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Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.
Vol. 35 No. 04 May 2018

Check out the lively ‘Freethought Matters’ TV show

Larry Shapiro, left, professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was a recent guest on FFRF’s TV program, “Freethought Matters.” Hosting the show are FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker. (Photo by Chris Line)

If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out FFRF’s new television program, “Freethought Matters.” The half-hour show has a talk-show format and includes notable freethinkers from around the country and world.

It airs Sunday nights at 11 p.m. in Madison, Wis., on CBS affiliate Channel 3. But if you’re like most of FFRF’s members and don’t live in the Madison area, the shows are available to watch free on FFRF’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/ffrforg) after broadcasting.

You can also watch FFRF’s other video offerings on that channel, including the weekly “Ask an Atheist” and “Newsbite.”

The first “Freethought Matters” show aired Jan. 7 with hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF’s co-presidents.

“We consider ‘Freethought Matters’ partly as an antidote to the Sunday morning church hour,” Gaylor says. “But, mostly, we want to acquaint the community with the range of fascinating nonreligious authors and activists.”

The guests have included heavyweights such as Harvard evolutionary psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker, FFRF’s honorary president; the New York Times’ newest columnist Michelle Goldberg; comedian Julia Sweeney; Iranian-born secular London-based activist Maryam Namazie. Other guests have included science journalist and Los Angeles-based TV host Cara Santa Maria; well-known atheist blogger Greta Christina of San Francisco; renowned sculptor Zenos Frudakis and American Indian composer Brent Michael Davids.

The debut guest was Chris Johnson, a photojournalist who produced the book, A Better Life: 100 Atheists Speak Out on Joy & Meaning in a World Without God, with a film version of the same name.

The director of the program is FFRF Videographer Bruce Johnson and the producer is FFRF Communications Coordinator Lauryn Seering.

FFRF extends thanks for camera help to FFRF Legal Fellow Chris Line, and pinch-hitters Marian Herzog, Mike Remington, Mike Foley and Veronica Plum, Monica Schwartz and Kristina Daleiden.