Ask An Atheist

Join Becky and Deanna in the studio as they speak with Valerie Tarico about universal morality, and continuing the conversation about reproductive rights.

Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and former director of the Children’s Behavior and Learning Clinic in Bellevue, Washington.  Her articles can be found regularly in the Green and Religion sections of the Huffington Post. She is the founder ofwww.WisdomCommons.org, an interactive library of quotes, stories, proverbs and poems that showcase humanity’s shared moral core.

Tarico’s first book, Deas and Other Imaginings, is a collection of stories described as “somewhere between Zen and folktales, somewhere between child’s play and wisdom, somewhere between dreaming the world and healing it.”

In her own effort to heal a world that is being fractured by cultural and religious zealots, Tarico wrote a second book, Trusting Doubt (former title, The Dark Side), about her personal encounter with religious fundamentalism and her spiritual journey in search of love and truth.

She has developed a series of lectures informed by her clinical practice and personal experiences that equips parents and educators with tools to understand and nurture the innate character virtues and moral instincts in children.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:28 — 25.7MB)

This week’s episode of Ask an Atheist is going to be a bit different.

We are joined via phone by P.Z. Myers and Greg M. Epstein in a debate around the question: “How Should the Atheist Movement Talk about Religion?”

Instead of taking your phone calls or emails, our own Sam Mulvey is going to moderate a debate on a question that’s been asked by atheists, believers and the media alike since the atheist visibility movement jumped onto the national attention almost a decade ago.

There are extensive show notes this week.   Much information after the break.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:32 — 23.8MB)

For the last several months, Darren, our usual call screener has visited a church before answering calls for Ask an Atheist.   A different church, every week.   Today, Darren tells Mike and Sam about what interesting things he’s discovered.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:23 — 27.1MB)

Happy Darwin Day!

Today, Sam, Becky and Nick go over the material we were supposed to go over this time last year, when Sam proposed to Becky.   We will discuss why comparisons with Charles Darwin with religious prophets don’t wash.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:42 — 25.1MB)

This week, join Sam, Mike and Eileen as we take calls, answer emails, and discuss emails about the use of the phrase “coming out” by atheists.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:03 — 27.1MB)