Tribe Tells Pastor to Get Off Reservation (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #645)

— Arapaho tribe tells pastor to leave reservation after she trashes their sacred traditions. (1:07)

— Mylie Biggs, who believes women shouldn’t vote, is now on the ballot to become an Arizona State Senator. (16:00)

— Hospital rejects Christian pregnancy center’s anti-LGBTQ doctor pledge. (23:12)

— Focus on the Family has advice for estranged parents. An apology isn’t part of it. (40:05)

— Arkansas won a fake “religious liberty” contest. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wants praise for it. (59:15)

— An LGBTQ arts venue opened in a former church in Australia. Christians shut it down. (1:11:25)
Interview: 

https://youtu.be/fCUH-xmCve8?si=kqEjWfo3tIFqdwH3

-- or -

https://www.youtube.com/live/hRp-CF8j024?si=ho5cZ07hX-Z_Yojm

Focus on the Family’s "estrangement" post BACKFIRED!

  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KURxmM5l7So

James Dobson Is Finally Dead (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #598)

— James Dobson, an architect of evangelical Christian cruelty, is finally dead at 89. (1:50)

— The Jehovah’s Witnesses now say college is OK… after decades of saying the opposite. (31:10)

— Republican congressional candidate torches Qur’an in hate-fueled campaign ad. (49:00)

— Federal judge strikes down Minnesota’s sensible “faith statement” ban for PSEO schools. (1:00:49)

— Federal judge dismantles Ryan Walters’ frivolous lawsuit against atheist group. (1:17:35)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2025/08/28/james-dobson-is-finally-dead/

James Dobson, Eugenics, and the Pure American Body (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) Special Episode

In this special edition of Straight White American Jesus, host Dr. Brad Onishi reflects on the harmful legacy of James Dobson, who just passed away. 

Known as the founder of Focus on the Family, Dobson’s teachings on the nuclear family, gender roles, and corporal punishment have left a traumatic impact on evangelical communities. 

Onishi connects Dobson’s work to the broader themes of eugenics and Christian nationalism, noting Dobson’s early association with eugenicist Paul Popenoe. 

The episode discusses how Dobson’s views on family structure, purity culture, and authoritarian parenting continue to shape American society and politics today.

Interview: 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7652103633459993609/5448239840688607004

Telling Jefferson Lies: Conspiracy of Silence (Warren Throckmorton)

After David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from publication in August, 2012, some Christian organizations wrote critical articles and publicly distanced themselves from Barton and Wallbuilders. Other groups some were caught off guard. The leaders of these groups knew they had false and misleading material being offered to their constituents, but they didn’t make any moves to remove it.

This episode examines how two of those organizations, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, handled the situation. I wish I could say this episode has a happy ending. Ultimately, what began as a conspiracy of silence ended even quieter than it started.

From the episode: 

"What is so important about those stories that the leadership of a Christian organization would decide that deception and gaslighting are good strategies? Where in the manual for running a Christian organization does it say to hide the truth when someone points out that you are spreading misinformation?"

Guests today: 

• Fred W. Beuttler was Deputy Historian of the U. S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010. He currently teaches history and government at The University of Chicago’s Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. 
• Jay Case is professor of history at Malone College in Akron Ohio, 
• Jared Burkholder is professor of history at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, 
• Gregg Frazer is Dean of Humanities at The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA and 
• Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers and The Good News Club.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-y9aws-1d97b7c3

Telling Jefferson Lies: Whitewashing Jefferson, Part Two (Warren Throckmorton)

This is a continuation of last week's episode on whitewashing Jefferson. Today, we specifically take on Barton's contention that Jefferson was a civil rights hero for African Americans and was a strong anti-slavery advocate during his entire life.

In fact, after 1784, Jefferson's promising beginning as an opponent of slavery faded away. While he continued to advocate emancipation, he linked it with deportation. He always believed that Blacks and Whites could not live together in one nation. He dedicated himself to the business of slavery and as president, supported the expansion of the American slave trade into Louisiana.

Today's episode is hosted by Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter. We are pleased to have Monticello librarian Anna Berkes, historian Troy Jackson, attorney and theologian Joel McDurmon, and author and historian Jemar Tisby join us for this episode.

Next week's episode is titled Conspiracy of Silence and deals with fallout from The Jefferson Lies and the response of Family Research Council and Focus on the Family to their awareness that they were promoting false and misleading historical information via their organizations.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-krptp-1d7d1d34

Texas fracking billionaire brothers fuel rightwing media with millions of dollars

The fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks have each doled out millions of dollars through separate foundations over the last decade to a number of high-profile conservative and religious groups including the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. 

"Thanks to their incredible wealth and largesse, the country as well as the [Republican] party are now feeling the effects of their aggressive brand of religiously-charged political activism," said Darren Dochuk, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of Anointed with Oil...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/05/texas-fracking-billionaire-brothers-prageru-daily-wire

Focus on the Family boss: Trump-loving evangelicals have no right to criticize any Dems for 'moral failure' - Raw Story

Jim Daly, the president of evangelical Christian advocacy organization Focus on the Family, is not happy with some of his fellow evangelicals' embrace of President Donald Trump. In an interview with the New York Times, the Focus on the Family boss says that he's concerned that evangelicals are overlooking Trump's multiple infidelities....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/focus-family-boss-trump-loving-evangelicals-no-right-criticize-dems-moral-failure/

The Trump administration is paying Focus on the Family to stop the AIDS epidemic in South Africa – ThinkProgress

The anti-LGBTQ “church” took federal funds to give purity pledges to South African youths.....

https://thinkprogress.org/focus-on-the-family-south-africa-aids-grant-purity-pledges-ae8ff7ca0815/

Focus on the Family Pulled Some Shady Tricks to Convince the IRS It’s a “Church” – Friendly Atheist

What is Focus on the Family? You may think of it as a massive non-profit group dedicated to promoting a very conservative Christian view of the world, one that’s anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro-abstinence, and doesn’t even recognize the existence of transgender people. ....

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/04/17/focus-on-the-family-pulled-some-shady-tricks-to-convince-the-irs-its-a-church/

Focus On The Family Has Declared Itself A Church, Avoiding IRS Disclosure Rules | Right Wing Watch

Focus on the Family, the behemoth Religious Right organization founded by James Dobson, has declared itself to be a church, thereby avoiding a requirement that it file public tax documents, according to IRS records and a document available on the organization’s website.....

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/focus-on-the-family-has-declared-itself-a-church-avoiding-irs-disclosure-rules/

For Focus On The Family, The Focus Remains On Far-Right Politics

Vice President Mike Pence will be in Colorado Springs this Friday speaking at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of Focus on the Family (FOF), the fundamentalist Christian family ministry and Religious Right group founded by Dr. James C. Dobson, a child psychologist.

Dobson, a controversial figure known mainly for his enthusiastic endorsement of corporal punishment, left FOF in 2010 and turned things over to Jim Daly. Daly presents a kinder, gentler face than the frequently scowling, judgmental Dobson.

But have things changed at FOF? Not really. You need only to spend a few minutes on the group’s website to see that it’s business as usual for Focus....
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/for-focus-on-the-family-the-focus-remains-on-far-right-politics