“Atheist Volunteering”, Phil Session on Atheists Talk

When I first invited Phil Session to the show, he had to turn me down. He had a conflict with an Atheists Helping the Homeless event he was coordinating. He’s a busy man these days, having recently joined the boards of Recovering From Religion and Foundation Beyond Belief. But this Sunday, Phil will join me to talk a little bit about the stereotype of community volunteers as religious and about finding or creating volunteer opportunities for atheists.

Related Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF Sundays at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Follow Atheists Talk on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. If you like the show, consider supporting us with a one-time or sustaining donation. Or sign up on Patreon for exclusive content.

“Atheist Volunteering”, Phil Session on Atheists Talk
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“Racism in Artificial Intelligence”, Alix Jules on Atheists Talk

Once upon a time, we thought artificial intelligence would be less racist than people. After all, machines are objective, right? Then we started teaching them how to think and made some discoveries of our own. When racism permeates our society and our IT infrastructure, how do we teach machines to do better than we do?

This Sunday, we’re talking with Alix Jules about the point where technology, cognitive sciences, and sociology collide.

Related Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF Sundays at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Follow Atheists Talk on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. If you like the show, consider supporting us with a one-time or sustaining donation. Or sign up on Patreon for exclusive content.

“Racism in Artificial Intelligence”, Alix Jules on Atheists Talk

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

While I wasn’t doing a lot of blogging here, I was still doing podcasts. If you’ve been missing me-related content, you can check out the interview I did with Monette Richards about Secular Woman:

You’d think that a movement that’s so focused on growing wouldn’t want to chase off a large chunk of their potential membership. You’d think an organization dedicated to supporting that constituency within the larger movement would be considered useful instead of unwanted. The history of Secular Woman demonstrates that reality is way more complicated than that. Today’s guest is Monette Richards, current president of Secular Woman.

If you enjoyed this show, we’d love to have you come back next week for another episode. You can catch Atheists Talk live, every Sunday Morning at 9am Central on AM950 KTNF online at http://www.am950radio.com/listen-live/ Contact us during the show with questions or comments at 952-946-6205 or contact us anytime via [email protected] or tweet us @atheiststalk

And the interview I did with Cory Johnston about issues in the skeptical movement:

Cory Johnston of the Brainstorm Podcast joins Stephanie Zvan to talk about skeptics failing to be skeptical in their public work and what he does to fight that on his podcasts.

And the interview I did with Alison Gill about the U.S. Secular Survey and about Project Blitz:

The nonreligious population of the U.S. has grown significantly in the last couple of decades. We’re relatively young. We’re only a minority non-believer. But who are we? What issues are important to us? What do we want from the secular organizations that represent us.

Today we’re talking with Alison Gill, American Atheists’ Vice President of Legal and Policy, about the U.S. Secular Survey. This is an ambitious survey with a goal of getting a better picture of American nonbelievers and other nonreligious populations, now and for the future.

There are also somewhat more irreverent extras for these available (or soon to be available) on the Atheists Talk Patreon, if you’d like to support us there.

If you’re looking to hear me talking, there are quite a few I haven’t promoted yet. I did an interview on Women Beyond Belief, where we talked about me for some reason. Kristi Winters and I chatted about the problem of sexism in the atheist movement. I joined the crew of Inciting Incident for their live 150th episode and said, “impeach”, rather a lot.

I watched Jurassic Park for the first time (yes, I know) and discussed it with A Reel Education. Cory Johnston and I sat down on Brainstorm Podcast for coffee, sort of. And I’ve been an irregular regular on Humans Holler at News.

Happy listening!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

“Secular Voices Panel”, Juhem Navarro-Rivera on Atheists Talk

We talk a fair amount in the secular movement about the non-religious as a growing political force. We should. We are. But the problem is that we don’t have a lot of data about how we behave as voters. Truth be told, we don’t even always have a good picture of who we are. We just know there are more of us than there used to be.

Juhem Navarro-Rivera is a political scientist working to shed light on the topic. His latest project is the Secular Voices Panel, which will survey secular voters during the 2020 campaigns. Juhem joins us this Sunday to talk about why this work is important and what he’s already learned.

Related Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF Sundays at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Follow Atheists Talk on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. If you like the show, consider supporting us with a one-time or sustaining donation. Or sign up on Patreon for exclusive content.

“Secular Voices Panel”, Juhem Navarro-Rivera on Atheists Talk

“The Ethics of Star Trek”, James Croft on Atheists Talk

Sunday’s show promises to be just a little bit geeky. Or maybe a lot geeky. Scott Lohman is joining me to talk with James Croft about the ethics of Star Trek. James presented a workshop on the topic at the Secular Student Alliance conference this summer, and when I heard about it, I knew I had to put the two of them together to talk about it. You may not hear me much on this week’s show, but know I’ll be grinning quietly in the studio.

Related Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF Sundays at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Follow Atheists Talk on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. If you like the show, consider supporting us with a one-time or sustaining donation.

“The Ethics of Star Trek”, James Croft on Atheists Talk

On All the Podcasts

I’ve been a bad guest. A bunch of great podcasters have had me on their shows recently, and I’ve been just boosting their social media posts instead of linking them here. So if you want to hear me talk about various topics, here’s where you can do that.

Bi Any Means with Trav Mamone, “‘Divisiveness’ in the Atheist Movement

Today we’re going to talk about a recent blog post she wrote about “divisiveness” in the atheist movement.

