Advent Podcasts Day 24: Richard Dawkins

We made it. A podcast for every day of Advent, giving you a daily dose of reason in the build up to Christmas. And who better to round things off than Richard Dawkins, who explains which scientist he would like to have a Christmas-style celebration around. Think of it as an alternative Christmas message - it may be the podcast for the 24th, but you can always play it on Christmas Day (see it as the perfect replacement for the Queen's speech, if you're of a treasonous persuasion). You can download the file for your MP3 players or listen with this player:



I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Robin Ince who, on top of organising the Nine Lessons comedy shows, has recorded many of these podcasts. You can hear the rest by visiting this page. We''ll have loads more great audio content coming up in 2009, so make sure you don't miss out by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

Merry Christmas.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 23: Dara O'Briain

At the Nine Lessons and Carols shows, Robin Ince joked that they were his "folly". And these Advent Podcasts, another joint venture between Robin and us, could easily have been this blogger's folly. 24 podcasts? One for every day? Edited and uploaded while simultaneously working on producing the Jan/Feb issue of New Humanist? Surely it wasn't possible? Or was it?

Yes it was - we opened with Stephen Fry, and since then contributors have included Dave Gorman, Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais and many more. And now we're on to the final two - I'm giving you one today, and the final Christmas Eve edition, from a certain Professor Richard Dawkins, is sitting on my desk recorded, edited, saved to a memory stick and ready for upload tomorrow.

Today we're delighted to give you comedian Dara O'Briain, talking to Robin Ince. They were recording backstage at the Hammersmith Apollo during Sunday's Nine Lessons, and you'll notice they're rudely interrupted by Ricky Gervais:



You can also download the file for your MP3 players, and catch up on all the podcasts here. We're sure you won't want to miss out on Dawkins tomorrow, so make sure you do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

A Cruel December: Crick and O'Brien die

In just two days - December 18 and 19 - the Rationalist Association (which publishes new Humanist) lost two dedicated supporters. We celebrate Conor Cruise O'Brien and Sir Bernard Crick: two great, original and also irascible rationalists.

Advent Podcast Day 22: Philip Jeays

There's a twist in the Advent tale for day 22 – we've just finished our three fantastic Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People shows in London, and one of the performers, singer-songwriter Philip Jeays, has very kindly provided us with the song he performed at the show, "Death Bed" (just in case your kids are around, be warned the song features some colourful language):



You can also download the podcast. "Death Bed" comes from Philip's album The Ballad of Ruben Garcia. You can learn more about his music by visiting his official website.

There are just 2 more days to go in this series, and we have two very special guests lined up for to see out Advent. I'm not giving them away right now, but to give you a clue they were two of the biggest draws at our Nine Lessons shows. You can hear all the podcasts so far here, and do one of the following to make sure you don't miss out:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Christmas shopping...

It's the last day of work before Xmas and we're finishing the next issue of New Humanist, so just time to share this clip quickly. Christina Martin sent it to me, and it's a very amusing item from Russell Brand's Ponderland Xmas special, involving a vicar who just doesn't quite get it:

Advent Podcasts Day 21: Tim Minchin

Today's Advent Podcast comes from comedian and musician Tim Minchin, who's been closing the Nine Lessons shows this week with his fantastic beat poem "Storm". Robin Ince grabbed him in the bar after Thursday's show, and we assure you it's pure coincidence, and a fitting tribute to the man, that both Minchin and Josie Long chose to talk about Kurt Vonnegut:



You can also download the file. Make sure you don't miss out on the last few Advent Podcasts:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 20: Josie Long

I just went to Tesco and they were playing Christmas songs, which began to grate on me after approximately 2 minutes, so what better anti-dote than getting home and teeing up the latest instalment of our godless Advent Podcasts. Today we have comedian Josie Long, who Robin Ince recorded backstage at our first Nine Lessons show the other night:



You can also download the file. Coming tomorrow: Tim Minchin. Make sure you don't miss out:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 19: Ann Druyan

Behind today's pod window we have a very special guest. We're currently in the middle of hosting our Nine Lessons and Carols shows with Robin Ince, and part of the reason Robin organised them in the first place was because of his passion for the work of the great Carl Sagan. Luckily for us he's in touch with Sagan's wife, Ann Druyan, who along with her late husband is one of the great popularisers of science. Earlier this week we recorded her over the phone (which is why you'll have to forgive the slightly fuzzy sound quality), talking about which scientists she'd like to celebrate at this time of year:



You can also download Ann's podcast. We're very close to the end of Advent now - coming up in the next few days are Josie Long, Tim Minchin and some more great guests. Don't miss out:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 18: Mark Steel

With less than a week to go until Jesus' birthday, we're well and truly on the Advent Podcasts home straight. Today: comedian Mark Steel:



