Truth Wanted

By Atheist Community of Austin

WHAT IS TRUTH WANTED?

Truth Wanted is a show about getting to the bottom of beliefs, whether it’s karma or Christ, Bigfoot or crystals. Truth Wanted would like to know how you know it’s true. H... more

· Religion & Spirituality

4.6

142142 ratings

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FAQs about Truth Wanted:

How many episodes does Truth Wanted have?

The podcast currently has 307 episodes available.

Truth Wanted episodes:

January 18, 2025 Truth Wanted 08.02 with ObjectivelyDan and Amanda Bonanza
This week, ObjectivelyDan and Amanda Bonanza delve into reincarnation and spiritism, “preaching” atheism, and ethical questions of space travel.

Eduardo calls in from Brazil to talk about spiritism. He discusses the existence of local gods/spirits for each culture or region and says that our purpose is to grow in knowledge and morality. But if we think that humans just tend to be spiritual and build beliefs and myths, how do we know which claim is true? Eduardo says that they compliment each other because spirits are reincarnated in people. It seems like he is coming up with more ideas to try to reconcile the two claims. But how do we get to reincarnation if we don’t know if it’s a real option in the first place?

Amanuel from Texas wonders what atheism’s selling pitch is? Why do we “preach” atheism? The hosts explain that the truth is the truth. It exists whether people believe it or not. Religion seems like the better deal for most people, but if it isn’t true, then you’ve been wasting your time, and even worse, you could be harboring prejudices because of it. Prejudice is baked into the cake in Christianity. There are plenty of Christians that don’t have prejudices and aren’t bigots, but the idea that God tells you what rules you need to follow and if you don’t, you're going to hell for eternity and are a bad person. Amanuel asks what prejudices Christians have against atheists. Jesus and God specifically say that they atheists are fools and that they aren't allowed in heaven. And that’s just in the bible and excludes the broader current culture of the world. There are currently people being killed around the world because they are atheists. In America, there are many people who believe you can’t be an American if you’re not a Christian. Amanuel says we need god, but why? Why does he need god? He says that he doesn’t believe we’re bad people, but we’re not going to heaven solely because we don’t believe. They aren’t more sinners than he is, they just don’t believe in God. God is his best friend but also his worst enemy. That sounds awful man. The hosts can’t just choose to believe in God so they can go to heaven if they aren’t convinced God even exists.

Dan from Canada calls to talk updates on the drone situation in New Jersey. Unfortunately, there’s no new stories about them since the last time he called. He brings up an interesting moral thought experiment. Would it be moral if, for the good of the species, we sent an intergenerational colony ship into space? Is the good of the species worth more than the good of the individuals who would be on that ship? If we don’t have interstellar travel or cryogenics figured out yet, is it ethical to send a sustainable ship to just go out and explore until we do figure it out? Is it ethical for kids to be born and grow up on a ship since they didn’t consent to it?

Thanks for joining us this week! Finish the joke in the comments: Ken Ham, Kent Hovind, and Ray Comfort walk into a bar…

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1h 31min
January 11, 2025 Truth Wanted 08.01 2025-01-10 with Kelley Laughlin and PlanetPeterson
In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Planet Perterson swing through Appalachia with escaped creatures after realizing we are all reincarnated aliens that were never there to perceive the information that brought you the smugness of know it all callers.

Musical Instruments in VA had some encounters with possible ape creatures along the James River. He heard a roar in the middle of the night in one instance, and another night monkey sounds were heard and echoed throughout the forest. What are the possibilities of escaped lions and monkeys surviving in that area? Kelley confirmed that there were sightings of ape like creatures in 1994 near Roanoke VA, and Planet mentioned how bears can sound. How would you define a roar and identify animals by just the sounds they make? We don’t know that Sasquatch exist, but we do know about animals escaping and native animals making scary noises. The hosts cite several examples of animals escaping and breeding colonies.

