Truth Wanted

Good evening truth seekers! Hosting today is ObjectivelyDan joined by guest Ian Harris, a skeptic, comedian and much more. He has incorporated skepticism into comedy and has noticed more people getting on board with that style of comedy!Lets get on to some callers tonight! First up we have Sierra from Michigan. She would like some advice on how to approach conversations with her step-dad regarding his conspiracy theory beliefs. For example, moon landing being faked. Dan gives some great advice! He recommends taking it slowly and looking at the specific claims in microscopic levels. What is spirit science???Next up we have Minh, in CA. Talking about intuition in the martial arts and how it affects your epistemology of skepticism. Ian points out intuition is a learned response based on hours of practicing, trust your instincts not necessarily intuition. Jumping on over to Dylan in New Mexico. He wants to talk about the morality of adoption and how he can't see that it causes harm to humanity. He mentioned a podcast he heard about anti-natalism. Dan explained he cant speak to what the podcaster said but is willing to call into that show to talk about it! Next up we have Kal from Arizona! He is an atheist but seems to be struggling with a theist mindset, like expecting the rapture when there is a loud sound outside. Kal recalls a story from his pastor where they were going to worship jesus for 10,000 years, take a breath, and worship for another 10,000 years. Sounds like hell to me!Last up we have John in Oregon! John is calling to talk about the soul. Claims it is like identity with history and it's a process of our consciousness moving moment to moment. Ian makes the point that definitions matter and recommends coming up with a new word for that, not soul, would be a better idea. That is all for this week’s Truth Wanted. Make sure to check us out on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKzYd1mJ8M1pUZ7cM1nwyPA and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and enable notifications.

Good evening truth seekers! Our host today is ObjectivelyDan joined by guest Gutsick Gibbon (aka Erika!). Erika kicks off the show with a fascinating summary of what she does, she studies anthropology and goes on to talk about human evolution, the depth of the other hominids, consciousness, and much more! Jumping into calls, first up we have Jeff from California, wanting to know if we should pose challenges to meditation or buddhist “woo”? Next up we have Zac, from London! Zac is wondering how people who don’t have a belief in god have morals. Erika makes a great point about how our primary ideas of “morality” are consistent amongst other cultures, other religious beliefs, and even other primates! Jumping to AZ, from Texas! From San Antonio, wondering if the stereotype of Texas being extremely conservative and Christian is starting to go away. Are people becoming more secular? Next up we have Jacob from New York! He wants to talk about how we got here, but now why. They dive into quantum mechanics, laws of physics, and big bang. Last up we have Ben from Texas! Ben wants to ask about how veganism ties into anthropology and evolution. While this is a difficult question, morals certainly play a role. They hosts tackle this question from a number of different angles. Find Gutsick Gibbon at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJNcAH2yzV3VAMYIGxCZ8_w/about

Hello Seekers of Truth! Our cohost for tonight is Katy Montgomerie. Katy is a trans rights activist with incredible musical talent. You can find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatyMontgomerie/media or on her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3CVggxIzAo7xxq5oeQ4vZg/featuredOur first caller is Daniel from Canada, who wants to talk about alien abductions. Could alien technology be so advanced that it appears to be magic, making experience with extraterrestrials unprovable by our current means? Next up is Zack from the UK, who wants to talk about the difference between knowing things to be true and believing things to be true. What even is the definition of truth? Next, we have Tim from Arizona, who wants discuss legal discrimination against LGBT+ people in America. How many problematic laws and institutions are currently being overlooked? Then we have Nick from Wisconsin, whose family believes in pseudoscience. How should you discuss sensitive opinions with others? Last but not least, we have Kyle from Virginia, who wants to know how best to approach a conversation with someone who holds religion-related transphobic views. What do you say to someone who considers transgenderism to be a mental illness? We have a great show in store tonight, so be sure to tune in!

