How Gene Editing Could Break The Rules Of Evolution (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

The science of gene editing is moving fast now. Genetic engineers armed with new tools are reaching into the basic code of life, probing ever more ambitiously for ways to end disease, make crops immune to blight. My guest today is in the vanguard that increasingly sees genetics as nature’s software. And humans as rapidly gaining capacity to rewrite the code. Reprogram organisms, including ourselves. This is thrilling and frightening, and is going to require a lot of public attention and debate. This hour On Point, evolutionary engineer Kevin Esvelt, on the future of our species and many others. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/09/gene-editing

The Biggest Challenge Facing Musicians at Shows: Audiences Clapping With Bad Rhythm

But when Harry Connick Jr. found himself facing a rhythmically challenged audience, he didn’t need to correct them. At the beginning of this performance of “Come By Me,” the crowd is clapping on the one and three. The claps are tighter than Bieber’s Spanish fans’, but the heavy accents on the downbeats give the music a leaden feel. So, as his solo begins (at 0:41 in the video), Connick throws in an extra beat, realigning the music so that the claps land on the two and four instead. From that point on, the clapping sounds funky instead of square—and the audience has no idea that Connick has wrong-footed them...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/11/06/justin_bieber_chastised_audience_for_clapping_on_the_offbeat_the_biggest.html

Stem-cell scientists led by Dr. John Dick have discovered a completely new view of how human blood is made, upending dogma from the 1960s.

"Instead, through a series of experiments we have been able to finally resolve how different kinds of blood cells form quickly from the stem cell -- the most potent blood cell in the system -- and not further downstream as has been traditionally thought," says Dr. Dick, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology and is also Director of the Cancer Stem Cell Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151105143819.htm

Richard Carrier on Ancient Science

https://youtu.be/C5B-fOp3k1k

Why the Gospels Are Myth: The Evidence of Genre and Content

https://youtu.be/2e7uhaed594

How Donald Trump Answers A Question

https://youtu.be/_aFo_BV-UzI

Fact check: The ‘King of Whoppers' for 2015 is Donald Trump

Here we've assembled, as we do every year at this time, a generous sampling of the most far-fetched, distorted or downright fallacious claims made during 2015...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/12/22/fact-check-king-whoppers-2015-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-race-for-president/77730672/

Muslim groups unite for voter drive, outreach to confront Islamophobia

“Our voices will be united, and we will be heard,” she said. “We want our youth to be safe, and exposing them to this type of activity is a path to empowerment.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/21/muslim-vote-drive.html

SpaceX Just Made History, But Its Next Mission Is Even More Important | ThinkProgress

For its next mission, SpaceX will partner with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the French Space Agency (CNES) to launch a satellite called Jason-3. It’s an ocean measurement satellite, meaning it will be used to measure the height of the ocean from space. In other words, over time, Jason-3 will be able to track global sea level rise...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/22/3734545/elon-musk-spacex-climate-change-nasa-noaa/

The 12 Days of Evolution - Complete Series!

https://youtu.be/c_jyHp3bmEw

What I’m Doing to Make Sure Atheists Have a Voice in the Iowa Caucuses

I’ve agreed to help the Secular Coalition for America launch the Secular Coalition for Iowa in order to make sure we have a presence in politics in this state...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/30/what-im-doing-to-make-sure-atheists-have-a-voice-in-the-iowa-caucuses/

Pregnant Woman Sues Catholic Hospital For Not Letting Her Get Tubes Tied

The case is part of an escalating fight over whether Catholic hospitals can deny reproductive services for religious reasons.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/pregnant-woman-sues-catholic-hospital

NFL Reportedly Restricts 'Unrestricted' Funds For Important Brain Trauma Research | ThinkProgress

“From 2003 to 2009, the NFL published its own research denying that football players get brain damage; much of that research was later discredited,” OTL reported on Tuesday. “But since then, the NFL has poured tens of millions of dollars into concussion research, allowing the league to maintain a powerful role on an issue that directly threatens its future.”
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2015/12/22/3734614/nfl-blocks-cte-research/

‘We Choose Freedom, Not Fear’: 49 Religious And Civic Leaders Stand Against Anti-Muslim Backlash

“Muslims are our equals,” declared an open letter signed by nearly 50 religious and civic leaders. Printed on a full page of the Washington Post on Monday, the letter decried what it described as “highly offensive remarks” made by “politicians, candidates, and commentators” in recent weeks.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/22/3734569/religious-civic-leaders-against-anti-muslim-backlash/

