Freethought Radio

It's a scary show this week. We report on our Denver billboard saying: "Keep Freedom Alive: Stop Project 2025." Dan Barker talks about his trip to Nigeria to visit humanists and freethinkers combating superstition in that country. Annie Laurie Gaylor describes the danger to women's rights in the current election. Then, we talk with Alex Aronson, founder and president of Court Accountability, who describes the scary details of Project 2025.

After we report on state/church news and victories in Florida, California and North Carolina, FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott describes FFRF's new lawsuit challenging proposed bible distribution in Oklahoma public schools. Then we hear author and journalist Katherine Stewart, accepting FFRF's "Freethought Heroine" award, warn of the dangers of religious nationalism.

We announce FFRF’s new lawsuit against bible-toting Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters. Producer Leo Costello interviews "Democracy in Chains" author Nancy MacLean, who is touring with "Bad Faith" documentary screenings. And veteran reporter Linda Greenhouse tells us how some justices are engaging in "grievance Christianity."

After reporting state/church news in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Alaska, we devote a segment to the dangers of the proposed Christian-right authoritarian "Project 2025." Then, we hear the engaging speech by Ron Reagan (son of the former president) given at FFRF's annual convention last month, where he tells us about the authoritarian threats to our planet and to democracy -- and what we can do about those threats.

Coach Deion Sanders is at it again, and FFRF is again complaining to the University of Colorado about his mixing religion and government. We report state/church complaints and victories in Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. After we hear Roy Zimmerman's hilarious satirical song, “I Want a Marriage Like They Had in the Bible,” FFRF Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne and State Advocacy Specialist Ryan Dudley tell us about the FFRF Action Fund's work tracking and influencing legislation affecting the rights of nonbelievers -- and how you can make a difference in your community.

Annie Laurie reports on religiously motivated abortion referenda in seven states around the country, as well as the repressive 19th-century Comstock Act that is still invoked today to limit women's rights as it did with Margaret Sanger. We hear Dan Barker's tribute song to Margaret Sanger called "No Gods, No Masters." Then we speak with scholar Matthew D. Taylor about his new book about the January 6 insurrection, The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy.

After reporting state/church news in New York, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Virginia, we hear Dan Barker's song "Life is Good!" performed by Tahira Clayton and the Godless Gospel singers. Then, we speak with Tia Levings, author of the bestselling book A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy.

FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliot and FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh Joshi join us to talk about state-church developments in Utah, Alabama, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee and Minnesota. Then, we speak with Michigan State University Professor Josh Cowen about his new book, The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers.

After news updates, the hosts recap the "Celebrate Dissent" conference in Oslo about ex-Muslims. Annie Laurie Gaylor then interviews co-host Dan Barker about Contraduction, his new book on "the death of the Design Argument."

After summarizing secular activism and victories around the country, we talk about secularism and Hindu nationalism in India (the world's largest secular democracy) with our two guests: activist Shabnam Hashmi from India and Professor Barry A. Kosmin from here in the United States. Interspersed through the show is the music of freethinking jazz legend Charlie "Bird" Parker, whose birth anniversary we celebrate today.

We announce FFRF's Chicago billboard saying "Keep Freedom Alive: Stop Project 2025." After reporting state/church complaints and victories in Texas, Missouri, Florida, and Arkansas, we announce FFRF Action Fund's "Secularist of the Week." Then, we take a time machine back to 2006, our first year of broadcast, to hear our first interview with philosopher Daniel C. Dennett, the year of release of his blockbuster book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.

After reporting on efforts to keep state and church separate in Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Florida, we get acquainted with FFRF's new multimedia producer Leo Costello. Then, South Carolina humanist and atheist debater Herb Silverman, founder and president emeritus of the Secular Coalition for America, tells us "How to talk to Christians."

After reporting on state/church news around the country, FFRF's Senior Counsel Sam Grover tells us about the FFRF court victory against the Texas governor that took nine years to finalize! We hear the song "Because" by Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir. Then, we speak with "Reverend Billy" (William Talen), the "pastor" of the secular Earth Church in New York City who uses performance art to combat consumerism and save the planet.

