We Dissent

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by reproductive rights expert, political strategist, and advocate Maya Rupert. They discuss how the fight for reproductive justice is being waged post-Dobbs and why the personal has never been more political.    Background When We Win with Maya Rupert Center For Reproductive Rights National Women's Law Center Explanation of EMTALA Joint amicus brief Episode 30 -...

Not two years after overturning Roe v. Wade , the US Supreme Court is considering a case that threatens to take the abortion pill, mifepristone, off the market. Alison, Liz, and Rebecca explain how the anti-abortion activist lawsuit started, how it got to the Court, and what we learned from the recent oral arguments.   Background SCOTUSblog Oral arguments transcript FFRF's Trump judges report Amer...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome guest Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee and lead organizer of BJC's Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. They discuss the urgent threat that Christian nationalist ideology poses to American democracy, how nonreligious and religious Americans alike can fight back, and Amanda explains the strong historical tradition of supp...

Join Rebecca, Alison and Liz for a journey through the history and principles behind the U.S. exempting churches from taxation! We discuss the practice of tax exemption for charitable organizations, including churches, the major cases about the constitutionality of these ideas, and abuses of the Johnson Amendment.    Background History of churches and taxes 2024 State of the Secular States report...

It's that wonderful time of year when Alison guides Rebecca and Liz through the upcoming legislative sessions in states across the country. We discuss upsetting trends in state legislation and bills we're monitoring that affect the separation of church and state and threaten true religious liberty for everyone.   Background and Resources Previous episode about the legislative process Previous epis...

Liz and Rebecca answer your burning questions on religious liberty issues and more! This episode, we reach into the mailbag and take on topics from YOU, our loyal listeners.   Background FFRF's Website American Atheists' Website Alliance for Justice: Statement of Principles: The Biden Administration Must Prioritize Judges Check us out on Instagram , Facebook, and X (Formerly Twitter) . Our website...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca interview Anaya Gayle—lawyer, ex-Mormon, and former BYU assistant dean. They discuss the power and influence the church wields and life for LGBTQ+ students at BYU, as Anaya shares her experience inside the insular LDS community.     Background More about Anaya Gayle Anaya's Bio Interview with the Human Stories podcast News story - "Former BYU assistant dean speaks out agai...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Professor Marci Hamilton, legal icon and leading expert on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and extreme religious liberty. Professor Hamilton explains the origin story of RFRA, how it has led us to the emerging theocracy we face, and what Americans can do to reclaim true religious liberty before it's too late.  Submit a question for the holiday ma...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca go back to school! They discuss the latest wild and crazy state/church violations in public schools reported to their organizations, the postscript on the Coach Kennedy case, and the alarming move by Oklahoma to create the first religious public school. Background Pray to Play report Prayer Walks and Public Schools report We Dissent Episode 5 – You, Coach Kennedy, are no T...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca take a deep dive into Texas for a case study in theocratic government. They discuss recent Christian nationalist legislation advancing in the state, the takeover of state institutions by conservative Christian legal groups, and the many state/church battles their organizations have fought in Texas.    Background Texas Monthly - "How a Right-wing Law Firm Shaped the Judge W...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca discuss a better vision for religious liberty with Liz Reiner Platt, director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project, a law and policy think tank based at Columbia Law School. They talk about using religious exemptions to promote progressive social causes and issues, including the legal fight for a right to abortion based on freedom of conscience.   Background Liz Reiner...

The Supreme Court continues to mess up civil rights for everyone. In this episode Rebecca and Liz discuss the two opinions handed down by the Supreme Court at the end of June, Groff v. DeJoy and 303 Creative v. Elenis. They recap the case, summarize the rulings, and discuss implications of the decisions.   Background Groff v. DeJoy SCOTUS decision SCOTUSBlog - "Justices rule in favor of evangelica...

Alison, Rebecca, and Liz discuss the pending Post Office case—Groff v. DeJoy—another high-stakes case in which the Supreme Court considers how much hardship a business must bear to accommodate the religious practices of employees. They explain how the case threatens to disrupt decades of case law interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and what the oral arguments may have signaled about the...

Rebecca, Liz, and Alison discuss the state of state/church separation with Professor Caroline Corbin, constitutional law professor at the University of Miami. They review the history of Establishment Clause jurisprudence, remind listeners about what the Supreme Court did to the religion clauses in 2022, and discuss where we stand now in regards to rights under the First Amendment. TLDR: If you're...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Katie O'Connor, Deputy Chief Counsel at Demand Justice, to discuss court reform. Katie explains how the Supreme Court and federal courts have been broken, why it's an existential threat to our secular democracy, and how we can fix it.  Background Demand Justice FFRF report on Trump judges Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States   Leg...

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome another guest to the pod—Sasha Buchert, senior attorney and director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project for Lambda Legal. Sasha guides us through a discussion of the history of transgender rights in the courts, the current legislative attacks on trans people we are seeing across the country, and the litigation to overturn anti-trans laws.   Background...

What is the ministerial exception? Where did it come from? What has the Supreme Court said about this legal doctrine? In this episode, Rebecca, Liz and Alison recount the history of the ministerial exception and break down the two major cases from the Supreme Court on point: Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrisey...

Rebecca, Liz and Alison discuss the December 2022 oral arguments in the latest services for same sex wedding case, 303 Creative v. Elenis. This case involves a Christian website designer who would like to expand her business to create wedding websites, but would refuse to do that for same sex couples. The hosts discuss the craziness that was the oral argument and what this case means for religious...

Alison guides us through the legislative process in states and what to expect in the 2023 legislative sessions. We discuss how a bill becomes a law, what bills we're tracking for next year, and give advice on how you can become an effective advocate!  Cases Marsh v. Chambers (1983) Carson v. Makin (2022) Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022...

Rebecca, Liz, Monica, and Alison discuss the ways in which the separation of church and state surfaces during election season. They'll break down the Johnson Amendment, the rules and restrictions churches must adhere to in order to be tax-exempt, and then explore the unique complaints they receive involving voting in churches. FFRF , AHA , and American Atheists (like churches!) are 501(c)(3) organ...

Monica, Alison, Liz, and Rebecca discuss religious liberty issues in our jails and prisons. From court-ordered AA to coercive prayer meetings to forming atheist and humanist groups in prisons, there are plenty of ways the separation of church and state affects this vulnerable population. Cases Torcaso v. Watkins (1961) FFRF v. Mosley and Laurel County Correctional Center (2019) Jason Holden v. BOP...

Alison guides Rebecca, Monica and Liz through a discussion of another tool we have to keep religion out of government: administrative rules and regulations. The co-hosts give an overview of this body of law, and discuss how it's been used to erode the wall of separation and what we can do to roll that back.  Background Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Title IX and new...

Liz, Rebecca, Monica and Alison recap the case, Kennedy v. Bremerton, discussed in Episode 5 and review the decision handed down by the Supreme Court at the end of June. Later in the episode they're joined by the pod's very first guest, Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United, who represented Bremerton at the high court. Rachel joins for a conversation about being a woman leader in the...

Rebecca and Liz recap the case, which was discussed in Episode 2, and review the decision handed down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. They also discuss the importance of this decision in the context of all other religious liberty cases from the high court's term this past year.   Background SCOTUS Decision   Check us out on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Our website,  we-dissent.org , has more...

Liz and Rebecca recap the case, which was discussed in Episode 1, and review the decision handed down by the Supreme Court at the end of June. They also discuss the impact this has for the separation of state and church moving forward. Background SCOTUS Decision   Check us out on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Our website,  we-dissent.org , has more information as well as episode transcripts.