Israeli militants step up West Bank school attacks

Education is under attack across occupied Palestine. The situation is most severe in Gaza, where more than 600,000 school-age children are approaching the end of a third year without formal in-person education. Israeli attacks there have killed at least 792 teachers and 18,639 students, according to the UN, and damaged or destroyed nine out of 10 school buildings...

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/02/israeli-militants-attack-west-bank-schools-settler-violence

 

One Nation, Indivisible with Andrew Seidel (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #037)

Trump and Mike Johnson are denying food to needy Americans and the story is being covered everywhere, but nobody is covering this: denying SNAP benefits is about advancing Christian Nationalism. Andrew explains. Plus, Florida politicians discover that vouchers are not just for Christians and they’re pissed off; and judges in Texas can now refuse to marry LGBTQ couples. Why? Because god.

Hemant Mehta covers the Florida vouchers kerfuffle.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-677sw-288acc97

The Proud Scientific Ignorance of a Christian Nationalist (Gutsick Gibbon)

Evolution and some geologic history explained while she counters silly creationism / intelligent design arguments from Doug Wilson and the Answers in Genesis / Ken Ham people. 

An important point she makes is that Doug Wilson and his followers not only hold these unscientific beliefs, but that they are actively engaged in building up networks of schools that will indoctrinate children with these beliefs instead of real science.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/Jv9mnFK4H0g?si=r5nh5fpXjwA_i1Pf

Canada: Where your child will be safe and respected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp5-l-aPjYg

 

Whitewashing History Highlights the Importance of Church-State Separation (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

We celebrate a court victory in Arkansas, where a federal court issued a second preliminary injunction blocking a state law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. 

We criticize a “faith-based disaster recovery event” at the National Mall in which Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner proclaimed that “faith is back in our government.” 

We speak with Rep. Mark Pocan about the whitewashing of history in the wake of Christian nationalist Charlie Kirk’s murder and the ever-growing importance of the separation between church and state.

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-september-18-2025/

The Religious War on America’s Kids (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast episode 029)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running for Senate so he’s hitting the Christian Nationalism. Hard. Andrew breaks down his prayer push and the law it’s based on. Hemant Mehta at the Friendly Atheist took PragerU’s anti-woke teacher test for Oklahoma, Florida bans vaccine mandates, and more. 

Episode Show Notes:

• Ken Paxton’s Christian Nationalist press release. 
• Text of the TX law Paxton was ranting about. 
• Updated Axios story about DOJ leaving Dems and Liberals in Epstein docs. 
• Hemant Mehta at the Friendly Atheist takes PragerU’s Oklahoma teacher “test” and reports on it.
• BBC reports on FL vaccine mandate ban.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-du84f-2765bde2

Trump administration threatens to sanction Denver schools over gender-neutral school bathrooms - POLITICO

The federal government is now demanding that Denver agree to convert all its gender-neutral school bathrooms into "sex-designated multi-stall restrooms" — and enact a series of related policies within 10 days or risk penalties, according to a proposed department agreement to resolve a civil rights investigation the agency launched early this year...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/28/denver-schools-gender-neutral-bathrooms-00534598

SCOTUS Is Primed to Overturn a Landmark Church-State Precedent (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #021)

The Christian Nationalist legal outfits are bringing faith and football back to the Supreme Court. First Liberty Institute is asking the court to overturn a crucial church-state precedent, Santa Fe v. Doe, a 2000 opinion that prevented public schools from broadcasting Christian prayers at football games, thereby safeguarding the religious freedom and rights of every single person. The same Christian Nationalist group that brought the case of the football coach that imposed his Christian prayers on other people’s kids is back at the court. Will the court take the case? And can Brett Kavanaugh even hear this case? Or does his history show a serious bias?

Also, Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission wants to hear from you! “Share your reflections on the first hearing and religious liberty on social media, using our hashtag #ReligiousLibertyCommission. You are welcome to provide public comment to the Commission by emailing us at RLC@usdoj.gov. So if you watched that first meeting, consider sending some feedback.”
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-w8t4a-267e4318

The Deadly Cost of Religious Extremism (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #589)

— Vance Boelter and the deadly cost of religious extremism. (0:40)

— Christian music icon Michael Tait’s fall from grace. (17:50)

— Sean Duffy turns military graduation into blatant ad for Christian Nationalism. (34:20)

— Appeals Court blocks Louisiana law forcing Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. (53:05)

— Trump has earned $1.3 million (so far) from his MAGA Bible grift. (1:07:44)

— Christian parents let their baby die because of their faith. Now they’re going to prison. (1:15:22)

— Colorado Springs City Council members target Pride Parade after “Hail Satan” shout-out. (1:25:37)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2025/06/26/the-deadly-cost-of-religious-extremism/

Messing with Texas’ 10 Commandments (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #015)

Is America a secular nation—or a Christian theocracy in disguise?

In this episode of One Nation Indivisible, Andrew breaks down the escalating attacks on church-state separation. He takes aim at a new Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms, unpacking both the biblical contradictions and constitutional violations baked into the bill.

Andrew also examines Donald Trump’s public feud with Leonard Leo over judicial loyalty and calls out Speaker Mike Johnson’s misleading claims about America’s so-called “Judeo-Christian” roots. With clarity and urgency, Andrew argues that preserving real religious freedom means rejecting government-imposed religion—no matter how popular the narrative.

There are three blocks to the show: 

• TX 10 Commandments 
• Trump fights Leo 
• Johnson's Judeo-Christian Principles

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-e246u-25c67af3

How Public Schools Became Ground Zero for America’s Culture Wars (Reveal podcast)

On this week’s “More To The Story,” how race, gender, politics, and the fight for public schools collided on one reporter’s front lawn.

Mike Hixenbaugh first knew things had changed when someone on a four-wheeler started ripping up his lawn after his wife placed a Black Lives Matter sign outside their home on the suburban outskirts of Houston.

Hixenbaugh is an award-winning investigative reporter for NBC News. He’s covered wrongdoing within the child welfare system, safety lapses inside hospitals, and deadly failures in the US Navy. But when his front yard was torn apart in the summer of 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd protests, he saw a story about race and politics collide at his own front door. “They’re targeting us,” Hixenbaugh recalls. “My wife, my kids, me—and it’s about race.”

So like any investigative journalist, he started investigating and soon discovered that “the ugliness of our national politics was really playing out at the most visceral level in these suburbs.”

Hixenbaugh’s reporting about the growing divides in his neighborhood soon led him to the public schools, specifically those in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas where parents were engaged in heated, emotional battles over race, gender, DEI programs, and the role of public education in the US.

As more than a dozen states sue the Trump administration over its policies aimed at ending public schools’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, More To The Story host Al Letson talks with Hixenbaugh about how America’s public schools have become “a microcosm” for the country’s political and cultural fights—“a way of zooming in deep into one community to try to tell the story of America.”
Interview: 

https://revealnews.org/podcast/dei-public-schools-trump-race-gender-lgbtq/

New Jersey city aims to seize church and other news of the week (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #582)

– Trump Justice Dept. sides with Catholic Church to fight law requiring priests to report abuse. (0:49)

– “How much God do you need?” School board member slams invocation plan. (18:00)

– Pickleball over people? NJ town moves to seize church and block homeless shelter. (44:05)

– Texas lawmakers want a month-long celebration of God’s promises in the Bible. (1:10:00)

– A curriculum coup: Oklahoma Republicans allow right-wing rewrite of history. (1:13:13)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2025/05/08/nj-city-aims-to-seize-church/

Weekly Roundup: A Majority of Americans Think Trump is a Dangerous Dictator (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad and Dan discuss Donald Trump’s recent interviews, highlighting concerns about his mental acuity and decisions on immigration policies.

They analyze new data from PRRI, revealing that a significant portion of Americans view Trump as a dangerous dictator while also detailing public sentiment on Trump’s first hundred days in office.