The post was written in response to Dogma Debate host David Smalley’s recent talk at this year’s Gateway to Reason conference (the link to which I’ll put in the show notes). As I tell Stephanie in the interview, at first I thought he did a good job talking about how not to let different opinions divide the movement. But as Stephanie explained, when people in the atheist movement talk about divisiveness, they’re not talking about the “Everyone I don’t like is Hitler” meme.

Serious Inquiries Only with Thomas Smith, “Stephanie Zvan on Anti-Harassment Policies and More

Stephanie was on the ground floor in terms of trying to get anti-harassment policies into the codes of conduct for skeptic and atheist conferences. We talk about the history of that, and then we discuss whether the atheist movement is worth saving or if we ought to abandon it altogether and start something new.

I recall going on at least one rant about the conceptual penis “hoax” as well.

The Inciting Incident with Marissa Alexa McCool, “Outrage Brigade

This week, Rissy is joined by activist Stephanie Zvan in studio to discuss the Outrage Brigade, among other things, and Bethany and Rissy reflect on what’s transpired since the interview was recorded afterward.

We touched on a lot of issues in this one: Mythinformation Con, who gets to have their concerns heard, the problems of celebrity in movements that are supposed to be about truth.

Brainstorm Podcast with Cory Johnston, “Sexual Harassment in the Atheist Community

There’s something troubling going on in the atheist and skeptic community, and apparently it’s been happening for awhile. People are getting away with sexual harassment and sometimes assault because they have standing in the community and people want to hear them speak at their conferences and have them as guests on their shows. I talk with Stephanie Zvan about this, how long it’s been going on, and what we can do about it.

This is very different than my interview with Thomas. There’s a lot less history and a lot more practical details, including evaluating allegations as a skeptic. I turned an awful lot of these questions on their heads and was perhaps not at my most diplomatic. Cory handled it all with very good grace.

On All the Podcasts

“Growing Up Humanist” on The Humanist Hour

This week, we’re hearing from several young Humanists about the difference Humanism makes in their lives.

Today’s American adolescent Humanists aren’t the first generation of young people to be raised in a nonreligious philosophy. They are the largest in modern times, however, and the demographic shift in the U.S. means the generations that follow will likely be even larger. That means it’s time for us to pay attention to the challenges and opportunities faced by teenaged Humanists.

At the American Humanist Association’s annual conference in Chicago this May, AHA convened a panel of familiar names. At least the last names of the panelists were familiar. This was a new set of humanists, however, the teenaged children of Humanist leaders and other longtime Humanists. They came together to discuss the challenges of being a religious minority among their peers, charting their own paths, and finding ways to live up to their humanitarian ideals. We’re sharing audio from that panel this week.

Due to time constraints, part of the Q&A session for this panel is not included in the podcast. You can watch the entire panel on AHA’s YouTube channel.

You can listen to the podcast here.

“Growing Up Humanist” on The Humanist Hour

“Skepticon and Rethinking Conferences”, Lauren Lane on The Humanist Hour

This week, I talked with Lauren about Skepticon’s track record of mucking about with the conference format. Pretty much everything I cut while editing this podcast was laughing.

Skepticon is an unusual conference in several ways. It started as a student-run event that survived its founders’ graduation. It’s an independent event, run as its own nonprofit organization. It’s a free conference and vows to remain that way. In any given year, roughly half its speakers are women. It’s held in a smaller city in the middle of the country in a very religious area. It attracts a younger audience on average, many of whom bring their families. It blends religious skepticism with what proponents call scientific skepticism with a minimum of friction.

In short, Skepticon meets many of the demographic and other challenges the secular and skeptical movements have identified. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s the largest annual conference in either of these movements.

This week, we talk with Skepticon co-founder and president Lauren Lane about Skepticon’s past and its future. We talk about its history of innovation, and what’s changing this year. Lauren will tell you what you can expect at this year’s Skepticon, November 11-13, 2016. We’ll also laugh rather a lot.

You can listen to the podcast here.

“Skepticon and Rethinking Conferences”, Lauren Lane on The Humanist Hour

“DYIscizone: Science Engagement for Kids”, Raychelle Burks on Atheists Talk

A couple of years ago, Dr. Rubidium (forensic chemist Raychelle Burks) joined us to talk about using pop culture to teach adults about chemistry. This Sunday, she returns to the show to tell us about the DIY science zone at GeekGirlCon in Seattle.

The DIY science zone uses a combination of demonstrations and hands-on activities to bring out the scientist or science enthusiast in young science fiction fans. Dr. Rubidium will tell us what the kids can expect this October and the lengths she and other will go to in order to make a place for exploring science.

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“DYIscizone: Science Engagement for Kids”, Raychelle Burks on Atheists Talk

“Foundation Beyond Belief”, Noelle George on The Humanist Hour

This week, Peggy and Jenn talked to Noelle George about Foundation Beyond Belief and the AHA matching grant to support the Humanist Service Corps.

We like to say that we’re “good without a god,” but the fact of the matter is that we’re not always very organized about it. One of the good things organized religion has introduced to the world is ways to encourage giving and volunteering to help those in need. Foundation Beyond Belief is a secular nonprofit organization that provides a similar structure to help those of us who have left religion or who never had religion in the first place when we want to give.

Noelle George is the executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief and the former head of the Beyond Belief Network, Foundation Beyond Belief’s program that supports secular volunteers across the country. She joins us this week to discuss the history of the organization, its various programs, and how people can contribute time, money, or word of mouth to Foundation Beyond Belief. She also talks about the matching grant that American Humanist Association is offering this month to support the Humanist Service Corps’ work in Ghana.

You can listen to the podcast here.

“Foundation Beyond Belief”, Noelle George on The Humanist Hour