#156 Debate - Michael Shermer vs John Lennox - The Nature of Evil and Suffering - 2013

https://youtu.be/w6QSmwwGR50

Paul Ryan Just Made The Case For Why Lifting The Oil Export Ban Is Really Bad | ThinkProgress

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Monday that lifting the oil export ban, which was included in the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill, “is like having 100 Keystone pipelines.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/22/3734511/ryan-export-ban-like-keystone/

Climate Change Could Cost Montana Billions, Study Says

As many as 36,000 jobs and slightly over a billion dollars in labor earning could be lost in the next 35 years if greenhouse gas emissions don’t decline, according to the study commissioned by Montana Wildlife Federation...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/22/3734414/montana-climate-change-costs-jobs/

Lakes Are Heating Up, Putting Food And Water Supply At Risk

“These results suggest that large changes in our lakes are not only unavoidable, but are probably already happening,” lead author Catherine O’Reilly, associate professor of geology at Illinois State University, Normal, said in a statement...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/21/3734348/lakes-heating-up/

Carbon Emissions Link To Regional Impacts Is Clear, Study Says

These results confirm widely believed notions in the scientific community that manmade climate change is damaging natural systems worldwide...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/23/3734910/global-warming-link-clear/

Ted Cruz Vows To Break Up Historic Climate Change Agreement If Elected President

“Barack Obama seems to think the SUV parked in your driveway is a bigger threat to national security than radical Islamic terrorists who want to kill us. That’s just nutty,” Cruz said. “These are ideologues, they don’t focus on the facts, they won’t address the facts, and what they’re interested [in] instead is more and more government power.”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/23/3734887/ted-cruz-paris-climate-deal/

Five Failed Right-Wing Prophecies and Predictions of 2015

Surprise, surprise: Right-wingers got a lot of things wrong...
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/5-failed-right-wing-prophecies-and-predictions-2015

AP-NORC Poll: Religious rights of US Christians most valued

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans place a higher priority on preserving the religious freedom of Christians than for other faith groups, ranking Muslims as the least deserving of the protections, according to a new survey...
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/de486b3d64154d0baae9f04fba0a4094/ap-norc-poll-religious-rights-us-christians-most-valued

The Great Christmas Strike of 1906 - NYTimes.com

WHEN schools in Augusta County, Va., closed earlier this month after parents objected to an Arabic calligraphy lesson, it was tempting to see it as only the latest example of the rampant anti-Muslim sentiment that has taken hold in much of the country...
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/opinion/the-great-christmas-strike-of-1906.html

Sarah Posner: Trump, Carson, and the Religious Right in 2016 (Point of Inquiry)

This week Josh Zepps chats about the 2016 Republican presidential primaries with journalist Sarah Posner, a senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches and the author of Gods Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters. She is an expert in the political machinations of the religious right in the United States.

The current GOP field has Seventh-day Adventist Ben Carson and the newly Bible-loving Donald Trump battling for the top spot in polls, despite their theological differences with the Evangelical base of the party. Posner explores what’s behind the appeal of these two unlikely front-runners, compares their very different demeanors, and weighs on such topics as the influence of Pope Francis and the prospects for atheist political candidates.
Interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/sarah_posner_trump_carson_and_the_religious_right_in_2016/

Backlash over oil boom: California residents raise health concerns

Lawsuit in Los Angeles rises over oil drilling on the west side of Wilmington. Jennifer London reports.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/GznaW_3cpIw

Truth Without God: Dawkins v Lennox part 2

https://youtu.be/rpmVoZFasig

Insubordination: "Groundbreaking" Expose Shows Pentagon Thwarting Obama's Bid to Transfer Guantanamo Prisoners

Democracynow.org - In the nearly seven years since President Obama ordered Guantánamo’s closure, Republicans have blocked him at every turn. Now a new report sheds light on another obstacle in Obama’s way: his own Pentagon. According to Reuters, military brass have imposed bureaucratic hurdles to keep prisoners locked up and prevent foreign governments from taking them in. Scores of prisoners cleared for release have remained imprisoned for years as a result. We are joined by two guests: Charles Levinson, the Reuters reporter who broke this story, and Omar Farah, the lawyer for a Yemeni prisoner who was cleared for release five years ago but remains behind bars due to Pentagon interference.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/qcQxAsoEh6g