Eduardo in Brazil says that a group of people were reincarnated in ancient times to help the growth of the planet and establish the old religions. How did you come up with this idea? How do you know if what you were told or the books you read are true? What would be the empirical evidence you can show that demonstrates this is true? Claims are not the same as evidence and supernaturalism is an extraordinary claim which is what reincarnation is. We need reincarnation to be proven real before we believe it. What reason do you have to believe this other than ‘evidence’ of people’s intrinsic skills? How is deja vu proof of this? Why are there more people alive today than in the past if everyone born has been reincarnated? What are these ancient aliens like and how is this rational thinking?

Catholic Traditionalist, a repeat presup in LA, tries to prove how ontological intelligibility proves the existence of god. Are you defining god to be a mind or is this what god is? Why should we take your word for this? Why do you seriously think we do not understand your point? What is information when there is no one there to interpret it? The example the caller gives relied on somebody perceiving something. Try to understand that without somebody perceiving something, there is no information there because information is dependent on perception itself. The works of Shakespear exist, but the information does not exist until somebody consumes and interprets it. Do rocks exchange information with each other?

Thank you for tuning in folks! Question of the week is: What are your 2025 predictions?(No political answers please).

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1h 14min
December 21, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.51 with ObjectivelyDan, Kelley Laughlin, and Jon the Skeptick
In today’s final 2024 episode of Truth Wanted, ObjectivelyDan, Kelley Laughlin, and Jon the Skeptic go to Antarctica and hang out in seminary school to find that the death of Jesus was stolen before spinning in Roman manufactured circles that spiraled them straight to Mars where tiny creatures roam.

Race Bannon in Texas calls to talk about The Final Experiment that happened this week where a bunch of people visited Antarctica to prove that the sun does not set. Have we finally put this silly argument to rest? A lot of flat earthers are also young earth creationists because of you guessed it, the Bible. It turns out that feeling strongly about this kind of stuff gets more people to vote than science does and that is the world we live in.

Charles in Scotland grew up in a secular household, became a Christian for ten years, and deconverted after going to seminary, earning three theological degrees with a PHD. How did your parents feel about you going down this road? He focused on what the author was trying to say to the audience and realized there were so many problems with the Bible that it was basically myth. Why should we care what the authors of one Biblical book say vs. another? What is different now from when you were a believer?

Jesus Tales in NC describes a story in Joshua 10 where a king was hung on a tree and put in a cave with rocks at the entry. Are you saying that the author of Mark borrowed from the author of Joshua? Stories of Jesus can be taken back to other pre-Old Testament stories.

Mike in FL calls in to give a different perspective on why man created god and it was as a symbolic representation of specific effects. You understand that we can’t just boil this down to a single sentence, right? How do we get to where the Roman people manufactured Christ? Why do you believe this? We can’t explain why people believe why Jesus died for their sins; there will be tons of answers. Not all Christians follow the Bible to a literal degree. What are you even talking about? Write out what you are going to say first and get yourself together next time.

Daniel in Canada calls to talk about some proxy war that is happening between him and another caller that involves using the real name of another caller just to troll him. What is going on guys? Why are you using this show to insult people? Once we get into the reason for the call, Daniel brings up how interesting some of the photos are that we are seeing on Mars, and how NASA is covering up the beings that are going underground on Mars. What do you think is the motive for this cover up? Create a Google Doc for this and share it!

Thank you for tuning in this week. Question of the week is: What was the cringiest thing that happened to you in 2024?

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1h 37min
December 14, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.50 with ObjectivelyDan and Jimmy Jr. (@TalkHeathen) 2024-12-13
In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, ObjectivelyDan and Jimmy Jr. attempt to unravel the truth behind the NJ drones!

Previous Leon in TX sees things from fiction entering into the popular conspiracy lexicon all the time, and uses adrenochrome as an example. Qanon folks love talking about this one! The environment is prime for people believing in these things now and we don’t have the solution to this problem yet. Maybe humans are lazy and don’t put a lot of energy into figuring things out.

Steve in NE calls to talk about the claims of how shining a laser on a screen while on DMT, there will be a matrix and a code. If you take substances, you are going to see things. A visual representation for a code is unnecessary for the code to work and it does not make sense for us to have a reason to see this. Is it possible that people see similar things when on similar drugs? How do you know it is code if you can’t even read it? How can information about a drug trip be reliably tested and what are we supposed to do with it? There are better uses of your time if you want to understand the world.

