Rebecca and Liz explore health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) with guest, Sarah Levin. Sarah guides us through this religious billion dollar industry. We discuss what HCSMs are and what they are not, and why we need to push for them to have transparency.

Background and Resources

• Bio for Sarah Levin 

• Sarah’s email: [email protected]

• Secular Strategies

• Secular Coalition for America

• Center for Freethought Equality, HCSMs toolkit

• Secular Strategies HCMS Slides

• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - “Health Care Sharing Ministries"

• The Actuary Magazine - "Health Care Sharing Ministries"

• Southern Poverty Law Center - "ADF supports donor, trade group for controversial health care sharing industry"

• Samaritan Ministries - “Guidelines for Health Care Sharing”

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca explain the final three Supreme Court rulings with huge stakes for true religious freedom. They discuss the Court’s continued zeal for religious favoritism in the Catholic Charities, Mahmoud, and Skrmetti rulings—further expanding exemptions from the law for religious employers, giving ultra-conservative religious parents veto power over public school curriculum, and upholding state bans gender-affirming care for minors with gender dysphoria. 

Cases

• Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission (2025)

• SCOTUSblog

• Opinion

• AU Blog - “The Catholic Charities SCOTUS case: Some relief and a word of caution”

• Previous episode: High Unholy Season: Catholic Charities Bureau vs. Working Americans

• Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025)

• SCOTUSblog

• Opinion

• AU Blog - “Mahmoud v. Taylor: What representation would have meant to me”

• Previous episode: High Unholy Season Continues: Mahmoud v. Taylor

• United States v. Skrmetti (2025)

• SCOTUSblog

• Opinion

• Previous episode: Skrmetti v. U.S.

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

The third in the "unholy trinity” of religion clause cases from the current SCOTUS term. Liz and Rebecca discuss the case that sought to create the nation’s first Catholic public charter school and the surprisingly early decision issued by a divided Court. They explain how this case came to be, what the oral arguments revealed, and the high stakes of the case for our public school system. 

Background

• Opinion

• SCOTUSblog

• FFRF, AU, and ACLU amicus brief

• SCOTUSblog: “Supreme Court divided over approving first religious charter school” 

• NPR - “Supreme Court blocks creation of religious charter school in Oklahoma” 

• SCOTUSblog - “Split Supreme Court blocks first religious charter school in Oklahoma” 

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca continue the SCOTUS religion cases coverage with Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case that threatens to force public school districts to bend to the will of their most conservative religious parents. They discuss how the case came to be, what the oral arguments told us, and why this case actually is about book banning and censorship.

Background

• SCOTUSblog

• Amicus briefs

• AU

• FFRF 

• SCOTUSblog: “Supreme Court considers parents’ efforts to exempt children from books with LGBTQ themes” 

• Vox: “The Supreme Court threatens to bring ‘Don’t Say Gay’ to every classroom in America”

Cases Discussed

• FFRF v. The County of Lehigh (2016)

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

Upcoming Case

• Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca break down the latest Supreme Court case, Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. They explain how the case seeks to expand religious tax exemptions yet again, while threatening the unemployment benefits of thousands of workers. They share their analysis of the oral arguments and predictions on how the Court’s decision will affect workers. 

Background

• Oral Argument 

• SCOTUSblog

• Amicus briefs

• Americans United

• FFRF

• Liz on the podcast “One Nation, Indivisible” 

• Vox: “The Supreme Court’s new religion case could devastate American workers”

Upcoming Cases

• Mahmoud v. Taylor

• Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca and Liz welcome Americans United Associate Vice President of Public Policy Dena Sher to the show to discuss President Trump’s spate of executive orders. Dena reminds us what executive orders are and we break down the ones that affect religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

Background

• Dena Sher, Associate Vice President of Public Policy at Americans United

• How to take action

• FFRF action alerts

• AU action alerts

Executive Orders

• EO establishing the White House Faith Office

• EO creating a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias

• EO banning the use of federal funds to support gender ideology and discriminatory equity theories

• EO expanding vouchers and school choice programs

• EO defining gender as male and female

• EO restricting transgender people from participating in sports 

• EO restricting gender affirming care

Other Legislation Discussed

• Educational Choice for Children Act

• Do No Harm Act

• Louisiana law that would require Ten Commandments in classrooms

• FFRF case page

• AU case page

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca take a break from the regular schedule to answer listener questions. They talk about how the founders viewed state/church separation, the issues our movement should focus on, and how to engage women in the cause of secularism. 

