Truth Wanted

Atheist Community of Austin

WHAT IS TRUTH WANTED? Truth Wanted is a show about getting to the bottom of beliefs, whether it’s karma or Christ, Bigfoot or crystals. Truth Wanted would like to know how you know it’s true. Hosted by ObjectivelyDan, Truth Wanted takes calls from...

  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.19 05-09-2025 with ObjectivelyDan and @kaysemelone
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, ObjectivelyDan and Kayse Melone jump into hell to find it does not exist. They then sort through ways of telling people they are wrong and the merits of an atheist evangelizing in a church. 

    Sven in WA has some questions about the value of the soul from a Christian point of view and god as an entity vs. a mind. How useful is it to believe in the concept of a soul? Sven also has a second question about the Pope’s belief in hell and the infernalist mindset causing religious trauma. How would things change if masses of people stopped believing in hell? There is plenty of suffering in the here and now; how can we focus on easing that suffering now?  

    Bob in MS wants to know how to tell someone wrong in a good way, a flip on our question of the week. Starting with common ground and using empathy will get you further than picking apart the logic. When we start with empathetic questions, we find similarities. Understanding how people get their truths matters, and if you can examine a claim together by asking how they got to the claim can be effective. These types of conversations are not encouraged in church environments. Giving people tools to help them realize where their ideas are coming from can help them liberate themselves from their false beliefs, even if it takes some time. Check yourself: What is the purpose of telling someone they are wrong?

    Billy Pilgrim in TX reminds us of how hard it is to get people to believe the truth when they want to believe in other things. People have an investment in these beliefs and oftentimes feel trapped. They may not have a concept of what it is like to be an atheist and do good things. What kind of bandwidth and time does it take to be a truth seeker? How would an atheist within a church provide a benefit?

    Thank you for tuning in this week! Kelley Laughlin, our backup host joins to close us out and deliver the We Want The Truth segment of the week: What is a bad way to tell someone that they are wrong? We will see you next time!

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    10 May 2025, 1:55 am
  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.18 05-02-2025 with ObjectivelyDan and Jim Barrows
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, ObjectivelyDan and Jim Barrows jump into social media to separate the art from the artist, and are careful not to be echo chambers as they float through space to trigger a speciation event.

    James in NY has some thoughts about how social media can help with deconstruction. The process of deconstruction is not just one time and happens repeatedly. Jim mentions some YouTube programs that not only help him but also are entertaining. This can also be helpful when it is hard to leave some things behind, Dan describes. What kinds of things can be difficult to accept as true?

    Bagel in Canada wants to talk about separating the art from the artist and presents an example of a musician who did something awful yet still produces a great song. How can you separate the revenue stream from the artist? The thing that makes a person a moral monster is not necessarily their art. Knowing everything about every celebrity ever can give us some problems to wrestle with. How can you tell when the actual art is the problem? What if the cameraman of a series that you love comes out as a Nazi? Even bad people say and do good things on occasion. We can rephrase this as separating the science from the scientist.

    Caleb in WY wants to figure out how to not be an echo chamber and take the proper approach to find what is true. Dan draws off his experience to explain how helpful it is to use five different news sources for every story you find. Information is misreported on all sides and you must take an active attempt at absorbing information. Jim will surf different sites in incognito mode so he is not recognized. This will help prevent the information being tailored to you. The same article will have different headlines depending on the audience.  The hosts share other helpful tips: Never share an article on social media that you have not read yourself, paid subscriptions will generally give you better quality information, and look for news sources that expose the blind spots on the right and left. 

    Dan in Canada has a thought about the commercialization of space travel and asks if people will have a speciation event. Jim confirms that when the environment changes, we will definitely see this take place, and Dan explains that evolution does not just stop. If you stay in space long enough, you can’t return because of how it affects the body. How do you think humans will change if we were to colonize Mars?

    Kelley Laughlin, joins us to close out the show. We want the truth of the week: Name something that people worry about too much. Jim reminds us that all hardware and software suck. People make mistakes. Thank you for joining us this week!

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    3 May 2025, 1:56 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.17 with ObjectivelyDan and @Allegedly-Ian
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Allegedly Ian, use words to interpret words as they are on troll alert. 

    John in Ca is a Biblical literalist that says we have mistranslated The Lord’s Prayer by using a different definition for the word, “bread”. Once he sees the Bible in a different light by replacing the word “God” with “food”, everything makes sense with evolutionary history. What process caused you to be convinced of this interpretation? How did the kangaroos get to Australia from the Middle East if Noah’s floo    d is true? How are the stories of Genesis allegorical from a literalist point of view? 

