The Family Skeptical – Details, episodes & analysis

We begin the episode talking about a change we made to the kids' screen time, and then we speak with Sarah Tulien, Executive Director of the Creator Accountability Network. 

I know there are a million places that need our support right now, but think about adding the Creator Accountability Network to your list. Even small donations make a huge difference to newer, growing organizations. CAN represents something we need to see more of in the world right now - efforts to take responsibility and repair harm instead of covering it up or sweeping it under the rug.

Here how to connect with CAN:

• The Creator Accountability Network 

• Follow CAN on Instagram 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (12) and Jaeger (9), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1 and 61.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

We start out talking about the kids experiencing their first religious service. Then we delve into Candace Owens' Erika Kirk conspiracies. And we finish up with the discussion about body size that has emerged around the stars of Wicked. How do we want to talk to the kids about body size? How do we think about it in the first place?

In the Candace Owens segment, we did a terrible job giving context around some of the people we brought up, so I included links for them.

And here they are:

• Candace Owens 

• Alisa Childers 

• Frank Turek 

• Mommastrong 

• The Burnt Toast Podcast 

• The Maintenance Phase Podcast 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (12) and Jaeger (9), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1 and 61.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

We start out talking about everything that has happened in the last few weeks. Then Pops gives an update on his evolving thoughts on guns. Moms talks about a time when her skepticism briefly abandoned her. And we finish up discussing how saying that secular parenting is "hard" might not be the best description. If you want to skip the discussion of We're Here, go to 46:48.

Now the links:

• Everytown for Gun Safety: "Research shows that having access to a firearm triples one's risk of death by suicide." 

• Alastair Lichten: A Humanist Dad 

• Nikki McClure 

• Ian's YouTube Channel 

• Ian vs Jordan Peterson 

• Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists (the whole video) 

• American Humanist Association: Fostering Healthy Masculinity In Our Kids 

• Our episode about how heaven falls short: Heaven for Climate? 

• We're Here 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (9), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

In our first conversation we learn that we might have very different feelings about the boys and guns. Then we discuss why the manosphere may have done a better job than other media at reaching young men. And we finish up talking about Netflix's Adolescence. If you want to skip the discussion of Thunderbolts, go to 24:30.

Now the links:

• Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas 

• Dear Old Dads Episode: Does Society Tell Boys They're Bad? 

• Queer Black Canon Podcast 

• The Speech Prof 

• Professor Neil 

• More Perfect Union 

• Adolescence 

• Alastair Lichten: A Humanist Dad 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (9!), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

We start by discussing the fact that Go feels like he's been stalked by Christianity. Then we try to define Christian Nationalism. And we finish talking about why we call ourselves atheists and are even talking about this topic.  

Now the links:

• Our Interview on Under the Influence: Raising Good Humans Without God: A Secular Parenting Survival Guide

• The Satanic Temple's Seven Tenets 

• Data / Dogma 

• God Makes Dog Breeds 

• God creating animals 

• The Tim & April Show from The New Evangelicals: Exposing the Christian Nationalist Network Fueling Trump 

• Our episode on How to Get Over a Fear of Hell 

• Humanists UK's article on What Kind of Atheist Are You that does a good job defining some of the terms we used. 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (9!), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

This is a short one. We discuss an issue at Go's school that made him feel singled out as a secular kid. And then we talk about how we'd both like to be more involved in our community, but we're tired. But maybe we won't be soon. I think this is the great myth of adulthood - that there will be some time when we're not exhausted and stretched thin. So you just have to do the things anyway.  