We describe our legal efforts to gain information about the attempt by the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Education to put the bible into every classroom, and similar attempts in Tennessee to inject religion into government. We hear Rupert Brooke's poem "Heaven" (from the point of view of a fish) set to music by Dan Barker. Then we talk with Cara Fitzpatrick, author of the new book, The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America.

Project 2025 and "divine intervention" are discussed, as well as state/church complaints and victories in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey and Tennessee. FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence joins us to talk about our legal victory allowing a nonreligious after-school group to meet on campus alongside the religious Good News Club in Memphis, Tenn. Then, we talk with evolutionary psychologist Will M. Gervais about his new book Disbelief: The Origins of Atheism in a Religious Species.

Christian nationalist rhetoric is heating up, especially regarding the assassination attempt of Donald Trump. We report on a state/church victory in Tennessee and state/church complaints in New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana. After hearing a hilarious take on the bible by comedian Robin Williams, we speak with Cait West, author of the new book RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy.

We report on FFRF's efforts to keep Christian nationalists in check around the country. Honoring the anniversary of the birth of the anti-fascist singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie, we hear the funk/soul version of "This Land is Your Land" performed by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Then, FFRF's Legal Director Patrick Elliott describes our lawsuit challenging the Louisiana law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in all public-school classrooms and our efforts to rein in Oklahoma's Christian nationalist state superintendent of public instruction.

The Christian nationalist "Project 2025" and the Ten Commandments are the focus of this week's show. We hear Dan Barker's song "We, The People," challenging the notion that we are "one nation, under God." Then, sociologist Samuel L. Perry, author of The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, describes the clear and present danger of mixing religion and government.

We announce state/church victories and complaints in Louisiana, Idaho, North Carolina, Texas and Mississippi. FFRF Senior Counsel Sam Grover tells us about the lawsuit FFRF has filed this week with a coalition challenging Louisiana's new law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. Then, Tony-nominated Broadway producer, director and theater owner Eric Krebs tells us why the theater is his religion.

We announce plans to sue the state of Louisiana over their new law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. We hear Congressman Jared Huffman and comedian John Oliver describe the Christian nationalist dangers of Project 2025. Then historian Bryan Mark Rigg tells us about the religious nationalism undergirding the atrocities of the Japanese military (30 million deaths) under the Shinto emperor Hirohito as described in his book Japan’s Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan’s Mass Murder and Rape During World War II.

We celebrate the 96th birthday of the Broadway composer Charles Strouse, a lifelong atheist, by hearing the protest song he wrote for the musical "Golden Boy," "No More," sung by Sammy Davis Jr. We also reprise part of our 2009 interview with Strouse. Then we speak with Professor Anthony B. Pinn about his new book, The Black Practice of Disbelief: An Introduction to the Principles, History, and Communities of Black Nonbelievers.

A judge ruled that our lawsuit challenging an Oklahoma religious charter school can continue. FFRF Director of Communications Amitabh Pal tells us about the national election results in India, which have weakened the threat of Hindu nationalism. Then we speak with novelist Amy Sohn about her book on Anthony Comstock, The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age.

A theocrat and a secularist duke it out in Louisiana. We ask whether Justice Samuel Alito should recuse himself. We report state/church complaints in Minnesota, California, Tennessee and Virginia. FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh Joshi tells us how his letter to a Missouri school district successfully stopped prayers at graduation. Then we talk with neurology Professor Susan R. Barry about her new book, Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver Sacks.

We call on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to resign, after revelations that political and Christian nationalist flags have flown outside his homes. Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell prognosticates over SCOTUS's upcoming mifepristone decision and Social Works Fellow Kat Grant discusses the religious war against the LGBTQAI-plus community from a personal and professional perspective.

