journalist and author
Author of The Age of American Unreason, Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism and, most recently, The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought; former writer of the "Spirited Atheist" column for the Washington Post and former program director of the Center for Inquiry-New York City, a rationalist think-tank
Is America More Religious than Ever? The Gallup Poll says more than 90 percent of Americans believe in some kind of God, but more and more don't identify with any particular denomination. Maybe that's why there's increasing tolerance of one group for another. Religion can be a unifying force in America. It can also be divisive, and the more isolated one religion becomes the less acceptable it is to the others. How do "outsider" or "fringe" groups affect other religions? And how does religion relate to politics, gender, race and even geography?
Is America More Religious than Ever? The Gallup Poll says more than 90 percent of Americans believe in some kind of God, but more and more don't identify with any particular denomination. Maybe that's why there's increasing tolerance of one group for another. Religion can be a unifying force in America. It can also be divisive, and the more isolated one religion becomes the less acceptable it is to the others. How do "outsider" or "fringe" groups affect other religions? And how does religion relate to politics, gender, race and even geography?
The Academics of Textbooks Get Political School boards often toil outside the spotlight, but that has not been case recently for the Texas State Board of Education . Almost half of the elected group are conservative Christians, who, along with the rest of their colleagues take an active role in determining the contents of textbooks used in schools across the state and, by extension, many of the books that end up in schools across the country. How much control should elected officials have over what’s taught in class? Is this breaking down the barrier between Church and State? What part should scientists, historians, and other experts play in the debate over curriculum? Do public schools too often ignore the role of religion in American history?
Questions for the President? President Barack Obama made political theater last week when he fielded questions from Republicans. Politics watchers on both sides of the aisle loved the sparkling Q&A, and now a coalition of Democrats and Republicans is demanding he repeat the process , in regular debates akin to Britain’s Questions for the Prime Minister . But the White House says no. Why? Could more direct dialogue help Obama get his message out? Could it benefit the republic?
A small legal victory for Trump, but questions remain Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit gets thrown out but not to worry, two others are filed.
Voter Suppression, Climate Change and the President As America prepares to vote again, a question remains from 2016: are the Russians still “meddling” with US elections? Meantime, are Republican election officials in Georgia and Kansas suppressing the vote to serve their own interests? Those updates and the latest on climate change: President Trump says, maybe it’s not a hoax after all.
Rebecca Traister and the Power of Women’s Anger One of America’s leading feminist writers says women have changed history since Ancient Greece. And, she says, they’ll do it again. The backlash to President Trump was just the beginning. Record numbers of women are running for congress, state governorships and local offices. She tells Warren about her latest book,“Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.”