In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Deconstruction Deacon wrestle with the concept of free will before uncovering their own limitations of free will when it comes to deciding what species to consume over another. 

Salvatore in LA calls to continue a conversation had with the co-host, and defines free will as the ability for a moral agent to choose. What are your thoughts around the ability not to choose? The caller explains that free will is a mechanism used to explain the problem of evil. Deacon uses his Street Epistemology skills to ask the caller a series of thought provoking questions. What does the process of choice look like in the brain? What factors in life make a person more likely to choose one option over another? In what sense is "will" free? Our choices can’t be truly free if we don’t understand all the conscious and unconscious processes. How is it free will when we are coerced?

Chase, calling from the USA, wants to talk about speciesism, discrimination against other beings for not being human. If this is a form of harm reduction, what happens when one species is starving and another is abundantly available for food? If this is maximizing well being, how does this play out when one species consumes another due to dietary and nutritional needs? What happens when it is in the best interest of a spider to continue to live in a house that is occupied by someone who is terrified by spiders? Why do we put some animals in the food category such as pigs, and not other animals like dogs? 

Thank you for joining us this week! Our back up host, Scott Dickie joins us to close out the show and remind us of the question of the week: What is the worst example of god’s unconditional love?

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In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, host Eli Slack and guest Tracy Wilbert kick off the ninth season by exploring the dangers of gaslighting and the potential for secular progress. They delve into the bicameral mind hypothesis and the bizarre reality of escaped monkeys in Missouri. The hosts challenge listeners to prioritize truth over convenient narratives as they set the stage for a season of critical thinking and skeptical inquiry.

Michelle in NY asks if secular society can surpass religious ones. Eli argues religion causes novel harm, while Tracy compares dogma to a car boot preventing progress. The conversation shifts to the origins of animism and Michelle's personal pseudo-belief in a minimally powerful creator. The hosts challenge her 50/50 stance as a logical contradiction. How does one justify a deity while admitting there is no evidence? What happens when intuition clashes with reality?

Thank you for joining us today! We will see you next week, and don't forget to add your answer to this week's We Want The Truth question: What is the worst lie you were caught in?


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Show notes upon receipt.

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In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Jess dissect humanistic tribalism to reveal some interesting conclusions and how to work with family that are grieving during the holidays.

Lewis from NY asks how humanists justify moral priority without it becoming species level tribalism, if moral value were to be based on sentience rather than group membership. Dan explains how this is related to him being a vegan and that we are just as evolved as any other being on this earth. Jess asks the caller to expand on sentience and wants to learn more of how group tribalism works in relation to this dynamic. Lewis explains how non-human animals are the excluded group when in-group bias exists within humanism. Dan reminds us that animals can’t advocate for themselves and it will only be up to humans to make that change in justice. What is the best approach to practicing sentience while preventing species level tribalism?

Benjamin in IL is coming up on the first holiday season without his dad and asks how to deal with his family in relation to processing this loss during this holiday season. What were meaningful activities you would do with your loved ones who are no longer with you each holiday season? What are some ways of talking about time spent with this person that are most appropriate? Are they concerned about talking with you about this and what levels of anxiety do they have about this? Keep holidays fun and remember the eggnog!

Thank you for joining us! Kelley Laughlin, our back-up host joins to close out the show and remind us of the question of the week: What is an innocent text during the day, but not at night? Always keep wanting the truth and we will see you next week!

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In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Coach Renz explore Schrodinger’s callers. Can the callers exist and not exist at the same time? 

Michelle in NY, proposes a version of Schrodinger's cat that replaces the   with god’s existence where god exists in life and death at the same time. The cat can be verified to be in the box, dead or alive, yet we can’t even verify if god exists or not. If our morality has grown from the time of man’s creation of god to now, how does that change the monstrous nature of god described in the Bible? If we can’t answer the question of whether god exists or not, there is no point in answering god’s troll bridge riddles to determine our eternal fate, and therefore remaining agnostic is the default. Michelle has some fun points that are well suited for theatrical creative writing!

Jon in Canada asks for Kelley Laughlin to join for Jon’s last call. Jon feels he has said what he needed to say in past shows and this will be his final call because he still does not believe in woke stuff, but wishes the hosts well. Kelley wishes Jon to have a good life, wants him to continue questioning everything, and tells Jon he is a smart guy capable of making better decisions. Dan reminds Jon of how he has reflected a genuine change of mind on things that are more that can be said than most of the people who call in. Kelley and Jon agree they have had some good conversations over the years. Walking away from Christianity is a massive change in your life and can sometimes turn things upside down. We hope you call again when you have had time to process. 