Dave AKA Sapper in CA was involved in a mission that took out a leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and has reasons to believe that assassinations are justified. Where do we draw the line here? Which killings are justified and which are not? The answer depends on who is asking the question. What if the killing is not just to save lives but to stop people from saying things? How do we reconcile state interests not aligning with the people’s interests? The justification for violence is sometimes used to promote the status quo.

Daniel in Canada is calling to talk about the drones the size of SUVs being sited in the NJ skyline and the U.S. does not claim these drones as theirs. Are these alien drones or are they ships carrying things? Why would the aliens just want to mess with NJ people? If we are going to talk about aliens doing stuff, we just have to have stronger reasons to believe this. Why would aliens be the best explanation of these things when there are so many other possibilities?

Jon in Canada has taken the time to call and says Merry Christmas!

Dan in Canada heard reports that the drones came in over the ocean and trailed a Coast Guard vessel and wonders if this is counter intelligence. At least at this point in time, nobody is taking credit for this. It is unlikely that someone local has the resources for this and has a probability of it being a covert operation of some sort. Either we do know and we are not saying, or we don’t, and that can be a whole other problem.

Betty in MO says that nobody has the right answer for when it is okay to assassinate someone. Wasn’t a government killing what happened to Jesus? Why is it so much better when the government does this for you?

The two are joined by back-up host, Kelley Laughlin before closing out the show. Thank you for tuning in! Prompt of the week is: What really triggered the war on Christmas?

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1h 46min
December 07, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.49 12-06-2024 with Kelley Laughlin and Chris Mallard @TheDAMShow
In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Chris Mallard try to break a caller out of Christian jail as their free will is limited by doctor parents falling for anti-vax conspiracies while acknowledging the poetry of Yahweh not being the creator as power continues to be abused over the vulnerable.

Craig in OH had an experience that led him to believe the Christian god is real. The experience was someone praying for him while being locked up, losing consciousness, and his mom calling with her tumors being gone. Is it more likely that something happened in your brain or that the almighty creator chose to speak to you specifically? Why would this creator answer your prayers and not someone else’s? How do you explain god killing innocent babies with Noah’s flood? Was this cool of god to do?

Michael in VA says we can’t change our fate and therefore there is no freewill. How does the randomness of thought affect things? People don’t follow the laws of physics and often come out of left field. We can’t count on people to not do crazy things. Faulty wiring in the brain does not mean there is something random happening. Free will and free choice are not the same things. How can we tell what choices we are going to make?

Gabe in TX has well educated medical doctor parents who are falling for anti-vax conspiracy theories. What kind of counter-research can be provided to help in your situation? How would it feel if you could never get through to them? You may be able to show them the light, but not lead them to it. How do you think your parents being theists play into this? You can remind them that Jesus will let them die and has no problem with that.

Daen Dark Light is a theist in AR who believes that the Abrahamic god is not the true creator. Why do you believe in any god? What brought you to this conclusion? Why do you think that the emptiness of atoms is the same as empty feelings? The problem is turning something physical into something emotional. An empty cup does not denote an emotion just because it is empty. The non-Abrahamic views are refreshing and the words may be poetic, but what is the meaning of what is being said?

Dee in IA says that people who use their power or authority over others who are in a vulnerable state are abusing their power. These people who think they are saving others are actually creating monsters. Bringing knowledge to people will sometimes help. And in reference to the first caller, children do NOT deserve to be mistreated.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Prompt of the week is: What is an unexpected way to get on Santa’s naughty list?

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1h 32min
December 03, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.48 Thankful For Our Haters 2024
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46min
November 23, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.47 with ObjectivelyDan and Drew Bekius
In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Drew Bekius gaslight us into believing Dee called to talk about communities, and then we were sidetracked by the sound of musical instruments playing the melodies of church anger. We then realized that we were not being gaslighted but had actually traveled back in time to retrieve a call from Steve to give us a boost back to the present.

Dee, a secular Bhuddist in IA and friend of the show, has observed passive aggressive gaslighting when trying to join various communities. Why do people join communities if they do not want to engage? Everyone is looking for different types of communities and connections. Sometimes there is carryover from when people were Christians where they think that a community must be all things for all people. It is important to remember that not one community will meet everyone’s needs. Embrace the community that is right for you.