Now the links:

• The 5 Calls App 

• Chop Wood, Carry Water 

• The Save Act 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (8), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

***First things first, join Pops on CAN's first fundraiser! April 25th at 7pm ET. https://m.twitch.tv/dissonancepod/home ***

We start the episode talking about our Spring Break at Colonial Williamsburg. And then we hear a bit more from Alastair Lichten, a humanist activist and community organiser. He writes about political and social issues, parenting, family, relationships and life from the perspective of a progressive humanist parent, on his blog: A Humanist Dad. Alongside various voluntary roles, Alastair has led on education campaigns for the UK's National Secular Society, and local groups for Humanists UK, and in this discussion, I ask more about what he's learned about the effects of religious education. We finish up talking about two episodes of Dear Old Dads and how we feel about sleepovers and trusting other people with our kids. And the answer is…. I know this is going to be shocking… Complex.

Now the links:

• A Humanist Dad

• A Humanist Dad on Facebook 

• Search Engine's episode on AI: Playboi Farti and His AI Homework Machine 

• Dear Old Dads' episode: Who Can Fix the Men? 

• Dear Old Dads' episode: Sleepovers! 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (8), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

We begin the episode talking about a school project that inspired Go. And then we speak with Alastair Lichten, a humanist activist and community organiser. He writes about political and social issues, parenting, family, relationships and life from the perspective of a progressive humanist parent, on his blog: A Humanist Dad. Alongside various voluntary roles, Alastair has led on education campaigns for the UK's National Secular Society, and local groups for Humanists UK. The blog always makes me think about topics we could cover, and I love his advice at the end of the interview about not standing up to bullies alone. 

Now the links:

• A Humanist Dad 

• A Humanist Dad on Facebook 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (8), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.

We begin the episode talking about finding camps for the boys. And then we speak with Katie from Camp Quest about secular fostering. And we finish up with a discussion about the expectations we have for our relationships in honor of Valentine's Day.

Now the links:

• Katie talking about her background and family on the Queer Family Podcast 

• Camp Quest 

• Camp Quest Instagram 

• Our episode about resolutions: New Year's… Well Not Resolutions  

• Karlos Dillard 

• Karlos Dillard on Instagram

• Laura Foster Parent Partner on Instagram 

• Brittany Collins - Foster the Teens on Instagram (another amazing person talking about fostering) 

• The Burnt Toast: Why America is Scared of Single Women (I think this is the episode I reference? Why do I never write these down as I'm listening?) 

• Savage Love (I can't find the episode I referenced on the show.) 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (8), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe, leave a rating and tell a friend to check us out.

We begin the episode talking about the LA fires and our inability to cover current events. And then we speak with Katie about Camp Quest, a summer camp founded on the conviction that all kids deserve fun, friends, and freethought. Not only does Katie give great advice about knowing when kids are ready for sleepaway camp, but the whole mission and vibe of Camp Quest is a lesson in treating children with respect and care. It's a reminder of how much work and thought it takes to create amazing spaces for kids, but also the magic that can come out of that effort. 

Now the links:

• Camp Quest 

• Camp Quest Instagram 

• Katie talking about her background and family on the Queer Family Podcast 

• The Scathing Atheist 

• Thank God I'm an Atheist (also great for more current secular news)

• YMCA LA 

• Pasadena Humane Society 

• Atheists United 

• Starts With One Today 

• The Animal Rescue Mission 

• United Friends of the Children 

The Family Skeptical: We're a married atheist couple raising two wonderful, strange children. We ask big questions, dissect weird parenting moments, and examine how society ignores or misrepresents families like ours. If you're any stripe of non-believer who's involved in raising children, welcome! You are our people.

Our kids are Reader (11) and Go (8), and if you want to find out how we arrived at these peculiar pseudonyms, go back to Episode 1.

Please reach out to us at momsandpops@thefamilyskeptical.com and tell us everything we got wrong.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

See a list of our episodes here.

Follow us on Instagram @thefamilyskeptical for more weird stories that Moms can't figure out how to fit into episodes. 

The Family Skeptical Cover Photo is by Jesse Valvasori Photography 

Our theme music is by Jonathan Zalben and First Frame Music 

We were included on a list of the Top 70 Atheist Podcasts. Check it out to find other great creators.

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, subscribe and tell a friend to check us out.