The Shadow of God: An Atheist Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Shadow of God: An Atheist Podcast

James Preston

Religion & Spirituality

Frequency: 1 episode/4d. Total Eps: 21

A podcast devoted to long-form content exploring the nature of religion, life and the universe from an atheistic perspective.

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Data updated on 01/08/2026

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Ep #20: "The God Delusion": A Review (Part 2: Chapters 5-10)

Episode 21

Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 02:40:39

A thorough chapter-by-chapter critique of Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" in celebration of the 20th anniversary of its first publication. Chapters: 0:00 "Introduction" 0:22 Chapter 5: The Roots of Religion 37:30 Chapter 6: The Roots of Morality: Why Are We Good? 1:06:42 Chapter 7: The 'Good Book' and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist 1:34:35 Chapter 8: What's Wrong With Religion? Why Be So Hostile? 2:03:05 Chapter 9: Childhood, Abuse and the Escape from Religion 2:26:21 Chapter 10: A Much Needed Gap? 2:33:12 Conclusion: The Legacy of 'The God Delusion'

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Ep #19: "The God Delusion": A Review (Part 1: Chapters 1-4)

Episode 20

Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 02:05:18

A thorough chapter-by-chapter critique of Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" in celebration of the 20th anniversary of its first publication. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction: My Recollections of "The God Delusion" 7:30 Richard Dawkins: The Man 12:42 Chapter 1: A Deeply Religious Non-Believer 23:49 Chapter 2: The God Hypothesis 1:08:03 Chapter 3: Arguments for God's Existence 1:37:42 Chapter 4: Why There Almost Certainly is No God

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Ep #18: Religion and the Management of Human Emotions

Episode 19

Thursday, June 11, 2026 • Duration 02:21:17

A discussion of the importance of emotions in a religious context, and the various ways in which religious institutions seek to manage the emotions of believers. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction: The Importance of Emotion in Religion 6:36 Recap of the Key Features of Emotions 10:11 Stephen Asma's Theory of the Religious Management of Emotions 25:19 Why Do Religions Manage Our Emotions? 29:22 Religious Concepts and the Management of Emotions 37:39 The Motivational Force of Emotions in Religion 49:48 The Strategic Value of Negative Emotions in Religion 1:07:03 The Strategic Value of Positive Emotions in Mormonism 1:26:10 The Strategic Value of Positive Emotions in Daoism 1:51:29 The Social Costs of Emotional Management in Religion 2:12:15 The Individual Costs of Emotional Management in Religion 2:20:37 Conclusion

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Ep #17: How to Think About Emotions

Episode 18

Thursday, June 11, 2026 • Duration 01:30:33

A philosophical and psychological exploration of the nature of human emotions. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:51 The Difference Between Emotions and Moods 11:47 Emotions Are Not (Just) Feelings 22:34 Misleading Conceptual Metaphors About Emotions 34:40 Emotions Are Not (Necessarily) Irrational 46:23 Emotions Are Not Distinct From Ideas 1:01:31 Emotions Are Not Private, Subjective States 1:27:24 Conclusion: The 3 Key Features of Emotions

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Ep #16: Why God Doesn't Matter (Part 3: Truth)

Episode 17

Thursday, June 11, 2026 • Duration 02:05:22

Explores and critiques various philosophical and theological ideas which insist that God is in some way integral to "truth". Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 3:53 God as the Foundation of Truth 21:14 God as the Source of Truth 36:08 Ipseity, Subjectivity and Truth 56:40 Omnisubjectivity 1:03:48 Alvin Plantinga's Evolutionary Debunking Argument 1:21:01 The Problem of Disagreement 1:30:32 The Problem of Religious Disagreement 1:40:22 John Hick's "The Real" 1:54:31 The Blind Leading the Blind? 2:04:17 Conclusion

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Ep #15: The 8 Kinds of Theodicy (and Why They Fail)