Today's guest, philosophy Professor Patrick J. Hurley, discusses his insightful new book, Religion, Power and Illusion: A Genealogy of Religious Belief. And FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh Joshi talks about how an FFRF complaint caused a Minnesota jail to repaint — and hopefully repent — over a massive Ten Commandments display.

After reporting on state/church separation in Alabama, Florida and Arizona, and on blasphemy, book banning and abortion, we hear the optimistic song "Workin' on a World" by Iris DeMent. Then, we speak with NPR Correspondent Sarah McCammon about her new book The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.

Guest host Amitabh Pal, FFRF Communications Director, begins by talking about the various ways the Freedom From Religion Foundation is making waves: at Capitol Hill receptions, during major conferences and in the media. Then, the show has an interview with Indian activist Shabnam Hashmi discussing possibly the most important election in the history of the world's largest secular democracy. Johannes Brahms (whose birth anniversary is a few days away) and FFRF Co-President Dan Barker provide the musical interludes.

FFRF attorney Sam Grover joins us to describe our newest amicus ("friend of the court") brief over an Arizona school board member who refuses to stop pushing her religion at board meetings. We announce FFRF's "Godless Gospel" musical show to be performed in Manhattan June 24 and 25 (and hear a sneak preview). Then, we speak with Adam Neiblum, author of the book Rise of the Nones: The Importance of Freedom from Religion.

"Christian nationalists are truly in la-la land," says Annie Laurie Gaylor. We cover state/church news in Tennessee, Arizona, Maine, Wisconsin and Louisiana. To honor Earth Day (April 22), after hearing satiric songwriter Roy Zimmerman perform his climate-change song "We Are The Worst," well-known Wisconsin TV meteorologist Bob Lindmeier tells us that "climate change is serious and solvable."

We talk about Charlie Chaplin, the “Lucy” fossil, the eclipse, and state/church issues in Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana and Uganda. Then, we speak with journalism Professor Diane Winston about her new book Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan’s Evangelical Vision.

We talk about the eclipse, an intersex atheist, and a freethinking songwriter. We report on state/church complaints and victories. Then, we speak with Danielle Nagle, director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Museum in upper New York state dedicated to the 19th-century feminist, abolitionist, author of the 1893 book Woman, Church and State, and advocate for secular government.

Abortion is in the news this week. FFRF attorneys analyze oral arguments in the mifepristone (abortion pill) case before the Supreme Court that was taken by religious-right groups. Then, we speak with U.K. journalist Siân Norris about her book Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global.

FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott tells us about FFRF's newest federal lawsuit challenging religious discrimination against the Satanic Temple's desire to host afterschool club meetings for children in Memphis, Tenn. Then, FFRF Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann and Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne describe how the FFRF Action Fund (a 501(c)(4) nonprofit) is working to keep religion out of our laws and policies.

Many FFRF victories and legal complaints to talk about this week. Since today is "Pi Day," and π is irrational, we hear the irreverent Joe Hill song about the irrational belief of "pie in the sky" called "The Preacher and the Slave." Then we speak with Steven Emmert, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America, working to "protect the equal rights of nonreligious Americans."

After we report on state/church violations and victories in Illinois, California, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, FFRF's Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne tells us "everything you need to know about public school chaplain bills" that are being introduced in many states. Then, we speak with Wisconsin state Sen. Kelda Roys, an openly atheistic public official who is working to improve this world.

“Welcome to the end of democracy,” said a Christian nationalist leader. This week, we parse many of such anti-democratic comments made by evangelical leaders. After hearing a Spanish-language version of the love song “It's Only Natural,” we talk with Enrico Gnaulati, author of the book Flourishing Love: A Secular Guide to Lasting Intimate Relationships.

FFRF's Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow Kat Grant describes the amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief they wrote for FFRF in a case involving an Oregonian Christian who is challenging the law prohibiting her from discriminating against LGBTQ+ children in the adoption process. Then, we talk about the new documentary film "God and Country,” produced by Rob Reiner, that warns against the looming threat of Christian nationalism.