Call the show Fridays 7-8:30pm CT at 1-512-991-9242► Don't like ads? Consider becoming a patron for commercial-free episodes: https://www.patreon.com/TruthWanted► Podcasts may be found @: https://www.spreaker.com/show/truthwanted► Shop Truth Wanted merchandise @: http://bit.ly/aenmerch► Contact us with questions or news stories at: truth@atheist-community.orgWHAT IS TRUTH WANTED?Truth Wanted is a show about getting to the bottom of beliefs, whether it’s karma or Christ, Bigfoot or crystals. Truth Wanted would like to know how you know it’s true. Hosted by ObjectivelyDan, Truth Wanted takes calls from the community (that means YOU!) and features new guests every week, emphasizing thorough conversations over name-calling and scoffing (most of the time). Truth Wanted focuses on how and why people believe what they believe, and how you can talk about beliefs in more effective ways. Join us for truth investigations and lively conversations every Friday at 7:00pm CT!The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)► Check out Dan's other channel @ https://www.youtube.com/objectivelydanTruthWanted is the official channel of Truth Wanted. "Truth Wanted" is a trademark of the ACA.Thumbnail artwork by: https://www.instagram.com/princepsed Intro Music:Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)Artist: http://incompetech.com/Copyright © 2020 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.

Welcome back to Truth Wanted! Today’s guest hosts are David Amsel and Nicole Seeley! David and Nicole are Soka Gakkai Buddhists and are here to discuss those beliefs!Our first caller, David, draws on his memories of learning comparative religions, and asks if Buddhism is just a belief in reincarnation. This leads to a broader discussion that gives you an even better idea of David and Nicole’s flavor of Buddhism than the intro!Dolly Llama calls to return to a throwback...Tooth Wanted! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwk4P5P9PFo See, we recently had a caller explaining what his dad did to him when he was younger to cause him to believe in the tooth fairy. Well, Dolly did a few experiments and has some ideas for us!After some further discussion of Buddhism and light technical issues, Josh in Reno, home of the world’s best police force, asks our guest hosts why their religion’s chanting is any different from simple repeated mantras into a mirror, and they respond with some thoughts about religion as an individual experience. Do you agree with them?“Apatheism” is the attitude of not caring if a god exists or not. It isn’t necessarily attached to whether you believe in a god...but a theist apatheist would certainly be interesting. Joseph in Maryland wants to discuss apatheism, and Buddhism’s relation to god claims.The show continues to be about definitions of Buddhism! Adam in Canada asks if Buddhism counts as a religion, or if the idea of it being a religion attaches too much baggage.That’s our show today! If you want to support the show you can check out https://www.patreon.com/truthwanted for a monthly subscription to podcasts with NO ADS and other fun goodies, or https://tiny.cc/aenmerch for merch from all of the ACA’s shows! Hosts and guests can be found on Twitter @ObjectivelyDan and @OfficialSGIUSA. Thanks for watching/listening!

Good evening Seekers of Truth! Our guest for today is Reverend Raul Antony from the Church of Satan. Raul is a director at Radio Free Satan and host of Chaos Sedated, a podcast which delves into post-industrial music. Additionally, Raul is an editor and journalist at Heathen Harvest, a periodical focused on post-industrial underground and relative philosophy, history, spirituality, politics and culture. You can find Raul at his website https://invisible-war.net/ or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/InvisibleWarOur first caller of the night is Phoenix from Texas. He wants to discuss “chaos magic,” as was discussed last week when a self-proclaimed practitioner called in. Our next caller is Tom from Tennessee, who wants to find accurate sources about Satanism as opposed to common media portrayals. What is it that Satanists really believe – do they actually worship the Devil? How about magic? Next on the line is Tymm from Washington. He wants to discuss the parallels of Satanic principles with humanist and Christian sentiments. Can a Christian still personally identify with aspects of Satanic philosophy? Finally, Jason from Montana calls in to discuss electric vehicles, climate change, and potential solutions to environmental concerns. Tonight’s episode is a blast, so be sure to tune in!

Truth Wanted is hosted by ObjectivelyDan and today and he is joined by Jordan Holmes. and they get right into the discussion-Is the Corona virus is a conspiracy? Is Carry Cassidy a quack? How serious is Alex Jones - really? There's much nonsense out there. Lets talk about conspiracies and frauds!Then- on to the callers!Malachi grew up in a sect. How do people fall for nonsense like Alex Jones? Puck is just beginning as an 'out' atheist. What's the difference between a charismatic leader and a cult. Jordan: escalation. Dan: BITE model for academic criteria.Yo is a repeat caller. Heard that some studies claim intercessory prayer to work for ill people. Do they?Josh has a friend in the military who believes all conspiracy theories, so how should he talk about that?Christine wonders what the hosts think about Covid-19 and anti-vaxxers. David is 3rd time caller and studied history of religion and Christianity. What's the origin of monotheism? Dan from WA serves word salad on chaos magic v. ceremonial magic. Does it work!?

