Former Abu Ghraib Interrogator: Because of Trump & Cruz, Door Still "Wide Open" for U.S. to Torture

http://democracynow.org - As Republican presidential candidates promise to bring back the torture techniques used under the George W. Bush administration, we speak with one of the men who actually carried out these policies. Eric Fair served as an interrogator in Iraq working as a military contractor for the private security firm CACI. He was stationed at the Abu Ghraib prison and in Fallujah in 2004. His new book, "Consequence: A Memoir," has just been published. Interview: 
https://youtu.be/1t54JZNbkCI

American Freethought with Bart Ehrman

Professor Bart D. Ehrman joined the American Freethought Podcast, hosted by John C. Snider & David Driscoll whose studio is converged in Atlanta, as a guest speaker on March 1st, 2016. The purpose of American Freethought is to serve freethinkers of every stripe: atheists, agnostics, skeptics, secular humanists, brights, rationalists, or whatever association one might deem themselves. The hosts interviewed Bart D. Ehrman about his new book Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior. Dr. Ehrman looks at what research on memory–how it’s formed, how it’s recalled, how it can change when transmitted from person to person, and how it can be remolded based on historical perspective and current events–and what it can tell us about how the written accounts of Jesus’ life were created. Jesus Before the Gospels is available in hardcover, audiobook and for Kindle. For more about Dr. Ehrman’s work, visit bartdehrman.com.

Program discussed on Bart Ehrman's Foundation Blog: http://ehrmanblog.org/?p=10285

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/7wiSIXi5Uvo

Forged-Bart Ehrman

Interviewed by Ian Punnett on Coast to Coast AM, Bart Ehrman explains that many books of the New Testament are forgeries written by unknown authors.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/tRrq3s3P3Pw

Fueling Fascism: The Secret History of How Texaco Supplied Oil to Fascists in Spain

http://democracynow.org - While thousands of Americans fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War, some chose to back Franco’s fascist regime. The most notable was the CEO of the American oil giant Texaco. He violated U.S. law by selling Franco’s regime discounted oil on credit. Also in violation of U.S. law, the oil was transported to Spain on U.S. ships. For more on this remarkable story, we’re joined by Adam Hochschild, the author of the sweeping new history book, "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939."
Interview:
https://youtu.be/ROe6oNRoJHY

Bart Ehrman & Jesus, Interrupted - Commonwealth Club

On Monday, March 21, 2011 Bart Ehrman gave a lecture at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club of California, underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation. Moderator was Alan Jones, Dean Emeritus, Grace Cathedral. The appearance was largely related to Bart Ehrman's printed release of "Jesus, Interrupted." Bart Ehrman takes you on a journey to the ancient world and the forgery battles that have raged through the centuries. Ehrman contends in the lecture that the New Testament is riddled with contradictions about the life of Jesus and his significance. He provides compelling evidence that early Christianity was a collection of competing schools of thought and that the central doctrines we know today were the inventions of theologians living several centuries after Christ.

Video discussed on Bart Ehrman's Foundation Blog: http://ehrmanblog.org/?p=5149

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/BvKxJc-huEA

'Strange Gods' Chronicles The History Of Secularism And Conversion (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

"I think very few people realize how much the separation of church and state has to do with the fact that Americans are not only more religious than a lot of other people in the world but that conversions are much more common here."
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2016/02/17/467067269/strange-gods-chronicles-the-history-of-secularism-and-conversion

Glenn Beck Tells Fellow Mormons in Utah That Ted Cruz Is the Fulfillment of Their Religious Prophecy

Beck said that he, like many Mormons, believe in a prophecy that the Constitution will hang by a thread in the last days. He said he believes that now is that time, and people like Lee and Cruz will save it...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/glenn-beck-tells-fellow-mormons-utah-ted-cruz-fulfillment-their-religious-prophecy

Harry Reid says unlike the GOP, Senate Democrats never held up a Supreme Court nomination

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/20/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-unlike-gop-senate-democrats-never-/

The True Core Of The Jesus Myth

https://youtu.be/KXAGpCTiGlQ

George Martin, The 'Fifth Beatle' (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

When you hear the Beatles, in all their joyful, sassy, creative glory, you hear John and Paul and George and Ringo. You also hear the inventive, eclectic, classically-trained genius of their legendary producer, George Martin. They wore beads. He wore sport coats. He saw their magic. They valued his. Together, they made some of the most amazing music ever. It’s worth digging in to how they did that. This hour On Point, Sir George Martin, dead at 90, and his way with the Beatles. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/03/11/george-martin-obituary-beatles

