Imagine No Religion

In the week of the birthday anniversary of John Lennon, our program examines the concept of "Imagine no religion" from several angles. Freethought Radio features Congress' lone "out" nonbeliever — U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, in a fascinating interview in which he talks about being an ex-Mormon, the inside story on congressional issues regarding separation of state and church, and why he founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The show examines new developments in the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, during this birth week of Gandhi. FFRF Director of Communications Amit Pal, an expert in the phenomenon, is interviewed briefly by solo host Annie Laurie Gaylor. In the news segment, Freethought Radio excerpts TV news coverage of several major FFRF victories, and recounts FFRF's newest national complaint over the judge in the Amber Guyger trial forcing a bible on her and instructing which passages to read. We play a poignant version of "Imagine," arranged by native American composer Brent Michael Davids on flute, with Lenape Tribe member and absentee host Dan Barker accompanying on piano. The show passages of music not only by Lennon, but by nonreligious classical composer Guiseppe Verdi, also born this week in history.