This week we talk about Christian nationalism, leaving the Mormon Church, and religion in the classroom. After listening to part of our TV interview with Rep. Jared Huffman about the theocratic Speaker of the House, we talk with historian Robin Vose, author of The Index of Prohibited Books: Four Centuries of Struggle Over Word and Image for the Greater Glory of God.

Prayer is the target of this week's show: the National Prayer Breakfast and school-board prayer. For Valentine's Day, we hear Susan Hofer sing Dan Barker's freethought love song, "It's Only Natural." Then, we speak with FFRF attorneys Sammi Lawrence and Chris Line about their watchdog letters of complaint to public officials who violate state/church separation and the legal friend-of-the-court briefs they have written to keep religion out of government.

This week, we call out governmental prayer at the National Prayer Breakfast and an egregious Christian nationalist invocation before the House of Representatives. Then we hear Kate Cohen, Washington Post contributing columnist and author of the book We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (and Maybe You Should Too), deliver her entertaining and riveting talk: "The Tiny Titanic Act of Telling the Truth."

FFRF Director of Communications Amit Pal describes how India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque in a political effort to establish Hindu nationalism in that country. Then we speak with Devin Moss, the humanist chaplain who was called in to support an atheist death-row inmate executed in Oklahoma.

Margaret Downey, president of the Thomas Paine Memorial Association, tells us about an exciting celebration of the birth of the “Forgotten Founder" Thomas Paine on his Jan. 29 birthday. Then, FFRF Director of Communications Amit Pal speaks with the actor, theater director and artist-in-residence at UW-Madison Vamsi Matta, a Dalit (the most oppressed in the Hindu caste hierarchy) who is fighting back against religious discrimination.

After we hear from atheists Ron Reagan and Richard Dawkins, we listen to U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan greet attendees at FFRF's annual convention. Then we speak with author and essayist Sarah Stankorb about her new book, Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning.

Emily Olson, a very brave member of the Owosso, Michigan city council, tells us what happened when she challenged prayer at board meetings. Then we speak with the founder and president of Atheists in Kenya Harrison Mumia about that group's successful lawsuit challenging government discrimination against atheists and their activities to promote human rights in a country drenched with religion.

We report on FFRF state/church victories and complaints and honor the 2023 "Secularist of the Year." After welcoming the New Year by hearing the sparkling performance of Godless Gospel, we speak with FFRF contributing writer Barbara Alvarez about the current state of abortion rights and the challenges we will face in 2024 as Christian nationalists continue to restrict women's healthcare.

On this important date, we remind listeners of the real reason for the season: the Winter Solstice. After reporting on FFRF’s Solstice and “Bill of Rights nativity” scenes erected on public property to counter religious displays, we hear from the justice correspondent for The Nation magazine, Elie Mystal, author of the book Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution.

Secularism is growing around the world, and in the United States resistance to Christian nationalism is increasing. FFRF Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence and FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line join us to talk about some of the encouraging state/church legal victories (in court and out of court) that the FFRF legal staff has been winning in recent weeks.

FFRF Co-President Dan Barker discusses his recent debate at Oxford University on the topic "Is God a Delusion?" Then we have some fun hearing comedian, activist and political satirist Lizz Winstead, co-founder of "The Daily Show" and founder of Abortion Access Front, tell us how "to bring joy and fun to expose hypocrisy and to have hope."

We are asking Oklahoma's Superintendent of Education to resign for pushing religion in the schools and for verbally attacking FFRF. After honoring the life of freethinking TV correspondent Betty Rollin, we hear from two brave students — Marcus Stovall and Bear Bright — who are suing West Texas A&M University for censoring their drag show fundraiser to prevent suicide among gay youth.

Our Thanksgiving 2023 show features Godless Gospel performing “Let’s All Give Thanks,” interviews FFRF Counsel Sam Grover on FFRF’s new brief against religious censorship of drag shows, and features law Professor Mary Ziegler warning about the anti-abortion movement’s goal of fetal personhood.

