Chariots of Iron

In this episode, we talk to Blair Scott, the Alabama State Director for American Atheists. Blair tells us how the American Atheists choose their legal battles and why that’s important to the overall cause. He also explains what the American Atheists are all about and how you, or your local secular group, can get involved. But before that, we open the show with our first ever “listener mail” segment and announce the opening of the Atheiskeptihumanist Forums.

In the news: Creation, a film about Charles Darwin, finds a US distributor; Vatican attempts to dodge the kiddie diddling issue at UN; hunting bald eagles is a religious privilage; straight porn apparently makes you gay.

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We get a chance to talk with Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. We talk about the book, but man, we really ran the gamut of topical conversations this week. Religion, politics, sex, Def Leppard–you know, the basics. Jeff is so knowledgeable about the in’s and out’s of Washington that Joe offers him Lamar’s spot on the show. So far he hasn’t taken us up on the offer, but we remain hopeful.

In the news this week: Italy is still the Vatican’s bitch, Kentucky bathes some of its student body, the Arabs and the Jews are still fighting and YET ANOTHER socially conservative politician bites the biggun.

Jeff is a fun guest and his book is in stores now in Paperback.

You really don’t want to miss the book!

You really don’t want to miss this show!

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It’s our first birthday! We’ve finally reached season 2 and to help us celebrate, we have cephalopod nut, Biologist, educator and outspoken atheist blogger Professor PZ Myers on the show with us to talk about his “vacation,” the book he’s writing, his trip to the Creation Museum, turtle hunting, how he met Richard Dawkins and his enduring friendship with his fishing buddy, Bill Donahue.

OK, we made that last part up.

We did, however, have a very special supersonic fly-by from the US Airforce Thunderbirds to help us celebrate our one-year anniversary!

Ok, fine. There was an airshow going on near by. Whatever.

But of course, before that we do the news just like we’ve been doing it FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR. This week in the headlines: Islam is of the Devil, Kentucky gets busted by a Federal Judge, no more holiday shit-storms in Washington, PZ Rescues Joe from a news story that is way over his head, women in Mali show us democracy in action, the Pope says some more dumb stuff and just like last year, we missed the Raelian love fest. Strangely, none of our wives were really all that disappointed.

Be sure to go to http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ and check out PZ’s blog! Do eeeet. Click the link. You’ll love it, I promise.

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