Freethought Radio

This week we honor the life and work of our friend, the Broadway composer Charles Strouse—who died last week at age 96—who wrote "Annie" and "Bye Bye Birdie" and many other musicals and songs, by hearing some of his music, including "Poor Little Me," which he co-wrote with FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. Then, we speak with journalist Talia Lavin , author of the book Wild Faith: How the Christian Ri...

The new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has insulted "practical atheists," but it is really his own church that needs to apologize for bad behavior. After hearing Dan Barker's song "The Battle of Church and State," we speak with FFRF's Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne and Regional Governmental Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens about the many "good, bad & ugly" state/church bills at the sta...

We have some good state/church news to report out of Oklahoma and Arizona. Then, in response to Trump's remarks at the May 1 "National Day of Prayer," we celebrate the May 4 "National Day of Reason" by hearing impassioned and humorous remarks at the Second Annual "Reason Reception" in D.C., sponsored by FFRF, American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition for America, for the Congressiona...

Mayday! Mayday! We listen to some of the oral arguments in a pivotal Supreme Court case heard Wednesday about whether a private Catholic charter school can be funded with public money. If allowed, this would deal a serious blow to public education. After reporting on state/church news in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, and decrying Attorney General Pam Bondi's "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias" Task...

We first do a round-up of the news nationally and globally, including the death of Pope Francis and the Trump administration's setting up of a dubious religion-based task force. Then, guest host FFRF Communications Director Amitabh Pal interviews University of Louisville Professor David T. Buckley on his recent book,  Blessing America First: Religion, Populism and Foreign Policy in the Trump Admin...

This week, we report that Christian nationalism is on full display at all levels of government. After covering national state/church news, FFRF Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne tells us about the many bills, good and bad, that FFRF's Action Fund is tracking in the states (and Puerto Rico). Then, George Mbuagbaw , acting president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, tells us about the many nonb...

FFRF's IT Director Scott Knickelbine  gives us the inside scoop on the case by Catholic Charities in Wisconsin that is before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to deny workers unemployment insurance based on religious privilege. Then, we talk with Maryland Delegate Heather Bagnall about the bill she introduced to exonerate people accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Maryland, including Moll Dyer, wh...

Besides covering state/church issues in Kentucky, Wisconsin and Arizona, most of the news is out of Oklahoma, including the fact that Oklahoma's Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is suing FFRF for allegedly interfering in the right of his office to promote religion in the public schools. FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott joins us to talk about that case, Walters v. FFRF. Three sm...

After a roundup of state/church news around the country, we celebrate the birthday of Eric Idle, 82, (who calls himself an "old agnostic") by listening to his irreverent song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," from the movie "Monty Python's Life of Brian." Then, professor and author Josh Cowen tells us about his book The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vo...

After reporting state-church news at the federal level, as well as in Massachusetts, Texas and Missouri, we hear riveting testimony from Georgia state Rep. Karen Lupton opposing a hateful Christian-nationalist anti-trans bill in that state. Then, former evangelical preacher Rob Haskell , author of God of the Mind: An eXvangelical Journey , tells us why he left the ministry and became an atheist.

We report on the threats and actual harm of Christian nationalism to the country, to the Department of Education and to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas, New Mexico and Wisconsin. After hearing the Yip Harburg song "One Sweet Morning," yearning for the end of winter and the end of war, we speak with attorney Kat Grant , a contributing FFRF writer and host of the "Transing Boundaries" blog, about the shar...

This week, we track a tsunami of (mostly bad) bills in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, West Virginia and North Dakota. After hearing sneak previews of some of FFRF's other shows — "Ask an Atheist," "Freethought Matters" and "We Dissent" — we talk with  Brian Ruder , president of the board of the Final Exit Network, which offers people who are unbearably suffering an intractable medical condition...