Cleared for Release, Pentagon Obstruction Prolongs Hunger-Striking Gitmo Prisoner's Nightmare
Democracynow.org - A new Reuters exposé shows the Pentagon has thwarted the Obama administration’s efforts to close Guantánamo by imposing bureaucratic hurdles to delay or derail prisoners’ release. The Pentagon has even meddled with the effort to enlist other countries in accepting freed prisoners. In one case, the Pentagon refused to release medical records for a hunger-striking Yemeni prisoner to a delegation from a country that was considering taking him in. The prisoner, Tariq Ba Odah, remains at Guantánamo today—five years after he was cleared for release. We discuss Ba Odah’s ordeal with his lawyer, Omar Farah, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights; and Charles Levinson, the Reuters reporter who broke the story.
https://youtu.be/L0pZHlktm_M

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 30, 2015

https://youtu.be/kM_9--pL9pA

Campaign Fact-Check: Rand Paul’s ‘HHS Investigation of Planned Parenthood’s Tissue Practices’

The letter from HHS on which Paul based his comments makes no such promise...
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/12/23/campaign-fact-check-rand-pauls-hhs-investigation-planned-parenthoods-tissue-practices/

Yes or No: THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE FORBIDS RACIAL PREFERENCES IN STATE UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS (Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates)

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that: "No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Yet many state universities give substantial preferences to certain races in their admissions decisions. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court approved such preferences, but the case was close, and controversial, and the question will be back before the Supreme Court this term. One side may argue that these preferences level the playing field, remedy prior discrimination, and enhance diversity within the classroom, thus redeeming the true promise of equal protection. But the other may say that these preferences – in favor of some races, at the expense of others – are racial discrimination pure and simple, the precise evil that the Equal Protection Clause was intended to forbid.
Interview:
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1406-the-equal-protection-clause-forbids-racial-preferences-in-state-university-admissions

Erin Brockovich: California Methane Gas Leak is Worst U.S. Environmental Disaster Since BP Oil Spill

Democracynow.org - In the nation’s biggest environmental disaster since the BP oil spill, a runaway natural gas leak above Los Angeles has emitted more than 150 million pounds of methane. Thousands of residents in the community of Porter Ranch have been evacuated and put in temporary housing. The fumes have caused headaches and nosebleeds. The company responsible, Southern California Gas Company, says it could take three to four months to stop the breach. We are joined by two guests: renowned consumer advocate and legal researcher Erin Brockovich, who helped win the biggest class action lawsuit in American history and is now working to seek justice for victims of the Porter Ranch gas leak, and David Balen, president of Renaissance Homeowners Association, located just outside of the breached well site...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/YY2hL-dZcDA

Global Internet Access For The Next Four Billion (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

In many lives, the Internet more and more feels essential in terms of business, communication, education and more. But more than half the world is really not on it. A new White House report says broadband internet service has gone from being an optional amenity to a “core utility.” Like water, sewer and electricity, says the White House. But a new UN report says more than four billion people, more than half the planet, is not there. In poor countries, fewer than one in ten. Is this, should this be, a new human right? This hour On Point, the global digital divide, and its implications. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/09/24/internet-access-next-four-billion

American Islamophobia (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

The US Constitution is crystal clear that there shall be no religious test for public office. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Sunday a Muslim should not be president. At a rally in New Hampshire, a Donald Trump supporter says “We have a problem in this country and it’s called Muslims.” Asks, “When can we get rid of them?” Trump says: “We’re going to be looking at that.” Yes, 9/11 happened. And yes, it’s a messy world out there. But suddenly it seems like political open season on Muslim-American citizens. This hour On Point, Islam, American politics, and Islamophobia in America. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/09/23/ahmend-mohamed-islamophobia-ben-carson

Creationism Whistleblower: ‘Academic Freedom’ Is Sneak Attack on Evolution

Despite the scientific-sounding name, a former Discovery Institute employee says it’s anything but.