You can also download the file. Hear all our other Advent Podcasts, which include Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Stephen Fry, Dave Gorman, Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard and many more, by following this link, and make sure you don't miss out on future podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 17: Marcus Brigstocke

If this blog seems to have become an Advent Podcast vehicle, that's because we're producing the next issue of New Humanist with an earlier-than-usual deadline because of the celebration of the brith of some guy, gearing up for the Nine Lessons and Carols shows from tomorrow and knocking out Advent Podcasts at the rate of one per day. So, in short, it's all happening, and it's all very exciting. And who needs regular blog posts when we have comedian Marcus Brigstocke talking to Robin Ince for the 17 December Advent Podcast:



You can download the file too if you like. Hear all our other Advent Podcasts, which include Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Stephen Fry, Dave Gorman, Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard and many more, by following this link, and make sure you don't miss out on future podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 16: Laurie Taylor

Today, on this the 16th day of Advent/December, we bring you Professor Laurie Taylor – presenter of Radio 4's Thinking Allowed and Commissioning Editor of a certain magazine named New Humanist:



You can also download the file if you like. Hear all our other Advent Podcasts, which include Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Stephen Fry, Dave Gorman, Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard and many more, by following this link, and make sure you don't miss out on future podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 15: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant

As promised, on the 15th day of Advent we bring you a podcast from two men who pioneered the medium – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. I doubt you want any further introduction from me, so let's get straight to it:



You can also download the file if you want to. If you've just landed on this page and are new to New Humanist, we've been doing this all month so make sure you catch up with all the other podcasts, featuring Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Dave Gorman, Simon Singh, Ben Goldacre and many more. And we're not just podcasters (that's our bit on the side). Our big operation is producing New Humanist magazine, which we'll happily send you a free trial copy of if you fill in this form.

To make sure you don't miss out on future podcasts, do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 14: Eddie Izzard

It's time to get very excited as we bring you the 14th instalment of our Advent Podcasts, namely surreal comedian Eddie Izzard talking to Robin Ince about the smell of 17th century scientists and other aspects of science that interest him. Let's face it, you won't want to miss this one. Download it or listen with this player:



And presumably you won't want to be missing tomorrow's edition -Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant in a podcast double. Check back or make sure you do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 13: Andrew Collins

As if I didn't make this point last week, we don't just stop Advent podcasting because it's the weekend. It's day 13, which would be scary if a) it was a Friday, not a Saturday, and b) this wasn't a rationalist blog. As it is there's nothing scary about it, and we're bringing you the journalist and broadcaster Andrew Collins chatting to Robin Ince about the greatest philosopher of modern times . . . Tony Hancock. Download it or listen here:



For the uninitiated, which as a relative youngster largely includes me, I've included a YouTube clip of Hanock below. I don't know if it's a classic clip, as I've never seen much, but there's loads of Hancock on YouTube so maybe you could share other clips in comments on this post.

Also, you may want to remember that in the podcasts we have Eddie Izzard tomorrow and Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on Monday. You won't want to miss out, so do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 12: Ben Miller

As we enter the home straight of Advent, if that's a way in which people like to think of Advent, to mark the 12th day we have actor Ben Miller, who British readers will know from loads of TV programmes, including the hugely popular sketch show Armstrong and Miller. He's talking to Robin Ince about a little know physicist named Albert Einstein. Download it or just listen here:



We don't want to get you too excited, but you might want to get excited about some of the upcoming Advent Podcasts, including Eddie Izzard on Sunday, and Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on Monday. Don't miss out – do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Christmas cheer

We've been trying to bring some to you with our Advent Podcasts, but we're afraid we can't quite equal the good folks at the Westboro Baptist Church, who are looking to put the following message next to the nativity scene at the Washington state capitol building:

"You'd better watch out, get ready to cry, You'd better go hide, I'm telling you why 'cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell. He is your favorite idol, you worship at his feet, but when you stand before your God He won't help you take the heat. So get this fact straight: you're feeling God's hate, Santa's to blame for the economy's fate, Santa Claus will take you to hell."

Look at our picture of him. Now fear him. . . Anyhow, this ridiculous turn of events is part of an ongoing saga over the display of a nativity scene at the capitol building. It seems that separation of church and state means that if the Washington state government are going to allow a nativity on their premises, they have to allow, and at least consider, the display of competing viewpoints. As a result atheist signs have been displayed, including this message from the Freedom From Religion Foundation:

At this season of the winter solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

Of course counter-signs hitting back at atheism have appeared, and at one point the atheist sign was stolen, before turning up again at a Seattle radio station. All this means the state has to consider any request for a display, however ridiculous. They're currently looking at Festivus and Flying Spaghetti Monster messages, and also the Westboro Baptist Church dose of goodwill.

Just one more thing. I can sort of understand the whole false idol problem the WBC might have with Father Christmas, but blaming him for the state of the economy. I think he'd plead not guilty to that one.