Truth Wanted 03.10 2020-04-10 with ObjectivelyDan & Johnny

Greetings Truth Wanted fans! In our home edition of Truth Wanted, we are joined by Unholy Sara. It’s going to be a great show! Let’s get to calls. The first caller is David from New Jersey. He wants to talk about COVID-19 from the UK government’s website. He claims to have found some shady statements that have changed their declassification and status of the virus from a High consequence infectious disease (HCID) to a lower classification, he attempts to make this fit into his hoax narrative. From the gov.uk website he so much wanted to talk about: “the designation cleared the way for broader treatment options, as COVID-19 cases could now be treated at ordinary hospitals and not just at the few specialty infectious disease centers.” The website goes on to say that the UK government still regards it as highly transmissible and recommends social distancing and other precautions. He additionally talks about our first amendment right of the freedom of assembly. Does the order to not gather more than ten people a violation of our first amendment right? Does it make sense to close down the economy for a virus that supposedly is safer than the flu?Next up, Julie, in opposition of our first caller, has evidence for COVID-19! Wanting to protect our public, especially the vulnerable, she’s willing to advocate for our medical experts. When lives are at risk, we have to be safe. The following caller Matt Dillahunty from Austin! A question for our hosts, related to Netflix’s “Tiger King.” Based on a documentary, how do we rationally draw conclusions from what the documentary implies? The next caller in the queue is Lynne from Michigan who has a neighbor sick with Covid-19. Unfortunately, her call dropped due to technical issues.Next up, Nick in Massachusetts believes that deism is rational. They discuss the simulation hypothesis, and how much of that hypothesis that informs Nick’s belief? Are there other things that lead Nick to a creator? We can create simulation (ie videogames), is there reason to think we are also in a simulation? Afterwards we have Gary in Colorado. How do we evaluate claims? Can you portray the same story accurately in more that one way? Gary wishes to discuss how different perspectives and narratives will lead people different directions. Rather than just looking at one side or another, Gary suggests looking for some middle ground. Our final call! We have Dean in North Carolina, wanting to talk about the many varying degrees of confidence held in beliefs. Is the method of street epistemology completely arbitrary? If it is arbitrary, could you say that the scale really has more to do with a psychological commitment? Final question from Dean, what is the point of identifying that scale?

Truth Wanted 03.08 2020-03-13 with ObjectivelyDan & Tom Jump

SHOW NOTESToday’s episode is hosted by ObjectivelyDan and Jim Barrows, co-host of NonProphets and The Atheist Experience! Jim is a local member of the ACA, so Dan and Phil mention something people may forget: the ACA is a local community with events and people who hang out in Austin!Our first caller, Sean in Oklahoma, seems to have a surprisingly common confusion about what the word “homeopathy” means, so Dan and Jim clarify that homeopathy is not the whole category of natural remedies to illnesses and ailments: rather, homeopathy is super-diluted “medication” based on a “like cures like” idea that only came shortly before we understood how vaccines actually work.Malachi in Ohio presents some potential risks of eating meat and dairy. He brings up a common thought that milk is actually too nutrient rich for humans to reasonably consume, since it’s basically growth food for baby cows, amongst other things.Joshua in Virginia calls in to talk about the coronavirus, but gets quickly side tracked down a conversation about whether a scientific study is propaganda if it’s true...but misleading.Friend of the show Neil the 604 Atheist calls in after a short discussion on research and sources to ask about Jim’s de-conversion story! (Hint: The Price Is Right is involved.)We’ve talked a bit about sources and information on today’s show, and Amanda has a specific question: How do I deal with family and friends who only trust one source of information because the number of sources in the modern age is so overwhelming?That’s our show! If you’d like to donate monthly, you can visit us over at https://www.patreon.com/truthwanted, chat with other fans at https://tiny.cc/acadiscord, and check out our merch at https://bit.ly/aenmerch!

