Interview:
http://ffrf.libsyn.com/one-nation-under-god
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
One Nation Under God? (Ken Kruse on Freethought Radio, 5/4/2015)
In the News: Venice, Florida, city council rejects “In God We Trust;” Doug Marshall’s Reason Station goes up in Warren, Michigan, city hall; creationist teacher disciplined in Arroyo Grande, California, public high school. After celebrating the birthdays of Peter Tchaikovsky and Pete Seeger, we talk with Princeton history professor Ken M. Kruse about his eye-opening book, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America.
Interview:
http://ffrf.libsyn.com/one-nation-under-god
Interview:
http://ffrf.libsyn.com/one-nation-under-god
Alex Garland: Ex Machina and the Question of Consciousness (Point of Inquiry, 5/18/2015)
Ex Machina, a new film that tells the story of a billionaire programmer who creates an artificially intelligent female robot, is in theaters now, and its writer and director, Alex Garland, is our special guest on Point of Inquiry this week. Although this is Garland's debut as a director he has also written hit novels such as The Beach as well as written and produced screen plays such as 28 Days Later.
As the power of computers and the software that runs them rapidly advances year by year, the representation of artificial intelligence in sci-fi films like Ex Machina are inching closer and closer to reality. Josh Zepps talks to Garland about the science and philosophy behind consciousness, the future of self-aware machines, and the ethical considerations we’ve barely begun to ponder.
Interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/alex_garland_ex_machina_and_the_question_of_consciousness/
As the power of computers and the software that runs them rapidly advances year by year, the representation of artificial intelligence in sci-fi films like Ex Machina are inching closer and closer to reality. Josh Zepps talks to Garland about the science and philosophy behind consciousness, the future of self-aware machines, and the ethical considerations we’ve barely begun to ponder.
Interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/alex_garland_ex_machina_and_the_question_of_consciousness/
Soul Beliefs, with Dan Ogilvie (The Humanist Hour #151)
In this episode, Bo Bennett and Kim Ellington speak with Professor Dan Ogilvie about the concept of the soul and how to teach this concept to both secular and religious students.
After 45 years of teaching, Dan has been engaged in removing the wraps from the topic of soul and afterlife beliefs. He is a personality and social psychologist who formed a partnership with his brain scientist colleague, Leonard Hamilton, and together the two have been exploring the riches of a new field of inquiry. The topic of soul and afterlife beliefs provides an easy entrance into the disciplines of psychology, history, philosophy, brain evolution, child development, cognitive development, anthropology, religion, mythology, and other fields of inquiry.
About Dan’s course (from coursera.org):
Throughout history, the vast majority of people around the globe have believed they have, however defined, a “soul.” While the question of whether the soul exists cannot be answered by science, what we can study are the causes and consequences of various beliefs about the soul and its prospects of surviving the death of the body. Why are soul and afterlife beliefs so common in human history? Are there adaptive advantages to assuming souls exist? Are there brain structures that have been shaped by environmental pressures that provide the foundation of body/mind dualism that is such a prominent feature of many religions? How do these beliefs shape the worldviews of different cultures and our collective lives? What is the role of competing afterlife beliefs in religion, science, politics, and war? This course explores several facets of this relatively unexplored but profoundly important aspect of human thought and behavior.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-151-soul-beliefs-with-dan-ogilvie
After 45 years of teaching, Dan has been engaged in removing the wraps from the topic of soul and afterlife beliefs. He is a personality and social psychologist who formed a partnership with his brain scientist colleague, Leonard Hamilton, and together the two have been exploring the riches of a new field of inquiry. The topic of soul and afterlife beliefs provides an easy entrance into the disciplines of psychology, history, philosophy, brain evolution, child development, cognitive development, anthropology, religion, mythology, and other fields of inquiry.
About Dan’s course (from coursera.org):
Throughout history, the vast majority of people around the globe have believed they have, however defined, a “soul.” While the question of whether the soul exists cannot be answered by science, what we can study are the causes and consequences of various beliefs about the soul and its prospects of surviving the death of the body. Why are soul and afterlife beliefs so common in human history? Are there adaptive advantages to assuming souls exist? Are there brain structures that have been shaped by environmental pressures that provide the foundation of body/mind dualism that is such a prominent feature of many religions? How do these beliefs shape the worldviews of different cultures and our collective lives? What is the role of competing afterlife beliefs in religion, science, politics, and war? This course explores several facets of this relatively unexplored but profoundly important aspect of human thought and behavior.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-151-soul-beliefs-with-dan-ogilvie
Addiction Education and SMART Recovery with Drs. Joe Gerstein and Bill Abbott (The Humanist Hour #148)
In this episode, Bo Bennett speaks with Drs. Joe Gerstein and Bill Abbott about a secular approach to addiction education and recovery via the SMART Recovery® program.
