Governing Ourselves: A Libertarian Atheist Podcast

Yep, this is the last episode for this podcast.  Thanks for listening!  In this episode, we reflected on our podcast; we took a look at where we were two-and-a-half years ago at the beginning of our podcast and where we are now, as well as our hopes for the future; and we listed our top three books and films that we covered.  Plus our usual Media Moment.

For our second-to-last episode, we have a returning guest: Rob with the Free State Project.  We discuss heroes; how to communicate better with people; what ways we can get into media and entertainment; and more about liberty and freedom in New Hampshire.

As we're nearing the end of our podcast, this is one of the topics that Adam most wanted to cover.  Adam's reasons are different from Lisa's, and in our own ways we're both are happier without a belief in God.

As we're coming closer to the end of our podcast, one of the final topics Lisa wanted to cover is helping atheists and even Christians overcome their fear of Hell.  The main source she used is the book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife by Bart Ehrman.

This week we discuss the rise of capitalism and how it benefits the average person, while also recognizing some of its flaws and where it could use some improvement.

We're wrapping up our entire podcast soon, and we want our last few episodes to cover topics that we feel the strongest about right now.  This week we covered "democratic socialism" and how it measures up to historical and modern ideas of communism and socialism.

This week in our catch-up segment, Adam explained how the conversation with his parents went when he told them that his wife also left the LDS church.  Then for our main topic, Adam discussed the legalities required to start a food truck business while Lisa discussed some of the ins and outs of actually running the business.

This week we review films that revolve around cults: "Jesus Camp", "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief", "The Master", "The Village", "Marjoe", and a couple of films about Jonestown.

Continuing with last episode's theme, we read and discussed a book by cult expert Steven Hassan, and we couldn't help but compare it to our experience in the LDS church.

This month Adam has been thinking a lot about the LDS church, and he realized he has some lingering programming from his years in the church.  So we chat about all of that.

This week we're catching up on what's happened so far in January: Trump's leaked phone call with Georgia, his Save America March and the protest/riot that happened at the capitol building, and theories that antifa infiltrated the protest.

For our last episode of 2020, we spend time just free-talking.  We talk about the LDS religion and how Adam's wife and her family are handling leaving the religion; how Lisa will start officially homeschooling her kids in 2021; and how the political climate looks as the election drama and Trump's presidency come to a close.  Happy New Year!

After a long break, we have a lot to catch up on: the lockdowns' effects on teenagers; Adam's wife left the LDS church; Lisa visited New Hampshire; Trump and the election; libertarians who don't vote on principle; blondes and redheads; spoilers for "The Good Place"; and Adam's gaming podcast.

We're taking a break from recording until the election, and we wanted to pause on a high note.  This week we covered the musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", which talks about the libertarian concepts of whether or not prostitution should be illegal, who gets to decide what individual cities do, and the supply and demand of sexual services.

This week, after a while of catching up with each other, we covered the cerebral film "The Sunset Limited", starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.  We discuss the film's coverage of arguments for Christianity, of nihilism, and of whether or not life has meaning.

This week we delve into why Ricky Gervais's film "The Invention of Lying" is on multiple best-atheist-films lists—from ideas of an afterlife and what Heaven is like, to the character of God and his role in people's life.  And, of course, lying vs. honesty.

This week we review "Dallas Buyers Club" which is based on a true story about a man who has AIDS and has to smuggle in the medication he needs to keep himself and other AIDS patients alive.  Many libertarian themes throughout the film; it was great!

This week Adam and Lisa share their tips for homeschooling—what Lisa learned from homeschooling her children last year, and Adam's decade-long experience as a high school teacher.  We hope these tips will help and encourage those who are doing the mandated "schooling from home", and those who may be considering officially homeschooling their children.

As promised, we've revisited our "I Side With" quiz and took it again, now that the presidential candidates have been finalized and we're closer to the election.  Adam compares where he agrees with Trump and with Biden, and we see where our thoughts and opinions have changed over the past year.

This week, we have a guest who moved three years ago from California to New Hampshire to be part of the Free State Project.  He shares with us what the movement is all about, what life in New Hampshire is like, sources you can go to for more information on the project, and tips for getting involved in the culture.