Dr. Girlfriend in TX proposes that just one hour of research on the most famous of the paranormal stories, will cause them all to fall apart. Be careful of being too skeptical because you will become part of the conspiracy! The topic of the Bermuda Triangle came up and Coach Renz mentions how he feared it as an adult to illustrate real world consequences of paranormal beliefs. Don’t let fiction and imagination morph into conspiracy theories!

Kelly in the Pacific Northwest is a theist that is currently deconstructing. She has recently been concerned about what happens the next time something happens that is devastating if there is no god that is interactive with us, and is overwhelmed by what comes next. Dan mentions that when realizing you have to put your life together, it can be an isolating thing and how important help from other people can be. Renz adds that every time you are knocked down, you have made the decision to get back up. Remember to always fight for yourself and learn from your hardships. Kelly, thank you for the call; this is the best conversation many of us have had all week. 

Thank you for joining us this week! Kelley Laughlin, our back up host, closes out the show and reminds us to think of what kind of ornament to hang if we want to start an argument. See you next week!


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Welcome to our Thankful For Our Haters 2025 Thanksgiving Special. While we give the hosts and the crew some much deserved time off to spend with friends and family, we wanted you to have something to enjoy your holiday meal with. 

This year, because we were so outstanding, there weren't many hateful comments about us individually, so we decided to branch out and find out some of the hatful comments that were out there in general. Some of these you are undoubtedly familiar with, but we're hoping some of these will catch you by surprise. So enjoy!

Attributions and references 

1) George H.W. Bush https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/George_H.WBushand_the_Atheists 
2) John Locke https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/john-
locke-a-letter-concerning-toleration-1689-and-two-treatises-on-government-1690 
3) Steve Harveyhttps://youtu.be/-dwwkWSyxUE?si=WgFCHBjU7CjH1MiM&t=813 
4) Phil Robertsonhttps://time.com/3759113/duck-dynasty-star-atheists-controversy/ 
5) Newt Gingrich2011 speech at the First Baptist Church of Dallas while promoting his book A Nation Like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism Matters (2011), Regnery Publishing. 
6) Alice WalkerThe Globe and Mail (October 1, 2011) 
7) Dinesh D'Souzahttps://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1121/p09s01-coop.html 
8) Theodore RooseveltLadies' Home Journal (1917) 
9) Oprah Winfreyhttps://youtu.be/iNhN9KHIi4o?si=66y_b14w6764HO1F&t=1661 
10) Kevin Sorbohttps://www.podbean.com/site/EpisodeDownload/DIREE934C5CRJ49 
11) Kirk CameronThe Way of the Master DVD Series, Living Waters 
12) Rick Reillyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Ji77dolmA 
13) Tyson Furyhttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/04/tyson-fury-cocaine-live-anymore-boxing 
14) Mark Driscollhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCmx2L-49Oc 
15) Dolly PartonClose Up with Arthlene Rippy (January 2011) 
16) Paul Walkerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0qJanOnAM 
17) John Hageehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYA5Ypak7Ko 
18) Ben Steinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpelledNoIntelligence_Allowed 
19) Kenneth Copelandhttps://www.govictory.com/show/believers-voice-of-victory-daily/ 
20) Chuck Norrishttps://www.wnd.com/2006/11/38960/ 
21) Dennis Pragerhttps://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9904955-while-an-ever-increasing-number-of-people-consider-themselves-agnostic-the#:~:text=While%20an%20ever%2Dincreasing%20number%20of%20people%20consider%20themselves%20agnostic,atheist%2C%20belief%2Din%2Dgod 
22) Frank Turekhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fd7bvruM8U 
23) Ray Comforthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXLqDGL1FSg

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In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Trust But Verify, use street epistemology to dig deep into a caller’s concept of a finely tuned universe and yield some fascinating responses!

John Paul in WA believes that design of the fine tuned universe is more likely than everything being here by accident and asserts that god used evolution as the process. The hosts respond with some finely tuned questions by compelling the caller to think through why he believes this. Why did god use evolution as this process? Who is in charge, god or nature? How would nature look if it were not designed, or how do you distinguish between something that is designed by god and something that isn’t? If this universe is fine tuned, what is it fine tuned for? We can draw a correlation between radiation from the sun and cancer. If this universe is fine tuned, why are there so many things trying to kill us? What other universe do we have to compare this to? How do we know the universe was not finely tuned and designed so that diamonds could be made? Why did not just not create electrons with minds and how do we know god’s intention? If the constants are necessary for the universe, how is it that a designer was free to choose them? Why did god design us to die of thirst after not having water for more than three days, and yet we can’t even drink 99% of the water on the earth? Dan closes the call by stating that John Paul has given the most intelligent defense to the fine tuning argument heard in years, and encourages future calls from John Paul. 

Thank you for observing the interesting call today; we would love to have more calls like this!  Kelley Laughlin joins us to remind us of the question of the week: What is the best reason to break the god damned second commandment? See you all next week!

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