Darwin Day 2008 - Charles Darwin’s birthday is February 12, which is as good a day as any to celebrate his achievements and those of science in general.  We talk to evolutionary biologist, philosopher and popular science writer Massimo Pigliucci of the State University of New York in Stony Brook, the organizer of SUNY’s Darwin Day events, and who organized the University of Tennessee’s first Darwin Day in 1997.  Massimo maintains several web presences, including RationallySpeaking.org, PlatoFootnote.org, and GenotypebyEnvironment.org.  We’ll also feature a special “scientific gospel” song from the California based band The Galapagos Mountain Boys.

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 Podcast #11 - Massimo Pigliucci on Darwin Day: Download (1970)

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 (1703)

Galileo Galilei - An exploration of his life and influence, including an interview with UNLV professor Dr. Maurice A. Finocchiaro (author of Retrying Galileo); a discussion of the recent controversy involving Pope Benedict XVI (whose 1990 speech defending the Inquisition has come back to bite him in the cassock); and a special musical contribution by singer/songwriter Ellis Paul from his album Essentials.

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 Podcast #9 - Galileo: Download (2018)

by John C. Snider © 2008

We conclude our interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine”the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  In Part One (The Genesis of The Gospel Truth) she discusses what motivated her to launch this project.  In Part Two (Reactions and Revelations) she talks about the fan response and what she learned about herself in the process.  In this third and final installment, she looks to what she might say about the future of America in her upcoming work.

Learn more about her on the web at www.SusanWerner.com.

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by John C. Snider © 2008

We continue our interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine”the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  In this second installment, she talks about the response of fans to this (as far as we can tell) unique artistic project.

Learn more about her on the web at www.SusanWerner.com.

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by John C. Snider © 2008

Singer/songwriter Susan Werner has been on the music scene for over fifteen years.  She has toured nearly constantly and released seven successful albums (including I Can’t Be New, her delightful homage to Tin Pan Alley), and despite consistent critical acclaim and positive audience response, she flies just under the mainstream radar.  Her output is eclectic, but generally skews to the soft side: jazz, folk, lounge, easy listening - Werner is difficult to pin down.  Equally at home with guitar and piano, she possesses a clear voice and a head for clever lyrics and biting satire (she’s opened for such diverse acts as Madeleine Peyroux and George Carlin).

Werner’s latest album is The Gospel Truth, released in February 2007, a unique collection of songs that combine “the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  Musically, each offering sounds like something that could have been pulled from any Protestant hymnal or sung by an African-American choir, but in the finest tradition of folk and the blues, the lyrics express indignation, hope, and calls for social justice. 

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Recorded 12/01/2007.  Hosted by John C. Snider and David Driscoll.

Show Notes:

Flock of Dodos - We discuss the independent documentary film Flock of Dodos, which explores the tactics used by both sides of the Intelligent Design/Evolution debate.  Read our review here.  Look for the film on Showtime and at film festivals, or purchase the DVD.  Visit the official website at www.flockofdodos.com.

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 Podcast #2 - Flock of Dodos: Download (1729)

Five Questions with Nathaniel Branden (Author of The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem)
 
by John C. Snider © 2007
 
[Ayn Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged turns 50 this month.  Objectivists are celebrating, and CSPAN 2 recently devoted several hours of programming to discussions about the late Rand and her literary/philosophical influence.  Nearly a quarter centery after her death, Rand is still stirring up controversy, and despite her staunch atheism, she is generally unpopular amongst modern-day freethinkers because of her cult-like aura and unflinchingly pro-capitalist stance.  I add to the celebration in reprinting two articles I’ve written over the years that touch on the Randian legacy: an essay titled “But Is It Science Fiction? Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged”, originally published in May 2000 in my online magazine scifidimensions.com; and an interview I conducted with one-time Rand confidante Nathaniel Branden, originally published in the April 2005 issue of The Eudaimonist.]
 
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© John C. Snider 2007

[This interview originally appeared in 2005 in The Eudaimonist, the official newsletter of the Atlanta-based Fellowship of Reason.  Harris published his Letter to a Christian Nation in 2006.]

Sam Harris is a Stanford-based philosopher, doctoral candidate in neuroscience, and author of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason (W.W. Norton, 2004, ISBN 0393035158), a frank, uncompromising, sometimes politically incorrect, and often blatantly angry book in which he argues that religious faith is incompatible with the goals of human happiness and societal stability. (more…)