Friendly Atheist Podcast Podcast By Friendly Atheist Podcast cover art

Friendly Atheist Podcast

Friendly Atheist Podcast

By: Friendly Atheist Podcast
Listen for free

About this listen

Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke Greiff cover the latest news, politics, and pop culture with a focus on atheism and religion. This is the official podcast for FriendlyAtheist.com.

© All rights reserved
Political Science Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • 586 - Sen. Joni Ernst Uses Jesus to Distract from Death
    Jun 5 2025

    Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

    Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

    Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

    – Sen. Joni Ernst defends "we all are going to die" comment with pitch to embrace Jesus. (0:48)

    – Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht accused of massive financial misconduct by former ministry insiders. (14:05)

    – Colorado passed a law to protect trans people. These pastors repeatedly lied about it. (31:39)

    – Quincy (MA) faces lawsuit over taxpayer-funded Catholic statues at police HQ. (49:20)

    – Catholic bishops file lawsuit to protect the secrets of sex predators. (1:06:46)

    – In California, students with disabilities can now attend religious schools on the public dime. (1:24:35)

    This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 37 mins
  • 585 - The Censorship of The Crucible
    May 29 2025

    Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

    Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

    Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

    – Georgia high school cancels "The Crucible" after complaints of "demonic" themes. (0:30)

    – Texas Democrat exposes GOP hypocrisy in bill forcing Ten Commandments in classrooms. (17:45)

    – Tennessee teen sues Christian school for withholding diploma after she posted about her girlfriend. (39:48)

    – Dept. of Justice targets small Idaho town over zoning dispute with extremist church. (57:50)

    – At long last, Delaware enacts "death with dignity" law to ease human suffering. (1:17:55)

    This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 29 mins
  • 584 - The Price to Make Jerry Falwell, Jr. Go Away
    May 22 2025

    Patreon supporters who give $5 a month will get an ad-free version of the show!

    Join our private Facebook group and Discord server!

    Jessica and I spoke about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

    – Good news! The Supreme Court deadlocked on allowed the first-ever taxpayer-funded religious charter school in Oklahoma. (0:20)

    – Liberty University paid Jerry Falwell, Jr. $15 million to make him—and his lawsuits—disappear. (10:45)

    – Trump admin drops $37.7M fine against Christian school that lied about tuition. (26:17)

    – After a decade, a Florida city has finally given up defending an illegal prayer vigil. (36:50)

    – Indicted megachurch pastor Robert Morris abused a kid. Now he's suing for retirement pay. (53:13)

    – Texas Senate passes bill to force Christian date labels (B.C. and A.D.) in public schools. (1:06:37)

    – Appeals court: Southwest's lawyers don't have to go through right-wing "religious freedom" training. (1:14:35)

    This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 22 mins
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
Jessica's anger in this episode truly resonated with me and I actually found it comforting not feeling alone with my own anger.

Great Episode

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I've enjoyed this podcast. The presenter is truly graceful and very sensitive towards believer's feelings.

Fantastic podcast

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

As far as atheist pod casts go, the Friendly Atheist is one that ‘truly you guys’ delivers some of the most well researched and context rich perspectives. Hemant, in contrast to many of his contemporaries, approaches topics like a reporter, regularly seeking comments from parties involved. As someone who listens to several atheist podcasters, I often hear them crediting Hemants research. But the podcast would not be what it is without Jessica. She’s quick to get excited and jump to conclusions, sometimes blundering into the conversation in ways that could come off as ignorant. But I’ve come to see her approach as a sort of brutal honesty and vulnerability. If Jessica were not present to help us digest Hemant’s stories, the podcast might just be another sober, maybe even depressing podcast (most of Hemant’s stories are bad news). Jessica gives the listener space to ‘feel’ the news, whether it be worry, loss, rage, or delightful schadenfreude.
Jessica also offers a sharp feminist perspective that this mostly straight male reviewer often misses. If you care about the latest news from the world of atheism and religiosity, the Friendly Atheist delivers. Highly recommend.

Ahead of the curve on atheist news

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Hement (sp?) and Jessica chat about news stories from an atheist point of view. As an Apatheist (I just don’t GAF), I often find myself laughing out loud while I listen, which is much better than crying. Hement & Jessica’s intelligent and irreverent commentary on current events is timely, informative and much appreciated. Week after week there they are, having done the hard work of sifting through the all the madness to bring attention to stories of the hypocrisy, greed and corruption of so called morally upright leaders and followers of religion — and feel good stories, too!! My only complaint is Jessica says “Oh my God” far too often. FFS you would think listening to an atheist podcast would be one place I wouldn’t have to hear that annoying phrase.

Laugh instead of crying

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I love this podcast. It is smart, funny, and poignant. This is what the world needs. Let's collectively pull our heads out of our...

Celebrate Reason and Logic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.