Ark Encounter's Decade-Long Disaster (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #638)

— Ark Encounter's decade-long disaster: How the Creationist theme park failed on its promises (0:48)

— “Swallow it!”: A Christian "prophet" told a teen to eat a Bible page to receive God’s blessings. (20:11)

— A Connecticut law protects kids from abusive homeschooling parents. Republicans opposed it. (31:38)

— Colorado GOP candidate's wildest religious claims unravel in must-watch interview. (46:51)

— The Catholic Church protected a predator priest. The courts punished the whistleblower. (1:10:49)
Interview: 

• Audio only: https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/06/03/ark-encounters-decade-long-disaster/
• YouTube video: https://youtu.be/fG3CzKd44p4?si=DZidgLNOntu9rPaQ

 

This homeschooling law protects kids. Republicans opposed it!

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

This is why Christian homeschooling hurts children

In an essay for the New York Times, Stefan Merrill Block, author of the memoir “Homeschooled,” wrote about why religious homeschooling can be a problem, and how conservative Christians are preventing states from fixing them. 

This is a jaw-dropping look at why so many people are concerned about isolation and indoctrination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHCmHw_nReI

 

Evangelical education nearly ruined me. Now the Christian right is coming for public schools

Trump's secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has characterized the growth of US Christian schools as an "educational insurgency" collecting "recruits" to build an underground army "with the opportunity later on of taking offensive operations in an overt way", Hegseth said in a podcast appearance... 

"If you gave my students on the west side of San Antonio an $8,000 or $10,000 voucher, there's still no way they can afford a $20,000 a year private school," Talarico says. "But because the voucher program is universal, the wealthy family that is sending their kid to that private school will now get an $8,000 or $10,000 discount on their tuition, at the expense of the working-class kids on the west side."  

Talarico adds that the voucher program includes funding for home-school students, up to 90% of whom are Christian and whose curriculum is often poorly regulated. "So we taxpayers will be funding homeschool programs that teach students the earth is flat," he says...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/12/christianity-schools-republicans

Michigan considers new rules to protect homeschoolers from child abuse - The Washington Post

The effort comes days after a 'horrifying' Washington Post story about the torture and murder of a home-schooled boy from Michigan…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/12/06/michigan-homeschool-regulations-child-abuse/

An unregulated Louisiana group for Christian homeschoolers sells diplomas for $465

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nDrKVagQHI

Homeschooling hid child abuse, torture of 11-year-old Roman Lopez by stepmom - Washington Post

Left to their own devices while she lay in bed watching TV crime procedurals, and her husband, Jordan, worked long hours as a utility lineman, their days and nights passed in a penumbral blur of video games, microwave dinners and fistfights. Almost nothing resembling education took place, her sons said. But there was a shared project in which she diligently led her children: the torture of their stepbrother, Roman...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-child-abuse-torture-roman-lopez/

I've Been To Over 20 Homeschool Conferences. The Things I've Witnessed At Them Shocked Me.

"I pass some signs that read "Ron DeSantis World." B says it looks like they're mimicking the Disney font. Several booths are conducting podcast interviews. I look up the podcasts on my phone and see that each one spreads conspiracy theories. 

I pass another booth where a man and a woman are talking about gun rights... at a homeschool conference. Then I pass a Moms for Liberty booth…"

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/homeschool-conference-curriculum-girl-empowerment_n_652445c9e4b0102e6962fd39

Homeschooling: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzsZP9o7SlI

Weekly Roundup: Back to (Destroy) School (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

How does a racially fueled tragedy tie into the policies of a state governor? And what sinister patterns can we uncover when we trace the origins of the ‘lone gunman’ phenomenon? Brad and Dan investigate the chilling Jacksonville shootings, the disturbing racial motivations behind the crime, and the ways these events echo the policies of Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis. .

We then shift our focus to the Christian homeschooling movement, helmed by Michael Farris, and its possible impact on public education. Discover how a group of devout millionaires are bent on uprooting the education system, alleging that schools teaching about gender identity and race are unconstitutional.