Episode 16

Thursday, June 11, 2026 • Duration 01:54:42

Looks at some general types of responses that theists have made to the problem of evil, and their various deficiencies as explanations for the existence of Evil. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:59 The Logical Problem of Evil 17:27 The Evidential Problem of Evil 21:26 Is the Problem of Evil Really a Big Problem? 36:10 1. "It's Our Fault" Theodicies 45:51 2. "Big Picture" Theodicies 53:24 3. Character / Soul-Building Theodicies 1:11:10 4. "Relationship Building" Theodicies 1:16:03 5. Skeptical Theism 1:26:05 6. Evil Agent Theodicies 1:31:42 7. "Everything Will Be Okay" Theodicies 1:42:51 8. Denialist Theodicies 1:52:30 Conclusion

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Ep #14: An Introduction to the Cognitive Science of Religion

Episode 15

Sunday, May 10, 2026 • Duration 02:01:47

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction: The Universality of Religious Beliefs 8:31 Case Study: Buddhism and Christianity 16:06 Can "Truth" Explain the Universality of Religious Beliefs? 22:30 Can "Culture" Explain the Universality of Religious Beliefs? 31:59 The Basics of Cognitive Science 38:37 The 6 Foundations of the Cognitive Science of Religion 41:52 1. The Epidemiology of Representations 56:41 2. The Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) 1:03:08 3. Animism and Anthropomorphism 1:15:44 4. Ritual Representations 1:32:15 5. Minimally Counter-Intuitive Ideas 1:49:41 6. Modes of Religiosity 2:00:50 Conclusion

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Ep #13: Why Religious Explanations are Bad Explanations

Episode 14

Monday, May 4, 2026 • Duration 02:12:23

Discusses the features which an explanation must possess to be a "good" explanation, and whether or not religious explanations - whether or not they might be said to be "true" - could ever be counted as good explanations.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction: What makes a good explanation?

5:37 Is It Fair to Judge Religious Explanations Against Scientific Ones?

13:09 Dawes' Six Features of Good Explanations

15:36 1. Testability

38:13 2. Compatibility With Background Knowledge

47:48 3. Past Explanatory Success

55:39 4. Simplicity

1:31:47 5. Ontological Economy

1:46:10 6. Informativeness

2:10:53 Conclusion

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Ep #12: What New Religious Movements Can Teach Us About the Origins of World Religions

Episode 13

Monday, May 4, 2026 • Duration 03:17:38

Explores the various sociological dynamics that are involved in the creation of "New Religious Movements" in the contemporary world, and what this might be able to teach us about the origins of the world's major religious traditions. Chapters:

0:00 Introduction: What Are NRMs?

3:49 What Studying NRMs can Teach us About the Origins of the World Religions

17:05 Why We Can't Trust Religious Traditions about Their Own Origins

29:25 Becker's 4 Types of Religion

33:00 Sectarian NRMs

46:43 Cultic NRMs

57:43 The Origins of Judaism

1:06:15 The Origins of Buddhism

1:22:42 The Origins of Christianity

1:30:02 The Origins of Islam

1:36:36 The Origins of the Chinese Religions

1:44:50 Why New Religions Emerge: The Erosion of Legitimacy

2:01:22 Charismatic Authority in NRMs

2:27:10 Charismatic Authority in the Origins of the World Religions

2:53:52 Why New Religions Perish or Survive: The Transfer of Authority

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Ep #11: King Josiah and the Violent Origins of Monotheism

Episode 12

Monday, May 4, 2026 • Duration 01:09:24

Explores the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BCE) and the violent policies he enacted to spur the development of monotheism.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Josiah

6:42 The Reliability of Our Sources

12:45 Who Was King Josiah?

19:03 The "Discovery" of Sacred Scripture

27:12 The Religious "Reforms" of Josiah

39:26 The Babylonian Exile

46:46 Josiah's Post-Exilic Legacy

1:04:15 Conclusion: Monotheism and Violence

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The Shadow of God: An Atheist Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Shadow of God: An Atheist Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify