Atheist Republic Discussions

Armin talks about why it is important to remember the holocaust.

Armin talks to an American Indian - Jarin Jove - who supports the Atheist Republic but thinks Armin might be biased against India and Hinduism and not critical enough of British imperialism. Watch this discussion.

We talk to multiple atheists in Israel about atheism in their country, Jewish identity and the influence of religion on their government and society. We get different opinions on this from Israeli atheists so check out the other parts as well. Our fourth discussion is with Moshe Shenfeld the co-founder of "Out for Change," an NGO assisting young people who leave the Haredi Jewish community and successfully integrate into mainstream Israeli society: https://www.leshinuy.org/en/  Part 1: https://youtu.be/9huLmFjjKtw  Part 2: https://youtu.be/_yj7xQ8Or2k  Part 3: https://youtu.be/HswXTQd_lSk 

We discuss the recent protests in Lebanon and what it means for secularism in Lebanon.

We discuss the recent turmoil in Israeli politics and what it means for secularism in Israel.

We go over the recent protests in Iran against the Islamic Republic and analyze the reports sent by the protestors.

David Silverman and Armin Navabi invite Mohamed Hisham - an ex-Muslim atheist refugee from Egypt - to come up with an effective process for the Atheist Republic and Atheist Alliance International to help atheists at risk in Islamic countries.

A tweet by Arash Hampay - Iranian refugee, ex-Muslim and human rights activist - against fascism caused a Greek politician's removal from parliament and tons of threats from fascists. Arash has been called to appear in court and put on trial due to his role in protecting refugees' demonstration in Greece. Arash talks to us about his views and his activism from Iran to Greece.

After a long silence since accusations of sexual assault led to his removal as president of American Atheists, Dave Silverman, the firebrand atheist activist and author of 'Fighting God' is fighting back. He joins Armin to tell his side of the story, and we're sharing that with you.

Alex J. O'Connor (aka Cosmic Skeptic) is a popular atheist YouTuber and advocate of veganism. Armin tries to challenge Alex's views on eating meat. Even though they disagreed on many points, the discussion was friendly and fun. Let us know what you think in the comment section. Cosmic Skeptic: https://www.youtube.com/user/alexjoconnor 

I met with Carl Benjamin (aka Sargon of Akkad) and discussed Trump, Islam, LGBT in schools, gender stereotypes, Enlightenment values, the alt-right, the regressive left and immigration. We disagreed on some points but had a very fun discussion. Let us know what you think in the comment section.

It's time to raise our voice where it can't be ignored. Too many atheists are under attack, and no amount of social media posts can change that unless they encourage people to get off their screens and into the streets. The first case we are working on is Soheil Arabi, who is in prison in Iran for insulting prophet Muhammad. We discuss our plan in this discussion. We have limited experience on this, so we appreciate you joining the local consulates in your area and help us manage these protests: https://www.atheistrepublic.com/consulates  Tag the admins of your local group and let them know that you want to help with the #FreeSoheil rally on August 17th for your city. You can also use the #FreeSoheil hashtag to on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to let more people know protests are happening on August 17th.

Armin talks to Atheist Republic Patron, Kris Ricard about his journey to atheism, the Bible, Trump, US politics, and other topics. This is one of our patron meetings. Schedule a meeting with us by following the instructions here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/meeting-with-23281817  

How do Iran’s 2017-2018 protests compare to the protests in 2009? Armin Navabi discusses the details with Ash Tziolas. Ash recently wrote a paper on this topic. His paper draws parallels between four aspects of these two protests: social media, the decline of religious legitimacy, economics and the youthful demographics of Iranian society.

How can atheists be moral? Is morality meaningless without god? Armin Navabi discusses some of the common points believers bring up to argue why we need religion to be good. Landon Haynes discusses the rebuttals to these arguments with Armin. A Justified Faith by Landon Haynes: https://amzn.to/2KmNlGU 

Shannon and Armin try to find out how to discuss sensitive topics at a time when it’s so easy to get accused of bigotry and lose your platform.

Iranian blogger and professional photographer, Soheil Arabi, has been repeatedly prosecuted by authorities in Iran for his writing and online activism. In 2014 he was sentenced to death for supposedly "insulting the Prophet" in Facebook posts. The death sentence was commuted in 2015, but he has since been jailed again. He has been repeatedly beaten while in prison, and members of his family have been threatened or harassed. Atheist Republic members have a plan to highlight this case. Our friends at Humanist International have provided us with a briefing confirming this information. Link to event: https://www.facebook.com/events/371969536765198/  Please join the and Atheist Republic Consulate near you and ask the admins of the group to start an event in the group similar to the one above to help us bring more attention to Soheil: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/consulates  Also, if you can, help them with managing these events. The key things for each event page are to make sure all the details and dates on t

Armin Navabi interviews ex-atheist Christian apologist David Wood on why he became a Christian and how atheists and Christians can have better discussions.

Mohamed Hisham appeared on a TV show in Egypt in an attempt to normalize atheism knowing the price he had to pay for being an open atheist in Egypt. After going through hell - all the abuse, beating and death threats from his family, his community and the government - he managed to escape. He tells us why he took such a risk and how he managed to escape.