    Tweep in Canada wants to know how the word “objective” is being used and if it means 100% good when used as an adjective for good. There could be more than one value that has different worths under this umbrella. Knowing the rules of chess doesn't give you the ability to know what moves to make as an example. 

    Austin in the USA asks Ian how he thinks the earth was created. Ian describes how a solar nebula cooled and particles came together in bigger and bigger masses until the earth was formed and it is a fact that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. 

    Daisy in WA has observed atheists like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins that have gone far right and have hateful opinions of trans people. We can’t tell you the individual psychology, but we did notice a cultural trend around 2010 that may have its roots in rage baiting. It is sad to see that some atheist influencers were part of this. Right wing spaces will take in a lot of people, especially when they are fringe. When the food in your mouth depends on you believing the thing that you believe, it is hard to think about anything else. 

    Thank you for tuning in this week! Supposedly Eli joins us to close us out. We want the truth question of the week: What conspiracy theories do you think will arise in the future? The unexamined life is not worth living.

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    26 April 2025, 2:06 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.16 with ObjectivelyDan and Sara
    In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Objectively Dan and Sara, with Leaving Faith, work through calls of deconversion, original sin, and ancient alien origins. 

    Steve in NE has strong evidence that the planet K2 18b has life, and uses that as a reason to believe that there is a god that is technologically advanced. How does this potential life make it more likely that a technologically advanced god exists? Why does there have to be a creator involved? We can find patterns in almost anything, but that does not prove anything. Rearranging this to get to the conclusion that you started with is not a good way to find the truth. 

    Chris in MI asks Sara if there was a higher power, is it most likely a floofy cute loaf of banana or a floofy cute dog that barks at things. Sara says it is the dog! Fastest call ever!
    Roy in MA has some questions about how to approach some conversations. The first question is about where original sin and atonement are referenced in the Bible. Dan describes how the Old Testament’s narrative involves people being held accountable for the sins of the father but was more strongly mentioned by Paul. Sara agrees this is more of a New Testament thing and an idea of Paul. Dan then explains how the Bible is a collection of blog posts with Paul being one of the biggest bloggers. Roy then asks the hosts their opinions about whether we can be punished for not worshipping god. Sara reminds us how the Bible lacks clarity about salvation and is full of contradictions. 

    Chuck in CA tells us his deconversion story, and we are the first ones to hear it! During his teenage years he started to question things after some conversations with friends. When he arrived in college, he had his first philosophy class where he encountered several god arguments that he could not shake. After watching several years of the AXP, and a few classes, he considers himself a firm atheist. He taught his mother, who is a lifelong believer, yoga and meditation that seemed to help her have a higher quality of life. Remember, you are not responsible for everything that happens and to be kind to yourself. What would you tell someone that told this same story to you? We appreciate you sharing this with us for the first time! 

    Thank you for tuning in this week! Our backup host, Kelley Laughlin joins us to close out the show. We want the truth prompt: Aliens thought they would have an easy time on earth, but they did not anticipate______.

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    19 April 2025, 2:09 am
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.15 with Kelley Laughlin and @blitzphd
    12 April 2025, 2:06 am
  • 1 hour 33 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.14 with Jon the Skeptick and Amanda Bonanza
    In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Jon the Skeptick and Kelley Laughlin kick off the show before being joined by Amanda Bonanza who shows her amazing ability to offer wise guidance and questions to ponder to a bigoted caller.

    James in NY asks about having hope that mythical beings exist and the value of this hope when it can give us comfort with mortality. Why would believing in something like a dragon give us hope and what purpose would it serve? What happens when two people have opposing hopes? What would you need for something to be higher than you? When you die, the same thing will happen to you that was before you were born. If you make amazing memories and help people feel great about themselves, they will pass it on for you! Make it brilliant now!

    Jon in Canada thinks that trans women are putting cis women in danger by saying that men and women are the same. Amanda gives Jon a generous helping of questions that Jon seems to be unable to honestly answer. Who says that men and women are the same? The common misconception that trans women are men or that they are trans for sport, to be cool, or to gain access to feminine spaces is wildly wrong and factually incorrect. This is a prenatal condition where the body produces the wrong hormones that requires medicine where the person feels better. People confuse this with something that is aesthetic and often results in premature death. How is treating this condition putting women at risk? The approval rating for the treatments used for this transition is off the charts positive. Gender and biological sex are different things that sometimes overlap but not always. Jon then goes on to claim that this is all a fantasy. How do you know you are a man; do you need to check your genitals? If you are straight, can you one day decide to be gay and think that men are attractive? Do you choose to write with your right hand and how do you know you are right handed? It would take a lot of work to start doing things with your left hand and it would not feel natural, wouldn’t it? How many conversations have you had with trans people about this? You are incongruent with yourself, Jon. What happens when you take estrogen? If a cis woman does not look feminine enough, does that make her a man? If Mike Tyson transitioned and became a woman, would you be able to kick his ass because he is no longer a man?

