Kelly Carlin is the author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, an autobiography and one-woman show that talks about growing up with her famous father, comedian George Carlin. She’s also host of the podcast Waking from the American Dream and a speaker at the upcoming Reason Rally.

We spoke with Kelly about what her father was like off the stage, how being the daughter of a world famous comedian can be a mixed blessing, and how she created her own identity.

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This episode was sponsored by Foundation Marketing, which offers all-encompassing solutions backed by 20 years’ experience. This includes professional web design, graphic design, printing, and online marketing solutions. If you let them know you were sent by the Friendly Atheist Podcast, you’ll get 10% off any sale. They’re also donating 20% of all sales driven by this podcast to the Clergy Project and Foundation Beyond Belief.

Notes:

We talked about the Tribute to George Carlin at the New York Public Library in which comedian Louis CK gave a heartfelt speech, in part directed at Kelly. You can watch that here.

Kelly also referenced a bit called “Abortion is Green” by comedian Doug Stanhope.

Jeremy Runnells was raised in the Church of Latter Day Saints as a 6th generation Mormon. He went on his two year mission. He graduated from BYU. He was an Eagle Scout. But in 2012, he began doubting some of his beliefs. He was asked by a Church Educational System (or CES) director to share his concerns. Jeremy did that in what became known as the Letter to a CES Director, or the CES letter. It is a damning document that exposes so many holes in the Mormon faith and it quickly went viral online, giving a lot of people reason to leave the Church themselves. And then, earlier this year, wouldn’t you know it, Church officials began a process to kick him out. Before they could excommunicate him for good in April, Jeremy announced he was resigning from the Mormon Church himself. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of kicking him out.

We spoke with Jeremy about what led him to start doubting his faith, how the “Mormon moment” from a few years ago has come to an end, and why he left the Church before it could get rid of him.

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This episode was sponsored by Foundation Marketing, which offers all-encompassing solutions backed by 20 years’ experience. This includes professional web design, graphic design, printing, and online marketing solutions. If you let them know you were sent by the Friendly Atheist Podcast, you’ll get 10% off any sale. They’re also donating 20% of all sales driven by this podcast to the Clergy Project and Foundation Beyond Belief.

Notes:

Be sure to check out Jeremy’s interview on the Mormon Stories podcast.

Dr. Dawn Eden was born into a Jewish family, became an Agnostic during her teenage years, and then found God and became a Catholic in her 30s. Along the way, she was a rock journalist and worked as an editor for the New York Post and Daily News. Since her conversion, she’s written several books including The Thrill of the Chaste and Remembering God’s Mercy: Redeem the Past and Free Yourself from Painful Memories. She’s also a long-time blogger at the Dawn Patrol.

Before giving a talk at a church just outside of Chicago recently, we had 20 minutes to chat. We used the limited time to talk about her unique religious journey, whether allowing priests to have sex is a good idea, and how she arguably kickstarted my own career with this blog post.

(As I make clear in the podcast, there were several points I would love to have pushed back on and debated further, but time didn’t allow for it.)

Monica Miller is Senior Counsel at the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center. If the AHA is involved in a lawsuit, she’s the person doing the legwork, and that involves everything from letters to city councils to amicus briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court.

We spoke with her about when anonymity can be used in a case, the surprising number of religious people who complain about church/state violations, and when a Christian cross isn’t a Christian cross.

Notes:

Mentioned in the episode were AHA lawsuits involving the federal prison system and the Bladensburg Cross.

You’ll also want to check out the AHA’s Don’t Say the Pledge campaign.