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The Atheist Experience

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The Atheist Experience
GenreLive call-in talk show
Starring
  • Jmike
  • Forrest Valkai
  • Kenneth Leonard
  • Johnny P. Angel
  • ObjectivelyDan
  • Jim Barrows
  • Shannon Q
  • Dave Warnock
Theme music composerShelley Segal
Opening theme"Saved"[1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1000 (as of June 24th, 2018)[2]
Production
Producers
  • Shelley Roberts
  • Frank Paschal
Production locationsAustin, Texas
Running time90 minutes
Original release
ReleaseOctober 19, 1997 (1997-10-19) –
present
Related
Talk Heathen, Truth Wanted

The Atheist Experience is an American live, weekly televised webcast based in Austin, Texas, United States. Listeners are encouraged to call in to discuss the existence of God and related topics. Calls from theists are usually given priority, as the aim of the webcast is to encourage theists to question their theistic beliefs and thus, theists are often asked to explain what they believe, and why.

History

[edit]

In April 1996, Kellen Von Houser took the initiative of forming a group for atheists in the Austin area by e-mailing local atheists.[3] After several informal monthly gatherings, the Atheist Community of Austin was formally founded on December 15, 1996, by which time it had attracted around sixty members.[3] By June 1997, the ACA had its own website, a relatively new medium at the time, to reach out to fellow atheists on the internet.[3] The first episode of The Atheist Experience, a pre-recorded pilot, aired on October 19, 1997.[3][4]

From the second show onward, the episodes were broadcast live on cable access television on every other Sunday, giving the opportunity to viewers to call the show live. Initially the show's length was one half-hour.[5] Ray Blevins was the show's first host, while Joe Zamecki served as the first co-host.[5]

The show length was extended to an hour in September 1998.[5] From December 1999 on, The Atheist Experience began streaming over the Internet, enabling anyone around the world with Internet access to watch.[5] Since November 2005, The Atheist Experience (as well as The Non-Prophets Radio) has also been distributed as a podcast to a global audience.[6]

A YouTube channel, which became the official channel in August 2012, has over 372,000 subscribers and over 182 million video views as of June 2022.[7][8][9][10] On June 24, 2018, the show aired its 1000th episode.[2]

The first episode (pilot) was recorded at Furr's Cafeteria in October 1997.[4] Subsequent episodes were recorded at the public-access television studio at Austin Public (1143 Northwestern Ave). After 18 years, long-standing logistical and technical issues at the public access studio prompted the crew to move to the ACA's Freethought Library (1507 West Koenig Lane) in October 2015.[11][12]

The Atheist Experience's success has spawned several spin-off shows also produced by the ACA; as of July 2018, these were The Non-Prophets Radio podcast, the Talk Heathen[13] talk show, the Godless Bitches podcast and The Preaching Humanist television show.[14]: 2:51  In December 2018, the new Secular Sexuality live show was launched.[15]

Show details

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Purposes

[edit]
Live show at the 2018 American Atheists Convention featuring Russell Glasser and Tracie Harris

The primary purpose of The Atheist Experience is to have a discussion or debate on the existence of gods or related topics between theist callers and the atheist hosts and co-hosts.[16] The Atheist Experience is therefore primarily geared towards a non-atheist audience, and tends to foster confrontational debates.[17] Moreover, the conversations are intended for theists to hear from atheists themselves, rather than from other theists, what atheists actually believe. Another goal is to familiarize the show's audience with relevant arguments and effective debating tactics.[16]

Theme song

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The opening theme used for The Atheist Experience has changed over the years; in some cases due to copyright issues. From August 2009 to August 2015, the theme song was Bryan Steeksma's "Listen to Reason". Following that, Shelley Segal's "Saved" has been used.[1]

Topics

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Although debates about all theism- and atheism-related views are welcome, because of the large number of Christians in the United States and their influence in American politics and society,[18] the emphasis is mostly on Christianity.[19] Frequent topics include religious dogma, morality, ethics, and application of the scientific method.[20][21]

