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).
David Driscoll gives a wrap-up on the 14th annual Atheist Alliance International convention in Long Beach, California, including his descriptions of presentations by Julia Sweeney, PZ Myers, Eddie Tabash, Michael Shermer and Michael Newdow. Details on the convention can be found here [link].
David Driscoll reports (almost) live from the 14th annual Atheist Alliance International convention in Long Beach, California. Details on the convention - including the opportunity to watch it from home via live streaming - can be found here [link].
Interview with Ed Buckner, the newly appointed president of American Atheists. Ed was formerly an executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism, and at the time of his appointment to this new post was the Treasurer of the Atlanta Freethought Society.
For more about American Atheists, visit Atheists.org.
As listeners of the American Freethought Podcast know, co-host David Driscoll’s other pod-project is his one-man-show for Secular Nation magazine called “Secular Nation On-the-Go”. It’s essentially David’s audiobook version of the magazine, supplemented with his interviews of contributors and/or persons featured in the articles.
First up, what does the selection of Sarah Palin for the Republican presidential ticket mean for the cause of secular government in America? (Spoiler Alert: It won’t be good.)
Next, we offer a wrap-up of the extremely successful Skeptics Track at this year’s Dragon*Con. If you were in attendance, send an email to dragoncon@dragoncon.org and let them know what a fantastic job Track Director Derek Colanduno did.
Plus: A special, super-secret guest panelist joins us for the first (and hopefully not the last) time!
[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.)
Saddleback Civil Forum - On August 16, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain appeared on stage together at Saddleback Church to be questioned by Pastor Rick “Purpose Driven” Warren. We analyze their performance, especially on matters of church-and-state. But really, is it so much to ask our candidates to please please please stop the kowtowing to religious types?
My Fundamentalist Friend - David recounts his recent conversation with a Christian co-worker. The man has more patience than I. Oy.
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We talk to Lori Lipman Brown, director and lobbyist for the Secular Coalition for America [secular.org]. Until recently, Lori was the only full-time lobbyist working with Congress on behalf of non-theistic citizens. She recently got an assistant.
PZ Myers - We talk to the University of Minnesota Morris biologist and author of the popular science blog Pharyngula [scienceblogs.com/pharyngula]. Dr. Myers is an atheist whose outspokenness often raises the hackles of fundamentalists. His recent missives on the controversy centering on University of Central Florida student Webster Cook’s “stealing” of a Eucharist wafer has brought him to the attention of Blowhard Bill Donahue and his Catholic League.
