Posted on 23 February 2010
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Blair Scott is the Affiliate Director for American Atheists, an organization founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O’Hair to fight for separation
of Church and State and equal rights for Atheists in the US. He is also the Alabama State Director for American Atheists. Blair’s activism in the Freethought movement is not limited to his work with AA. He is also the Press Relations Director of the North Alabama Freethought Association, and has been a prominent figure in Alabama Freethought circles since he founded the organization in 2002. He uses the internet extremely effectively as a promotion tool, through social media such as facebook, twitter and myspace, as well as through his own website, alabamaatheist.org. Blair has been one of the most vocal Atheist activists in America and is widely recognized for his work in promoting Atheist and Freethought causes both online and off.
This interview covers everything from Blair’s early brush with religion and his experiences as an atheist in the US navy, to his current work in Atheist activism and his multi-dimensional approach towards promoting freethought. Blair Scott’s experience in Atheist PR makes him a valuable source of information for our quest to promote Freethought in India.
Nirmukta Radio is a production of Nirmukta.com. The host is Ajita Kamal and the music is Te Laudant by Cryptocrat
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Posted on 07 February 2010
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Very few people are exceptionally well-read on any one subject, and fewer still are masters of more than one area of expertise. Only the most versatile of people extend themselves any farther than that. Dr. Prabhakar Kamath is one such man.
Dr. Kamath has been writing a series of articles here on Nirmukta, on the evolution of religious thought in ancient India. His training as a psychiatrist and his
years of research on the history of India have given him much insight into the nature of the Indian mindset. Dr. Kamath is also well versed in the Bhagavad Gita. What is unique in the way Dr. Kamath reads the Gita, however, is that he reads it side by side with the known historical accounts of the subcontinent. This has given him a unique perspective, apparent in his articles here.
In this interview, we shine the light on another aspect of Dr. Kamath’s life’s work - his activism. After years of practicing psychiatry in the United States, Dr. Kamath moved back to India and through a series of events ended up founding and leading the modern consumer rights movement, the first of its kind in the country. This interview gives us a peek into the life of this great man, in the hope that some of his ideas and principles will influence us in our quest to promote freethought and rational thinking in India.
At the end of a lengthy recording session, Dr. Kamath still had much to say. We have decided that he will come on the show again to talk a bit more about his activism. Future interviews are also planned to discuss Dr. Kamath’s insights into Brahmanism and Indian history.
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Posted on 21 September 2009
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Few people have done more for popularizing the modern skepticism movement than Dr. Steven Novella. Once a week as host of the very popular Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast, this unassuming academic clinical neurologist at the Yale University School of Medicine has tens of thousands of enthusiastic skeptics, rationalists and science aficionados hanging on his every word. Dr. Novella, together with his team of ‘Rogues’, tackle recent events in the news and cut through the B.S. to present a science-based view of things. The podcast has been a great resource for me personally, guiding me through the muddle of the mainstream news coverage on important scientific questions and providing me with the tools to think logically and within the bounds of reason.
I had the chance to interview Dr. Novella at the North East Conference on Science and Skepticism, held in New York City on September the 12th. He had just finished a live taping of the SGU podcast and was so kind as to allow me the pleasure of interviewing him despite my cutting into his schedule. He spoke about skepticism, science and medicine with characteristic clarity of approach.
Here are a few links to Dr. Steven Novella’s skeptical work.
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe Podcast : Find RSS feeds to the SGU podcast and the 5×5 podcast.
The podcast is produced by the New England Skeptical Society, of which Dr. Novella is the president. Dr. Novella also writes at the Science-based Medicine blog, Neurologica, The Rogues Gallery (along with co-hosts of the SGU podcast) and Skepticblog (along with other leaders of the skepticism movement).
Nirmukta Radio is produced by nirmukta.com. Technical production is by Salvatore Barra. The music is Te Laudant by Cryptocrat.
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Posted on 26 December 2008
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Professor Daniel C. Dennett hardly needs an introduction. He is heralded as one of the leading figures in the coming-out-into-the-mainstream of atheists and non-religious folk in recent years. Along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, Dennett’s books have become hugely popular in the secularism movement around the world.
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of Church and State and equal rights for Atheists in the US. He is also the Alabama State Director for American Atheists. Blair’s activism in the Freethought movement is not limited to his work with AA. He is also the Press Relations Director of the North Alabama Freethought Association, and has been a prominent figure in Alabama Freethought circles since he founded the organization in 2002. He uses the internet extremely effectively as a promotion tool, through social media such as facebook, twitter and myspace, as well as through his own website, alabamaatheist.org. Blair has been one of the most vocal Atheist activists in America and is widely recognized for his work in promoting Atheist and Freethought causes both online and off.