From SmartRecovery.org:
SMART Recovery® is the leading self-empowering addiction recovery support group. Our participants learn tools for addiction recovery based on the latest scientific research and participate in a world-wide community which includes free, self-empowering, secular and science-based, mutual-help support groups.
SMART Recovery® helps people recover from all types of addiction and addictive behaviors, including: alcoholism, drug abuse, drug addiction, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling addiction, cocaine addiction, and addiction to other substances and activities.
SMART Recovery sponsors face-to-face meetings around the world, and daily online meetings. In addition, our online message board and 24/7 chat room are excellent forums to learn about SMART Recovery and obtain addiction recovery support.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-148-addiction-education-and-smart-recovery-with-drs-joe-gerstein-and-bill-abbott
From SmartRecovery.org:
SMART Recovery® is the leading self-empowering addiction recovery support group. Our participants learn tools for addiction recovery based on the latest scientific research and participate in a world-wide community which includes free, self-empowering, secular and science-based, mutual-help support groups.
SMART Recovery® helps people recover from all types of addiction and addictive behaviors, including: alcoholism, drug abuse, drug addiction, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling addiction, cocaine addiction, and addiction to other substances and activities.
SMART Recovery sponsors face-to-face meetings around the world, and daily online meetings. In addition, our online message board and 24/7 chat room are excellent forums to learn about SMART Recovery and obtain addiction recovery support.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-148-addiction-education-and-smart-recovery-with-drs-joe-gerstein-and-bill-abbott
Courageous Satire (Freethought Radio)
In the News: Black atheists of Chicago, “Tea with Mr. Darwin,” Nonbelief-Relief, and National Day of Prayer protested with Dan’s song, “Get Off Your Knees and Get To Work.” We interview author Andrew Solomon (“Far From The Tree”), president of the PEN American Center, who this week awarded satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo its “Free Expression Courage Award."
Interview:
http://ffrf.libsyn.com/courageous-satire
Interview:
http://ffrf.libsyn.com/courageous-satire
Topsy-Turvy Global Trade Politics (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)
The President wants a huge new Pacific trade deal, and he wants it fast so it doesn’t get bogged down and derailed. So China doesn’t write the rules. Yesterday, his own party said no. Senate Democrats rebelled without more assurances, protections, guarantees. And now, the fate of the Trans Pacific Partnership – the TPP – is way up in the air. The White House is calling it a “snafu.” Maybe. But it’s also a serious battle over how the world will work. How Americans workers, business and trade will fare. This hour On Point: the red hot politics of Pacific trade. / Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/05/13/tpp-vote-asia-pacific-trade-congress-obama-elizabeth-warren
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/05/13/tpp-vote-asia-pacific-trade-congress-obama-elizabeth-warren
Jeb Bush’s Favorite Author Rejects Democracy, Says The Hyper-Rich Should Seize Power
Last April, when Jeb Bush was asked what he liked to read, he replied "I like Charles Murray books to be honest with you, which ... Read more
A Christian Nation? Since When? (The New York Times By KEVIN M. KRUSE) (repost)
"...Back in the 1930s, business leaders found themselves on the defensive. Their public prestige had plummeted with the Great Crash; their private businesses were under attack by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal from above and labor from below. To regain the upper hand, corporate leaders fought back on all fronts... But nothing worked particularly well until they began an inspired public relations offensive that cast capitalism as the handmaiden of Christianity..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/a-christian-nation-since-when.html?action=click
"...The Rev. James W. Fifield — known as “the 13th Apostle of Big Business” and “Saint Paul of the Prosperous”...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/a-christian-nation-since-when.html?action=click
"...The Rev. James W. Fifield — known as “the 13th Apostle of Big Business” and “Saint Paul of the Prosperous”...
