The Thinking Atheist Podcast

Phil Ferguson is a financial advisor and host of "The Phil Ferguson Show."  In this bonus podcast, Phil speaks with Seth Andrews about the application of critical thinking to areas of our lives beyond religion, including the decisions we make with our money.With (occasionally thick) financial jargon relating to things like stocks, mutual funds, college savings, retirement planning, etc, this show won't be for everyone.  But it may provide some useful information to those interested in investment-related material.Phil's website:  http://polarisfinancialplanning.com/polaris-blog/the-phil-ferguson-show-podcast/ 

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.lootcrate.com/sethandrewsThe U.S. Department of Education says that over 1.7 million children in the United States are homeschooled.  But what happens when homeschooling stops being about education, and instead becomes insulation?  Isolation?  Inodctrination?This broadcast isn't a referendum on the concept of homeschooling.  It's an exploration into some of the more extreme religious homeschool environments, and into the lives and personal stories of those who experienced them.This is part 2 of a two-part broadcast. Homeschoolers Anonymous:  https://homeschoolersanonymous.orgVyckie Garrison "No Longer Quivering:"  https://youtu.be/EGiv_o6YGKU

The U.S. Department of Education says that over 1.7 million children in the United States are homeschooled.  But what happens when homeschooling stops being about education, and instead becomes insulation?  Isolation?  Inodctrination?This broadcast isn't a referendum on the concept of homeschooling.  It's an exploration into some of the more extreme religious homeschool environments, and into the lives and personal stories of those who experienced them.This is part 1 of a two-part broadcast.  

"God's Not Dead" is a film produced by PureFlix which released in 2014.  With a budget of only $2 million, GnD grossed over $60 million.  It's not hard to see why a sequel film has just been introduced to theaters.The premises of both films are essentially the same.  Christianity is under attack in the United States, and brave God Warriors must stand up against the evil atheists to defend their faith and their savior.  Are these movies rooted in any shade of reality?  And how do they speak to another, larger phenemenon within many religious cultures: the manufacturing of martyrdom?Seth Andrews shares a recent article by (former Christian) Neil Carter, as we examine the Christian Persecution Complex.YOUTUBE VIDEO "Gods Not Dead (Again!): https://youtu.be/hwffbQiUwLcNeil Carter's article, "Persecute Me, Please: God's Not Dead 2 and the Evangelical Lust for Victimhood:"  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2016/04/01/persecute-me-please/

A November 2015 Pew Research Center survey revealed that the United States is becoming less religious overall, and "especially the youngest Millennials, who have entered adulthood since the first Landscape Study was conducted {a few months earlier} - are far less religious than their elders."Admittedly, these "nones" aren't necessarily atheists, and many may consider themselves "spiritual" on some level.  But what's driving this exodus from the formal structures of religion, and what do these young people think and say about the often hugely religious climate they see all around them.This show focuses on youth, how they view the world, and how their exit from the church is impacting the United States and the world.Secular Student Alliance:  https://secularstudents.org

Watch the video of this podcast HERE:  https://youtu.be/YxRdJGqTeXACallers submit their own comments and questions for this show.  We highlight the proposed "Genocide & Incest" counter-billboard to The Ark Encounter's grand opening.  And we spend more than half of the show discussing the recent prison beating of convicted sex offender Jared Fogle and the proper response(s) to the violence carried out against him.  An interview with Sarah Morehead caps the broadcast.Funraising page for Tri-State Thinkers "Genocide & Incest" billboard campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/genocide-incest-park#/Sarah Morehead's blog:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/17/sex-offenders-can-be-nice-guys-how-making-jared-fogle-a-monster-encourages-abusers/

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:   http://www.hellofresh.com (promo code thinkingatheist)It's a topic we've addressed in various forms, but this is an entire show dedicated to medicine.  Science-based medicine.  Alternative medicine.  The names and claims of many so-called "natural" cures.  And the charge that medical science should be distrusted in favor of unlicensed "healers" who operate outside the checks and balances of regulatory agencies, and who - in so many cases - are making a pretty penny.Joining us for the show are Dr. Harriet Hall (the "SkepDoc") of Science Based Medicine: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org, and Dr. Stephen Barrett of QuackWatch.com.Dr. Hall's 10-course lecture series:  http://web.randi.org/educational-modules.htmlBOOK:  "Inside Chiropractic:"  http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Chiropractic-Patients-Consumer-Library/dp/1573926981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458131680&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+chiropractic

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.com/thinkingatheistNo theme or topic.  Just a full show of listener comments and questions.  Enjoy.

