Monica Long Ross and Amy Ellison are two of the producers at 137 Films, a non-profit production company based in Chicago that promotes science through storytelling. (Another producer, Clayton Brown, couldn’t join us for the interview.)

In 2008, they released the film The Atom Smashers, all about physicists at Fermilab working to find the Higgs boson. In 2013, they put out The Believers, all about the two scientists who wrongly claimed to have discovered “cold fusion” in 1989.

Their next project, currently in post-production, is called We Believe in Dinosaurs, all about Noah’s Ark, Creationism, and America’s troubled relationship with science.

I spoke with them about Ken Ham‘s reaction to their project, whether Ark Encounter has led to an economic boom in the community it’s in, and why the word “Believe” is in the title of the film.

Notes:

You can contribute to their Indiegogo campaign right here.

We (Hemant and Jessica) sat down to discuss all the big stories from 2016. By which we mean whatever stories we could cram into two hours. Those topics included atheism, our future traveling roadshow, and Donald Trump.

Fair warning: There was a box of wine between us during the taping of this podcast. See if you can guess when the Merlot kicks in.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Barbara Mancini is an ER nurse from Pennsylvania. In 2013, she was arrested and prosecuted on charges of trying to help her terminally ill 93-year-old father take his own life. She is now an advocate for medical aid in dying.

We spoke with Barbara about her heartbreaking personal story, the connection between assisted suicide and abortion rights, and her correspondence with Brittany Maynard.

Notes:

Barbara works with an organization called Compassion & Choices. Check them out!

Ali A. Rizvi is a Pakistani-Canadian writer, physician, and musician who resides in Toronto. He’s the author of a new book called The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason.

Ali lived in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, as part of a progressive Muslim family, before he moved permanently to Canada in his twenties. He is a trained physician and a vocal advocate for secularism, science, and reform, particularly in the Muslim community.

We spoke about whether someone can be culturally Muslim, whether there’s something uniquely problematic with the doctrine of Islam, and what people like Reza Aslan get wrong about the faith.

Notes:

We referenced an article written by two ex-Muslims about why Aslan was so wrong with his characterization of Islam. You can read that piece here.