“DI is religiously motivated in all they do,” the person said, requesting anonymity. “One way to tell that the motivation is religion, and not science, is to compare DI work product to tech papers produced by working scientists in the field of biology or subfield of evolutionary biology. The two kinds of work product look very different, read very different, and were produced by very different means.”...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/28/creationism-whistleblower-academic-freedom-is-sneak-attack-on-evolution.html

Expiring on Netflix 1/1/2016: There Will Be Blood

A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business...
http://www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=70075473&jbp=3&jbr=1

Steve Shives: Activism, Apologists, and the F-Word (The Thinking Atheist)

This is a 30-minute conversation between Seth Andrews and YouTube activist Steve Shives, recorded recently at the Pennsylvania Atheist/Humanist Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Video of this conversation can be seen here: https://youtu.be/2Q4Yv3rgv-0 
Interview:
http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/podcast/steve-shives-activism-apologists-and-the-f-word

The God Distraction, Chapter One: Arguments

Can arguments settle the question of God's existence?
https://youtu.be/76Yc_DuZkLY

Top 11 Atheist Stories of 2015

https://youtu.be/RVk14VeZcwU

The State Of Homelessness In America In 2015 (Diane Rehm Show)

The number of homeless in America is going down, but in a handful of cities there have been big increases leading some local leaders to declare states of emergencies.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-12-07/the-state-of-homelessness-in-america-in-2015

Stephen Colbert: Donald Trump plays my old character 'better that I ever could'

https://youtu.be/FevhNRfULlU

What's the point if there's no God? | Richard Dawkins, William Lane Craig and others

https://youtu.be/J2CAAf2CmOg

The Case Against the Resurrection (Keith Parsons)

Former pastor Keith Parsons lays out his case against the resurrection.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/CNjweaCZj60

Mapping Police Violence: New Study Shows Cops Have Killed At Least 1,152 in 2015

Amid grief and outrage over the killings of two unarmed African Americans in Chicago, a year-end report from the Mapping Police Violence research project says police nationwide killed at least 1,152 people in 2015. In 14 cities, every single police victim was African-American. And across the country, police killings had little correlation with crime rates and population size. We discuss the findings with Sam Sinyangwe, a statistician who worked on the Mapping Police Violence project...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/6WHd8NEp7lw

Grief & Outrage as Chicago Police Shoot Dead 2 More Unarmed African Americans

Protests continue in Chicago after police shot dead two more unarmed African Americans—Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old mother of five, and 19-year-old college student Quintonio LeGrier. The shooting comes amid outrage over the more than year-old police killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald and a potential police cover-up. Could these killings force Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign? We are joined by Aislinn Sol of Black Lives Matter Chicago.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/rW4O9miTdjE

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 28, 2015

https://youtu.be/Y4irtjV_mm0

Atheist Arguments #2 Natural Disasters (Natural Evil)

https://youtu.be/VqPJ5hEvf1w

Bill Nye: Can We Stop Telling Women What to Do With Their Bodies? | BEST OF 2015

The Science Guy argues that most anti-abortion legislation is derived from outdated beliefs that predate smart science by fifty centuries...
https://youtu.be/ME5vQYaSO3k

Five Stupid Things for December 28, 2015

The internet freaks out over a black woman being cast to play Hermione in a new Harry Potter play, Hillary Clinton wants to be thought of as a Latino grandma, and Pro Publica and the Marshall Project publish an unbelievable (and infuriating) story of rape.
https://youtu.be/_SdN9L_gjGk

And Now the Good News #169: 12/29/2015

https://youtu.be/7IUf0tjXaZI

I’m An Atheist, But I’m Not…

“I’m atheist but that doesn’t mean I’m being disrespectful when I ask the question, 'Why?'”
https://youtu.be/zV3KWRy3gKk

Unlimited Corporate Money In Politics Killed Democracy Long Ago

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse explain the threat that unlimited corporate money poses to our democracy.
https://youtu.be/OMhJ2VKMGC0

How Is This Not National News?

--A massive methane leak in Porter Ranch, California, has displaced thousands of residents and is releasing over 30,000 kilograms of methane per hour...
https://youtu.be/7x-4VRg-cRc

The Biggest Health Epidemic Ever That Americans Are Ignoring...

Thom Hartmann reports on a Harvard researchers who say police shootings should be considered a public epidemic and Thom calls for higher standards for police officers.
https://youtu.be/ZLlVh-9htRw

The Real Ten Commandments... the ones from Solon the Athenian Philosopher

1. Trust good character more than promises.
2. Do not speak falsely.
3. Do good things.
4. Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them once made.
5. Learn to obey before you command.
6. When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing, but what is most useful.
7. Make reason your supreme commander.
8. Do not associate with people who do bad things.
9. Honor the gods.
10. Have regard for your parents.
http://infidels.org/kiosk/article/the-real-ten-commandments-2.html

Government Spending

http://www.alternet.org/files/sorensen_on_gvmt_spending.png

Paul Krugman: The Nasty Truth That Trump Distracts Us From

And you thought W. was bad...
http://www.alternet.org/economy/paul-krugman-nasty-truth-trump-distracts-us

