Behind the “at”?  No, in a Bible.  An inmate in Dothan, Alabama tried to escape by hiding a hacksaw blade in the Good Book (’Good’ fer hidin’ thangs!). 

Here’s the complete report (click here while the link lasts to read it online at the Dothan Eagle website):

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We discuss Religulous, the new documentary starring comedian Bill Maher (best known for his politically-oriented roundtable talk shows Politically Incorrect and Real Time with Bill Maher).  The early box office returns show Religulous making $3.5 million its first weekend on 500 screens (compare this to Ben Stein’s Expelled, which made $3 million on 1,000 screens).

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 Podcast #30 - Religulous: Download (2206)

TV Comedian Bill Maher hits the big screen October 3rd with a funny but unflinching expose on the nuttiness of religion.

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Ever since Bill Clinton used Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” as a campaign theme song, I can’t help trying to think of pop tunes that match up with prominent political figures.   We joked around a little bit in podcast #26 about Sarah Palin, so I decided fair’s fair - here are my picks for the 2008 Election Cycle Playlist. (more…)

[Apologies for the sound glitch at the very beginning.  The theme music overpowers the voice track, but it only lasts a few seconds.]

Presenting our first-ever live episode, recorded August 30th at Dragon*Con as part of the Skeptics programming track, directed by Derek Colanduno of Skepticality fame.  (Derek’s pod-partner Swoopy directed Dragon*Con’s Podcasting track.) 

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 Podcast #25 - Live at Dragon*Con!: Download (1694)

Woohoo!  Lori Lipman Brown (lobbyist for the Secular Coalition for America and friend of the American Freethought podcast) appeared last week on The Colbert Report (one of my favorite shows).  She was the guest for Colbert’s ongoing, occasional segment “Better Know a Lobby”.  See how she did here.

Lori was a guest at last weekend’s Dragon*Con Skeptics Track.  She gave several presentations that were well-attended and very well received.  Good job, Lori!

Why settle for a dry, tasteless cracker, when you can have a tasty Cheeto?  A woman in Missouri has discovered a Cheeto that looks like Jesus on the Cross.

Amazingly, this isn’t the first time such a thing has happened.  Back in March, a Methodist youth director in Texas found another Cheeto that looks like Jesus (a paraplegic Jesus at that, but the less said the better).  The man displays this not-so-holy relic, which he dubs “Cheesus”, in his office bookcase.  Classy!

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Barbara Forrest - We talk to Dr. Barbara Forrest about SB 733 [link], the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act, a piece of legislation sitting on the desk of Governor Bobby Jindal that, if signed, would enable teachers and administrators in state schools to sneak Creationism/Intelligent Design in under the radar.  Dr. Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University, the co-author of Creationism’s Trojan Horse [link], and was one of the star witnesses in the celebrated Kitzmiller v. Dover court case.  She’s also a co-founder of the Louisiana Coalition for Science [lasciencecoalition.org] and active in defending science against religio-political encroachment at the national level.

Happy 150th Birthday, Evolution! - In 2009, the thinking world will celebrate Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his Origin of Species [link].  But we’re popping the cork early - a landmark in the history of science occurred on July 1, 1858.  That’s the day that the theory of evolution by natural selection had its first public reading (at London’s famous Linnean Society).  We’ll talk about how Charles Darwin and his associates gave naturalist Alfred Wallace the subtle shaft, ensuring that religious nutjobs in the 21st century would be railing about “Darwinism” instead of “Wallacism”.  (For an excellent analysis of this episode, read Robert Wright’s fantastic book The Moral Animal [link].)

Independence Day- Now, here’s a holiday even the grumpiest atheist can get behind.  Everybody knows that on July 4th, 1776, the American Colonists told the Brits where they could shove it.  Sort of.  We’ll look at some of the myths surrounding the birth of America, and revisit that pesky semi-religious language that has the fundies crowing about how this is a Christian Nation. 

Goodbye, George Carlin- The skeptical world lost one of its funniest and most adamant stars.  Carlin fought for free speech (and even pissed off politically correct left-wingers in the process) during the course of his five-decade career.  He will be missed.

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 Podcast #20 - Barbara Forrest: Download (1985)

Susan Werner - We interview the talented singer/songwriter whose latest album - The Gospel Truth - she describes as “agnostic gospel”, combining the music of faith with the lyrics of doubt.  Also worth a listen is her I Can’t Be New, which pays homage to classic songbook tunes by composers like Cole Porter.  Susan also appears in a supporting role in the concert DVD 3,000 Miles, starring Ellis Paul (who performed the song “Did Galileo Pray?” on our last episode).

Send us feedback at contact@americanfreethought.com.

Join us for chat at the American Freethought Yahoo Group.

Hosted by John C. Snider and David Driscoll.  Recorded 1/30/2008.

 Podcast #10 - Susan Werner: Download (1708)