We celebrate the fact that Pew reports 43 percent of young adults are nonreligious, and that overall the "Nones" (nonreligious) are larger than any religious denomination. Mandisa Thomas , founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, tells us about the upcoming Revival of Reason conference in Atlanta. Then, we speak with public-health expert Professor Patrick L. Remington , who is on the board of...

After discussing some of Trump's religiously motivated executive orders and appointments, we focus on some of the bad bills in the states, including Oklahoma, Idaho, Alabama, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Then we speak with David Clohessy , a survivor of childhood sexual molestation by clergy, who is the former director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Pr...

We announce the first atheist billboard in Africa! We report on a tsunami of Christian nationalist bills and executive orders at the federal and state levels, including Texas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa and Tennessee. In honor of Valentine's Day, we hear Dan Barker's secular love song "It's Only Natural." Then sociology Professor Ryan T. Cragun , author of Goodbye Religion: The Causes and Conse...

The first half of our show this week deals with the many Christian nationalist executive orders and actions of the Trump administration. We hear part of the "Stop Project 2025" rally in Madison, Wis. Then, we listen to Black/Latino atheist actor  Jon Huertas , best known for playing Miguel Rivas in NBC's "This is Us," as he spoke to FFRF's Denver convention about  "True Freedom: Breaking The Shack...

We cover a range of state/church news on the federal and state levels. We announce FFRF's Scopes Trial Centennial celebration to be held in Tennessee in July. After hearing the irreverent Monty Python song, "Every Sperm is Sacred," we memorialize the life of former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards , an ardent proponent of feminism and democracy and author of the book Make Trouble , by...

This week we comment on the overtly religious nature of President Trump's inaugural "Christian Coronation," including invocations and benedictions claiming we are "one nation under God." Then, we speak with journalist Gareth Gore about his book on the Opus Dei called  OPUS: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church .

Most of the news on this week's show centers on Trump's nominations, many of whom are blatant Christian nationalists. FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence describes our newest lawsuit, just filed this week, challenging unconstitutional tax exemption for religiously owned commercial rental properties in Madison, Wis. Then we talk with a former "church lady,"  Carolyn Shadle , who was the Director of...

We celebrate the release from prison of Nigerian humanist Mubarak Bala who was convicted of the "crime" of blasphemy. FFRF Senior Litigation Counsel Sam Grover updates us on our lawsuit challenging the law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in Louisiana public schools. Then, we hear some shocking stories about early Christianity from Catherine Nixey , author of the book Heretic: Jesus C...

We listen to Seth Andrews , host of "The Thinking Atheist" podcast, read Dan Barker's article "The Top 10 Absolute Worst Old Testament Verses." Then, we hear Washington Post columnist Kate Cohen's entertaining and thought-provoking speech at FFRF's 2024 convention called "Tampon Tim and the Long Reach of Religion."

After reporting on state/church news in Iowa, California, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Texas and Washington state, we listen to jazz vocalist Susan Hofer sing "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" accompanied by Dan Barker on the piano. Then, we hear Brandon Wolf , a survivor of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, as he accepted FFRF's $50,000 Henry Zumach "Freedom Fro...

The Winter Solstice (December 21 this year) is the real reason for the season. We celebrate this festive time of year with music and freethought humor, including songs and performances by Kristin Lems, Dan Barker, Tim Minchin, Roy Zimmerman, Irving Berlin, Trey Parker, Tom Lehrer, the London Humanist Choir, Ken Lonnquist and Brent Michael Davids.

After covering state/church news in Illinois, Wisconsin, California, West Virginia and Minnesota, we celebrate "Bill of Rights Day" (Dec. 15) by hearing Dan Barker's song "The Battle of Church and State." Then, we speak with renowned biblical scholar John J. Collins of Yale Divinity School about his book, Does the Bible Justify Violence?

After criticizing some of Trump's Christian-nationalist departmental and cabinet picks, we speak with FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell about this week's oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case dealing with Tennessee's law (based on religious doctrine) banning medical care for transgender minors. Then, we hear New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg , author of the book Kingd...