Episodes

  • 095 - Secular American Voices, feat. Juhem Navarro-Rivera

    095 - Secular American Voices, feat. Juhem Navarro-Rivera
    Nov 8 2020
    In this episode Ryan shares a few thoughts about the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election, followed by an interview with Juhem Navarro-Rivera of Socioanalítica Research about the political views and values of secular Americans as compared to all Americans. These results are revealed in a new report by Socioanalítica Research entitled, Secular Voices Survey.

    LINKS
    Download the Secular Voices Survey | https://secularvoices2020.socioanalitica.com

    Socioanalítica Research website | https://socioanaliticaresearch.com

    Friendly Atheist guest post | https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/10/08/pay-attention-democrats-research-shows-secular-americans-are-a-voting-bloc

    "NoneDecision 2020" (The Humanist) | https://thehumanist.com/commentary/nonedecision-2020-secular-voters-disagree-on-more-than-candidates

    Socioanalítica Blog (Medium) | https://medium.com/storias/how-secular-voters-can-decide-the-election-f45d72b0285f

    Follow Juhem on Facebook and Instagram, @Socioanalitica

    Follow Juhem on Twitter @JuhemNR
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 094 - Secular Day of the Dead, feat. Victoria de la Torre & Margaret Downey

    094 - Secular Day of the Dead, feat. Victoria de la Torre & Margaret Downey
    Oct 29 2020
    On this episode I speak with Victoria de la Torre and Margaret Downey about Secular Day of the Dead, a secularized celebration of an ancient pre-Columbian Mesoamerican celebration that goes back some 3,000 years.

    This year the Freethought Society is hosting International Secular Day of the Dead on Zoom, due to the pandemic. All are invited to join in this celebration of the lives of our dead loved ones and pets.

    Learn more about Secular Day of the Dead and register to attend at http://www.ftsociety.org.

    Reserve a 3-5-minute time slot to speak in celebration of your dead loved one by sending an email to SecularDayoftheDead@FtSociety.org.

    KPCC coverage of the first Secular Day of the Dead in 2018—https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/11/02/86926/angelenos-celebrate-first-secular-day-of-the-dead
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    45 mins
  • 093 - Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives, feat. Chris Stedman

    093 - Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives, feat. Chris Stedman
    Oct 19 2020
    On this episode I speak with Chris Stedman. Chris is a writer, speaker, and community organizer living in Minneapolis. His new book, out tomorrow from Broadleaf Books, is called "IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives." The IRL in the title refers to the internet shorthand for “in real life,” in contrast to our online lives. But Chris thinks this designation is a mistake.

    Much of the time, Chris says, we don’t think of our time on the internet as “real” and therefore don’t approach it with the same critical analysis that we might a different kind of engagement. How much thought do you put into an activity you don’t think is real? Chris argues that while our lives online are different than other relational spaces, it is no less real. As such he invites us to think deeply and critically about how we engage with the internet, how it is shaping us, and what it’s telling us about what is real and what is important.

    ::LINKS::
    Visit Chris Stedman's website | https://chrisstedmanwriter.com

    Buy the book | https://bookshop.org/books/irl-finding-realness-meaning-and-belonging-in-our-digital-lives/9781506463513

    Follow Chris on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/ChrisDStedman

    Read “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation” | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/magazine/free-speech.html
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • 092 - The Humanism of Albert Camus, feat. Jamie Lombardi

    092 - The Humanism of Albert Camus, feat. Jamie Lombardi
    Sep 20 2020
    On this episode I speak with Jamie Lombardi about the humanistic philosophy of Albert Camus against the backdrop of our contemporary political situation: pandemic, wildfires on the west coast, police violence against black people, and the impending election.

    LINKS
    Reading "The Plague" During a Plague, with Jamie Lombardi, Greg Epstein, and Ryan Bell
    https://youtu.be/EF5rsNl5QnE

    "The Best Books by Albert Camus," recommended by Jamie Lombardi (interview by Nigel Warburton)
    https://fivebooks.com/best-books/albert-camus-jamie-lombardi

    Follow Jamie Lombardi on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/euthyphro

    Become a member of Life After God
    http://www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod

    Visit our website at http://www.lifeaftergod.org
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 091 - White Too Long, feat. Robert P. Jones

    091 - White Too Long, feat. Robert P. Jones
    Aug 17 2020
    On this episode I speak with Robert P. Jones, founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) about his new bombshell of a book, "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity."

    Jones speaks about his growing up in the Southern Baptist Church in Texas and Mississippi, his growing awareness of the crisis festering within his faith community, and how he has come to understand the role that history and theology play in Christianity's support for white supremacy. Then he backs all that up by polling Americans about their attitudes about racial difference. What he found is not at all unexpected and yet somehow shocking all the same.
    ----------
    LINKS
    Buy "White Too Long" | https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982122867

    Visit PRRI's website | https://www.prri.org/

    Read "Christianity Will Have Power" in the New York Times | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/us/evangelicals-trump-christianity.html
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    58 mins
  • 090 - We Are Not the Heroes, ft. Greg Epstein

    090 - We Are Not the Heroes, ft. Greg Epstein
    Jun 30 2020
    On this episode I speak to Greg Epstein, humanist chaplain at Harvard University and MIT. In this wide ranging conversation, Greg and I talk about his upbringing and some of the events that led to where he is today at two of the most prestigious universities in the United States, working to build meaningful community among the non-religious and ask difficult questions about the ethics of technology.

    We recorded this conversation in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the uprisings for racial and economic justice around the United States.

    Mentioned in the episode:
    Greg's book, Good Without God. https://www.amazon.com/Good-Without-God-Billion-Nonreligious/dp/006167012X

    Greg's writing for TechCrunch | https://techcrunch.com/author/greg-epstein/

    Is this sadness or anger? Is there a difference? by Ryan Bell
    https://medium.com/radical-humanism/is-this-sadness-or-anger-is-there-a-difference-67cea83e3ee

    Secular Student Alliance virtual conference | https://secularstudents.org/2020conference/
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • 089 - The Politics of Humanism with Justin Clark

    089 - The Politics of Humanism with Justin Clark
    Jun 6 2020
    In this episode I speak with Justin Clark about the relationship between secularism, humanism, and socialism. We even talk a little about Marx and the current political climate in the US.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • 088 - Race in a Godless World with Nathan Alexander

    088 - Race in a Godless World with Nathan Alexander
    Feb 10 2020
    In this episode I speak with historian Dr. Nathan Alexander about his new book, Race in a Godless World: Atheism, Race, and Civilization, 1850-1914.

    We talk about what Christianity and secularism have each done to engender and stem racist ideas and policies. We also discuss the peculiar resurgence of scientific racism in recent years, particularly among self-described atheists, skeptics, and freethinkers.

    Please buy and read Dr. Alexander's book, Race in a Godless World. More info here: https://nyupress.org/9781479835003/race-in-a-godless-world/

    If this podcast makes a positive contribution in your life, please consider becoming a supporter of the show. More information at www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod.

    You can visit our website at www.lifeaftergod.org
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    57 mins