This Memorial Day, Republicans weigh going to war in Iraq again
There's a vintage national security debate going on inside the Republican Party this Memorial Day over whether the US should go to war in Iraq.. Read more
Bernie Sanders Takes It to Wall Street With Financial Transactions Tax
Last week, Bernie Sanders, the Senator from Vermont and only announced challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, took a strong stan... Read more
Well, Bless Her Heart, Holly Solomon, Republican Operative, Is Going To The Pokey
Y'all remember me telling you about Holly Nicole Solomon, who ran over her husband with a car in 2012 when she found out that he did not go vote again... Read more
The right’s big history lie: Reagan, Disney, Vietnam and the war to redefine America
Mickey Mouse, Noam Chomsky (Credit: AP/Dan Steinberg/Nader Daoud) History was all the rage for late-twentieth-century Americans. Genealogical researc... Read more
Dinesh D’Souza’s Ex-Wife Wipes The Smile Off His Convicted Face
"The conservative author and documentary filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza was spared prison time on Tuesday after pleading guilty earlier this year to violating federal campaign finance laws.
Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan sentenced Mr. D’Souza to five years of probation — including eight months living under supervision in a “community confinement center” in San Diego — and a $30,000 fine. The sentencing brought to a close a high-profile legal battle that began with Mr. D’Souza’s indictment in January on charges that he illegally used straw donors to contribute to a Republican Senate candidate in New York in 2012.
Mr. D’Souza, who has accused President Obama of carrying out the “anticolonial” agenda of his father, a Kenyan economist, initially argued that he had been singled out for prosecution because of his politics. But on the morning in May when he was scheduled to go on trial, he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse to the court for his conduct."
http://youtu.be/WXm5bsQqbZY
Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan sentenced Mr. D’Souza to five years of probation — including eight months living under supervision in a “community confinement center” in San Diego — and a $30,000 fine. The sentencing brought to a close a high-profile legal battle that began with Mr. D’Souza’s indictment in January on charges that he illegally used straw donors to contribute to a Republican Senate candidate in New York in 2012.
Mr. D’Souza, who has accused President Obama of carrying out the “anticolonial” agenda of his father, a Kenyan economist, initially argued that he had been singled out for prosecution because of his politics. But on the morning in May when he was scheduled to go on trial, he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse to the court for his conduct."
http://youtu.be/WXm5bsQqbZY
Monday, May 25, 2015
Recovering From Religion, with Sarah Morehead (The Humanist Hour #144)
In this episode, Bo Bennett speaks with Sarah Morehead, Executive Director of Recovering From Religion about her personal journey from religion, the Secular Therapist Project, and the Hotline Project.
A life-long evangelical Southern Baptist, Sarah spent years as a dutiful wife and mother before finding the courage to leave an abusive marriage. She ultimately let go of her faith, becoming a passionate advocate for growing the secular community by developing resources for practical support as people reconsidering the role of religion in their life.
In 2011 she joined the leadership of Recovering From Religion and in 2012 she was appointed the Executive Director. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Recovering From Religion is well known as the bridge of hope for those negatively impacted by religion. In 2014 she was honored with the American Atheists “Atheist of the Year” award for her activism throughout the secular movement and in January 2015 she was elected President of the Reason Rally Coalition.
When she is not busy directing RR and organizing events like Apostacon, she enjoys spending time with her family and homeschooling her many children.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-144-recovering-from-religion-with-sarah-morehead
A life-long evangelical Southern Baptist, Sarah spent years as a dutiful wife and mother before finding the courage to leave an abusive marriage. She ultimately let go of her faith, becoming a passionate advocate for growing the secular community by developing resources for practical support as people reconsidering the role of religion in their life.
In 2011 she joined the leadership of Recovering From Religion and in 2012 she was appointed the Executive Director. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Recovering From Religion is well known as the bridge of hope for those negatively impacted by religion. In 2014 she was honored with the American Atheists “Atheist of the Year” award for her activism throughout the secular movement and in January 2015 she was elected President of the Reason Rally Coalition.
When she is not busy directing RR and organizing events like Apostacon, she enjoys spending time with her family and homeschooling her many children.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/the-humanist-hour-144-recovering-from-religion-with-sarah-morehead
The World Is My Country (Freethought Radio, 1/24/2015)
Pope Francis says we should not “make fun of faith,” but we point out that blasphemy is a victimless crime. After honoring the birthdays of freethinking composers Mozart and Jerome Kern, we celebrate the birthday of founding patriot Thomas Paine, the deistic freethinker who wrote The Age of Reason, by listening to Dan Barker’s tribute,“The World is My Country." Then we talk with Steven Hewett, a retired Army sergeant and Afghanistan veteran who successfully stopped religious symbols from being displayed at a Veterans Memorial in his North Carolina city.
Interview:
http://ffrf.org/news/radio/show-items/item/22270-freethought-radio-january-24-2015
Interview:
http://ffrf.org/news/radio/show-items/item/22270-freethought-radio-january-24-2015
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