Why the Christian Right Is so at Home With Donald Trump's Bloated Narcissism

The non-religious Trump seems to resonate with evangelicals...
http://www.alternet.org/why-christian-right-so-home-donald-trumps-bloated-narcissism

Turns Out, Raising Restaurant Workers’ Wages Won’t Cause Job Loss

A new study challenges the restaurant industry’s claim that it will not be able to keep up with minimum wage increases...
http://www.alternet.org/labor/turns-out-raising-restaurant-workers-wages-wont-cause-job-loss

No Liberal Hero Here: Pope May Have Helped Derail Marriage Equality In Slovenia

This may come as surprise to some who view Francis as a progressive force within the church...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/no-liberal-hero-here-pope-may-have-helped-derail-marriage-equality-in

Chicago police kill two in domestic call, saying one was a mistake

Grieving relatives and friends of the two victims said Sunday that the slayings raised concerns about why officers “shoot first and ask questions later” and that law enforcement had failed the city's residents...
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/27/chicago-police-kill-two-in-domestic-call-one-a-mistake.html

Here’s How Many People Police Killed In 2015

Despite public protests, occupations, direct action, and increased public scrutiny, U.S. police killed more people in 2015 than in 2014. While numbers vary from source to source — the Washington Post cites 975, while the Guardian puts the tally at 1,125 — the website killedbypolice.net found that police have killed 1,186 people in 2015 (the U.S. government currently does not track how many people are killed in police encounters.)...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/28/3735190/killed-by-police-2015/

Former KKK Leader: Trump Speaks ‘A Lot More Radically Than I Talk’

Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke spoke candidly about Donald Trump recently, saying the Republican presidential candidate speaks “a lot more radically” than he does...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/28/3735160/david-duke-trump-interview/

Republican Governor Says Its Time To ‘Eliminate Gerrymandering’

A Republican Governor’s Plan To Make America A Democracy Again...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/27/3735132/republican-governor-says-its-time-to-eliminate-gerrymandering/

Alabama Governor Uses BP Spill Money To Fix Up A Second Mansion For Himself | ThinkProgress

While Alabama’s oyster industry and coastal communities continue to suffer from the effects of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout, the repairs to the governors’ mansion are estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $1.8 million...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/27/3735129/alabama-mansion-bp/

Everything You Need To Know About How Republicans Are Running The Senate, In One Number | ThinkProgress

Eleven.
If you want to understand how the Senate has functioned since Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took over as Senate Majority Leader last January, the number 11 offers a clear window into McConnell’s entire philosophy of governance — or perhaps, non-governance. According to the Federal Judicial Center, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed just 11 judges this year. That compares to 40 during President George W. Bush’s seventh year in office, 34 during President Bill Clinton’s seventh year, and 44 at this point in Ronald Reagan’s presidency...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/27/3735124/everything-you-need-to-know-about-how-republicans-are-running-the-senate-in-one-number/

The unseen toll of workplace disease in America

The deadliest scourge you probably haven't heard of: an estimated 50,000 lives lost each year to on-the-job exposures...
http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/19078

The Wrongly Targeted Sikhs

At the risk of stating the obvious, these attackers almost certainly believe they are attacking Muslims. But Sikhs are not Muslims...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-wrongly-targeted-sikhs

Increase Your Tax Savings On Charitable Giving - Forbes

Giving to a charity that benefits a cause that’s close to your heart is rewarding. Getting a tax break for your generosity can make it even more gratifying—even more so than you may realize. What if you could add more than 20% to your charitable contribution and maximize your tax savings by taking advantage of an often-overlooked tax provision?...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/fidelity/2015/12/03/increase-your-tax-savings-on-charitable-giving/

StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide - Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment

How long will your favorite food or beverage stay safe and tasty? What's the best way to store it? Get the answers to all your questions here.
http://www.stilltasty.com

Guess Who Ted Koppel Thinks Is the Chief Recruiter for ISIS?

Trump and ISIS both "want to divide the world into Judeo-Christian on one side and the Islamic on the other."
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/guess-who-ted-koppel-thinks-chief-recruiter-isis

Gene editing saves girl dying in UK from leukaemia in world first.

