By Steve Petersen

Atheists Talk’s director is Mike Haubrich. He and Scott Lohman host. The radio program is live every Sunday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 at the KTNF studios in Eden Prairie, MN AM 950.  Live steaming can be done through our web page mnatheists.org. Original music is composed, played and recoded by Brent Michael Davids. The six month cost is $5,320.00, each donation to support the program is greatly appreciated. To donate just send in a donation to our POB or online at mnatheists.org/component/option,com_civicrm/Itemid,55. All past programs can be accessed via web page.

 

January 2: Science and Reason Future Watch 2011. Lynn Fellman did four interviewers on the program. The first was with Maggie Koerth-Baker, science journalist and writer for BoingBoing.net. She discussed the future of energy. Also interviewed was Steve Borsch, media trend expert at Connecting The Dots; Greg Laden, anthropologist and blogger Sciencevlogs.com; and Will Steeger, arctic explorer. Steeger talked about global warming. Brent Michael Davids hosted for this program.

January 9:  Scott Lohman interviewed Kristen Wintermute, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Humanist Association, and the director of the Humanist Institute. For over 28 years, The Humanist Institute has trained the next generation of leaders for the humanist movement, graduating over 100 students, many of whom work as Ethical Culture Leaders, Unitarian Ministers, Humanist Counselors, professional administrators in our national organizations, and as officers and other volunteers leaders in humanist fellowships, chapters, associations.  Mike Haubrich hosted.

 

January 19: Mike Haubrich interviewed  Tom Clark, director of the Center for Naturalism. The Statement On Naturalism Naturalism is the understanding that there is a single, natural world as shown by science, and that we are completely included in it. Naturalism holds that everything we are and do is connected to the rest of the world and derived from conditions that precede us and surround us. Each of us is an unfolding natural process, and every aspect of that process is caused, and is a cause itself. So we are fully caused creatures, and seeing just how we are caused gives us power and control, while encouraging compassion and humility. By understanding consciousness, choice, and even our highest capacities as materially based, naturalism re-enchants the physical world, allowing us to be at home in the universe. Naturalism shows our full connection to the world and others, it leads to an ethics of compassion, and it gives us far greater control over our circumstances.  Additional source material was Tom Clark's short book Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses, a great introduction to naturalism.  I have read it a few times, and while the concepts may seem obvious upon reflection, the implications are enlightening. Many people have difficulty understanding the concept of free will and why it doesn't exist, often confusing "Free WIll" and "Free Choice." It has clear implications for the definitions and deriving of morality, and yes, a worldview.  Tom will explain how naturalism can help you fit into your world more accurately and help you determine your courses of action.  Scott Lohman hosted.