel compelled to say on the internet.

A listener asks: What if you're wrong about God—and what if you're going to hell?

Another listener tells me about an LGBTQ+ bonfire party in Tennessee that attracted a whole lot of hateful Facebook comments, including an accusation that it's an "AIDS party" and the suggestion that someone should release rattlesnakes at the event.

Then things get unexpectedly personal.

A listener asks me to do an entire episode about Joe, my former fiancé and one of the most important people who ever came into my life. That sends me down a very personal road through addiction, sex work, recovery, music, love, loss, and the person who saw something in me when I couldn't see it in myself.

We also get a reading from Leviticus, a fascinating question about whether "homophobia" and "transphobia" are really the right words, and a final conversation about politics, authoritarianism, hope, and why waiting for the perfect political candidate can sometimes mean getting the worst possible outcome.

And somehow, after all of that, I still end up saying the same thing:

I love everybody.

Even assholes who want to cut my head off.
xoxo Daniel

LEAVE ME YOUR VOICE MESSAGES AT: https://www.speakpipe.com/ThereIsNoGodAndWereAllGonnaDie

• (00:00) - Daniel

Apparently I'm a bigot for hating bigots.

In this episode, I introduce Daniel's Magical Bigot Barometer: a very simple way to tell the difference between having an unpopular opinion and just being an asshole. We get into the things people say online that they would never have the guts to say at an actual dinner party—and why hiding behind a Facebook profile doesn't make bigotry any less ugly.

Then the voicemails take us everywhere: accusations that I'm mentally ill, a conversation about America's fucked-up healthcare system, a caller who thinks calling me a faggot is an insult, an old friend who makes me homesick for New Hampshire, and yet another argument about transgender people and women's sports.

Somewhere along the way, this episode becomes less about bigots and more about learning to love yourself after spending years believing the awful things other people told you about who you are.

Also: my opinion that bigots are like people who are proud to fart loudly (and often) in public, my life as a teenage punk rocker, universal healthcare, and a reminder that maybe we should all just stop being fucking dicks.

Want to record a voice message for my next episode?
Visit: https://www.speakpipe.com/ThereIsNoGodAndWereAllGonnaDie

• (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast and Host's Perspective

IT'S TRUE FOLKS ... I once dated a Trump voter. 
In my defense I didn't realize it until we were living together. 
And while our politics eventually became a pretty significant problem, the relationship taught me something much bigger about myself.

After getting sober, I realized I had spent years using alcohol—and later relationships—to escape from myself. I moved in with people ridiculously quickly, got engaged five times, and kept looking for someone else to make me feel okay.

Let me know what you think of this episode - or tell me what's on your mind at:
https://www.speakpipe.com/ThereIsNoGodAndWereAllGonnaDie

In this episode, I talk about that MAGA relationship, why I needed my home to be a safe place where I could speak freely about the things I believe in, and what happens when two people have fundamentally different values.

I also talk about the MAGA takeover of “YMCA,” growing up a liberal kid in conservative New Hampshire, and why I consider myself a spiritual atheist. Because if I don't believe in God, an afterlife, or some supernatural force that's going to swoop in and fix everything...

What exactly do I mean when I talk about spirituality?

For me, it's about getting sober, learning who I really am, learning to love that person, being kind, taking risks, and trying to leave the world a little better than I found it.

And if this really is the only life I get?

I'd better start paying attention to how I'm living it.

• (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast and Host

Is My Podcast Title Mean?
Leave me a voicemail and let me know!
(You can also let me know what else is on your mind)

I'm having an identity crisis.

Okay, maybe not an identity crisis. But I've been wondering whether There Is No God and We're All Gonna Die is actually a good name for a podcast that I'm hoping will bring people together.

Dolly Parton's death got me thinking about it.

Dolly had this extraordinary ability to make people feel like they mattered. She brought people together. She made people feel welcome.

And I started wondering whether my podcast title does the opposite.

Is it provocative? Is it funny? Is it intriguing?

Or is it just vinegar?

I'm genuinely asking.

Because here's the thing: I don't think the title is actually pessimistic. To me, both halves of the title are spiritual ideas.

If there is no God, then the responsibility for creating the goodness I want to see in the world belongs to me.

And if we're all gonna die, then this moment matters.

From there, we get into your voicemails.

I talk about my Facebook post that unexpectedly went viral after people decided that calling me gay was an insult. We talk about being proud of the identities other people might try to use against us.

We talk about feeding our pets, overcrowded animal shelters, and the impossible choices people sometimes face when they can no longer afford to care for their animals.

We talk about planning for death and why making those decisions ahead of time can be an act of love.

And then we get philosophical.

I'm an atheist, but I find plenty of wisdom in religion. I talk about the Serenity Prayer and the Prayer of St. Francis — two pieces of religious tradition that I find meaningful even though I don't believe anyone supernatural is listening.

We also talk about forgiveness, including my own struggle to forgive the men who brutally attacked me because I was gay.

I didn't forgive them because what they did was okay.

I forgave them because I didn't want their hatred to continue taking up space inside me.

And maybe that's what this whole podcast is really about.

If there is no God, then it's up to us.

If we're all gonna die, then we'd better make the time count.

So what do you think?

Is my podcast title mean?

I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

• (00:00) - Introduction and Personal Reflections

Apparently, if you become upset when a president mocks disabled people, demeans women, attacks democratic institutions, lies about elections, pardons political allies, scapegoats immigrants, and celebrates political violence, you might have "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Well... apparently I have it.

And I'm proud of it.