A wonderful Stephen Green update

Yesterday I begrudgingly reported on how Stephen Green had managed to raise a Christian army of over 200 people to protest outside Patrick Jones' poetry reading at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

Fortunately, for us, it does get better. Reader Greg, who's been keeping us up to date on proceedings, has just commented on my last related post with news, from Welsh paper the Western Mail, of what happened at the launch of Jones' book Darkness Is Where The Stars Are at Cardiff's Borders store later in the day:

Only three protesters gathered outside including Christian Voice leader Stephen Green, who was thrown out of the store by security guards after refusing to leave.

Excellent. Back to Stephen Christian "Lone" Voice Green, then.

[Thanks again Greg]

Advent Podcasts Day 11: Chris Addison

Today we bring you Robin Ince in conversation with comedian and The Thick Of It actor Chris Addison, who says he'd like to celebrate some popularisers of science, particularly the '70s and '80s children's TV presenter Johnny Ball. You can listen with this platyer or download the file if you want to:



Make sure you don't miss out on our podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Protest outside the Welsh Assembly as Patrick Jones reads his poems

Perhaps Stephen Green can muster a more formidable army of God than we previously thought (that's them there on the right), with 250 Christians reported to have protested outside the Welsh Assembly as the poet Patrick Jones read his work inside this lunchtime. It seems they didn't live up to Green's expectations though, with him having spent the past month insinuating they'd cause disruption and even trouble, as they held up a few placards and sang some hymns.

One reader in Wales emailed us a few minutes ago updating us on the situation. Here's what he had to say:

Here's the latest on the Patrick Jones story in Wales - he read several poems in the National Assembly this lunchtime, a local actress Stacey Daley read the "blasphemous" one, called "Hymn". The carols and hymns outside were quite pleasant - very festive. But these were interspersed with Stephen Green amongst others on a step ladder.

Stephen Green on a step ladder. Now there's a sight we'd like to see.

[Thanks Greg]

A peek inside the Creation Museum

Here's a nice bit of work from the Secular Alliance of Indiana University, which I found via the Friendly Atheist blog.

The Secular Alliance decided to take a day out to the preposterous Creation Museum in Kentucky, and in the process produced a very well-made mini documentary. The best thing about it is that you get to see lots of the absurd exhibits the place uses to carry out its intellectual deception. It'd be hilarious, if it wasn't for the fact that lots of children get taken there:


SAIU trip to the Creation Museum from Secular Alliance on Vimeo.

Advent Podcasts Day 10: Martin Rowson

Today we bring you Martin Rowson, cartoonist for our magazine (the cartoon on the advent calendar to the right is by him), as well as the Guardian and many other publications. He introduces you to the work of anthropologist Christopher Boehm, who in his book Hierarchy in the Forest came to the amazing conclusion that humans are naturally egalitarian creatures. Download it or listen with this player:



Make sure you don't miss out on our podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Disagreements over American fundamentalism

For our current issue we asked James Crabtree, a senior editor at Prospect who previously worked for the Obama campaign, to review the latest book by Jeff Sharlet, a leading US commentator on religion who you may know as the editor of the excellent Revealer website.

The book was The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. It's had some very complimentary reviews in the States (see snippets here), but Crabtree wasn't so impressed, calling it a "half-convincing conspiracy yarn". In reaction, Sharlet wasn't impressed by Crabtree's negative review, and wrote us a response which we've just put up on our site.

Have you read the book? Who's right? You can let us know by commenting on this post.

Advent Podcasts Day 9: Ben Goldacre

Told you we were going with the scientists for a few days. Today we bring you none other than Ben Goldacre, doctor and writer of the Guardian's acclaimed Bad Science column. Of course there's no place for bad science in our Advent pod, so here we have him talking about how he'd like to celebrate someone who pioneered some very good science:



If you wish, you can also download this instalment. Make sure you don't miss out on our podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Bush on religion, creationism

It's a shame you only get to know these things at the very end of a presidency – in an interview with ABC George W Bush has shed some light on his religious beliefs, and if you take his word for it they're not quite as extreme as you may have thought. It turns out God didn't tell him to attack Iraq, and he's not a creationist per se:

I think evolution can - you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution.

No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from [the Bible].

"Just a simple president". Don't underplay yourself, George. I can't help thinking that a similar interview with Sarah Palin during the election campaign would have been nice. Or frightening, depending on what she said of course.

Advent Podcasts Day 8: Simon Singh

The comedians have been out in force on the Advent Podcasts in the last few days, so now it's time for some scientists. Today we bring you the science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh, who'll be appearing at our Nine Lessons shows later this month (you can download the file here if you like):



Make sure you don't miss out on our podcasts by doing one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

And if you've missed some of the others, catch up by visiting this page.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Poetry book launch with added security

Remember the Stephen Green-generated fuss over the launch of Welsh poet Patrick Jones' new book Darkness Is Where The Stars Are? Well you may also remember we reported on how Borders have stepped in to host the launch in place of Waterstones, who cancelled it following implied threats from Green.