Musical Instruments in the South East USA, had an experience with a hardcore fundamentalist pastor. When questioning things curiously, he was called an agent of the Devil and there was no need for him. Drew describes his experiences when leaving the church and offers some ways to work with anger towards people who have been mean spirited. It may take years for this anger to fade with some people and it is important to remember that you are not alone and connect to resources. Dan talks about the last time he attended church and how that frustration can help build empathy. Can the negativity inspire you to do other things?

Steve, in Canada,wants to talk about time travel and asks if the earth would be in the same place if we were to go back in space. Drew has heard that the most flawless movie about time travel is called, “TimeCrimes” that is brilliantly made. Dan also mentions a movie about a group of scientists that build a time machine to go back in time and kill Jesus called, “Assassin 33 A.D.”. Steve ends the call with a plug for Recovering From Religion for anyone that needs to talk: 1-88-Idoubtit.

Kelley Laughlin, our wonderful backup host, joins to help close out the show as Dan reminds us about hot sauce. Drew reminds us that tryptophan is in more than just turkey. Thank you for tuning in! Question of the week: What topic will you bring up to change the subject at Thanksgiving?

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1h 19min
November 16, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.46 11-15-2024 with ObjectivelyDan and Kelley Laughlin
In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Kelley Laughlin use the earth as a spaceship and travel to its own Giza pyramids to explore whether there is water that generates electricity. They then go underground traveling in the earth spaceship back in time to explore the origins of Atlantis.

Daniel in Canada believes that aliens are real and that we can't know the truth about this. Because stars do not last forever, our days on the surface are numbered. His idea is to go underground, turn our planet into a spaceship and travel around the universe. He also believes that NASA is hiding things about Mars. What would be the motive for NASA doing this? Why would we need to hide if we found life on Mars? There may be an incentive for the government to hide its knowledge, but that does not mean there is life on Mars. Why do you think there are more alien sightings now than angels, when people used to see more angels in the past? Kelley asks the caller to explore what a Houdou is in relation to the photos that appear to show creatures on Mars. There must be more evidence than this small group of photos to prove this huge claim of creatures being on Mars. There are people who are actively trying to fool us about these things and benefit from disinformation.

Bitty in MO calls to talk about how someone told her that the Giza Pyramids have water under base, creating vibration from soundwaves, and generating electricity, but the powers that be will not let this information out. What are they using this electricity for? Is this the Egyptian government or the New World Order doing this? Does the person who told you this wholeheartedly believe it? When people share these ideas, sometimes they are starting by proposing one idea to gauge interest, and then propose more. It is hard to know when people are joking and when they are serious. The Pyramids are always involved in some way! Kelley helps explain how absurd this is by questioning the concept of rocks conducting electricity. It is important to ask people to show you the work on how they got there, yet go into it with a friendly state of mind and not be confrontational.

Hellsbells in FL asks if there are current conspiracy theories that Dan is digging at the moment and expresses an interest in Stanley Kubrick’s work. Dan answers by describing his fascination with how deep Atlantis goes. Kelley has seen some viable theories of how people put this together. Any island that has been sunk could be an inspiration for Atlantis, however, there is a specific origin. Dan explains how people go weird quickly when it comes to Kubrick. Who was Kubrick trying to talk to and what was he trying to say?

Thank you for tuning in this Kubrick directed episode this week! We Want The Truth question is: When do you know it is time to leave the church?

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1h 26min
November 09, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.45 with Kelley Laughlin and almosteducational 3729 2024-11-08
In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Ejector Seat sort through some red headed giants in Kandahar before taking some calls of a serious nature regarding current events.

Tylo in IL wants to talk about the fictionalized giants in Kandahar, Afghanistan that the U.S. Army supposedly encountered a 12 foot giant with red hair that killed one of the soldiers with a spear. If there was a 12 foot giant, why would somebody not have shot one? Were giants seen interacting with locals? If you know of any other incidents or reports of giants? What would you look for if there was a warehouse where the Army stored the body of this giant?