In this episode, I talk about why I don't want to become so accustomed to cruelty that cruelty stops shocking me. I go through a long list of things surrounding Donald Trump and his administration that make me angry, frightened, or just plain fucking bewildered — and why I think being disturbed by those things is a sign that my moral compass is still working.

Then I get to the listener voicemails.

We talk about MAGA and Christian nationalism as a political religion, surveillance and Flock cameras, creativity and catastrophizing, and why creative people feel compelled to make things even when there's no guarantee anyone will ever see or hear them.

I also talk about my own relationship with music — including the realization that I don't have to become famous for making music to be worthwhile. Sometimes I just need to hear the song that's been living in my head.

Maybe that's the whole point.

If you want to leave me a voicemail for a future episode, head over to DanielCartier.com and click the Podcast Voicemail button at the top of the page.

I'm Daniel Cartier, and this is There Is No God and We're All Gonna Die.

Thanks for listening.

• (00:00) - Introduction to Trump Derangement Syndrome

In this episode, Daniel talks about community, atheism, the enormous universe, and the strange miracle of being alive.

After attending NanaCon (a yearly convention of Atheists, Humanists and like minded people) Daniel finds himself thinking about why humans need community—even people who don't belong to traditional religious communities—and how that same need for belonging can bring people together for beautiful reasons or very destructive ones.

Then comes 10 Things I Find Amazing About Being Alive, including the mind-boggling size of the universe, the fact that we're made of stardust, the mystery of consciousness, how brief a human life really is, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, our obsession with certainty, and Daniel's newfound obsession with feeding birds.

He also talks about anger, civility, control, mortality, and the challenge of remaining loving toward people whose beliefs we strongly disagree with.

And this episode features several listener voicemails—including thoughts about near-death experiences, nihilism, community, and finding meaning when we're not sure the universe has any inherent meaning at all.

We're all stuck here together. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

• (00:00) - — Welcome Back

After a seven-month hiatus, Daniel returns to There Is No God and We're All Gonna Die with an honest conversation about why he stepped away—and why he's coming back.

From growing demands in his music career and caring for his beloved dog Phantom during his final months, to burnout, grief, and questioning the purpose of the podcast itself, Daniel shares the very personal reasons behind his absence.

More importantly, he introduces a renewed vision for the show. Rather than chasing every political headline, this podcast will focus on something deeper: exploring spirituality, finding joy in difficult times, challenging hypocrisy, and building meaningful conversations between people who don't always share the same beliefs.

Whether you're religious, atheist, agnostic, progressive, conservative, or simply trying to make sense of the world, you're invited to join the conversation.

Leave Daniel a voicemail for future episodes at:
 www.danielcartier.com/podcast

• (00:14) - Reintroduction and Purpose of the Podcast

It’s almost Christmas, and instead of a long episode, Daniel takes a moment to reflect.

In this short, candid episode, Daniel — a gay, liberal atheist living in the Bible Belt — talks about community, anger, compassion, and the challenge of choosing love in an increasingly divided world.

Topics include:

• Why hatred is easy — and love takes actual work
• The limits of arguing with strangers online
• Finding common ground without abandoning your values
• How small, local acts of kindness still matter
• What it means to coexist with people you deeply disagree with

This episode is raw, unfiltered, and intentionally imperfect — a holiday pause to ask a hard question:
 Can we still be the love we want to see in the world, even now?

🎧 Listeners are invited to leave voicemails at thereisnogodandwereallgonnadie.com to be played and responded to on future episodes.

• (00:00) - Introduction to the Holiday Spirit

This episode wasn’t the one I planned on — but after Donald Trump's grotesque response to Rob Reiner and his wife Michele's getting murdered, I needed to talk about it. I needed to respond to a horrifying act of violence, and an even more disturbing reaction from the President. I unpack the difference between anger and hatred, and wrestle with what it means to stay human in a political climate that seems designed to strip us of empathy.

We talk about:
• Political cruelty and narcissism
• Gaslighting, misinformation, and manufactured outrage
• Living as a gay, liberal atheist in the Bible Belt
• Why anger isn’t the enemy — but resentment might be
• Setting boundaries, loving yourself, and learning when “no” is a complete sentence
• Animals, community, and why kindness is still a radical act

Plus, I take listener calls from all over — about cult recovery, self-worth, Christmas as an atheist, healthy boundaries, and how to keep going when everything feels broken.

If you love this podcast, hate it, or are somewhere in between — I want to hear from you.
Leave a voicemail at thereisnogodandwereallgonnadie.com.

• (00:00) - Addressing Current Events in America

This week I flip last week’s gratitude list upside down and share 30 things I'm NOT grateful for — from bigots and transphobes to corrupt politicians, gerrymandering, Christian hypocrisy, toxic masculinity, billionaires, ICE, TRUMP, cult-MAGA, and the entire mess of our current political and cultural landscape. Don't worry - it's not all bleak. As always, I have to find the laughter and love in the midst of it all. 

I dive into:
 • Transgender Day of Remembrance & the trolls who ruin it
 • Trump’s pardons, January 6th worship, and “ending birthright citizenship”
 • Defiant ignorance, science denial & algorithm-driven rage
 • Animal cruelty, corporate greed & billionaire worship
• The ugliness that I believe resides in Kristi Noem's puppy killing heart
 • Boundaries, burnout, hope, and why helping others has no guaranteed payoff
• Why I STILL choose love, empathy, and compassion — even as an atheist in the Bible Belt

Plus listener calls about grief, pop music, beauty, and emotional survival.

💬 Leave me a voicemail!
https://www.danieljcartier.com/podcast

🎧 Listen on all platforms:
https://thereisnogodandwereallgonnadie.transistor.fm/

• (00:00) - Introduction to Gratitude and Negativity