As well as being a very clever way to seem braver than your high street rivals, Borders' move is of course good news for free speech and we're pleased to be able to confirm that the launch is indeed going ahead at their Cardiff branch on Thursday evening. It is, however, a book launch with an added twist because, seemingly due to a fear of disturbances by Stephen Green and his army of Christian evangelists consisting of, well, pretty much just him, the invitations read as follows:

"Please note that in order to make sure that security for this event is not compromised and to ensure that the launch is a celebratory party, guests will only be admitted with a valid invitation and proof of ID – one invitation per guest. Please print the attached invitation and bring it with you. Borders retains the right to refuse or remove permission to attend this event."

Green must be very proud of himself. And he's planning on causing some trouble at both this event and the readings at the Welsh Assembly, having sent this email, which I found on MediaWatchWatch, to his "supporters", which presumably means he emailed himself:

We are holding a Christian witness outside Ty Hywel from 11.30am and we shall hold another outside Borders (The David Morgan Building, 14 The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AH) at 7.30pm. Both events are ticket only, but there is scope to apply for tickets by email. I am known, but you are probably not!

For the Assembly event, email: Helen****e@wales.gov.uk Say how much you would like an invitaton to the event, but don’t say you wish to protest! For the Borders event, email Patrick Jones on janey****1@btinternet.com

Say whatever is needed to get alongside and get a ticket without bearing false witness. You cannot give a false name for either event as ID will be required.

So Onward, Christian soldiers, Stand up, stand up for Jesus! If you are successful in getting a ticket, let me know urgently, as this is a spiritual battle and tactics among those with tickets will need to be co-ordinated.

Hmm. All very underhand in a not-very-scary way. However, as usual with Green it's more laughable than anything else. My favourite bit? He doesn't want anyone to "bear false witness", but only because you need ID to get in.

Nine Lessons in the Sunday Times

Yesterday's Sunday Times had a nice feature on Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People, the rational Christmas shows we begin hosting in a little over a week's time. It's mostly an interview with organiser Robin Ince, but it also suggests that British comedians have suddenly gone all atheist and started going after faith – great, but haven't they been doing that forever?

My favourite bit is this quote from someone previewing the shows on a website:

"[Nine Lessons will be] taking the piss out of faith of all kinds at the holiest time of the year. In many ways, it’s a tribute to the Church of England’s genial tolerance that this staggeringly offensive event can take place with so little complaint (you certainly can’t imagine them doing the same for Ramadan)."

And Robin's answer to that?

"In a way, it’s unfortunate we picked Christmas first. We definitely need to do a rational Ramadan."

As he said in our Nine Lessons feature for the current issue of the magazine, "When we say we’re having a Godless celebration, that means no god at all, from any religion. Not one. It’s not about having a go at religion – it’s going to be a proper celebration; of the Big Bang, of evolution theory and of comedy."

It's going to be great. And in case you haven't noticed, we're building up to it with our Advent Podcasts. Catch up on them all if you've missed out so far, and watch out for the latest instalment later today.

Advent Podcasts Day 7: Natalie Haynes

What's that Reverend? You shouldn't podcast on the Sabbath? Whatever - we've got comedian and writer Natalie Haynes in the 7th instalment of our Advent Podcasts. Download it or listen with this player:



[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 6: Dave Gorman

There's no rest when you're Advent Podcasting. It may be Saturday but it's also the 6th day of Advent which, when you don't really care about the whole religious angle, could only mean that we have comedian and broadcaster Dave Gorman talking to Robin Ince. Beats a stale bit of chocolate or a crappy picture of a snowman any day. Download it or listen with this player:



Catch up with the other five podcasts - Stephen Fry, PZ Myers, Robin Ince, Christina Martin and Alexei Sayle - by clicking through to this page where we've helpfully grouped them all together. To make sure you don't miss out on forthcoming installments, you can do one of the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcast Day 5: Alexei Sayle

A real treat for the 5 December – download or click on the player below to hear which scientist Alexei Sayle (who Laurie Taylor interviewed for our current issue) would celebrate at Christmas and what science-related present he'd like to receive. You may be surprised and even slightly scared:



Just because it's the weekend we wont be suspending Advent (we wouldn't, even if we had the power to do so). Check back on Saturday and Sunday to find out who's behind the next two windows. Make sure you don't miss out:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

The death of a Patriarch and a look at religion in Russia

Reading of the death of Patriarch Alexy II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, reminded me of our March/April cover story, in which Michael Binyon, who was Moscow correspondent for The Times from 1979-82, took a look at the relationship between the Russian government, i.e. Putin, and the Orthodox Church.

