In this episode, I speak with Candace Gorham about her book The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion – and Others Should Too. Candace is a licensed professional mental health counselor, a former ordained minister turned atheist activist, as well as a researcher and writer on issues relating to religion and the African-American community. She is a member of the African American Humanist advisory board, The Secular Therapy Project, The Clergy Project, and the...

For this episode, I speak with Caroline Matas about a handful of subjects revolving around New Atheism, the #MeToo movement, and Men’s Rights Activism. Caroline is currently a doctoral student in the Religion in the Americas subfield at Princeton University. She is also the news editor and social media manager at the Harvard Religious Literacy Project. She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, where her work focused on contemporary American religious groups’ media use. Armchair Atheism...

Rajani Gudlavalleti is a community organizer, consultant, and writer. For over a decade, she has worked at the intersections of social justice, public health, and the legal system. Rajani has conducted this work through the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore City Health Department, and Open Society Foundations. Currently, her primary passion is as community organizer for Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, coordinating BRIDGES, Baltimore’s grassroots movement for safer...

What was a god assumed to be, according to Hebrew scripture? How do our cultural contexts and philosophical assumptions impact the way we conceive of ancient religious concepts today? Can philosophy help us to understand how these issues have served to shape the very question of what a god is down through history? In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Jaco Gericke about these topics and others that raise important issues with much of our contemporary discourse about God. Dr. Gericke is...

How should we understand the concept of religion? How does our understanding of it impact the way we see different traditions, communities, and practices? What are the ways religion has been understood in the past and in the academy? For this episode of the podcast, I speak with Kevin Schilbrack about his contribution to the long-running debate over defining religion. Dr. Schilbrack teaches in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Appalachian State University, he is a graduate of Chicago...

Is evolution just a theory? Why is creationism unscientific? In this episode of the podcast, we look at some of the common questions and problems in the creation-evolution debate. Ken Miller is the Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University. He was the lead expert witness for the plaintiff in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case of 2005 that challenged the teaching of intelligent design in schools. Dr. Miller has debated several proponents of...

Leaving religion behind can have real life consequences for many people, some of them frustrating or even traumatic in nature. When one first walks away from a religious tradition, or stands up to the dominant tradition within their own community, a variety of challenges and questions may present themselves. Where do we turn to for emotional or social support when we are no longer able to talk to friends, family, and the fellow believers we once knew? What do we do when we have doubts? When...

Is there evidence of life of death? What should we make of claims about near-death experiences, apparitions, and psychic encounters? For this episode of the show, I talk with Keith Augustine about these questions and more. Mr. Augustine is the Executive Director and Scholarly Paper Editor at Internet Infidels. He holds a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Maryland, and recently co-edited a book with Michael Martin entitled The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case Against Life After...

For some religious believers, faith is one of the most important things a person can have in their life. But what is faith? Common theistic definitions say that faith is belief or trust, while a number of atheists argue that faith is an irrational claim to knowledge. In this episode of the show, I talk with Professor John Bishop about some of these issues, as well as the different models of faith. Dr. Bishop is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He has a BA...

How long has atheism been around? In this seventh episode of the show, I talk with Tim Whitmarsh, the A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge, about atheism in ancient history. Professor Whitmarsh works on all areas of Greek literature and culture, specializing particularly in the world of Greeks under the Roman Empire. Professor Whitmarsh has published several books, including Greek Literature and the Roman Empire, Narrative and Identity in the Ancient Greek...

What is naturalism? For episode six, I take up this broad topic in conversation with John Shook, a research associate in philosophy and instructor in science education for the University at Buffalo. Dr. Shook holds a Ph.D in philosophy from the University at Buffalo, served as professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University from 2000-2006, has worked for several secular and humanist organizations – including the Center for Inquiry and the American Humanist Association – and he is the...

For episode five, I speak with physicist Aaron Adair about the Big Bang, the origins of the universe, and the relationship of modern cosmology with religion. Adair is Assistant Professor of Physics at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, earned his Ph.D and Masters from Ohio State University, his Bachelor’s from Michigan State University, and is the author of a 2013 book, The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View. Armchair Atheism is the official podcast of GodlessHaven.com, exploring...

In episode four, I am joined by moral philosopher Erik Wielenberg as we discuss a popular version of the moral argument for god, as well as the plausibility of a non-theistic objective morality. Dr. Wielenberg is Professor of Philosophy at DePauw University in Indiana, a fellow of the Center for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St. Andrews, and has been published in numerous philosophical journals. He has put out three excellent books, including Value and Virtue in a...

This third episode focuses on the nature of science, broadly speaking, with Massimo Pigliucci. What is science, how does it work, and where do certain phenomena fall in relation to it? Dr. Pigliucci is both a scientist and a philosopher of science, is currently Professor of Philosophy at CUNY-City College, and co-hosts the Rationally Speaking podcast with Julia Galef. He has published numerous articles on science, skepticism, and philosophy, and authored multiple books, including Denying...

For this second episode of the show, the issue of philosophy of religion is under discussion with Dr. Graham Oppy. What is philosophy of religion and why should non-believers, or any of us, care? Is it just a fancy brand of Christian apologetics or is there perhaps more to it? Dr. Oppy is a well-known atheist philosopher in the discipline who argues in his recent book that philosophy of religion should be reinvented. He teaches at Monash University, serves on the editorial boards of...

This inaugural episode briefly covers the intent of the show, a little info on its creator/producer, and features a nearly hour-long conversation with Dan Barker on the question, ‘what is atheism?’ Mr. Barker is a former preacher turned atheist activist who currently serves as co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to upholding the separation of church and state and to educating the public on subjects related to unbelief. He has authored...