Resources

• AU’s Project 2025 Hub

• Abortion resources 

• aidaccess.org

• plancpills.org

• How to Contact Your Elected Officials

• FFRF 

• Join FFRF

• Donate to FFRF

• Sign up for action alerts

• Americans United 

• Join AU

• Donate to AU

• Sign up for action alerts

Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X.

Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

SCOTUS is considering whether Tennessee's total ban on transgender medical care for minors violates the Equal Protection Clause, and Liz and Rebecca have some thoughts. They explain what the oral arguments last month revealed and what the stakes are for the real people who will be affected by the Court’s decision. 

Background

• Case page on SCOTUSblog

• Oral Arguments Transcript

• Senate Bill 1

• NYT: "Opinion - The Supreme Court Just Showed Us What Contempt for Expertise Looks Like”

• SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court appears ready to uphold Tennessee ban on youth transgender care

Cases

• Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

• Loving v. Virginia (1967)  

• Bostock v. Clayton County (2020)

Submit your questions for the mailbag episode here!

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca process the 2024 election results. They discuss the challenges the new administration will bring, some under-the-radar encouraging election results, and how their organizations plan to continue fighting for secular democracy in the months and years ahead.

Background

• National Women’s Law Center

• Abortion

• ACLU of Missouri’s abortion case - Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains & Planned Parenthood Great Rivers v. Missouri

• AU’s abortion case - Rev. Blackmon v. Missouri 

• Results for education and school choice ballot measures, 2024

• Project 2025

• Episode 34 - Project 2025 

• AU’s Project 2025 Hub

• CBS News: “See the full list of Trump Cabinet picks and major White House appointments”

• New York Magazine: “All of the Trump Cabinet Picks That Have Ties to Project 2025”

Resources

• FFRF 

• Join FFRF

• Donate to FFRF

• Sign up for action alerts

• Americans United 

• Join AU

• Donate to AU

• Sign up for action alerts

• How to Contact Your Elected Officials

Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X.

Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Jenifer McKenna to talk about the billion dollar crisis pregnancy center industry and its role in the anti-abortion movement. They discuss the massive harms caused by these unregulated fake clinics, Jenifer’s work on the first multi-state CPC investigation, and a new approach to exposing their unethical tactics and fighting back.

Show Notes

• Reproductive Health & Freedom Watch

• “Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry in Nine States”

• Reproductive Health & Freedom Watch: Recent CPC research and analysis

• “Why is the billion-dollar unregulated pregnancy clinic industry receiving increasing taxpayer dollars?”

• “Unregulated Pregnancy Clinic Industry’s Revenue Soars to $1.7 Billion Annually”

• “Anti-Choice Leaders Are Mobilizing Thousands of Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics Against Abortion Access Ballot Initiatives”

• Jenifer McKenna’s Ms Magazine articles

• “Anti-Abortion Extremists Are Diverting Tax Dollars to Crisis Pregnancy Centers”

• “Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics Collect Health Information From Pregnant People—With No Privacy Protection”

• “Documentary ‘Preconceived’ Exposes Horrors of Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry: ‘I Came to You for Help. Why Did You Lie?’”

• Women’s Law Project

• Gender Justice

• Rewire investigation on LIFElink Carolina 

• ”Preconceived” Documentary 

Cases

• NIFLA v. Becerra (2018)

• Jane Doe v. Clearway Clinic (2023)

• Four Women Health Services v. Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center (2024)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.