It's well worth revisiting in light of the Patriarch's death. As Binyon wrote, since the fall of communism religion has been back in full swing in Russia, with the full support of Putin. The Church tows the government line, and in exchange the Patriarch has the ear of the powers that be. Now the Church will have to choose a new Patriarch, and you can rest assured that person will come with the Kremlin's seal of approval.

Advent Podcasts Day 4: Christina Martin

21 days to go until Christmas, not that that means anything to us atheists, who are busy taking the Christ out of Christmas in revenge for something or other. One of the ways we're doing this is by putting up a series of Advent Podcasts (aggressive stuff, we know) in which comedians and scientists say who they'd like to celebrate on 25 December instead of Jesus H. Today we bring you stand-up comedian Christina Martin, the creator of our hugely successful God Trumps. You can listen to Christina via this link or simply click play here:



If you're new to the podcasts, already this week we've had Stephen Fry, PZ Myers and Robin Ince, and we've helpfully created a page where you can catch up on all of these. Coming up in the next few days we have Dave Gorman, Simon Singh, Alexei Sayle and many more, so to make sure you dont miss out you can keep checking back or do the following:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Nativity in a bus shelter – sounds familiar...

So the Churches Advertising Network are worried that no one actually understands the nativity story any more. How do they plan to make us understand? By putting out this ad (the one on the left, you can see it bigger here) featuring the whole thing taking place in a bus shelter.

Understand it better? No me neither. But I'm pretty sure I understood it in the first place. And if the son of God had just been born in a bus shelter, I'd probably just carry on walking once it was clear that enough people were providing maternity care, as I'm no midwife and I'd just feel like I was intruding. After all, Joseph would probably have enough to deal with, particularly the whole not actually being the father thing, without me getting involved.

This ad has even made it into the news this week, somehow. Perhaps that's because it's just so very original. But there was something about it that seemed familiar to me. Hadn't I blogged about a nativity scene in a bus shelter this time last year (see the image on the right)? I mean, I'm not saying they've copied the idea, but isn't there a chance they've copied the idea?

Still, the ad is so newsworthy that they had some guy from the Advertising Network on to Breakfast News yesterday to talk about it. Thankfully they also had Atheist Bus Campaign creator Ariane Sherine on to counter him, as he whipped out the old in our PC-culture people are stopping us from celebrating Christmas for fear of offending absolutely everyone, which is a travesty as our society is founded on Judeo-Christian values argument.

Ariane does a nice job of debating him (to clarify, she meant to say the world would be more peaceful if there was more apathy towards religion, not less), and he pretty much defeats himself when he uses the following argument as proof for the existence of God:

"You can't prove everything. I don't understand how television works, but I believe it works."

Oh dear. Here's the clip:

Stephen Colbert rips in to an "Atheist Christmas"

I've just seen this on Pharyngula and had to share it given what we've been up to with our Advent Podcasts and our Nine Lessons shows. US comedian Stephen Colbert expresses his distaste with atheists celebrating Christmas, taking a look at the cards they send and what might be in an atheist version of those nauseating annual family update letters. Flick to 3 mins for the atheist bit:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Tip/Wag - All Wag Christmas Edition

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Advent Podcasts Day 3: Robin Ince

Behind today's Advent window we have the comedian Robin Ince explaining which scientist he'd like to celebrate at this time of year, and which science-related present he'd like to receive.

Robin's love for science is the reason our Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People shows are taking place at the end of this month (well, that and the fact that Vanessa Feltz and Stephen Green wound him up on telly last year), and the Nine Lessons shows are part of the reason we're doing these Advent Podcasts, so Robin's instalment will shed some light on how we came to have three sold-out London shows and a series of 24 podcasts. You can download it or listen to it through the player below. Enjoy:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email

• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 2: PZ Myers

We're keeping our promise here in the blasphemy lab – it's day two of Advent so it's day two of our Advent Podcasts. Behind the window today is the American biologist and hugely popular blogger PZ Myers, who tells you which scientist he'd celebrate at this time of year and what science-related gift he'd like to receive (PZ wants something pretty cool – you'll want one too after you've heard him). Listen through the player below or by downloading the MP3 file. It's up to you:



With 22 days left in Advent we have plenty of big names left to reveal behind our windows, so make sure you don't miss out by checking back regularly to the blog and signing up to the podcast in one of the following ways:

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We want to hear your choices: Which scientist or philosopher do you think deserves a Winterval celebration day, and what science-related gift would you like to open on the 25th? Let us know by commenting on this post, and we'll do a round up of the best ones.

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

Advent Podcasts Day 1: Stephen Fry

How could that headline not have caught your eye? In a special treat to coincide with our Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People shows later this month, each day during Advent we'll be bringing you a short podcast in which someone from a stellar selection of comedians and scientists explains which scientist or philosopher they would like to celebrate each year as a rational substitute for Jesus, as well as what scientific Winterval gift they'd most like to receive.