Sponsored by The Phil Ferguson Show:  http://polarisfinancialplanning.com/polaris-blog/the-phil-ferguson-show-podcast/Matt Dillahunty is one of the hosts of The Atheist Experience television show, he is a frequent speaker and debater, and he hosts the Atheist Debates YouTube channel.Matt and Seth Andrews are friends who often enjoy long conversations on the freethought convention circuit.  This time, they decided to record the conversation for the podcast audience, touching on topics ranging from religion to atheism to Star Wars.THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE:  http://www.atheist-experience.com/ATHEIST DEBATES:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SansDeity

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.evolvefish.comScience has proven the Big Bang.  So why is it so difficult for the everyperson to communicate the how/why of that event?  Perhaps, it's because the universe is a mind-bogglingly huge thing for us to grasp.  Overwhelmed, we sometimes check out of necessary conversations about cosmology, our origins, and the observable, natural world.Dr. Dan Batcheldor has a Ph.D in astrophysics and is Head of Physics and Space Science at the Florida Institute of Technology.  He's a user of NASA's Hubble telescope, and he studies heavy subjects like supermassive black holes.  He is also eager to provide resources to the rest of us that can be understood and explained, making us better educated, and making us more effective in our discussions with creationists and pseudoscientists who claim that our universe bears the mark of a Divine Hand.There's a video of this exchange on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/Z5-AdCAVgE4Support Dan's book via his website:  http://www.danielbatcheldor.com

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.com/thinkingatheistDan Barker's new book (titled after the famous Richard Dawkins quote) doesn't exactly cast a flattering eye at the biblical god.  Truth be told, the Bible itself doesn't flatter God, either.  Not-so-hidden inside the pages of scripture is the profile of a deity so ugly, brutish, bloodthirsty and petty, he would be condemned by the faithful as a monster in another context.Join us, as we speak with Dan Barker about his own personal story, and we examine The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction.VIDEO VERSION:  https://youtu.be/comqy3lQNVMDan's book on Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/god-daniel-barker/1122409434On Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/God-Most-Unpleasant-Character-Fiction/dp/1454918322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455027296&sr=8-1&keywords=the+most+unpleasant+character+in+all+fiction

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR: The Phil Ferguson Show http://polarisfinancialplanning.com/polaris-blog/the-phil-ferguson-show-podcast/Ken Ham (of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum) prepares to unleash his "Ark Encounter" upon the public.  The road toward completion has been a rocky one, with controversies about tax incentives and discriminatory hiring practices often leading the heated discussions for and against its existence.In this broadcast, we speak with several people who have followed the story closely: Mikel and Ed Hensley of the Kentucky Secular Society, and author Dan Arel.Video version of the podcast interview: https://youtu.be/SLNsKOxbxnsTracey Moody's article "What Ken Ham Isn't Telling You About Ark Encounter Funding:"  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/11/11/what-ken-ham-isnt-telling-you-about-ark-encounter-funding/Noah's Ark: God, Giraffes & Genocide: https://youtu.be/CccaGaKOlSINCSE: The Impossible Voyage of Noah's Ark:  http://ncse.com/cej/4/1/impossible-voyage-noahs-ark

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.com/thinkingatheistDr. Paul Offit is Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perleman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  He has received awards for his work from the University of Maryland, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and more, and he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011.  An author of over 150 scientific papers, Dr. Offit is the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, "Rotateq," and he released the book, "Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine," which was selected as an Editor's Choice by the New York Times in 2015.In this 2nd half of our "Medical Neglect" show, Dr. Offit speaks with Seth Andrews about faith, medicine, belief, and faith-based ideas which often harm those who embrace them.

There are two words that, too often, mean the difference between life and death:  Religious.  Exemption.  Individuals and families who reject necessary medical care in favor of prayer and adherence to strict church restrictions often pay with their lives, or the lives of their children.  Rita Swan is the director of CHILD, INC, and she has firsthand experience with this.  Rita has since dedicated her life to child advocacy and the fight to protect children from (often well-meaning) parents who keep them far from hospital care, and far from the health solutions they desperately need.It's a difficult subject, but a necessary discussion about faith, parental responsibility, and the need for real-world solutions to real-world problems.This is part one of a two-part show on this subject.  Part two features Dr. Paul Offit, author of the book, "Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine," which airs February 2, 2016.CHILD, INC LINKS:http://www.childrenshealthcare.orghttp://www.idahochildren.org

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.comDr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine and author of several books, including "The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice and Freedom," and "Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition and Other Confusions of our Time."  In this conversation with Seth Andrews, Dr. Shermer addresses some of the recent (and alarming) statements made by educated and (it would seem) very intelligent public figures, and we explore the relationship between the intelligent and the irrational brain.Video of the interview with Michael Shermer:  https://youtu.be/jLEQCipy6NM