    Gabe in MO is meeting his girlfriend’s parents soon and the father is a Lutheran pastor and wants some ideas on how to deal with it. How does your girlfriend feel about this and how often will you be seeing them? Sometimes it is best to keep the peace; you don;t have to agree but diplomacy comes into play and can go a long way. 

    Thank you for joining us! We want the truth question: If atheists are not in fox holes, where are they?

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    5 April 2025, 2:25 am
  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.13 03-28-2025 with Kelley Laughlin and @AlmostaDoctor1
    In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Almost a Doctor, shift through how to not lionize science and provide some insights on how to deal with science being under attack and then kindly addressing some fears of hell with a repeat caller.

    Jamie in TX is not a fan of lionizing science for science itself by saying “In Science We Trust”; science needs to be taught and funded properly in a manner that instills the scientific method. Slogans can make science into an entity or belief system. Science is a tool and a method, not a thing that people worship or religion. How do you think we should solve the problem of the media writing misinformation after improperly reading the data?

    Dee in IA finds it disturbing how science is under attack and compares it with how people were oppressed in the medieval times. It is about how you approach it to change the base framework of how people view the world because not everyone is going to respond the same way. Always be careful to not represent what the scientific method is. It is important to remember that science is not the enemy. What will the future bring for science when we have this social movement that is against it?

    Jon in Canada, has been thinking about his faith, and lately the fear of Hell has been on his mind. Which hell will it be and how do you know it is a real thing? People normally can’t just rid this fear overnight. It can take years to work with this. Many atheists used to be theists and struggled with this same thing. What part of this are you most fearful of? The idea of it being forever makes it worse, doesn't it? What if your version of hell is wrong or you chose to worship the wrong god? Do any of the hells have more evidence than the others?

    Thank you for joining us! Ely Slack, our back-up host, joins us to close out the show by leaving us some words of wisdom, “Be like a proton and stay positive.” We want the truth for this week: What is really causing the loneliness epidemic?

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    29 March 2025, 1:53 am
  • 1 hour 45 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.12 with Jon the Skeptick and Drew Bekius
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Jon the Skeptic and Drew Bekius take a dive into animal rights before realizing the dive was deep enough to encounter octopi of potential alien origins.

    Connor in UT would like to know the hosts’ opinions on animal rights being an extension of human rights. Jon mentions the struggle associated with soy allergies when going to a plant based diet. As Drew emphasizes the importance of this conversation, he describes the need to exercise mindfulness and gratefulness towards other beings on the planet. What is the best option for animal testing? How can the pain and harm be minimized?

    Dee in IA says that farmed animals in the future need to reside with local farmers where farm animals are bred for food. If dogs are bred for fighting, does that make it right? What does ethical farming mean and how do we explore these practices? Would it be cool for aliens to come down and have a human farm because we are so tasty? If an animal is bred for a certain purpose, what would make that purpose ethical? Though Industry and employment are important, they are not the right reasons to keep this in practice. 

    Jon in Canada saw a plate move all by itself after having a conversation about ghosts. What is your best explanation for this? How do you go about getting all the information before making the conclusion that it was caused by a ghost? Sometimes taking the position of not knowing is the way to go.

    John in OH says that he can prove there is no afterlife because the mind is a separate substance from the body and consciousness is a property of the brain that can be turned off. If the mind is a process of the brain that stops when the brain dies, why is this important to theists?

    Dan in Canada wonders if the awesomeness and weirdness of octopi indicates they might be from other planets. Are there other connections that go beyond this category? How would the disconnect be explained between the animal kingdom and Cephalopods if there are in fact disconnections? How convinced are you that the octopus is not of earth origin?

    Thank you for tuning in! Kelley Laughlin, our backup host, joins us to close out the show. Question of the week is: What says I am an asshole without saying I am an asshole?

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    22 March 2025, 2:39 am
  • 1 hour 24 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.11 with Kelley Laughlin and @planetpeterson2824_RX7
    In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Planet Peterson sit in grass circles left by saucers and use inductive reasoning to observe the double slit experiment as they quantify infinity. 