Finally, we wade into the murky intersection of Christian and Hindu nationalism, and the ways Vivek Ramaswamy is transposing the latter onto the former.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-back-to-destroy-school/

Gothard's God: Reflections on the Amazon Documentary "Shiny Happy People" (Seth Andrews; The Thinking Atheist podcast)

A new Amazon docuseries is highlighting the destructive Quiverfull cult developed under the leadership of Bill Gothard. We continue the discussion this week.

Divorcing Religion: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/ 

Heresy in the Heartland blog: http://heresyintheheartland.blogspot.com/
Interview: 

https://www.thethinkingatheist.com/podcast-1/episode/78dfbf87/gothards-god-reflections-on-the-amazon-documentary-shiny-happy-people

Christian home-schoolers revolt by enrolling kids in public school - Washington Post

"It's specifically a system that is set up to hide the abuse, to make them invisible, to strip them of any capability of getting help. And not just in a physical way," Christina said. "At some point, you become so mentally imprisoned you don't even realize you need help."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/christian-home-schoolers-revolt/

Homeschooled kids (0:55) Can you believe that this was framed as positive representation? : videos

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/13b6pfk/homeschooled_kids_055_can_you_believe_that_this/

Outrage over alleged Nazi homeschooling group in Ohio | Ohio | The Guardian

A couple calling themselves "Mr and Mrs Saxon" established the "Dissident Homeschool" channel on Telegram in 2021, according to reporting by Anonymous Comrades Collective, an anti-fascist research group, verified by Huffpost and Vice...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/01/nazi-homeschooling-group-ohio-condemned

Home-schooling: A Christian conservative movement sees an opportunity in the Texas shooting.

…HSLDA has stayed busy since, responding aggressively any time a state considers any regulation. According to Julie Annie Smith, a home-schooling mother and blogger who writes about abuse at church and the Christian home-schooling movement, HSLDA keeps home-school parents in a state of anxiety with newsletters and other media portraying them as under attack. And according to James Dwyer, the author of Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice, HSLDA has harnessed that anxiety quite skillfully…

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/06/texas-shooting-conservative-christians-home-schooling.html

Homeschooling math lessons: Think dice games, cooking fractions and ratios with chocolate milk

In the COVID-19 pandemic, children are just as concerned as their parents about what is happening. The closure of schools is a huge upset in children’s lives. As parents support children and consider their learning, this can be an opportunity for both parents and kids to question, explore, think and learn mathematics together through everyday activities.
https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-math-lessons-think-dice-games-cooking-fractions-and-ratios-with-chocolate-milk-134738

Mike Pompeo Lashes Out at Critics of Homeschooling, Says Radical Leftists Are Indoctrinating Children

Harvard Magazine, an independently edited magazine affiliated with Harvard University, recently published an article warning of the risks of homeschooling as part of their May/June edition. It quotes Elizzabeth Batholet, Wasserstein public interest professor of law and faculty director of the Law School's Child Advocacy Program, in saying that homeschooling violates children's rights to a "meaningful education" while also limiting them from contributing to a democratic society. Additionally, Bartholet argues that homeschool is inadequately unregulated across the U.S. and can isolate children from others.
https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pompeo-lashes-out-critics-homeschooling-says-radical-leftists-are-indoctrinating-children-1500289

School’s Out… Or Is It? | Internet Archive Blogs

The Internet Archive’s mission is Universal Access to All Knowledge, and that includes making it possible for anyone to receive a quality education, anytime, anywhere. School closures are a perfect time to take advantage of online learning—any student with an internet connection can enjoy a huge variety of books on virtually any subject, even accessing the collections of other schools and public libraries.
https://blog.archive.org/2020/03/11/schools-out-or-is-it/

When 'regular school' parents must homeschool their kids - CNN

School closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak mean millions of parents and guardians who have grown accustomed to sending their children to traditional schools are now faced with the task of educating them at home. The coronavirus has turned caregivers around the world into homeschoolers. ....
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/health/homeschooling-during-coronavirus-wellness/index.html

Hallelujah Homeschool Cult

Because there are some things you just don't want your children to know.....
https://youtu.be/s-2Y1F93LTE