This week we announce a Triumphant Trifecta of legal victories, ending high-school proselytizing in West Virginia, eliminating a religious test for public office in New Jersey, and stopping $1.5 million of South Carolina state funds from going to a religious school. Then we hear Jen Castle, the national Director of Abortion Services for Planned Parenthood, deliver an impassioned speech in acceptance of FFRF's "Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism" award.

Guest host FFRF Communications Director Amitabh Pal first recounts the state/church watchdog's achievements over the past few days — and the resulting media coverage. Then, he talks with University of Turin Professor Marzia Casolari about her groundbreaking book, “In the Shadow of the Swastika,” spotlighting the influence of Italian fascism and Nazism on the Hindu nationalist movement currently governing India. And interspersed throughout the show is the music of freethinker Aaron Copeland, whose birth anniversary we are observing this week.

FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert and FFRF Attorney Liz Cavell fill in as guest hosts this week. They discuss the alarming election of a Christian nationalism devotee to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott joins to share an exciting update in one of FFRF's lawsuits on behalf of West Virginia public school students.

For a special themed show, FFRF co-presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker discuss the harm of belief in heaven and hell. Songs include "Heaven" by Rupert Brooke, "Pack Up Your Sins (and Go to the Devil in Hades)" by Irving Berlin, "Declaration of the Free" by Robert Ingersoll, "Preacher & the Slave" by Joe Hill, "Spooky Mormon Hell" from The Book of Mormon, "This World" by Malvina Reynolds, "Reincarnation" by Wallace D. McRae, "Joy To The World" by Godless Gospel, and "None of the Above" by Dan Barker.

Oklahoma's Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters is going after FFRF for complaining about that state's creation of a "public" religious charter school. FFRF Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence tells us about the new amicus brief we filed in favor of Southwest Airlines enforcing their policy against religious harassment. Then we hear from three eloquent 18-year-old college students who read their winning essays at FFRF's annual convention: Luci Green, Skylar Blumenauer, and Michelle Liao.

FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor energetically demolish the Ten Commandments, both as moral guides and as an influence on U.S. law. After hearing the Philip Appleman poem "Noah," read by Phil and his wife Marjorie, we listen to Dan’s song "Lucifer's Lament," about how Satan gets none of the credit for God’s destructive punishments.

FFRF Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence describes FFRF’s newest lawsuit challenging a religious test for public office in New Jersey. FFRF’s Equal Justice Works Fellow Kat Grant tells us about the testimony she gave at the Wisconsin capitol in opposition to a religiously motivated bill that would prohibit gender-affirming care for minors. Then we speak with Washington Post contributing columnist Kate Cohen about her new book We Of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending To Believe (And Maybe You Should Too).

Find out why Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are dissing the Freedom From Religion Foundation. After hearing Dan Barker's song "The Battle of Church and State," we talk with the distinguished scholar Steven K. Green about his book Separating Church and State: A History.

We report four state-church victories this week: Minnesota, Oklahoma and two in California. We also report on the advocacy group FFRF Action Fund, working to keep religion out of politics and law. Then we speak with Robert P. Jones, president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) about his powerful new book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future.

We protest coaches forcing prayer and baptism on students, a public library system closing on the sabbath to "honor God" and judges who inject bible verses into their decisions. Courageous freethinking high-school student Will Larkins tells us how he is protesting Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Then we honor Margaret Sanger by hearing Dan Barker's song "No Gods, No Masters." 

We expose the hypocrisy of praying football coach Joe Kennedy and complain about religious incursions into the public schools. After remembering the life of "Lone Star Freethinker" Catherine Fahringer (1922–2008), we talk with R. Scott Okamoto, author of Asian American Apostate: Losing Religion and Finding Myself at an Evangelical University.

We protest bibles and prayers in public schools and "In God We Trust" on public buildings. Freethought Radio co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor wraps up her series on "The Cult of Fetus Worship." Then we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Indian rationalist Narendra Dabholkar by speaking with his brave successor Avinash Patil, president of the Maharashtra Association for the Eradication of Superstition.

"It's Too Darn Hot!" And evangelicals are making global warming worse. After reporting state/church news in Indiana, South Carolina, Colorado, Ohio and Florida, Freethought Radio co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor reads more of her blog: "Let's Abort the Cult of Fetus Worship." Then we speak with Berkeley history Professor David A. Hollinger about his book Christianity's American Fate: How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular.

After reporting on state/church complaints and victories in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana and California, Annie Laurie asks, "Is there a cult of fetus worship?" Then we speak with Stanford Professor Lerone A. Martin about his illuminating new book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism.

We announce a new lawsuit attempting to stop public money from repairing churches in New Jersey. We celebrate the birthdate of the "Great Agnostic" orator and author Robert G. Ingersoll by hearing his "Love" recitation set to music. Then we speak with University of Aberdeen professor Isabella Kasselstrand about her new book Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society.

We announce a new lawsuit to stop Oklahoma officials from creating the nation's first religious public charter school. After hearing Rupert Brooke's poem "Heaven" (from the point of view of a fish) set to music by Dan Barker, Annie Laurie questions why so many Americans still believe in angels. Then British author Sarah Bakewell tells us about her new book Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope.

FFRF attorney Chris Line explains why many evangelicals are boycotting the "Barbie" movie. Colorado activist Rob Rogers tells us how he is protesting book banning by insisting that the bible should also be banned. Then we remember freethinking author and editor James A. Haught, from West Virginia, who died this week at age 91. 

FFRF litigation attorney Sam Grover tells us about his trip to Little Rock to do oral arguments in FFRF's federal lawsuit challenging the placement of a Ten Commandments monument at the Arkansas capitol. Then we interview the well-known skeptic Michael Shermer about his book Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.

Atheists have bragging rights when it comes to LGBTQ-plus matters. We talk about state/church issues in Utah, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Canada. After hearing the 1954 Woody Guthrie song "Ballad of Old Man Trump," Professor and author Hector Garcia tells us about "Apes, Gods and Reproductive Health Policy."

We tell Trump that atheists are not arsonists. After hearing Henry Fonda defend freethought and academic liberty in 1942, we listen to George M. Cohan's freethinking 1904 song "Life's a Very Funny Proposition After All." Then FFRF Associate Counsel Liz Cavell and FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert describe two recent bad Supreme Court decisions, Groff v. DeJoy and 303 Creative v. Elenis.

We complain about religion and government mixing in Texas, Colorado, New York, Florida and Oklahoma. Freethought Radio co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor tells Southern Baptist women: "Please stay home next Sunday." After hearing lyricist Sheldon Harnick (who died last week) sing his cautionary song "Merry Little Minuet," we speak with The Progressive journalist Jeff Abbott about how right-wing evangelicalism and narco-trafficking are affecting policy and politics in Latin America.

We report state/church victories and complaints in Texas, Alabama, Utah, California and Wisconsin, and we chastise Sen. Josh Hawley for his erroneous and tone-deaf Juneteenth comments about Christianity and slavery. Then we speak with Catholic journalist Mary Jo McConahay about her new book, Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right.

Students complain about graduating in a church. We talk about women pastors, Catholic charter schools, Ten Commandments and prayer in public schools, child marriage and book banning. We talk with Sheryl Monk, a brave South Carolinian who is complaining about the "Lord's Prayer" at school board meetings. Then we interview Jon Ward, chief correspondent for Yahoo! News, about his new book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation.

Oklahoma Catholic charter school complaint; bibles banned in Utah schools; state/church complaints in Arizona and Georgia schools. After noting the death of televangelist Pat Robertson, we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the June 1963 Abington v. Schempp Supreme Court decision that removed bible reading and the Lord's Prayer from public schools by speaking with octogenarian Ellery Schempp, the courageous high-school student who initiated the complaint.

