Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News and served on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance. He has written multiple books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide. He also edited the book Queer Disbelief.
One of the many ways in which President-elect Donald Trump has already shown signs of being a disaster for the science community is how he talks about vaccines. Not only did his foundation once give $10,000 to Jenny McCarthy’s anti-vaccination organization, he has consistently perpetuated the lie that vaccines lead to autism, a conspiracy that has never been confirmed with evidence and which has been firmly discredited by experts. No wonder the anti-science movement feels emboldened with Trump in the White House. Read more
I mentioned yesterday that Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse just released its report on the Jehovah’s Witnesses and found that children were not “adequately protected from the risk of sexual abuse” within the organization. Lloyd Evans, a former Witness who knows a lot more about the ins and outs of the religion, has now posted a video going into more detail about what the report says. Read more