Snot Vampire in TX sees some conspiracy theories and vaccine troubles coming soon. It does seem to be a problem if crazy people are put in charge of our health. Speaking of crazy people, the fluoride conspiracies have some fun origins! People can’t even keep a surprise birthday party secret, how do you expect scientists with huge egos to keep these conspiracies secret?

Dee in IA is curious if someone can make it through his first term due to health issues and how the campaign aged him. She thinks that we are worrying about the wrong person and there is someone else who has connections to Project 2025 and strong backing. This person has some scary ideas and may run for the next two cycles. Why do you think this happened? Do you think there were warning signs and not enough was done to stop it?

Kelley stresses that we should not let one thing define us and we still have the ability to do something. The curtain has not been pulled and we have not been left in the dark; we need to light a small candle to bring the light back. We can stand up and fight back because it does not have to be a mandate for bigotry. Don’t get too wrapped up in not being able to do something because we can change the future. We can only hope this is the catalyst that causes a desired outcome.

The two are joined by the back-up host, Cynthia McDonald for outro discussion before Dave in CA calls about being people motivated by bigoted ads. He is experiencing messed up stuff and harassed outside of his house because he has a trans child. People will throw fireworks and he observes people being emboldened over the most recent days due to current events. What steps can you take to make you feel safe? What measures have you taken to protect yourself? Hopefully we will see a SCOTUS case that takes events like this seriously so events like this do not go on without consequences. We need to keep moving forward and not let it get us down.

Cynthia reminds us that this is not the first time our democracy has been threatened and we got through it. We must stay tight together, keep a wall of solidarity with our LGBTQ friends, our people of color friends, our brown friends, our marginalized friends, and people who are unseen. We just want to let you know that we see you! Thank you for tuning in this week! Prompt of the week is: Your sarcastic answer to “What are you thankful to god for?”

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1h 4min
November 02, 2024 Truth Wanted 07.44 with ObjectivelyDan and Darrel Ray 2024-11-01
In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Dr. Darrel Ray with https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ (RFR), swim through calls with topics ranging from therapist trigger points to religious trauma.

Mr. Crabs in MD asks about therapist trigger points and tells us of a therapist who was still recovering from a partial thumb amputation and was triggered when opening a jar of pretzels. Dr. Ray explains how this therapist was functioning at a higher level before this tragedy happened and how when these levels drop, it is normal and natural. He further explains that if you are stuck or constantly hitting the same problem, that may be a good time to talk with somebody. When a job is toxic, it has the potential to push you into depression. People have shared so many times that they were depressed when they were into religion and how that changes when they leave.

Kass, a volunteer in CO for RFR, runs support groups each month. He talks about how it is rewarding to talk with people about their journeys, and connect with people in these ways. Kass was raised as a young earth creationist where several hours per day were spent at church and was super indoctrinated. When he got to middle school, he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and this caused him to question how an all loving god would allow this to happen. He started to ask questions and of course, the church does not like questions and tried to drive him even harder into the religion. Kass, thank you for making it easier for other people going through similar journeys!

Dr. Ben in VA calls to tell us all about the Fall Excursion Camp that RFR holds and all the awesome activities, panels, resources, support groups, community building groups, karaoke and recommends that we all attend next year. This will be the third week of September in 2025. Now with two doctors on the show, we have the most educated show ever!

Kdub in VA informs us that many of his friends who were brought up in religion still have some kind of trauma. He feels like his growth was stunted and how it was a waste by trying to be straight for so many years. He confirms that religious upbringing does cause trauma, and many denominations are contributing to this. Dan talks about how in some areas, there are more Christians than people, and it is important to be one of the exceptions and break out of the stranglehold that religion has on you. If we are all hurt by something, doesn't that mean there is a problem? Dr. Ray explains how trauma can show itself when one leaves a church.

The hosts are joined by the back up host, Kelley Laughlin, who was sporting a Truth Wanted tie and also used to volunteer for RFR. Thank you for tuning in this week! Always keep wanting the truth! Prompt of the week is: What trivial conspiracy theory do you think has merits?

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/truth-wanted--3195473/support.
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1h 31min

FAQs about Truth Wanted:

How many episodes does Truth Wanted have?

The podcast currently has 307 episodes available.

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