Americans are losing confidence in God’s existence; Tulsa massacre anniversary; exoneration of ‘witches'; Uganda’s anti-gay law; state/church complaints in Arkansas and Michigan. We hear Roy Zimmerman's hilarious "Wedding of Church and State" song and Shelley Segal's moving "Apocalyptic Love Song." Then 11-yr-old Elle Harris describes her book Elle The Humanist.

The good, the bad, and the ugly: Texas Ten Commandments bill fails; anti-abortion laws proliferate; Illinois reports widespread clergy sex abuse; proselytizing school bus driver; legislative prayer; graduations in churches. After we hear Dan Barker's song "The Freethinker Blues," FFRF's Director of Communications Amit Pal joins us to interview Professor Irfan Nooruddin, co-author of The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics.

We talk about abortion, book banning and the X-rated bible. We also talk with "God." After hearing the song "The Trinity" (words by Robert Ingersoll), we speak with investigative journalist Christine Kenneally about her chilling new book Ghosts of the Orphanage: A Story of Mysterious Deaths, a Conspiracy of Silence, and a Search for Justice.

We talk about religion and abortion rights, the IRS and church electioneering, the Texas Ten Commandments bill and clergy sexual abuse. After Annie Laurie describes the bible's role in asking rape victims "Why didn't you scream?", FFRF contributing author Barbara Alvarez tells us about her new book (published by the American Library Association): The Library’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information.

We celebrate the National Day of Reason, recommend the new movie "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" based on Judy Blume's banned book, and advocate for meaningful court reform. Then we speak with distinguished Bible scholar and bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman about his new book, Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End.

We announce plans to sue the state of Texas over their new Ten Commandments edict, and we celebrate the upcoming National Day of Reason on May 4. After hearing Sammy Davis Jr. sing "It Ain't Necessarily So" (written by George and Ira Gershwin), we speak with Evan Clark, Executive Director of Atheists United, about the "Atheist Street Pirate" campaign to remove religious signs from public property.

In the news: religious privilege in Minnesota, predator priests, ancient "Comstock law" revived, Latinos losing religion, and Walter Reed military hospital's phony "crisis." After hearing the wistful Richard Rodgers song "Spring is Here," we talk with Michelle Dowd, author of the new memoir Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult.

We discuss some troubling state/church news (and a few victories) in New Jersey, California, Texas, Indiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Oklahoma. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell describes the Groff v. DeJoy case before the Supreme Court that will likely extend religious privilege in the workplace. Then we hear a voice from the past, the never-before-played "God is not Great" speech by Christopher Hitchens at FFRF's 2007 convention.

We announce the "Theocrat" & "Secularist" of the Week, play Bill Maher's very funny "Atheists Day" monologue, then interview University of San Francisco Professor and Middle East expert Stephen Zunes about the theocratic threats in Israel and what's at stake.

After reporting international and U.S. state/church news, we talk with Kentucky activist Linda Allewalt, whose op-ed opposing a new state law that encourages public school teachers to promote religion was printed in the Lexington paper. Then we hear Val Benavidez, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, tell us how her group is "messing with Texas" by fighting religious extremism in the Lone Star State.

FFRF's "Equal Justice Works Fellow" Kat Grant describes the letter they wrote to the president of West Texas A&M University protesting his cancellation, for religious reasons, of a student-hosted drag show. Then we speak with former minister and religion scholar Bradley Onishi about his new book Preparing For War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—And What Comes Next.

Local and federal state/church victories and complaints; Walgreens and abortion; new rules for faith-based providers. FFRF attorney Chris Line describes the controversy over University of Colorado coach Deion Sanders praying with students. Then we talk with neurologist and financial theorist William J. Bernstein about his book The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups.

We applaud President Biden’s repeal of religious discrimination. FFRF joins in an abortion appeal to the United Nations, and appreciates a State Department reward for Avijit Roy’s killers. Vashti McCollum’s heroic lawsuit is honored and Gov. Greg Abbott’s idea of education is exposed as indoctrination. FFRF attorney Sam Grover explains our brief challenging the Ten Commandments monument in Arkansas. Then we hear five black atheists explain why they left religion and discuss the special challenges African American nonbelievers face in today's world.

