Atheists Talk: Carl Dix on "Tips for Tim Tebow"

April 6, 2012 Stephanie Zvan8 Comments

Carl Dix is a longtime revolutionary and a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party. He is a co-issuer of the Call for the National Day of Resistance to Stop Mass Incarceration. In 1970, he was part of the largest mass refusal of U.S. soldiers to go to Vietnam . In 1996, he co-founded the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality. In 2006, he coordinated the Katrina Hearings of the Bush Crimes Commission. In 2011, he co-issued a call for a campaign of civil disobedience to STOP “Stop & Frisk.” Most recently Dix participated a series of dialogues with Cornel West – “In the Age of Obama: Police Terror; Incarceration; No Jobs; Mis-Education… What Future for Our Youth”

Carl will join us to talk about Tim Tebow and his outsized notoriety, which is based on a combination of promoting religious fundamentalism and overhyped football skills. Last year, with moderate success on the field, Tim Tebow created a national sensation as the poster-boy fundamentalist Christian athlete. During the off-season, the Denver Broncos traded him to the New York Jets. What kind of welcome will Tebow receive in the Big Apple?

One of the main ways in which Tim Tebow proselytizes for his religious fundamentalism is through continual and prominent citation of verses from the Bible. Carl will discuss “Tips for Tim Tebow,” an article that suggests some Bible passages Tebow should cite if he really believes the biblical literalism he professes to uphold. The article highlights the actual content–the fundamental worldview, relations, values, and morals–which are promoted, and indeed insisted upon, in the Bible.

These biblical tips include passages from Deuteronomy, Exodus, Leviticus, Proverbs and Numbers which uphold slavery, the mass raping of women, the murder of babies and little children, the killing of homosexuals and women who are charged with losing their virginity out of wedlock. If Tim Tebow wants to truly inform people about what the Bible represents, he should tell them the truth about what it advocates.

Additionally, Carl is involved in the effort to manifest powerful resistance to mass incarceration on April 19th — the National Day of Resistance to Stop Mass Incarceration, and he will bring that, and the vigilante murder of Trayvon Martin, into the conversation as well.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday 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.

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Atheists Talk: Maggie Koerth-Baker on "When the Lights Go Out"

March 30, 2012 Stephanie Zvan

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the author of the new book, Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us. Maggie is the science editor and a regular writer at Boing Boing, and hails from the Twin Cities. She was once described as “A lighthouse of reason in a churling ocean of stupidity,” which is exactly why we all need to read her book and listen to her interview this Sunday on Minnesota Atheists Talk Radio.

From the publisher’s review of Before the Lights Go Out:

“Hi, I’m the United States and I’m an oil-oholic.”

We have an energy problem. And everybody knows it, even if we can’t all agree on what, specifically, the problem is. Rising costs, changing climate, peaking oil, foreign oil, public safety—if the fears are this complicated, then the solutions are bound to be even more confusing. Maggie Koerth-Baker… makes sense out of the madness. Over the next 20 years, we’ll be forced to cut 20 quadrillion BTU worth of fossil fuels from our energy budget, by wasting less and investing in alternatives.

To make it work, we’ll need to radically change the energy systems that have shaped our lives for 100 years. And the result will be neither business-as-usual, nor a hippie utopia. Koerth-Baker explains what we can do, what we can’t do, and why “The Solution” is really a lot of solutions working together…

Related Links:

Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us on Amazon
Maggie Koerth-Baker’s feed of science news on BoingBoing
Maggie Koerth-Baker’s personal site, including an event schedule for the new book

Atheists Talk: John Rawles on "The Matter with Us"

March 23, 2012 Stephanie Zvan2 Comments

Once we have rejected the spiritual, we are left with the material. That should simplify our lives, right? Not necessarily. As John Rawles book, The Matter with Us: A Materialistic Account of the Human Predicament, notes on its title page:

The bridge of spaceship Earth is deserted; nobody is in charge. Down below, the passengers are fighting amongst themselves, damaging the craft, looting the stores, and squandering the reserves. As a fellow passenger it gives me no pleasure to report what I see. What’s the matter with us that we should behave like this? Surely, we would all prefer that many future generations should continue to enjoy the cruise of a lifetime in safety, comfort and good health; but that seems unlikely. And it was such a beautiful ship.

