Very Big Atheist Conference of 2012 — Schedule and Speaker List Finalized!

The schedule and speaker list for the Very Big Atheist Conference of 2012 has been finalized! Set to be held in Devil’s Corner, Wisconsin, there are some very exciting sessions planned, and some of your favorite atheist bloggers, writers, and activists will be there. The 2011 conference sold out early — so be sure to get your tickets now!

SUNDAY, APRIL 1

Santa claus
Noon – 1:00 pm
The Santa Delusion: Building the Next Generation of Atheists
Workshop for toddlers
Nosmo King
Co-sponsored by the Secular Pre-School Alliance

Jen mccreight boobquake
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
The 2012 Mayan Calendar, and How My Boobs Will Bring About The End of the World — This Time For Sure!
Jen McCreight

Goats_on_fire
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Atheism and Caprian Combustibility
Dr. David Mabus

American_Atheists_logo
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
American Atheists unveil new billboard campaign:
“Oh, Come On, You Can’t Possibly Believe This Stupid Bullshit”
David Silverman, president

Pz myers
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Dinner and keynote address:
Look, I’m Sorry About The Whole Narwhal Thing, Okay?
PZ Myers

Martini
8:30-pm – 10:00 pm
Cocktails
Hosted by JT Eberhard, Rebecca Watson, and Jen McCreight

10:00 PM – 6:00 AM
Horizontal networking
Main hotel; specific locations TBD

MONDAY, APRIL 2

Breakfast
7:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast with new friends
Hotel buffet
(Alternate breakout session: Awkward sneaking back to original rooms)

Richard dawkins
Christopher hitchens
Sam harris
Daniel dennett

10:00 am – 11:30 am
Diversity Panel: How Can Atheism Be More Welcoming to Women and People of Color?
Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett

Mt_st_helens_eruption
Noon – 1:00 pm
Lunch; discussion of diversity panel

Debbie goddard
Anthony pinn
Amanda marcotte
Sikivu hutchinson

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Post-Diversity Panel Infuriated Smackdown
Debbie Goddard, Anthony Pinn, Amanda Marcotte, and Sikivu Hutchinson

Oops
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Post-Smackdown Defensive Excuses/ Sheepish Apologies/ Fervent Hopes That This Won’t Be The One Thing Anyone Remembers About The Conference
Conference organizers

Wildfire
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Dinner/ obsessive re-hashing of diversity panel kerfuffle/ crushing of conference organizers’ hopes
All attendees are welcome

Bar
8:30-pm – 10:00 pm
Serious, much-needed drinking
Hosted by JT Eberhard, Rebecca Watson, and Jen McCreight
(hosts subject to change in case of hangover)
Karaoke mandatory

10:00 PM – 6:00 AM
Horizontal networking — follow-up sessions
Main hotel; specific locations TBD: see previous day’s schedule for details
(Alternate breakout session: Awkward avoidance of eye contact with contacts from previous day’s session)

TUESDAY, APRIL 3

Cigarette_and_coffee_1
7:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast with new friends; exchanges of phone numbers; insincere promises to stay in touch after conference
Hotel buffet
(Alternate breakout session — see previous day’s schedule)

Jt eberhard
9:00 am – 10:00 am
How To Do An Inspiring And Hilarious Conference Presentation First Thing In The Morning After A Night Of Drunken Karaoke
JT Eberhard

Octagon
10:30 am – 11:30 pm
Should Atheism Be Falsifiable?
PZ Myers and Jerry Coyne
Death-match in the Octagon! Two philosophies enter — one philosophy leaves!

Intestine-diagram.svg
Noon – 1:00 pm
Post death-match lunch. Feast on the entrails of the defeated.
Cookies and pop provided by Hemant “Friendly Atheist” Mehta

Hector avalos
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Why “Intelligent Design” Isn’t Science — And Why I Have To Waste My Valuable Time And Considerable Brainpower Making This Argument When It Should Be Obvious To A Freaking Ten Year Old
Hector Avalos

Greta
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Angry mob
Greta Christina, ringleader
BYO pitchfork

If you have suggestions for next year’s program, please make them in the comments. Hope to see you there!

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Very Big Atheist Conference of 2012 — Schedule and Speaker List Finalized!
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37 thoughts on “Very Big Atheist Conference of 2012 — Schedule and Speaker List Finalized!

  1. 2

    Sweeeeeeeet: they booked me for my specialties!
    I wasn’t going to attend until I saw you were leading the angry mob. Now I can’t justify staying away. 🙂
    JT

  2. 4

    No no no, you’ve got it all wrong! Hemant wouldn’t feast on the entrails of defeated gladiators. He only devours infants, as we should all know perfectly well.

  3. 5

    Like last year’s, this had me on the floor. The Diversity panel and fallout are genius, but I confess my favourite part was ‘Atheism and Caprian Combustibility’ because I have never understood the ‘goats on fire!’ parts of those spam posts. (I mean, they are even less comprehensible than the rest of the rants.)

  4. 12

    I volunteer for cocktail party bar duty. Rebecca just keeps bringing carboys of vodka for the bar back, and we godless drunkards deserve better.
    — Bertrand’s Teapot Catering – the teapot’s in your head, but the drink is in your hand —

  5. 15

    Love it! You should include Evid3nc3! He’s an atheist Youtuber with over a million views, that just converted back to Christianity because of CS Lewis!

    (This video was released today as well…)

  6. 19

    What’s the joke? I kinda like the billboard idea. 🙂

    Oh, dear. That’s what I was afraid of. I should have known Silverman would think this was a good idea. If American Atheists launches the infamous “Stupid Bullshit” billboard campaign next year, I’ll have only myself to blame. 🙂

  7. 21

    Would certainly attend this, it’d be my first atheist con too.
    Not sure if I’d attend the PZ Myers/Jerry Coyne deathmatch or not. I’m not into wrestling/fighting/etc, but that sounds more amusing than disgusting.

  8. Jen
    22

    Oh… I want the Stupid Bullshit billboard to be real sooo much…
    This is my favorite April Fool’s gag of 2011, methinks.

  9. ER
    23

    You forgot to mention that there will be a discussion of next year’s conference being held at Intercourse, PA or Hell, MI.

  10. 24

    The deathmatch should be easy to determine. Just announce that the judge will be God Almighty Himself, who is entering the room right now….!
    If PZ turns his head to look — he loses.

  11. 25

    Honestly, the billboard is a genuinely good I idea. Seriously. I mean it! Look, I don’t do this April’s Fool’s shit so take me seriously!!
    And since when do atheists celebrate Catholic holidays? I thought everybody knew this holiday originated as “The Feast of Saint Fool.”

  12. 26

    Ha! I’m definitely going to the goats panel.
    *******************************************************************************************************888eleven!!

  13. 30

    The American Atheists campaign is rather good, but I personally prefer the British Atheists’ billboard campaign:
    “Religion, what a load of bollocks!” 🙂

  14. 32

    I’m worried to see that Silverman really thinks such a billboard would be a good idea…
    The Santa workshop for toddlers has its merits, maybe the idea could be expanded to include the tooth fairy, god and the devil next year ! “Nothing to see here, they don’t really exist, here are the party pies”.

  15. 35

    I hope you are going to have live webcasts or at least recorded podcasts available. I am especially looking forward to the Harris, Dawkins, dennet and hitchens session.

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