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.
In Islamabad, Pakistan, an 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome supposedly burned “pages of a Noorani Qaida, a booklet used to learn the basics of the Holy Quran.” In response, Islamic protesters beat her and her mother up (the rest of the family escaped)… and local authorities sent the girl to juvenile prison. Have I mentioned she’s 11 and has Down syndrome…? Hardly evidence of purposeful blasphemy. It doesn’t help, though, that her family is Christian and that’s a minority faith… Read more
Three members of the anti-Putin Russian group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison yesterday on charges of “hooliganism” for this act of defiance: There’s not much to add that hasn’t already been said. But I’ll add to the growing number of voices who are calling it shameful that anyone could be arrested for what basically amounts to “blasphemy” and dissent. Mother Jones has an excellent summary of what this story is all about from start to finish…. Read more
Yesterday, American Atheists’ Dave Silverman appeared on FOX News Channel with host Megyn Kelly to talk about AA’s lawsuit over the 9/11 Cross. In short, Christian groups want a cross they claim was found in the World Trade Center wreckage to go into the Ground Zero Museum. Silverman says the cross isn’t part of 9/11 history — it was “created” after the fact (believe it or not, when steel beams fall, many of them will form cross shapes) and it’s… Read more
Yesterday, I met up with Chris Johnson, whose Kickstarter campaign to create a book featuring atheists talking about what gives them joy and meaning in life reached its fundraising goals. Based on the stories I heard from him and the kinds of topics we talked about, I’m really excited about this book. In addition to the pictures he’s taking, he’s also interviewing his subjects (partly to write text for the book, partly for bonus material). He posted an excerpt from… Read more
Danica McKellar (who portrayed Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years) has written her fourth book aiming to make math more accessible for young women. That’s made her both a bestselling author… and one of the more controversial figures in the math education world, given the Cosmo-like feel to her books. Her latest one is called Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape: This follows her previous books Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or… Read more