Format

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The host (on the right) and co-host (on the left) are filmed sitting behind a table. There may also be off-camera spectators in the studio. After the opening sequence featuring the theme song, the co-host often opens with a theme (for example, Don Baker's segment "The Failures of Christianity"[22]) or current event discussion, and then the host takes live calls. Callers are put in a waiting queue and screened by the crew before they are put into direct contact with the host and co-host. Although atheists are also allowed to call in, the crew attempts to have at least 50% theists callers.[14]: 4:00  The host has a control panel, which allows them to put a caller temporarily "on hold" in order to clarify a point or address a technical issue, or disconnect a caller who in the host's judgment has been overly rude or has frustrated the discussion.[23][24][25]

Some callers hold negative stereotypes about atheists, or misconceptions about atheism and science, and occasionally verbally abuse the hosts, or atheists in general.[26] At times, the hosts reply in kind, or even initiate verbal abuse or mockery of the religious beliefs which a caller may hold.[19][17][22] However, friendly and respectful conversations also frequently take place, and are preferred.[27] Author Yuriy Nikshych wrote that The Atheist Experience is "worth watching to get a sense of how to talk to theists", and said it was an "invaluable resource" for people (including himself) in the process of losing their religious beliefs to become atheists.[28]

Presenters

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Current

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Graham Martin (AKA, "The Cross Examiner"): a lawyer who practiced FDA Regulatory Law. His paper, Judicial Deference to Administrative Agencies and Its Limits,[29] is taught in Administrate Law classes. He is the owner and host of The Cross Examiner Podcast.[30]

Former

[edit]
Matt Dillahunty: "Raise your hands if The Atheist Experience and the debates I've done contributed to you being an atheist."
Host
  • Matt Dillahunty: a professional magician, exotic animal breeder, and prior member of the U.S. Navy who was raised a fundamentalist Baptist[31] and was a Christian for more than twenty years. He served in the Navy for eight years before moving to Austin to spend several years in the video game industry.[32] Although he intended to attend seminary and pursue a career in the ministry, he came to reject his previous theistic beliefs.[32] He co-founded Iron Chariots, a counterapologetics wiki,[33] co-presented The Atheist Experience for the first time in March 2005 and served as the president of the Atheist Community of Austin from 2006 to 2013.[34][35][36] On October 2, 2022, Matt announced, at the beginning of the live episode, that it would be his final episode. In response to this surprise announcement, the ACA leadership locked him out of his ACA email account and posted an announcement portraying Dillahunty's departure as a retirement as host of The Atheist Experience, almost eighteen years after his first broadcast. Approximately one month later, they canceled his life membership.[citation needed][37]
Jeff Dee on The Atheist Experience in 2009

In June 2019, Tracie Harris, Jen Peeples, John Iacoletti, and Phil Session left the show after a disagreement with the ACA's handling of a guest host who made a controversial video on trans women athletes.[64]

Notable guest appearances

[edit]

Occasionally, a notable scientist, scholar or activist is invited to take the role of co-host on the show; after an interview with the host, the guest participates in answering calls. These have included:

  • Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist podcast and video producer, former Christian radio show host (episode #22.25), guest appearance[2]
  • Ray Comfort, Evangelical Christian apologist (episode #702), live call-in[65][66]
  • Kathleen Johnson, vice-president of American Atheists and founder of the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (episode #647, 2010-03-07), guest appearance[65]
  • Mark Loewe, theoretical physicist (episode #393, 2005-04-24), guest appearance[65]
  • Jonathan McLatchie, doctoral student in cell biology, Apologetics Academy (episode #22.31, 2018-08-05), live call-in
  • Kyle Miller, pastor (episode #639, 2010-01-10), guest appearance[65]
  • Greg Paul, paleontologist (episode #708, 2011-05-08), guest appearance[65][67]
  • Aron Ra, vlogger[68] and Texas state director of the American Atheists (episodes #648, #668, #703, #875), live guest appearances[65][69]
  • Darrel Ray, organizational psychologist (episode #645, 2010-02-21; #686, 2010-12-05), guest appearances[65]
  • David Silverman, president of American Atheists (episode #701, 2011-03-20), live call-in[65][70]
  • Matt Slick, Evangelical Christian apologist (episode #593 broadcast February 22, 2009), live call-in[65]
  • David Smalley of podcast Dogma Debate and the American Atheists (episode #753, 2012-03-18), guest appearance[65][71]
  • Victor J. Stenger, particle physicist (episode #499, 2007-05-06), guest appearance[65][72][73]
  • Mandisa Thomas, the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers Inc (episode #22.38, September 23, 2018), guest appearance[74]
  • Noah Lugeons, host and creator of Scathing Atheists podcast (episode 23:02)

