Sunday is a big day for Minnesota Atheists


Minnesota Atheists will be having the first of many weekly radio programs on Air America, starting on Sunday, 13 January, at 9 AM. They’re getting off to a very strong start with an interview with Richard Dawkins, among many other features.

Minnesota Atheists will launch a weekly, one-hour program on Air America Minnesota (AM 950) beginning Sunday, January 13, 2008 from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. It will be broadcast live, streamed live on the internet, and made available later as a free podcast. The name of the program is Atheists Talk (the same as our cable television show). The show will feature news, interviews, live call-ins, and more. We are proud to announce that our special guest on the inaugural program will be Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene, and many other important and influential books.

If you are out of the listening area and want to hear the program live, go to www.airamericaminnesota.com/listen and enter a Minnesota zip code. If you would like to become involved with the program by volunteering your services, making a donation, or purchasing advertising, please call August Berkshire at (612) 338-4548 or e-mail him at augustberkshire@gmail.com.

Tune in! Call in!

Comments

  1. wildcardjack says

    How about someone posting a Minnesota zip code?

    Ya know, we’re gonna kill their server.

  2. says

    Our very own PZ Myers will be bringing us “A Moment of Science” during the show! The show starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Sundays.

    We have been told that only people living in Minnesota are supposed to be able to stream the show live, due to some contract Air America Minnesota has.

    People living in Minnesota can go to AirAmericaMinnesota.com/listen and enter a Minnesota ZIP code. I don’t know if this works if you live outside of Minnesota…

    The studio call-in line is 952-946-6205.

    If you want to know what we’re going to talk about, go to MinnesotaAtheists.org and check out our Program Notes.

    And, while you’re there, feel free to kick in a couple bucks to help support the show.

    The show will become a podcast in a few days. “Atheists Talk” is also the name of our cable TV program, and those are the shows you’ll see listed on the right hand side of our website if you go there today.

    Our website is in the process of being overhauled. Hopefully things will be clearer in the near future.

    Thanks!

  3. bassmanpete says

    I’m in Australia and will be in the Land of Nod (asleep, not drugged up :)) when this show is aired. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, being American, I assume this radio station is commercial? If that’s so, I’m curious to know which companies will be airing their ads during the programme?

  4. says

    The problem with this type of show is that the hosts will devote all their time to talking about why they DON’T believe something. Most people DON’T want to hear about why someone doesn’t believe something.

    Not to trash the Atheists. I am all about people’s various ideas of the universe. I just think it will struggle.

  5. says

    And later today, between 2pm and 3pm, there is also the “Considering Faith” show on Air America Minnesota, with two Reverend hosts discussing National Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. That might be fun too… or maybe it will be like sticking sharp bamboo sticks through your eye-lits, I dunno.

  6. AllanW says

    I’m listening in the UK after using 55102. Please tell me if it is illegal and I’ll stop :)

  7. AllanW says

    Aw man! They gotta give more to you PZ; maybe a regular contributor or segment?

    Well done btw. You sounded passionate about the subject and packed more factoids into 5 minutes than I thought possible.

  8. bPer says

    I am listening from Ottawa, ON, using the Morris zipcode (56267).

    Too bad that Prof. Myers was cut off in his explanation of transitional fossils in cetaceans. I’d really like to hear the rest of his explanation (hint hint).

  9. says

    Dang, yeah, those two minute segments are killers. I’ve been wrestling with trying to condense a science summary into 400 words all week, and we just decided yesterday to talk about whale transitionals. I clearly need to hone things down more.

  10. charley says

    Minnesota Atheists has set a high bar for other atheist groups with this broadcast. Congratulations.

    Nice job, PZ. You didn’t quite finish, but I got the gist of the explanation. Dawkins was great as always.

    I love the ad for the sponsor Cucumbers restaurant. “Bring in your church bulletin or Minnesota Atheists flier for a $2 discount on Sunday brunch!” (or something like that).

  11. AllanW says

    A little lumpy and amateurish as a programme but hearty congratulations to the programme-makers for getting it off the ground. Dawkins was good as per usual. The resolution 888 segment was well done. And PZ’s segment was way too short.

    I may even tune in regularly!

  12. Tom says

    It was easy to hear that it was their first show, but still thumbs up.

    Ps. And I wish the callers would ask a freaking question, though it was kind of funny when the host for the second time, annoyed, asked “mmmh do you have a question?”.

  13. Fox1 says

    Aargh, how did any of the callers find the studio line number? I didn’t find it in this thread until after the program was over.

    I did tune in a few minutes late, but never heard the number mentioned (and barely had time to figure out what PZ was talking about before they cut him off).

    I hope they get a bit more… polished as the program goes on, especially, maybe, screening callers (there were a few too many “did you have a question?” “….not really” moments).

  14. says

    Agh! I hate that statement from Sam Harris that no one goes around calling themselves non-racists. First, the term is antiracist, and there are quite a few who call themselves that. Second, his embedded assumption that racism is over is dead wrong.

    And every time someone like Dawkins naively repeats that statement as if it and its assumptions are true and it is only its relevancy that is at issue, it makes the repeater look almost as bad as Harris. If we really expect folks to sympathize with our arguments that theism is oppressive to non-theists, we would do well to not behave in the same obliviously self-centered way that we’re charging theists with.