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.
I’m always amazed when first-year college atheist groups manage to put together a popular event but Matthew Knowles and Thomas Wobby just began the Secular Association of Skeptical Students at Colgate University (in New York) and their Darwin Day celebration last week was a hit, getting them front-page coverage in their campus newspaper: Wobby and Knowles appealed to University Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister Mark Shiner about a group on campus, leading to the formation of the new secular group,… Read more
The Wichita Coalition of Reason is planning a free conference April 21st-22nd — call it a sequel to last year’s Rapture Day conference. They have some great speakers for the occasion, too. Even though it’s a free conference, it takes money to put it all together and Phil Ferguson is matching all money raised for the event (up to $1,000) through the end of the week. Consider chipping in because these free conferences expose our message to a lot of… Read more
This is a recurring theme: Parking meters exist to generate revenue for the city, but the city council alters the time the meters are in effect to accommodate local churches. It’s happened in Chicago and Philadelphia. Now, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is going after the city council (PDF) in San Luis Obispo, California. In short, the meters are in operation every day between 9:00a and 6:00p. On Sundays, even though local businesses open at 11:00a, the meters don’t go… Read more
Carrie Poppy was feeling sick a month ago, so she (knowingly) purchased ColdCalm, a homeopathic “remedy” that has no actual potency to it. Actually, she took a lot of it. Double the dosage. To no one’s surprise, nothing bad happened to her. But, since Carrie’s a wonderful skeptic, she called both the poison control center and Boiron Laboratories (which makes ColdCalm) to hear what they had to say about her overdose. She also got it all on video 🙂 There’s… Read more
At the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the school newspaper The Vermilion recently gave a column to the priest of the school’s on-campus Catholic Church. Scott C. Broussard helps run the Secular Student Alliance group at the school and he requested — and received! — the chance to write his own column in the paper. Call it a reasonable counterweight to the priest’s drivel. His first column appeared this past week and focuses on the false notion that atheists are… Read more