Bart Ehrman vs Tim McGrew - Round 2

On Saturday 25th July 2015 - 02:30 pm, Bart D. Ehrman and Timothy J. McGrew return as guests with moderator Justin Brierley on radio show "Unbelievable," a weekly program aired on UK Premier Christian Radio from the London studio. They discuss "Do Undesigned Coincidences Confirm the Gospels?" Bart and Tim return to debate research by McGrew on the so-called ‘undesigned coincidences’ between different Gospel accounts that give them the ring of truth. They also debate whether historical research can ever validate miraculous conclusions as they differ over accounts in the book of Acts.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/Gm-nx8yNK3o

Bart Ehrman - Bible Fail: Unreliable, Incoherent & Self Contradictory

All 4 canonical gospels are written by anonymous Greek-speaking Christians living 40-75 years after the death of Jesus, not by eye-witnesses...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/oNn7b_kz9dM

More of Dutko's Dinosaur Nonsense: AronRa v Dutko part 3

https://youtu.be/gNCJGKqjd5E

Did Jesus Exist? Dr. Robert M Price, Dr. Richard Carrier, David Fitzgerald Interview Part 2 Q&A

Part 2 is new and appears below.  If you haven't seen Part 1, it is here.

Historians and Apologists have been arguing for centuries about the evidence for a historical Jesus, the Mythicist theory takes the position that Jesus may never have existed as a real person and has compelling evidence to support it. Join us as we invite the top three scholars/authors in the Mythicist field to discuss the best and worst evidence for a historical Jesus.

The Authors:

Robert M. Price holds two Ph.D. degrees (in Theology and New Testament). He has taught undergraduates, seminarians, and doctoral students. He served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Montclair and as the Director of the Center for Inquiry, Metro, NY. His numerous books include Deconstructing Jesus, The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, The Amazing Colossal Apostle, and The Human Bible New Testament. Price is the host of the podcasts The Bible Geek, The Human Bible, and The Lovecraft Geek.

Richard Carrier has a Ph.D. in the history of philosophy from Columbia University, and is a published philosopher and historian, specializing in contemporary philosophy of naturalism, and in Greco-Roman philosophy, science, and religion, and the origins of Christianity. He blogs regularly, lectures for community groups worldwide, and teaches courses online. He is the author of many books including Sense and Goodness without God, On the Historicity of Jesus, and Proving History, as well as chapters in several anthologies and articles in academic journals. For more about Dr. Carrier and his work see www.richardcarrier.info

David Fitzgerald is an atheist activist, writer, public speaker and historical researcher who has been actively investigating the Historical Jesus question for over 15 years. He has a degree in history and was an associate member of CSER (the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion) He lectures around the country at Universities and national secular events. He is also author of NAILED: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed At All and The Complete Heretic’s Guide to Western Religion series.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/irRDkcr5Diw

Debate #12 Historicity of Jesus with Dr Richard Carrier

Great debate on Jesus - was he a real historical person or made up from whole cloth?
Interview:
https://youtu.be/HhvmuLxBxXU

RWW News: David Barton Says It's The Role Of Judges To 'Render Judgment For God'

https://youtu.be/lsSul4SEzls

Why Didn't Jesus Tell Us About Germs? (Richard Carrier)

This is an excerpt from Richard Carrier's opening statement in his debate against David Marshall. The full debate can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooXCa... (Carrier starts at 26:00)
Interview:
https://youtu.be/PRcIAUS6VMI

And Now the Good News #177: 2/23/2016

Learn more about the stories featured in this video at the following sources:

“Fossil analysis pushes back human split from other primates by two million years”
http://goo.gl/pEi6vJ

“Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought, study finds”
http://goo.gl/GxnQtv

“Fewer heart problems in people who drink moderately but often”
http://goo.gl/sgrcXL
https://youtu.be/Hn8FL8u04_4

What exactly is a brokered convention?

It's contentious, rare, and a throwback to a bygone political era.
https://youtu.be/4TZ5oCW0JFw

Republicans React to Scalia's Death by Abandoning the Text of the Constitution

The faithful of the Republican Party constantly boast of their superior devotion to the Constitution. And they baselessly accuse the Democrats, especially President Barack Obama, of failing to abide by the text of the Constitution.

Then came the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the hero of Republicans for claiming to so strictly follow the text of the Constitution. This suddenly opened-up a vacancy on the Supreme Court to be filled by President Obama. A Democrat. Horrors!...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cody-cain/republicans-react-to-scal_b_9292614.html