Skeptic: Promoting Science and Critical Thinking

Church State Update

This past week has been particularly troubling for secular humanists and freethinkers, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the words “In God We Trust” on American currency and “Under God” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance are not in violation of the First Amendment rights of nontheists.

Meanwhile, the conservative majority of the Texas State Board of Education (whose sheer size and buying power influence textbook content nationwide) revised its curricula to reflect a less secular version of history, economics and sociology. Among other revisionist changes, this reduces the role of President Thomas Jefferson as a revolutionary author.

This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Sean Faircloth (the new Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America) about these troubling current events. Sean also talks about the Coalition’s recent historic meeting with White House officials to open a policy dialog with the Obama Administration — the first of its kind for American nontheists.

• LISTEN to this episode
• SUBSCRIBE in iTunes
• FOLLOW the RSS feed

Getting into the
Spirit of Things

Things get spooky this week on MonsterTalk, as the hosts venture into the science of ghosts.

What does neuroscience have to say about the possibility of consciousness or mind existing outside the body — or continuing on after the body has died? This episode’s guest is neurologist Dr. Steven Novella (veteran of on-site ghost investigations, and host of the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast), who shares his insights on brains, minds, and specters from beyond the grave.

• LISTEN to this episode
• READ episode notes
• SUBSCRIBE in iTunes
• FOLLOW the RSS feed