(The following is a transcript of a broadcast by John Mill, the radio persona of Ronald Bruce Meyer. “This Week In Freethought” airs on the American Heathen® internet radio show, Saturdays 8:00pm-11:00pm ET on ShocknetRadio.com. Air date of this particular segment: 3/31/12) Here’s your Week in Freethought History: This is more than just a calendar […]

When my aunt found out I am a liberal, she said, “Isn’t that just disgusting?” To her credit, she is no religion-soaked, right-wing crazy. And her son, my cousin, who shares the day of my birth, grew up normal and has a beautiful, American-style family. Me? Although I’m completely faithful to the woman in my […]

(The following is a transcript of a broadcast by John Mill, the radio persona of Ronald Bruce Meyer. “This Week In Freethought” airs on the American Heathen® internet radio show, Saturdays 8:00pm-11:00pm ET on ShocknetRadio.com. Air date of this particular segment: 3/24/12) Here’s your Week in Freethought History: This is more than just a calendar […]

Cesare Beccaria (1738) It was on this date, March 15, 1738, the famous Italian legal reformer Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria-Bonesana, was born in Milan. He opposed the death penalty and believed education would reduce crime – a belief borne out in practice so frequently to this day that only a Christian Dominionist would dispute it. […]

It was on this date, March 9, 1951, that writer and editor Michael Kinsley was born. Over his career he has been editor of The New Republic, columnist for the Washington Post and co-host of the CNN program “Crossfire.” In a 2007 article called “God Is Their Running Mate,” Kinsley observed, “These days presidential candidates […]

It was on this date, March 8, 1841, that The Great Dissenter on the US Supreme Court, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr was born. His distinction as The Great Dissenter arose from many legal dissents issued on the Supreme Court that nevertheless were incorporated into common law. Holmes once wrote (in dissent): “the best test of […]

It was on this date, March 7, 322 BCE, that Greek philosopher and student of Plato, Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs), died in Euboea. Born on an uncertain date in 384 BCE in Stageira, Aristotle studied with Plato until the older philosopher’s death in 347 BCE, when Aristotle may have been 37. Although a student of Plato, […]

It was on this date, March 7, 1849, that American botanist and horticulturist Luther Burbank was born (1849). Although benefiting from only an elementary school education, at age 21 he used his inheritance to buy a plot of land and developed the first of more than 800 strains and varieties of plants throughout his 55-year […]

It was on this date, March 6, 1927, that Latin-American journalist, novelist and short story writer Gabriel García Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia. Although brought up culturally as a Roman Catholic, Márquez once said, “If God hadn’t rested on Sunday, He would have had time to finish the world.” And it is clear that […]

It was on this date, March 6, 1475, that Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo was born. Early on, his talent was recognized and he was employed by many famous clerics and political families, most notably the Medici’s, Pope Julius II (dramatized in the 1965 film, The Agony and the Ecstasy), and Pope Leo […]