Awards

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Atheist Experience Technical FAQ". www.atheist-experience.com. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Dillahunty, Matt; Andrews, Seth (June 24, 2018). "Atheist Experience 22.25 with Matt Dillahunty and Seth Andrews" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 22.25. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "History of the ACA". ACA website. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Zamecki, Joe; Osborne, Mary Sue; Rhoades, Don (October 19, 1997). "Atheist Experience #1: Here we are; Coming out as atheists" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 1. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "History of The Atheist Experience". ACA website. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Online Media in 2005". ACA website. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "The Atheist Experience YouTube Channel Analytics and Report". www.noxinfluencer.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "TheAtheistExperience compared to statsheep YouTube channels". Statsheep. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "TheAtheistExperience YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics". Socialblade. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  10. ^ "The Atheist Experience". YouTube. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Matt Dillahunty (February 7, 2016). "Atheist Experience Tech Episode". The Atheist Experience. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Atheist Experience Studio and Freethought Library Tour". The Atheist Experience. October 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "TALK HEATHEN – We're kind of a big deal..." TALK HEATHEN. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Russell Glasser & Tracie Harris (July 1, 2015). "Atheist Experience – Live From Oklahoma City". American Atheists. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  15. ^ "Secular Sexuality Live Show". ACA website. Atheist Community of Austin. December 13, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Matt Dillahunty (July 1, 2015). "Matt Dillahunty – Rethinking Debates (2014 National Convention)". American Atheists. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Meredith Bennett-Smith (January 8, 2013). "'Atheist Experience' TV Host Shocked By Caller's Statement About Child Rape (VIDEO)". Huffpost. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  18. ^ Pierren, Ashley; Glasser, Keryn (May 14, 2006). "Why Are You Atheists Anti-Christian? (The Atheist Experience 448)" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 448. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b David Robertson (March 11, 2014). "Should Christians be nice in dealing with nasty atheists?". Christian Today. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  20. ^ Understanding Peer Reviewed, Benedictine University, Retrieved 2012-06-02 Archived May 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Atheist Skeptic and Freethought Podcasts". Holy Koolaid. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Daniel d'Addario (August 9, 2014). "I spent a day watching AtheistTV – and it was horrifying". Salon. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  23. ^ Matt Dillahunty (May 10, 2010). "How to mismanage a call on live TV..." The Atheist Experience blog. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Glasser, Russell; Dee, Jeff (August 28, 2005). "Crazy Caller #24 – Y'all Is Da Devil – The Atheist Experience 411" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 411. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  25. ^ Dillahunty, Matt; Peeples, Jen (July 22, 2012). "Matt Dillahunty vs. Crazy, Yelling Catholic – The Atheist Experience 771" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 771. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  26. ^ Aleem Maqbool (August 4, 2014). "The stigma of being an atheist in the US". BBC News. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  27. ^ Harris, Tracie; Murphy, Eric (April 15, 2018). "Questions About Atheism | Ben & Elijah – Colorado Springs, CO | Atheist Experience 22.15" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 22.15. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  28. ^ Nikshych, Yuriy (2015). So You're an Atheist. Now What?. New York: Algora Publishing. pp. 87–88. ISBN 9781628941104. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  29. ^ Martin, Graham; Super, David (January 1, 2007). "Judicial Deference to Administrative Agencies and its Limits". Faculty Scholarship.
  30. ^ "Home". The Cross Examiner. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  31. ^ UMBC's Orthodox Christian Fellowship Chapter (November 17, 2010). "The Source of Human Morality Debate PART 1/9". YouTube. University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b "Saving believers: Former Christian finds calling to preach the good news of atheism". Austin American-Statesman. Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010.
  33. ^ "Profile of Matt Dillahunty". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  34. ^ Matt Dillahunty (August 11, 2013). "Matt Dillahunty: Reflections on a "'lifetime' as ACA President". The Atheist Experience. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 17, 2019. : 7:35 
  35. ^ Rachel Carrell (October 24, 2011). "New group helps students understand atheism". University Star. Texas State University. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  36. ^ Rana McDonald (February 14, 2012). "WTAMU Lecture to Debate Christian and Atheist Doctrines". West Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  37. ^ "Matt Dillahunty Steps Down as Host". October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  38. ^ Jump up to: a b ""Freethunk – Atheist Eve"". Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  39. ^ "Profile of Don Baker". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b Matt Dillahunty, Don Baker (January 2008). "ACA Board of Directors" (PDF). Austin Atheist. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  41. ^ Olivo, Benjamin (March 9, 2007). "Leatherface to rev up ChimaeraCon action", San Antonio Express-News, p. H16.
  42. ^ Jebens, Harley (September 21, 1995). "Game central". Austin American-Statesman. p. 38.
  43. ^ "Master of Orion (1993 Video Game) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  44. ^ "Profile of Jeff Dee". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  45. ^ "Profile of Keryn Glasser". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  46. ^ "Keryn Glasser". IMDb. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b "Profile of Russell Glasser". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  48. ^ Russell Glasser, personal profile
  49. ^ Russell Glasser (August 13, 2017). "Quick check-in on my life". Kazim's Korner. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  50. ^ Mike Rosen-Molina (December 17, 2008). "Public-Access TV Fights for Relevance in the YouTube Age". PBS MediaShift. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  51. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "The 2013–2014 ACA board members". ACA website. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
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  53. ^ "People: Ashley Perrien". The Atheist Experience. Atheist Community of Austin. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  54. ^ "Hepcats by Martin Wagner". Comic Genesis.
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  57. ^ Dillahunty, Matt; Iacoletti, John (March 24, 2013). "Atheist Experience #806 with Matt Dillahunty and John Iacoletti" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 806. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 14, 2019. : 1:00 
  58. ^ "Profile of John Iacoletti". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
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  60. ^ "Profile of Jen Peeples". The Atheist Experience. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  61. ^ "She later earned a commission and spent 9 years on active duty, first as a Field Artillery officer, then as an Aviation officer." "Jen Peeples: Convenient Lies about Don't Ask Don't Tell | the Atheist Experience on Blip". Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  62. ^ Atheist Experience (September 18, 2011). "Atheist Experience #727: Defunding Planned Parenthood". YouTube. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  63. ^ Dillahunty, Matt; Session, Phil (June 26, 2016). "Atheist Experience 20.25 with Matt Dillahunty and Phil Session" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 4, 2019. : 2:28 
  64. ^ Kevin Logan (July 19, 2019). "Speaking with Tracie Harris, Jen Peeples & Clare Wuellner about the split within the ACA". YouTube. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
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  67. ^ "The Atheist Experience #708 of May 8, 2011, with Russell Glasser and Don Baker. Topic: "Greg Paul and Atheist Civil Rights." Russell and Don talk with sociologist/evolutionist Greg Paul about atheist civil rights and healthy societies.", YouTube [2]
  68. ^ "AronRa – 1st appearance on the Atheist Experience, ep #648 [..] 2nd appearance on the Atheist Experience, ep #668 [..] 3rd appearance on the Atheist Experience, ep #703" [3]
  69. ^ The Atheist Experience TV Show #648: Interview with AronRa, Host: Matt Dillahunty, Guest: AronRa, YouTube Celebrity, 2010-03-14 "Atheist Experience #648: Interview with AronRa | the Atheist Experience on Blip". Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  70. ^ "Atheist Experience #701 20 Mar 11", YouTube
  71. ^ ""Dogma Debate with David Smalley"". Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  72. ^ "Vic explains the scientific case against God's existence". YouTube.
  73. ^ "Oct, 29 Thu Austin TX, 6:30 pm, Threadgill's Old Number One (Longhorn room), 6416 North Lamar, Austin, TX. Atheist Community of Austin. http://www.atheist-community.org/. Don Rhoades. The Atheist Experience. Interview with Don Baker. On web." [4]
  74. ^ Dillahunty, Matt; Thomas, Mandisa (September 23, 2018). "Atheist Experience 22.38 with Matt Dillahunty and Mandisa Thomas" (webcast). The Atheist Experience. Episode 22.38. Atheist Community of Austin. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
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  79. ^ "Best of Austin 2010: Best Public-Access TV Show: 'The Atheist Experience'". The Austin Chronicle. September 3, 2010.
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