Of course, the situation isn’t all doom and gloom either. We got ourselves here, and at least for now, we have some choices about where we go next. Join us on Sunday as we talk to John Rawles about how we got where we are and what we can do to make sure the cruise goes on.

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Atheists Talk: Freethought Bloggers on Activist Blogging

March 16, 2012 Stephanie Zvan4 Comments

Note: Minnesota Atheists are once again raising money for the airtime costs for this show. If you listen to the show or the podcast, please consider donating.

“Blogs are stupid.” “Blogs are graffiti with punctuation.” Those are two of Google’s autocomplete suggestions on the topic of blogs. That doesn’t make the statements true, of course.

“Atheist blogs are:

always stirring up controversy.”
mean.”
strident.”
an echo chamber.”
slacktivism.”

A lot of things get said about atheist blogging, but most of them aren’t said by atheist bloggers themselves. With Jennifer McCreight in town to speak at the Minnesota Atheists monthly meeting, we take the opportunity to gather together a number of atheist bloggers to talk about what they do, why they do it, what they have accomplished, and what they hope to accomplish in the future. In addition to Jen, we will have Greg Laden, Brianne Bilyeu, and Stephanie Zvan in the studio this Sunday.

Related Links:

Freethought Blogs

Atheists Talk: Freethought M.C.

March 9, 2012 Stephanie Zvan

Note: Minnesota Atheists are once again raising money for the airtime costs for this show. If you listen to the show or the podcast, please consider donating.

Freethought M.C. (M.C. standing for “Man of Conscience”) creates hip hop music that invokes compassion, spirituality and a language of reverence while grounded in reason, community, social responsibility, science and ethics.

Though he was raised Baptist, Freethought M.C. grew up questioning religion and philosophy. He became a Zen Buddhist at age 11, studied comparative religion in his 20s and now identifies as a Humanist and a Unitarian Universalist. His lyrics are influenced by Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris, as well as science fiction. His music also tackles political and social issues such as corrupt governments, nuclear warfare scenarios, African genocide, and the Iraq war.

In 2009 Freethought M.C. released two albums: Diary of a Humanist and Modern Humanology, followed by Freethinker Vol. One in 2010, and at the end of last year he released The Categorical Imperative Strikes Back. Join us this Sunday when Freethought M.C. joins Atheists Talk to discuss his music, as well as his activism in the African American atheist movement.

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Atheists Talk: Lawrence Krauss on "A Universe From Nothing"

March 2, 2012 Stephanie Zvan3 Comments

Dr. Lawrence Krauss is a leader in the fields of theoretical physics, science advocacy in public policy and education, and scientific skepticism. We are honored to have Dr. Krauss join Atheists Talk this Sunday to discuss his recently published book, A Universe From Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing.

A Universe From Nothing tackles ideas of thrilling complexity and importance. After all, in this book we are not merely gathering facts and formulae about the physics of our universe. We are also exploring those questions that keep us mortal dreamers awake at night: Where did we come from? Did God start it all? Where are we going to end up?

Lawrence Krauss tells a story that weaves together the history of the fields of cosmology and astrophysics with the newest discoveries of the day, and by the end of the book we come to understand that never has nothing been so fascinating.

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Atheists Talk: Darrel Ray on "Sex and God"

February 24, 2012 Stephanie Zvan

Last year, psychologist Darrel Ray surveyed 10,000 atheists on their relationship to religion and sexuality. The results showed that there wasn’t much difference between believers and nonbelievers–though there were large differences in the amount of guilt. Atheists who had been religious reported that they experienced far less guilt after leaving religion and far better sex.

In Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality, Ray documents how religions incite guilt over sexuality and how they use this guilt to maintain control over their followers. Join us this Sunday as he explores this control in both historical and modern contexts.

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Atheists Talk: Thomas Riskas on "Deconstructing Mormonism"

February 17, 2012 Stephanie Zvan

Note: This show was originally scheduled for January 8, 2012. Our guest was unable to join us that day. We are happy to be talking to him this weekend instead.

If you think you’ve learned all you need to know about Mormonism from South Park episodes and the Broadway musical, Book of Mormon, you must join us this Sunday! Atheists Talk will be interviewing author, lecturer, and secular humanist, Thomas Riskas about his book Deconstructing Mormonism: An Analysis and Assessment of the Mormon Faith, which is introduced in the forward by philosopher and professor Kai Nelson.

Thomas Riskas converted to Mormonism as a young man and spent 20 years in the Church. He rose up through the ranks of leadership, acting an Elder, Seventy and High Priest. He was a missionary, a mission leader and mission president for seven years. He had a family and raised his children in the Church. Years later he came to believe that the claims made by Mormonism – and by all religions with similar belief systems – are not only untrue, but an empty nonreality. In Deconstructing Mormonism, Mr. Riskas examines in detail the Mormon concepts of God, the “Plan of Salvation”, and faith in God and Christ, and then breaks down these ideas by illuminating the contradictions in Mormon faith and examining the psychosocial effects of the faith on its believers.

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Atheists Talk: John Rawles on "The Matter with Us"

February 10, 2012 Stephanie Zvan

Note: Please run over and welcome my Atheist Talk cohost Brianne to Freethought Blogs. The Minnesota takeover of the network is nearly complete!

The bridge of spaceship Earth is deserted; nobody is in charge. Down below, the passengers are fighting amongst themselves, damaging the craft, looting the stores, and squandering the reserves. As a fellow passenger it gives me no pleasure to report what I see. What’s the matter with us that we should behave like this? Surely, we would all prefer that many future generations should continue to enjoy the cruise of a lifetime in safety, comfort and good health; but that seems unlikely. And it was such a beautiful ship.

Related Links:

Atheists Talk: Shelley Segal on "An Atheist Album"

February 3, 2012 Stephanie Zvan1 Comment

This Sunday, February 5th, Australian singer and songwriter Shelley Segal joins Atheists Talk. We’ll hear some songs from her new release, An Atheist Album, and learn about her upcoming concerts at the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne and in New Orleans for the Annual American Humanists Conference. We’ll discuss Shelley’s passion for secular activism and find out what’s next for this talented, upcoming artist.

More about Shelley from her website:

Over the last few years, Shelley has become involved in the secular movement and it is a cause that she sees as indispensable. In response to her views, this year Shelley has recorded and released, ‘An Atheist Album.’ The seven songs on the album are her thoughts on religion and related themes, through the prism of her secular humanism.

Shelley’s musical style is influenced by commercial, folk, jazz, blues and rock genres. As a songwriter, Shelley’s music is often biographical and story-telling in nature.

We hope you can join us this weekend for a secular start to your Sunday morning!

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Radio

Atheists Talk: Carl Dix on "Tips for Tim Tebow"

Atheists Talk: Maggie Koerth-Baker on "When the Lights Go Out"

Atheists Talk: John Rawles on "The Matter with Us"

Atheists Talk: Freethought Bloggers on Activist Blogging

Atheists Talk: Freethought M.C.

Atheists Talk: Lawrence Krauss on "A Universe From Nothing"

Atheists Talk: Darrel Ray on "Sex and God"

Atheists Talk: Thomas Riskas on "Deconstructing Mormonism"

Atheists Talk: John Rawles on "The Matter with Us"

Atheists Talk: Shelley Segal on "An Atheist Album"

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