In the coming days we'll be bringing you Alexei Sayle, Dave Gorman, PZ Myers and many more, but who better to get things started than the actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry? You can have a listen by clicking play on the shiny embedded player below or by downloading the file for yourself, if you like.



To accompany this first installment, our editor Caspar Melville has recorded a short clip introducing our Advent Podcasts, letting you know what to expect in the run up to 24 December. To ensure you don't miss out on the rest of our advent treats, be sure to either:

• Subscribe to the New Humanist Podcast by email
  
• Sign up to our podcast RSS feed (follow the link for instructions and info on RSS readers)

[Podcast music by Andrea Rocca]

A miracle cure for financial hardship

I'm always thankful to New Humanist contributor Christina Martin for the off-the-wall religious stories she sends me – assuming there are lots of people out there looking for them, I'd say few can find them like Christina. Which brings me to today's story, which frankly is just plain weird. It took me a few minutes to work out exactly what the story was, but I think I've cracked it, so here goes:

Two years ago an image of Jesus appeared in a "doggy door" (which I can only assume is the canine equivalent of a cat flap) in a family's house in California. The holy hole created lots of good luck for the family, including fixing their ice machine, but then the man of the house, Roger Bowman, became a casualty of the financial crisis and lost his job. Now he's planning on selling the lucky Christ-door on Ebay at a starting price of $990 in order to help his family through hard times. Oh, and before Jesus appeared on the door Bowman was planning on having one of the dogs put down, so the only reason they're still alive is because of JC.

Told you it was weird. And if you visit this page on US Ebay you can have a look at the listing and even buy it yourself. It's worth a look if only because it contains the most elaborate and absurd item info I've ever seen on Ebay including, bizarrely, a bit of advice on dog training.

Apparently we're chickens...

As many of you know, our God Trumps cards have had lots of hits and lots of feedback, most of which has, perhaps surprisingly, been very positive (for example here, here and here). It turns out people quite enjoy jokes.

Most people, that is. Not Damian Thompson, the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald who also blogs for the Telegraph. Here's a selection of his thoughts on God Trumps, entitled "Humanist attack on religions chickens out of criticising Islam":

The New Humanist website carries a set of "God Trumps" cards mocking all the major world religions. Except one. Can you guess which it is? Yup, the religion of peace. A religion so peaceful, in fact, that the humanists make a nervous joke out of their decision not to criticise it . . .

. . . The next card is "Muslim". The text reads: "Ultimate trump card. No jokes can be made here! Well done to the extremist section of this faith for making it impossible to have any kind of reasoned debate, or even a good-humoured debate around this subject. You trump everyone - even the integrity of this feature."

I'll say. It is perfectly possible to have a reasoned debate about Islam, unless you are a politically correct coward. Islam has its "weapon of choice" - several, actually - and also some doctrines just as "daffy" as those of Christianity. Heard the one about Mohammed's night journey to Jerusalem?

And if you're going to joke about Henry VIII's divorce, which the Anglican card does, why not throw in a reference to Mo's child bride? But, you see, that would risk offending Muslims. And we can't have that in a feature dedicated to satirising religions, can we?

There's lots we could say about this, but we thought we'd let Christina Martin do the talking, since she devised God Trumps:

While most people are seeing God Trumps for what they are, i.e. a joke, a small minority are getting their panties in a flap, bless them. The most vocal being Damian Thompson, Editor of the Catholic Herald no less, and a blogger for the Telegraph – they truly don't come any more uptight than that.

I don't mind that he (and the many people who added angry comments to his piece) didn't like the God Trumps. Humour is subjective. But what isn't subjective is his nonsense accusation that the Muslim card was a cowardly cop-out. The reasons for this are four fold. Yes four fold, take that Damian!

Firstly, I wrote it, so I should know. And I can exclusively reveal that I composed the Islam card as I did because I thought it would be funny. Sorry to pull the rug out from underneath all that the sabre rattling but it really is that mundane.

Secondly, it comes down to my childhood experiences of playing Top Trumps 'Ghouls and Ghosts' in the playground everyday for a year. The demon card had a hundred points for everything and would beat all of the other cards. Accordingly when I started composing this piece I thought, "Who holds the ultimate trump?" Originally it was going to be the Pope as he seems to be able to charge around getting his own way completely unchallenged, and he has the whole Papal infallibility thing going on, but I thought it would be a better satire to use it on Islam.

Which brings me to point number three – that it's a satire. A satire of the way society deals with the issues surrounding Islam. People pussy foot around them, I don't like it either, hence my rather pointed remark on the card about it being bad for society at large.

And finally, point number four – how much of a cop-out can it really be if the card name checks extremists, says they're ruining free speech and is illustrated with a picture of a mad mullah? Far from shying away from the issue I think we did a good job of confronting it head on, in a humorous fashion. And that's the whole point of the piece. Nobody gets any special treatment. They all get equally mocked. Each of the cards use broad societal generalisations to comic effect. The overall message being – isn't all of this nonsense?

