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.
There’s an anonymously written ebook circulating called 100 Facts Every Atheist Teen Must Know. There’s some decent stuff in it. Though it gives the same amount of space to “God” as it does “Alcohol” (but maybe that’s inevitable in a document like this). It also includes a couple random topics (like “Banking” and “Lindy Hop”) without making any direct connection to atheism. Anyway, it’s free and you can check it out for yourself, so I’ll stop complaining. (Thanks to Dave… Read more
The Backyard Skeptics group in Orange County, California has just put up this billboard “off the 55 freeway and Edinger Ave in Santa Ana”: The ad costs $6,000 and it’ll be up for one month. It’s paid for by an anonymous donor. Two more billboards will follow: “We’ve been getting a lot of comments from people saying we should have spent that money on charity,” [Backyard Skeptics founder Bruce] Gleason said. “But look at all the Christian billboards. Shouldn’t they… Read more
Ever since Illinois legalized civil unions, Catholics Charities has been flipping out at the prospect of sending kids into the home of gay parents who want to adopt them. They were so freaked out by this, that they started to shut down in response. (A secular adoption agency offered to take in the children who would soon need a new home.) Recently, a judge ruled in their favor, meaning they could provide services (at the cost of taxpayers) despite their… Read more
A conversation between a medical worker whose rings marks her as a member of an unpopular religious sect and a wounded patient who needs treatment: Resident: “Is there anyone else who could do this?” Me: “[Coworker] is the only other person on the unit today qualified to do this. Is something wrong?” Resident: “Your ring. I don’t want to be touched by one of you demons. You’re a sex-crazed cult.” Me: “I am sorry you feel that way, ma’am. If… Read more
