Posted on

Show 237: Kathryn Joyce

Sunsara Taylor talks to Kathryn Joyce, author of the upcoming book, Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.

Audio here!

Joyce discusses the relationship between the Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalist movement both in the US – and it’s affect in Europe – and Xenophobia, racism, patriarchy, the Pro-Life movement and the white anti-immigration madness of the 21st Century.

Kathryn Joyce is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Nation, Mother Jones and other publications. Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement, is due out from Beacon Press in early 2009.

Posted on

Show 179: Lawrence Pintak

From the preface of Reflections in a Bloodshot Lens: America, Islam, and the War of Ideas

Audio here!

“For Americans, Islam has emerged as the quintessential “Other,” replacing the Soviet Union as the touchstone against which U.S. citizens measure their collective sense of Self. It has become a cliché to say that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 “changed everything.” On one level, that is true. The nation’s illusion of security was shattered; its relationship with terror as something that happened somewhere else was unalterably transformed. But on another level, 9/11 simply made overt a worldview that had long been present but little acknowledged.

“Since a keffiah-clad Rudolph Valentino first strode across the silent screen, Arabs and Muslims have been Othered in U.S. society, the subject of stereotype and differentiation. Blinded by their view of Self, most Americans knew – or cared – little about what the rest of the world thought of them. Meanwhile, Arabs and non-Arab Muslims harbored a host of clichés and preconceived notions that shaped their view of the U.S., set against the overarching perception that the U.S. is intrinsically linked to, and responsible for, the policies of Israel, the ultimate Other.

Continue reading “Show 179: Lawrence Pintak”

Posted on

Show 177: Naturalism, Racism & African-Americans

2-Hour Special!

Audio here!

Is it possible that the role of religion and faith has been far less of an advantage for African Americans than is commonly assumed? Might a naturalistic approach to life be more effective at addressing the challenges that African Americans continue to face, such as racism, and poverty? What might a naturalistic African American culture look like and how might it make a difference?

To help us examine the role of faith and religious practice in African American life from a critical perspective we will be joined on the phone by three African Americans who identify themselves as being humanist, atheist, and reason based, as opposed to faith based: Equal Time for Freethought’s (one time) science advisor Dr. Reg Hacksaw, who has appeared with us here in the past, atheist broadcaster Reggie Finley, also know as “The Infidel Guy,” and Dr. Anthony Pinn an author of The African American Religious Experience in America, and African American Humanist Principles: Living and Thinking Like the Children of Nimrod. All three are active in their communities and will tell us about their personal journeys as well as their ideas.

And if that wasn’t enough- joining us in the studio will be a fourth African American – Sibanye, leader of the Harlem Freethinkers, a group which meets regularly to discuss issues of relevance to the Black Community from a humanistic and naturalistic perspective.

Posted on

Show 164: Tim Wise: The Extended Interview

Tim Wise: The Extended Interview

Audio here!

Scientific naturalists recognize that our bias always threatens to keep us from accurately interpreting what we see. Indeed, the degree to which our efforts to study the world around us will generate the accurate information we desire, is limited by how effective we are at offsetting the bias that would otherwise mislead us.

While most naturalists are aware of the need to defeat bias in order to accurately perceive the world around us, when it comes to understanding what drives our fellow humans, naturalists are often far less committed to applying the standards of scientific evidence to attain an unbiased view. In America perhaps the most blaring examples of such unchecked bias obstructing our ability to perceive accurately has to due with the issue of race.

Continue reading “Show 164: Tim Wise: The Extended Interview”

Posted on

Show 163: Michael Neumann – The Case Against Israel

Audio here!

Humanism is a sociopolitical philosophy concerned with promoting, among other things, a behavior of peoples via ethical and moral interactions.  These ethics and morals include compassion, truth, honesty, interconnectedness, and fairness, and a resort to reason and the understanding of cause and effect in society.  Humanists, therefore, tend to look at the philosophical and scientific underpinnings of human behavior – studying both the biological and anthropological nature of our species – toward the attempt of creating a truly egalitarian, planetary culture – a culture, while not diminishing local cultures, strives for a universal humanity where violence, war, racism, and other social injustices become obsolete.

So what is a humanist take on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?  Is there a way to look at this conflict not from an Arab or Jewish point of view, or even a political or historical point of view?  And if so, what would we learn from such an exploration?

Continue reading “Show 163: Michael Neumann – The Case Against Israel”

Posted on

Show 160: Julia Scheeres

Audio here!

“In the name of religion, (Julia) Scheeres (Jesus Land) and her adopted black brother, David, suffer cruel abuse, first in their Calvinist home in Indiana in the 1970s and then when their surgeon father and missionary-minded mother send the teens to a fundamentalist Dominican Republic reform school that is run like boot camp.  The self-righteous sermonizing would be hilarious if it were not the justification for vicious punishment.

“The racism is open, from the other kids and from authority.  Scheeres tries to find comfort in drink and in sex with a classmate … What is unforgettable is the tenderness between sister and brother, as uplifting as any sermon.  Their relationship is never sentimentalized: She is ashamed of the times she turns her back on him, tired of being called “nigger-lover . . . the black boy’s sister,” but they help each other through the worst with horseplay, humor, and courage” – Hazel Rochman @ American Library Association
Continue reading “Show 160: Julia Scheeres”