The Boston Atheists Report
In this bimonthly revolutionary roundtable, secular podcasters Jackie Lavache, Calvin Fisher, and Zachary Bos talk with BA members and other guests about news of the world, nation, and local community.
You can subscribe to the Report via our Feedburner feed below, or through iTunes. Please e-mail any podcast-related questions/comments or news item reports to podcast@bostonatheists.org and we will do our best to take your feedback into account or mention it on the air.
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Last Episode
- Mid-January Report: Recorded 1/17/2010
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Topics: Hatian earthquake; Danish cartoonist attacked by would-be axe murderer; "No God? Big Problem!" ads popping up; Creationist Claims iPhone app; Northfield, MA prep school becomes religious indoctrination facility; Dennett writes about privilege of religion. Roundtable: Atheism 3.0.
Sources Cited:
- Pat Robertson calls Haiti quake "blessing in disguise" (YouTube)
- Pat Robertson says Haiti paying for 'pact to the devil' (CNN)
- 1755 Lisbon Earthquake (Wikipedia)
- Haitians pray, cry for help in the ruins (Yahoo! News)
- Denmark adds terrorism charge to cartoonist attack (Reuters)
- Kurt Westergaard (Wikipedia)
- Creationists react with their own subway ad on Boston trains (Examiner.com)
- There's an app for that (Pharyngula)
- Relief, dismay follow sale of Northfield campus (Boston Globe)
- Dennett: Religious no longer a protected class (Washington Post)
- Good Without God: Interview With Greg Epstein (Reed Secular)
- Atheism 3.0 finds a little more room for belief (Religion News)
- No God, But Religion is Okay? (Atheis Nexus Blogs)
- Kings and Queens of the Aether (Pharyngula)
- Epstein: Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe (Amazon)
- The secularist case against "Atheism 3.0" (Washington Post)
- Atheism 3.0 finds a little more room for religion (USA Today)
Download audio filePast Episodes
- 2009 End-of-Year Review: Recorded 1/1/2010
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Topics: Joe Kelly and Calvin donate new audio equipment!; Newton high school student refuses Bible in English class; ultra-orthodox and secular jews struggle in Israel. Events from 2009: "New Atheist" books; resurgence of Randian objectivism; resolutions for 2010.
Sources Cited:
- Newton teen refuses to read Judeo-Christian Bible because he is an atheist
- Ultra-orthodox and secular Jews struggle for cultural identity in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
- Top 10 Atheist News Stories of 2009 (Dime a Dozen Blog)
- NY Times letter to the editor: Atheists' Ad Campaign
- Murder of George Tiller (Wikipedia)
- Boston Coalition of Reason poster is vandalized (Examiner.com)
- Mid-November Report: Recorded 11/15/2009
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Topics: faith healing amendment removed from health care bill; Boston Coalition of Reason signs vandalized; Indiana Public Schools. Roundtable: The place and time for god- (or godless-) talk.
Sources Cited:
- House Excludes Spiritual Care from Health Care Reform Bill
- Health Care's Prayer Provision: How Complementary and Alternative Medicine Fits Into Obama's Evidence-Based Model
- Beware religious meddling in the latest version of health care reform
- Ian McKellan on Bible Vandalism (YouTube)
- Boston Coalition of Reason poster is vandalized (Examiner.com)
- Graffiti on a Boston Atheist Ad (Friendly Atheist)
- FFRF Demands End to District's Discrimination Against Atheists (FFRF)
- Indiana Public Schools Blocked Website Categories
- Blue Coat filtering categories
- Australian schools using Blue Coat web filtering software
- Boston Public Schools Cyber Safety Campaign
- List of censored atheist websites (FFRF)
- End-of-October Report: Recorded 11/1/2009
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Topics: Atheists celebrate Halloween in Boston; Religious zealotry still in Salem; spirituality threatens health care reform. Roundtable: Being good without gods.
Sources Cited:
- Spiritual Health Care Bills Alert (Freedom From Religion Foundation)
- Keep Nonsense Out of Health Care Reform (Ed Brayton)
- Haunted Happenings - Salem, MA Halloween
- The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow - Review
- Church burns "witchcraft" children (Daily Telegraph)
- Decomposing Humanism: Why Replace Religion?
- Does Morality Depend on God? The Problem of Circularity
- Trust your Gut? Study Expores Religion, Morality, and Trust in Authority (Science Daily)
- End-of-September Report: Recorded 10/1/2009
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Topics: Priest claims that astrophysics disproves atheism; Science: reliion just another belief, but probably not a rational one; Blasphemy Day. Roundtable: Is atheism a religion?
