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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Atheist Radio at the University of Toronto

 
The University of Toronto publishes eBulletin once or twice a week to let people know what's going on. This is the official voice of the university. This week's issue features David Leaman (Godless Dave) and his campus radio show Godless: Atheist radio show at UTSC attracts listeners worldwide.

I was interviewed on the show in May and it was lot's of fun [Godless Radio].

Here's what the university's eBulletin has to say about the show.
The atheist and freethinker movements have been picking up steam nationwide and across the world. There is also growing interest at UTSC, with a noteworthy addition to this outspoken community being a radio show titled Godless, which began airing on UTSC’s Fusion Radio in January 2009. It is the only show of its kind at U of T.

The name Godless evokes a reaction from most who hear it, and that's exactly the purpose behind the chosen moniker. The term, brought to light in popular culture by right-winger and controversial figure Ann Coulter through the titling of one of her books, was initially used as a pejorative label. The hosts of the show, however, wear the term as a badge of pride.

"Atheism is a lack of a religious world view. There's no dogma or ritual that surrounds it. In fact, the only thing that atheists by definition will have in common with one another is the mutual lack of belief in a God," says fourth-year mathematics student David Leaman (known as 'Dave' on the air), co-host and founder of the online show. "My own personal brand of atheism is one that embraces evidence-based and logical reasoning along with the scientific method. Using these tools, I've come to the realization that the evidence for the existence of God just doesn't hold up. The idea that applying modern methods of inquiry to the 'big questions' should be a bad thing is actually pretty laughable."



3 comments :

Unknown said...

Thanks for the plug, Larry. Our site was down for a while this morning -- perhaps because of this article. But it's all working fine now.

Anonymous said...

I'm as atheist as the next sane person, but perhaps someone could explain to me why atheists, or indeed anyone, needs such a venue. Isn't the obviousness of the lack of a god good enough for us? Do we need to get together and reassure each other we are correct? What is the point? There are no new facts to communicate to fellow atheists. There STILL is no god(s).
Is the point then to try to convince people who do believe in god to become atheists?
I am probably not the first to propose that getting organized, having spokespeople, repeating the same arguements ect. to support atheism has all the trappings of what makes traditional religions so bad.
Believing in god doesn't make people do bad things. It is when those people organize themselves into larger social units with goals based on spreading an ideology is when problems can arise.
I would prefer atheism rise above this. No bus ads, or radio evangelists, just the sheer weight of absence of evidence is all that is required for those who choose to examine the question for themselves.
I don't want to be a party-pooper so I checked out Godless Radio, it was almost as good as the bayblab podcast. :) In my opinion it's only worthwhile for someone who is currently struggling with belief or disbelief. But I got to hear what Larry sounds like so that was pretty worthwhile.

Unknown said...

Hi Anonymous,

One of the main reasons we created this show was to give non-believers on campus a voice. I don't know how familiar you are with U of T's Scarborough campus, but the density of religiosity here makes atheists and other non-believers shrink into the woodwork.

Having a show about atheism, or putting up bus ads, is not about telling people that there is no such thing as god or fairies or the law of attraction. It's about letting people know that they're not crazy for thinking so. It's about reducing the effect of the oppressive intimidation tactics that religions and the religious use to keep people in line. And it's about showing theists that atheists are not immoral, evil devil worshippers who hate god.

I would like to hear any specific criticism you have of the show, as we're constantly trying to find ways to improve it. Please feel free to use the contact form on godlessradio.ca or email 'godless' at that domain.

Cheers,
-Dave