Update: And thanks to Mr Thompson God Trumps has now been listed on Islamophobia Watch, although they don't actually say whether they think it is Islamophobic. They just take Thompson's word for it that we'd "chickened out" of criticising Islam. Whether that means that we're Islamophobic, Thompson's Islamophobic, or no one's Islamophobic I just don't know.

It's Chocco-Christ time

Shall we begin the day with a quote? It's a good one:

"It is terrible that Jesus is being wrapped up in gold foil and sold along with chocolate bunnies, edible penguins and lollipops. This is ruining the symbol of Jesus himself"

The words of Aegidius Engel, a spokesman for the German archbishopric of Paderborn, which is unhappy with the exploits of Frank Oynhausen of Duisburg, who's been flogging chocolate Jesus figures to what sounds like great success.

Oynhausen was unemployed for a couple of years, but that was before his divine eureka moment: "I started thinking about how I could reintroduce traditional religious values into this commercial world."

So "Sweet Lord" was born, and with it a ready made reason for both the Protestant and Catholic churches to claim offence. And if our picture is making you feel peckish, the good news is that Oynhausen's doing so well that he plans to go global with this sugarry Messiah.

Atheist bus diversions

Time for an update on Atheist Bus shenanigans around the globe. First up Australia where the Australian Foundation of Atheism planned to emulate the British bus campaign with one of their own. They wanted to carry the message: “Atheism – Celebrate reason!' But APN Outdoor’, the company responsible for Public Metropolitan Transport Advertising, has said 'no'. Apparently the message is unacceptable, though why remains a mystery. A spokesman for the AFA said: "The planet is moving to a more enlightened era but apparently, public transport advertising agents in Australia have missed the bus." Boom boom.

Meanwhile in Ireland Mary Kenny, a religious commentator much renowned for her [insert sarcastic comment here in place of the truth that she is a ranting nutter], has her say in the Irish Independent about the plan to replicate the bus campaign in Ireland. Its hilarious, especially if while you read it you play spot the fact that is correct - like where’s Wally, but harder. More here.

[Thanks Ariane]

Want to make money? Start a religion

...so said L Ron Hubbard, who then followed his own advice and set up the Church of Scientology which, according to this estimate brings in something like $500 million a year. Most unsurprising fact revealed: Tom "thumb" Cruise has donated $25 Million. Most upsetting fact: $7.5 million came from Bart Simpson (well, Nancy Cartwright who is the voice of the little scamp).

Say it ain't so Bart!

[Thanks to Caspar Henderson for link]

Thank you, Sarah Palin

She may not be the second most powerful person on the planet, yet, but she sure touched a chord in the hearts of good honest 'murcan folks, you betcha!



... and she's running away with the Bad Faith Awards (see poll top right) which should please her and all the people in the ad, shouldn't it?

What's every bloggers favourite animal?

Lynx.. (geddit, you know links.. aw never mind)

Anyway here are a couple of New Humanist related links for you.

This is Martin Rowson on the Professional Cartoonists Organisation blog talking about how he got slapped by a Labour MP, and about God Trumps. He's right that we are very excited about how God Trumps went viral, but the numbers are out of date. We did have 55,000 visitors last Thursday, but it didn't stop there. There were 35,000 on Friday, and as of yesterday God Trumps has has more than 120,000 visits, which makes it our most read article ever (by a factor of 6). As Martin suggests we will definitely be doing a round two, to satisfy all those who have written in asking for their religion not to be left out. So fear not Mormons, Eastern Orthodoxers, Ba'hais, Fulan Gongs and Jedi your time will come. We'll be posting a new poll soon where you can vote for what you want to see and propose your own.

And here is the Guardian weekly podcast featuring Robin Ince and me talking about our 9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People show (at the start ) and how to combine sceince and jokes (at the end), with our friends on the Guardian's sceince team, Alok Jha, James Randerson and Ian Sample. Have a listen, its good.

Spurious Christianity reference of the day

Here's a thought process for you:

Ageing political journalist + ballroom dancing show + unwarranted public popularity + absurd public "resignation" spectacle = sign of the wider decline in Christian values

Does it make sense? Probably not, but it does to Justin Thacker, Head of Theology at the Evangelical Alliance. Any excuse to talk about God, eh?

The return of Popewatch

Did we ever have a feature called Popewatch? I think you'll find we did - just off the top of my head I can refer you to the following editions of New Humanist: Vol 122 No3, Vol 122 No 6, Vol 123 No 1...