Our guest this week is Dr. Christine Henneberg, author of the book Boundless: An Abortion Doctor Becomes a Mother. FFRF Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence describes some first-amendment legal victories she was involved in, and describes the problems nonreligious seniors have while living in religious nursing homes. After reporting state/church news around the country, we hear the freethinking singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell perform "Both Sides Now."

After reporting state/church news in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, we talk about the tragic religious persecution in Pakistan and Afghanistan. FFRF Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne discusses the more than 1,000 state-level religiously based bills introduced in 2023 that we are monitoring and reports a "Health Care Sharing Ministry" victory in Missouri. Then we speak with Leonard Presberg, founder and president of the Association of Secular Elected Officials.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, with Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, tells us about the devastation to abortion access wrought by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. We hear jazz singer Tahira Clayton perform freethinking composer Jerome Kern's song "I'm Old Fashioned," and we cover many local, national and international stories about religion and government.

A new PRRI study shows that Americans overwhelmingly reject Christian nationalism. FFRF Attorney Chris Line talks about this week's Wisconsin State Journal story, "The Running Man," that features his successful effort to lose more than 250 pounds. Then we speak with Jonathan Larsen, managing editor of The Young Turks, about his revealing investigation into the National Prayer Breakfast.

We have many state/church victories to report, including against the National Prayer Breakfast and proselytizing Colorado coach Deion Sanders. FFRF litigation counsel Sam Grover describes our newest federal court win against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who censored our display in the state Capitol. Then we hear Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt, an atheist working to keep religion and government separate, as she accepts FFRF's "Champion of the First Amendment" award.

After addressing the numerous problems with the National Prayer Breakfast, we speak with Central Florida Freethought Association director Joseph Richardson about how his secular invocation before a county board was "corrected" by a Christian prayer. Then we speak with Owosso, Mich., City Councilor Emily Olson, who received a death threat after she complained about prayers before council meetings.

After we report on national and local state/church news, FFRF Legal Fellow Karen Heineman describes a disturbing case before the U.S. Supreme Court that will most certainly expand religious privilege. Then FFRF Co-President Dan Barker and Communication Director Amitabh Pal report on their trip to India this month to meet with brave rationalists who are battling superstition and Hindu nationalism.

We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day and National Religious Freedom Day, “eulogize” Cardinal Pell via Tim Minchin’s song, “Come Home Cardinal Pell,” then hear irreverent Jim Hightower pillory religious entanglements in Texas.

We review secular highs and lows of the week. FFRF Legal Fellow Karen Heineman tells us why the Catholic Church cannot run public charter schools in Oklahoma. Then we hear the entertaining conversation between actress/comedian Julia Sweeney and Dan Barker at FFRF’s 2022 convention.

After reporting on state/church issues in December, we listen to the freethinking Frank Loesser song "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" sung by Madison jazz vocalist Susan Hofer accompanied by Dan Barker on the piano. Then, FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert wraps up the year by telling us about FFRF's significant legal challenges and victories of 2022.

Tidings of great joy: the bipartisan bill to approve a Thomas Paine memorial in DC is likely to pass this session. After hearing irreverent holiday music by Roy Zimmerman and Tom Lehrer, we talk with professor Cavan Concannon, co-author with Jill Hicks-Keeton of the new book Does Scripture Speak For Itself? The Museum of the Bible and the Politics of Interpretation.

We have a news-packed show this week, with congressional testimony, lawsuit updates, and state/church complaints. We celebrate Bill of Rights Day (Dec. 15) and the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) by reporting "solstice/bill of rights" displays being erected around the country, and by hearing Dan Barker's seasonal song "Solstice Tribute." Then we speak with Australian reporter Elle Hardy about her new book, Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World.