Truth Wanted 03.06 2020-02-28 with ObjectivelyDan & Phil FergusonSHOW TIME-STAMPS00:00:00 Introduction00:10:09 Is the Coronavirus Causing a Stock Market Crash?00:21:49 William - AUS: I’m Christian because I Don’t Know Any Other Religion00:33:34 Lin - MI: I Thought I Saw a UFO00:40:48 Julie - ID: Differences Between Jehovah's Witness & Buddhist Afterlife Ideas00:54:57 Ed - OH: Should My Daughter Get a Bond or a CD? Also UFOs and Quartz01:00:09 Stan - PA: The Danger of Religion When Dealing with Crisis Situations01:08:29 Fred - BE: Similarities Between Religion & Love of...Gas Cars?01:15:22 Sean - TX: Simulation Theory and the Bostrom Argument01:29:44 Outro!SHOW NOTESToday’s co-host is a rare occurrence here at Truth Wanted: a repeat guest! Phil Ferguson is host of the cleverly titled “Phil Ferguson Show” (a title only to be rivaled by an atheist show called, like, The Atheist Experience).Phil’s area of expertise involves economics. The coronavirus has caused quite a stir the world over in the past month, and some are saying it’s causing a stock market crash. Dan asks Phil if it’s true that the virus is affecting the stock market, and Phil explains some of the thought behind this.Caller William in Australia asks what we do on this show and elaborates on what his Christian beliefs look like. Things get interesting when William says he uses science to validate his beliefs, but doesn’t think Christianity and science fit together. Then we talk about the coronavirus again inexplicably!Lin in Michigan has called before, and today she brings us her memory of an experience where she thought she saw a UFO! (She later learned what the source of the lights was. No aliens, unfortunately.)We get an interesting call from Julie in Idaho who asks a seemingly odd question of two atheist skeptics: What are your thoughts on the afterlife? Julie is an ex-JW who is now exploring other religions, especially Buddhism. Dan and Phil offer some advice about ex-JW resources and give a perspective on the afterlife Julie probably hasn’t heard.We get a caller (Ed) who asks a question that’s specifically in Phil’s wheelhouse: should his daughter who has $10k get a CD or a bond? What follows are words I only slightly understand. Then Ed gives us a cool potential explanation for UFOs or spiritual orbs, which I’m...also unsure how to explain. Thanks for confusing me, Ed!Why is it that religions cause issues when we’re dealing with huge crises? Stan wants to know the same thing. (He didn’t say he’s our biggest fan, but his name is Stan.)Our Belgian caller Fred asks if Dan and Phil feel that there is anything nearing a religious adoration of clinging to their gas cars over electric vehicles. He offers a few of the arguments he’s heard about this topic as well.To end the night, we go to the incredibly simple topic of...simulation theory! (The Matrix 3 sucked!) Sean gives us something called “the Bostrom argument” with just a dash of Elon Musk’s ideas...did someone say electric cars?That’s the show today! Find Phil’s “The Phil Ferguson Show” on your favorite podcast app! Find Dan at @ObjectivelyDan on Instagram and Twitter, Truth Wanted is on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/truthwanted , and ACA merch is available at https://bit.ly/aenmerch!

SHOW TIME-STAMPS00:00:00 Introduction00:13:41 River - MI: How do we know logic is true? (Doubting Skepticism & Laws of Logic)00:28:33 Doug - FL: Was the Bible Made Up to Discourage People from Human Sacrifice?00:37:30 Woo is Me (A Brief Discussion on Woo-ey Beliefs)00:42:25 Tom - UK: My Country Isn't Religious, but We Have a Lot of Woo Beliefs00:48:44 Fred - ID: Weird Mormon Stories Derived from Their Mythology00:57:31 Bobby - CA: Life Extension Research01:11:49 Nathan - TX: Spirituality, Conspiracy Theories, & Schizo-Effective Disorders01:21:07 Jeremy - IA: Is/Ought Gap...Why is it an issue?01:40:10 OutroSHOW NOTESYou know what’s fun about Truth Wanted? We always have new and different guests! Today, we have Rebecca Fox. She’s an illustrator, animator, podcaster, and all around awesome human being. Rebecca recently worked with a few atheist content creators, including our young Dan (or Yung Dan as he’s known in the “rap game”) and his grandmaster Anthony Magnabosco, to create a Twitter survey about atheists and their deconversions, then making a video about the responses. (That video can be found here at Anthony Magnabosco’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EMyPABdCHc.)River in Michigan shares an issue that’s bound to sound familiar to a lot of skeptically-minded people: He’s doubting the very foundations of knowledge, including the Laws of Logic. It’s an interesting question precisely because we have no answer. What do?Doug in Florida has a potentially interesting thought about why stories like Abraham sacrificing his son and the entire sacrifice motif of Jesus might exist: The stories are intended to show human sacrifice as reprehensible to discourage a society of people who were already sacrificing humans. (The society is made of people doing human sacrifice, why do any of them care? Why would a story about human sacrifice bother people engaging in human sacrifice?) Dan has some interesting counter-points to this based on Jewish ideas about the Old Testament.Following Doug’s calls, Rebecca & Dan get into a short discussion about woo and “spirituality” from acupuncture to tarot cards!Tom in the UK continues a bit of the conversation about woo by chiming in to agree with Rebecca: the UK has lost a lot of standard religions, but has become infested with woo. Then after Dan & Rebecca discuss further, we realize Tom seems to have dropped. You win some, you lose some. Moving on!Fred in Idaho has a decent interest and knowledge of Mormon mythology, and tells us some of the hilarious tales people spin about how some of these strange Mormon stories fit with their real lives-like 3 men in white suits magically fixing a car with no tools! This gets into the more interesting side of why people tell these tales-is it because they believe these stories or that they like telling the tale?Bobby in California calls in to ask what we think of Life Extension Research. Bobby claims to be attaining a Masters degree in fields related to Life Extension Research, and offers some information about the research he’s aware of.Nathan in Texas (Hey! We’ve been there before!) describes his own schizo-effective disorder, saying that he started to become more susceptible to spirituality and conspiracy theories after he developed the schizo-effective disorders.Jeremy in Iowa follows up on a previous call about secular moral frameworks to talk about the is/ought gap, and why he thinks it’s actually not an issue.That’s our show, folks! Follow Dan on Twitter (@ObjectivelyDan), e-mail the show (truth@atheist-community.org), and check out our merch at bit.ly/aenmerch! Rebecca Fox’s Instagram and Twitter are @rebeccaonpaper, and her podcast is The Seeker & The Skeptic.

