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.
Wednesday night’s Primetime Nightline on ABC will focus on “psychic abilities.” Besides interviewing “psychics” like James Van Praagh, though, ABC producers also spoke with the folks at JREF — James Randi, DJ Grothe, Banachek, and Jamy Ian Swiss. Smart move. They also taped the “first-ever open Million Dollar Challenge event where hundreds of New York City psychics were invited to take [JREF’s] tests.” (And you would think news would’ve broken if anyone won the prize…) The preview clip is below:… Read more
Want a terrific primer on how the number of atheists is going up with each generation? Adam Lee writes about it at AlterNet: All these individual facts add up to a larger picture, which is confirmed by statistical evidence: Americans are becoming less religious, with rates of atheism and secularism increasing in each new generation. This demographic transformation has been in progress ever since World War II, but in recent years it’s begun to seriously pick up steam. In the… Read more
Today is the release date for Penn Jillette’s new book God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales I have a copy to give away to one lucky reader, but first, an excerpt from the book. (Thanks to Simon & Schuster for that!) It’s from the introduction, titled “The Humility of Loudmouth Know-it-all Asshole Atheists”… so you know this is going to be fun 🙂 You don’t have to be brave or a saint, a… Read more
The Columbia County School System in Georgia says right on its website that it “does not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, handicap, religion, or national origin in any of its educational programs, services or activities, admission to facilities or employment practices.” But then someone needs to explain why the elementary, middle, and high schools (PDFs) all have a Code of Conduct (which all students must sign) that suggests “Respect for the Creator” is a part of “Character… Read more