The guys also explore a Supreme Court case from Oklahoma regarding the funding of a Catholic charter school and its implications for the separation of church and state.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-a-majority-of-americans-think-trump-is-a-dangerous-dictator/

Trump administration discontinues $1 billion in school mental health grants - ABC News

"They may not have agreed on everything, but Congress secured $1 billion in bipartisan mental health grants to help kids better understand themselves and the world around them," Weingarten wrote in a statement. "The benefits were obvious. Now, with the stroke of a pen, that halting progress has been wiped away, even as the president and his allies insist that improving mental health is the only way to fix the gun violence epidemic."…

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-discontinues-1-billion-school-mental-health/story

 

FFRF, others concerned over Oklahoma charter school case (Freethought Today, March 2025)

“The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students,” the statement reads. “The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state’s approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, state/church separation, and religious freedom for all. Oklahoma taxpayers, including our plaintiffs, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to discriminate against students and staff and indoctrinate students into one religion. Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.”

https://www.freethoughttoday.com/free/ffrf-others-concerned-over-oklahoma-charter-school-case/

FFRF turns violations into success stories (Freethought Today, March 2025)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s legal team gets thousands of requests every year to look into potential state/church violations in schools and other government agencies. FFRF takes this role seriously . . . and it shows! After FFRF determines if there is a constitutional infraction, it initially sends out a letter to the organization, asking for the problem to be rectified. Often times, this is enough to get the offending group to end the violation or alter their actions going forward.

The following write-ups are from 30 recent successful outcomes (victories!) of FFRF’s initial letter contacts, organized by state and listed alphabetically.

https://www.freethoughttoday.com/sections/100-front-page/ffrf-turns-violations-into-success-stories/

As School Threats Proliferate, More Than 700 Students Are Arrested - The New York Times

In the three weeks since two teachers and two students were killed at Apalachee High School in the deadliest school shooting in Georgia's history, more than 700 children and teenagers, including at least one fourth grader, have been arrested and accused of making violent threats against schools in at least 45 states, according to a New York Times review of news reports, law enforcement statements and court records. Almost 10 percent were 12 or younger...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/us/school-violence-threats-student-arrests.html

Pope Francis: Both Candidates are ”Against Life” (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #549)

— Pope Francis pushes false claim that both presidential candidates are “against life.” (3:15)

— Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear courageously bans “conversion therapy” on minors. (14:08)

— Pastor claims he miraculously cured a man hospitalized due to voting for Democrats. (26:05)

— In Ohio, taxpayer dollars are being used to expand Christian schools. (36:56)

— South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down voucher scheme giving tax dollars to private schools. (47:40)

— Atheists to court: It’s okay to ban “faith statements” in taxpayer-funded Minnesota program. (55:31)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2024/09/19/pope-francis-both-candidates-are-against-life/

Tim Walz Stings GOP With Blunt 'Fact Of Life' After JD Vance's School Shooting Remarks (HuffPost)

“But here’s what I’ll tell you. It’s a fact of life some people are gay, but you know what’s not a fact of life? That our children need to be shot dead in schools. That’s not a fact of life.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-walz-jd-vance-school-shootings-fact-of-life_n_66dd3fc1e4b0e6f2048df0da

Christian Nationalists Are Opening Private Schools. Taxpayers Are Funding Them. – Mother Jones

A prerequisite for students and their families to attend some of the schools that currently receive voucher money is that they accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. In March, the education blog Notes from the Chalkboard highlighted one such school. Students attending North Carolina's Daniel Christian Academy, are trained to "enter the Seven Mountains of Influence," a main tenet of a Christian Nationalist movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. Its adherents believe that the faithful are called to seek Christian control of the "seven mountains" of society: family, education, media, government, business, arts & entertainment, and religion. Many New Apostolic Reformation followers believe that waging "spiritual warfare" is justified in achieving these goals, though Daniel Christian Academy specifies that its endorsement of the Seven Mountains Mandate "in no way includes violence or manipulation at any level."…

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/06/christian-nationalists-are-opening-private-schools-taxpayers-are-funding-them/