Total remission, after chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant fails, in just 5 months. It is too soon to say she is cured, the team stressed at a press conference in London on 5 November. That will only become clear after a year or two. So far, though, she is doing well and there is no sign of the cancer returning. Other patients are already receiving the same treatment.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28454-gene-editing-saves-life-of-girl-dying-from-leukaemia-in-world-first/

Early On, Comedian John Cleese Says, He Had Good Timing But Little Else (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

The co-founder of the Monty Python troupe admits he wasn't "naturally gifted" at physical comedy. His memoir, So, Anyway..., covers his boyhood and early career.
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/16/448945981/early-on-comedian-john-cleese-says-he-had-good-timing-but-little-else

Have We Lost A Constitutional Right In The Fine Print? (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

New York Times reporter Jessica Silver-Greenberg says many companies' contracts force consumers to settle complaints through arbitration instead of in court, and include bans on class action suits.
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/11/12/455749456/have-we-lost-a-constitutional-right-in-the-fine-print

America left behind: Many US communities fall short of UN goals

https://youtu.be/LPgxrXKyzZ4

Most People In New York Actually Like Common Core, According To New Survey

More than 70 percent of respondents in a survey that included 10,500 New York residents said positive things about Common Core. There was more criticism and suggestions for how to improve Common Core implementation for earlier grades than later grades, according to the survey. The majority of the respondents were teachers...
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/12/15/3732113/common-core-new-york-survey/

Citizenship, For Sale (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

It is Veterans Day. A day to honor those who have served and remember that a whole lot of people have died fighting for their country. Citizen soldiers, devoted to nation. But the globalized world is changing the very idea of citizenship. At the bottom, refugees and outcasts are being left stateless, with no country. At the top, millionaires and billionaires are now buying passports to multiple countries, with real ties and maybe allegiance to none. Countries are putting citizenship up for sale. Belonging is fluid. This hour On Point, identity, belonging, statelessness – and citizenship for sale. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/11/citizenship-statelessness-refugee-crisis-syria

Biblical Studies - Robert Price & Hector Avalos

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/jesusproject/fellows/price_robert_m/
Robert Price interviews fellow Bible Geek and secular Bible scholar Hector Avalos on a wide range of topics, from the increasingly devotional character of the Society of Biblical Literature to law enforcement in the Bible and whether Ezekiel was seeing a flying saucer.

Did Abraham exist? How about Moses? David? Solomon? Jesus? Is there a future for Biblical Studied as we relegate it to the same level as the Iliad and the Odyssey?

Hector Avalos serves as professor of religious studies at Iowa State University. Once upon a time, he was a Pentecostal preacher and a child evangelist. Since then he has earned a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology in 1982, a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1985, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Studies from Harvard University in 1991. His many books include Illness and Healthcare in the Ancient Near East, Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, and The End of Biblical Studies.

Education
Ph.D. 1991, Harvard University, 1991
M.T.S. 1985, Harvard Divinity School
B.A. in Anthropology, 1982 University of Arizona

Research and Teaching Interests
Biblical and Near Eastern Studies
U.S. Latino/a Religion and Literature
Religion and Violence
Science and Religion
https://youtu.be/xOj51_tY4_E

Black Atheist: "God Is Fake" | SPEAKERS CORNER

Hyde Park Speakers Corner 2015: London Black Atheist Group Promotes Atheism To The African Diaspora, Atheist Vs Muslim.
https://youtu.be/OjIEumdSbnc

Peter Boghossian - Jesus, The Easter Bunny and Other Delusions: Just Say No!

Dr Peter Boghossian's lecture presentation on January 27, 2012, presented by the Freethinkers of PSU.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/WIaPXtZpzBw

The U.S. Has A Mass Shooting Epidemic, But No Government Database On Gun Violence (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

"I found a couple of perfunctory timelines that highlighted a couple of major attacks over the years, but that was it," Follman explains to Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "My response to that was just to think, 'This is crazy. How could there not be more information on this?' "
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/09/459056018/the-u-s-has-a-mass-shooting-epidemic-but-no-federal-database-on-gun-violence

Latest Anti-LGBT 'Religious Freedom' Bill Filed In New Mexico | ThinkProgress

Republican state Reps. David Gallegos and Nora Espinoza filed HB55 on Thursday, a bill “relating to religious freedom.” New Mexico already has a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA), but the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2013 that it did not justify anti-gay discrimination. Gallegos and Espinoza’s bill seeks to rewrite RFRA in the same problematic ways proposed earlier this year in Indiana — meticulously redefining terminology to expand its scope and creating new exemptions...
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/12/23/3734788/new-mexico-lgbt-discrimination-religious-freedom/