Governing Ourselves: A Libertarian Atheist Podcast

In this episode we wanted to take a break from serious stuff and talk about fun media that Adam likes to consume that have libertarian and/or atheist themes: various films, video games, YouTube channels, etc.

This week we have as a guest Adam's friend Colton who is a Christian and philosopher and who is the one that recommended "The Reason for God" to Adam.  We talk about Mormonism and what qualifies as a Christian, as well as different philosophical arguments about God.

In this episode we're covering Part 2 of Timothy Keller's book "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism".  It's different from Part 1, but it's bad in its own way and doesn't redeem the book for us.  We also highlight some of Adam's problems with Christianity as a whole.

We realized that we've been neglecting the atheist side of our podcast lately, and so for this week's episode we're delving into the first half of "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism" by Timothy Keller.  And boy do we have some strong opinions of this book so far!

In this episode we talk about Hobbes and Locke and where our country's social contract theories come from. We talked about the social contracts we have with each other and how we can strengthen them.  We also had fun talking about movies and books and such, which went on a bit longer than usual.

This week, we tackle atheism in America and why American atheists not only seem to be mostly liberals, but also why many of them think that conservative atheists can't be a thing.

In this episode, we're covering what led up to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the events surrounding his death, and the aftermath in Minneapolis and around the country.  We also discuss police and what can be done to change things.

This week we delve into logical fallacies.  We've picked the twelve that we see as the most common in modern discourse, and we explain what they are and we highlight them with examples from politics and religion.

Lisa's husband joins us this week as we discuss our country's financial situation—the national deficit and debt, the causes of our current situation, and some solutions.

In this week's episode we delve into who Congressman Justin Amash is, why he's seeking the nomination for president of the United States, and we find out just how libertarian he is with how he's voted and his stances on some major political topics.

This week we ask the question of what is the best role for government to have in a crisis.  We bring in examples of Michigan, of Sweden, Trump and his press conferences, and classic libertarian philosophy.

This week we ask the question, "Where can we turn in a crisis?", and we answer it with current events during this COVID-19 time, such as how religions are responding, how the government is acting or failing to act, and what businesses and individuals are doing to help.

Hey folks!  After much thinking and discussing, we've decided to make some changes to our podcast.  We're changing our name from Governing Ourselves to Libertatheists, a silly name that will reflect the new fun direction where we want to take our podcast.  We'll also have a more structured, segmented format.  Let us know on social media what you think!

In this second half of our BITE model episode, we're covering Thought control and Emotional control.  We tally up the numbers of all four sections at the end and see where the LDS Church lands, and we discuss that it all means.  If you think of examples we missed, let us know.  We also announce some changes we're going to make to our podcast!

As two ex-Mormons we have a lot of insight into the LDS church, and so we're taking two episodes to apply Steven Hassan's BITE model to the LDS Church.  BITE is an acronym for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control, the four areas where destructive cults try to control their members.  In Part 1, we're covering Behavior and Information control.

This week we cover two topics: the first is the current event that has everyone talking—COVID-19—and the other topic is in honor of St. Patrick's Day where we cover what happened with the Irish Great Hunger, or the Irish Potato Famine of 1847.

Super Tuesday was last week on March 3rd, and Adam and Lisa talk about the remaining candidates for the Democratic Party, how they match up against President Trump, and our thoughts on the Libertarian Party and a few of its 2020 candidates.

This week, we discuss the informative comedy-drama "The Big Short", based on the true story of a few men who saw that the '07-'08 housing crisis was going to happen and they bet against the market and made a ton of money doing so.  A pretty good companion film to Ron Paul's End the Fed.

This week we're reviewing a YouTube video of a round-table discussion between Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Dan Dennet, and Sam Harris, which earned them the nickname "The Four Horsemen of new atheism".  Whether you're new to atheism or a seasoned veteran of atheism, these are men whose work you should know.

This week for a belated Valentine's Day episode, we review a book called "The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts" by Gary Chapman.  This book gives you information and teaches you skills that you can learn to realize the power you have to improve your marriage by making your spouse feel loved.  It also helps you discover your own "love language" so you can know yourself better and so you can know what to request of your spouse to help you feel loved in return.