14:11 Stan in Philadeplphia Defending gold-diggers. It's behaviors between two consenting adults. "Money is more important than muscles." What about if the relationship becomes a dependency? Is it exploitation? It can introduce various forms of abuse, like financial abuse. One of the examples is getting one's education paid for by gold-digging. What happens in a gold-digging relationship when the power dynamic shifts? What happens when the financier loses access to money? Stan says, "No one can consent to abuse." Being lonely and getting into gold-digging relationships should be allowed without judgment. But, money is inherently coercive, which is a risk. There are different types of relationships, not everything is about love. Historically, marriages were about property. Don't go into gold-digging if you really need the money, because the power dynamic may be skewed. 32:1632:40Harry in Yakima, Washington. Transition from new age to atheismWife lost her faith and began to look into new age stuff. Dr. Daryl Ray suggested giving her time to grieve her faith. And it worked. She began to learn about atheism and ask questions. And they wanted to share about how they've grown together. The transition from new age to atheism.(36:24). There are many people who lose their friends and family when their faith changes or is lost. How long did the transition take? 10 years. She left the church in 2018 and took over a year. How has their family reacted? The family rejected her, but they are geographically far away. So, they've created a small community of atheists. 41:3342:01Derick from Alabama. Cults. Teaches a class about conspiracy theories and uses Truth Wanted clips. Will be talking about cults and how people are drawn in. Visit Telltales channel. Being born into one is a cause. Being targeted by good liars. Multi-Level-Marketing schemes are a good example of a persuasive cult. Lies by omission. Love bombing by a cult community who make you feel loved and special. The cult will isolate the new member from their friends and family. Doctrine is fed to the new member in very small doses. If outsiders say that you're in a cult, believe it.55:06Start time ?Paul in Georgia. Life changing heart attacks. Transitioning to Atheism because of his heart troubles. He prayed to God for help and his prayers were not answered.End time ?1:15:22Truth Wanted 03.04 with ObjectivelyDan & Nervardia-Oriax in Pennsylvania-Occult Chaos MagickOriax in Pennsylvania. The Occult. Chaos Magick. Practitioners try various techniques and then they share the results with the community. ObjectivelyDan asks for talismans to see if he can practice Chaos Magick. Oriax used the Occult to get him out of a cult.End time ?1:24:54Aaron from Seattle, Washington. Tolpas. Aaron in Seattle, WA. Talks about Tolpas. He feels they are psychological rather than physical manifestations. Making a Tolpa is the act of role-playing, similar to playing Dungeons and Dragons. Novelists who write the same character has created a type of accidental Tolpa. 1:36:25Copyright © 2018 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.

Truth Wanted 03.03 2020-02-07 with ObjectivelyDan & Andey Fellowes