Let's face it - we watch Benny so you don't have to. And thank Christ we do, or you may never have known about his new power – retrospective prophecy. Yes, it turns out that the Pope knew all along that we'd be entering a period of financial turmoil, as he prophesied it in 1985. Which makes me imagine a process a little like this (I will play the role of Pope for a moment):

Person X: If only we could have known that our future would be spent living in crudely fortified caves, battling the dinosaurs so foolishly resurrected by scientists who believed they could control nature.

Me: I knew it was going to happen.

X: What?

Me: I knew, I prophesied it.

X: Why didn't you tell us?

Me: It was a prophecy. I only tell people about them after they've actually happened.

Is this what the Pope's been up to? Not really - it turns out that what he actually did in the '80s, presumably in between sniffing glue and listening to The Specials, was write an article along the lines of "sometimes bad things will happen to the economy", or in his own words a decline in ethics "can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse.''

Hardly Nostradamus, is he? But I do like how if anyone else wrote a simple assessment of things that can go wrong in the economy it would be seen as a prediction but, when the (future) Pope does it, it becomes a "prophecy".

PS - anyone who finds my dinosaurs example too ridiculous may wish to read this.

Is Obama a "real" Christian?

During the election campaign we had the whole "is he a Muslim" stupidity, and now another controversy (of sorts) seems to have broken out over whether or not Barack Obama is a bone fide Christian or not, as Tom Heneghan reports on the Reuters faith blog.

Apparently it all comes down to an interview the now president-elect gave in 2004 in which he described Jesus as “a bridge between God and man”, which some say suggests he doesn't believe Christ was literally the son of God. According to some bloggers, this amounts to a denial of the Nicene Creed – something I last heard of people arguing over when I studied a bit of Byzantine history at university.

There's been much for us Brits to envy in this year's fascinating US election but, as you'll see in this next passage, where I've substituted Gordon Brown for Barack Obama, this is one silly dispute I'm pleased to say will probably never enter British politics:

Bloggers Joe Carter and Rod Dreher read in Gordon Brown’s interview a denial of the Nicene Creed since he called Jesus “a bridge between God and man” rather than clearly saying he is the Son of God (hat tip to Steve Waldman). “Unless Brown was being incredibly and uncharacteristically inarticulate, this is heterodox. You cannot be a Christian in any meaningful sense and deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. You just can’t,” Dreher writes. Has Brown denied the divinity of Jesus Christ here? That’s not clear here. Another point that Carter notes is that he doesn’t believe that people who have not embraced Jesus as their personal saviour will automatically go to hell. “I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup,” he said.

[Found via Reuters]

If you're going to quote chunks from something, it may as well be The Onion...

I had to share some of this opinion piece I just read on The Onion:

I'm Not One Of Those 'Love Thy Neighbor' Christians
By Janet Cosgrove

Everybody has this image of "crazy Christians" based on what they hear in the media, but it's just not true. Most Christians are normal, decent folks. We don't all blindly follow a bunch of outdated biblical tenets or go all fanatical about every bit of dogma. What I'm trying to say is, don't let the actions of a vocal few color your perceptions about what the majority of us are like.

Like me. I may be a Christian, but it's not like I'm one of those wacko "love your neighbor as yourself " types.

God forbid!

I'm here to tell you there are lots of Christians who aren't anything like the preconceived notions you may have. We're not all into "turning the other cheek." We don't spend our days committing random acts of kindness for no credit. And although we believe that the moral precepts in the Book of Leviticus are the infallible word of God, it doesn't mean we're all obsessed with extremist notions like "righteousness" and "justice."

My faith in the Lord is about the pure, simple values: raising children right, saying grace at the table, strictly forbidding those who are Methodists or Presbyterians from receiving communion because their beliefs are heresies, and curing homosexuals. That's all. Just the core beliefs. You won't see me going on some frothy-mouthed tirade about being a comfort to the downtrodden...

Make sure you read the rest - it's very funny.

[Found via Friendly Atheist]

Dates for your diary in 2009

Just a quick note to let you know about three events coming up next year in Conway Hall, London, organised by our friends at Centre for Inquiry London and South Place Ethical Society. Cut-price entry is available to New Humanist subscribers and members of the RA, SPES, BHA and GALHA, and students. Full details and booking info on the CFI website:

WEIRD SCIENCE Saturday, 17th January 2009. 10.30am-4pm. A day exploring the science of the weird, and weird and flaky science, with Ben Goldacre, Richard Wiseman, Chris French, Stephen Law.

GOD IN THE LAB Saturday, 21st March. 10.30am-4pm. With Oxford University scientists. A day with leading scientific researchers into faith - looking at hearing voices, possession, the effect of faith on pain perception, etc. What goes on the brain of someone hearing voices? Come and see the fMRI scans. Is a disposition to religious belief hard-wired into us? Yes, says one of our speakers, and provides empirical evidence.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION Saturday, 25th April. 10.30am-4pm. Simon Singh, Mary Warnock, Jack Cohen, Stephen Law. A day exploring the relationship between science and religion