Sources Cited:
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Priest Claims that Astrophysics disproves atheism
- Where religious belief and disbelief meet in the brain (PhysOrg.com)
- Religion: The heart believes what it will, but the brain behaves the same either way (LATimesBlogs.LATimes.com
- Advice for atheists? (Pharyngula)
- Is atheism a religion? (About.com)
- Ideology (Wikipedia)
- Religion (Wikipedia)
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Priest Claims that Astrophysics disproves atheism
- Mid-September Report: Recorded 9/16/2009
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Topics: Boston on Fire!; Jaycee Dugard Found; atheism mentioned more often in emails on OKCupid; gay rights activist Dan Choi speaks at Harvard; atheists triumph in kickball over... other atheists. Roundtable: the semantics of atheism vs. skepticism vs. humanism.
Sources Cited:
- Fires force evacuations of MBTA stations, disrupt commute (Boston Globe)
- T Service Restored After Fire At South Station (WCVB)
- Kidnap victim, children kept in backyard compound
- OKCupid: Mentioning atheism leads to higher response rates (Friendly Atheist)
- Online Dating Advice: Exactly What To Say In A First Message (OKCupid)
- An evening with Dan Choi (Facebook event)
- Soldiering Against "Don’t Ask, Don't Tell" (By Erasmo Guerra on ColorLines)
- Knights Out.org
- Turtle Sex (YouTube)
- End-of-August Report: Recorded 8/30/2009
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Topics: Ted Kennedy dies; Catholic Pope blames atheists for global warming; Richard Dawkins interview with kooky Wendy Wright. Roundtable: healthcare in America.
Sources Cited:
- Ted Kennedy supporter of church-state separation (Examiner.com)
- Kennedy was champion of church-state separation (Americans United)
- On Development That Respects the Environment (Catholic.net)
- Richard Dawkins interviews Wendy Wright (Part 1)
- Pro-life groups organize prayer and protest in response to abortion mandate (dfwcatholic.org)
- Pregnancy as a pre-existing condition (ivillage.com)
- Health care around the world: France (Healthcare Economist)
- "Concerned Women for America" health care letter
- "We Need Help!": The Health Care Clip Every American Should Watch (Huffington Post)
- "Keep your Government hands off my Medicare" - a parody by Josiah Van Vliet
- In Case of Emergency (The Atlantic)
- "Then What Do You Believe?" (Atheist Revolution)
- WHO national health care rankings
- John Rawls and the veil of ignorance (On Philosophy)
- Mid-August Report: Recorded 8/16/2009
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Topics: Internet conversion video; Texas law requires students to study Christian holy book this fall; Idaho also plans to teach Christian Bible. Roundtable: evolution and creationism and science, oh my!
Sources Cited:
- Christian teens try to convert Hindu classmate... or is it a parody? (YouTube)
- Texas public schools required to teach Bible this year (KLTV)
- Creationism taught in class? (Idaho Press-Tribune)
- Unfortunate misinformation (OurGodlyAmericanHeritage.com)
- The Counter-Creationism Handbook by Mark Isaak
- Evolution (Wikipedia)
- End-of-July Report: Recorded 7/28/2009
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Topics: Tim Minchin; premature reports of the death of "new" atheism; homeless atheist millionaire gives away fortune in will; Ava Worthington's parents slapped on wrist for letting her die. Roundtable: black atheists. (Extra long!)
Sources Cited:
- Tim Minchin on Atheism, Comedy and Religiosity in America (YouTube)
- Tim Minchin performing his song "Not Perfect"
- Skepchick interviews Tim Minchin on church wedding, love, religion
- A kinder, gentler American atheism (The State)
- Hemant Mehta's rebuttal to State article (Friendly Atheist)
- PZ Myers' rebuttal to State article (Pharyngula)
- Homeless Man Leaves Behind Surprise: $4 Million (NPR)
- CHILD, Inc.
- Atheists in the black community (Friendly Atheist)
- Mid-July Report: Recorded 7/15/2009
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Topics: Daniel Radcliffe's coming-out; BA Harry Potter viewing; Boston Skepchick Rebecca Watson gets married!; Amanda Donaldson fired for being an atheist; methods of atheist news-spreading and community mobilizing. Roundtable: friendly atheism is better atheism (part one).
Sources Cited:
- Daniel Radcliffe is an out atheist (Examiner.com)
- Daniel Radcliffe a Cool Nerd (Telegraph)
- Rediscovering Secular America (Katrina van den Heuvel, The Nation)
- Rebecca Watson gets hitched!
- Cancer patient fired from job for being an atheist now needs financial help (Examiner.com)
- El Dorado Chiropractic fires woman for being an atheist (About.com)
- God and Science Don't Mix (Wall Street Journal)