    Dan in Canada is curious about the Landenberg incident where a farmer had seen five saucer shaped objects in his field that left circles on the grass after they flew into the sky. This just seems too silly to be true. Is it possible this farmer wanted people to remember his name and made it up? It looks like he succeeded because there was a cool glowing coin made after the incident. How do people become experts in crop circles? Is it possible BigFoot had anything to do with this? Afterall, it was Saskatchewan!

    Ransom in WY wants to talk about the Double-slit experiment and how that can prove there is life outside of this universe as a conscious observer. Measurements collapse the wave function, not conscious observations. What people say about this and other pop science is not what you think it is. What happens when the majority of physicists have a different explanation and opinion than the one physicist that you want to believe? Understanding the data and how wave patterns are shown on a screen is key to drawing the correct interpretations on this. The Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser, Debunked is a good place to start to know more about this. 

    James in NY asks the hosts if infinity could ever be quantified. Even with every fundamental thing in the universe included as a counting device, we would not be able to do this. We know about infinite sets and how they are used in math, but they are not quantified. Zeno's Paradox shows the infinite regression of an arrow never reaching a target because it must first reach an infinite number of half way points. This illustrates how a finite set can represent an infinite series. 

    Lee in Canada has some thoughts about how the scientific method uses inductive reasoning to show the hypothesis is false. Science does not deal in absolutes, but it can prove that things are false. When you solve the mathematical proof, there is nothing else left. In the court of law, you are not proven innocent, you are proven not guilty. Religion does not explain anything or contribute to epistemology in any rational way and is almost the opposite of the scientific method to gain knowledge. 

    Thank you for joining us for this fascinating show! Scott Dickie, our back-up host joins us to close us out as musician Collin Yours gives us a live beautiful sounding folk show!  Prompt of the week is: Name a religious counterpart for a scientific claim. 

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    15 March 2025, 2:32 am
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.10 03-07-2025 with ObjectivelyDan and @blitzphd
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Objectivity Dan and Dr. Blitz, slow a star down to drive it towards another star to avoid the word salad bar in this universe that is still not fine tuned. 

    Steve in NE cites a paper The Spider Stellar Engine: a Fully Steerable Extraterrestrial Design? https://ress.at/news_uploads/2411.05038v1.pdf This describes a nearby star with some spectroscopic signals that show the star is decelerating where one explanation is extraterrestrial design. What other solutions could there be for this star slowing down? Who says these are artificially generated? Whenever there are claims with, “probably” we need to be careful. We need several pieces of data that point to the same thing. The discussion continues with a different claim of wreckage material that has a date older than our solar system. Why are you convinced these claims are true and why would you believe his own counter arguments to the criticisms? If you start with the conclusion, you will always find some stuff. Whether that stuff supports your conclusion is a different story. 

    Catholic Traditionalist (CT) wants to talk about ontological intelligibility where god is defined as an intelligent agent that has no beginning. We might have a basic understanding of how things work, but how do we get to god from that? What does it mean to understand things on a basic level? People perceive things without understanding them all the time. If we have this agreed upon definition of understanding what is around us, what next? Do properties exist on their own or are there features of minds interacting with things on the ontological status? CT fails at his attempt to put the hosts in a different world by comparing their perception to “other atheists”. If you claim to speak with hundreds of atheists online, why doesn’t your script cover nominalism? Your projection of word salad is hilarious and if you are going to use words like “ontological” you need to know what nominalism is. 

    Gregory in TN asks Dr. Blitz about the fine tuning argument that we get all the time and whether it is a non-starter or if we should try to take it apart. Dr. Blitz describes how this argument has at least two problems: 1. We must first know how the universe could have been and we can’t evaluate this probability. 2. From a theist’s point of view, the assumption must be made that not only god exists, but this god must want life to exist. How can we determine the likelihood of parameters if we don’t know the likelihood or the parameters? How fine tuned are god’s desires and why is his will so fine tuned?

    Thank you for tuning in this week! AJ, our backup host, joins us to close out the show. Prompt of the week is: Combine two conspiracy theories to make the ultimate conspiracy theory. 

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    8 March 2025, 2:51 am
  • 1 hour 38 minutes
    Truth Wanted 08.09 02-28-2025 with Jon the Skeptick and Kelley Laughlin
    In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Jon the Skeptic and Kelley Laughlin avoid discussing how to make a glove out of foreskins by working through some calls that need unraveling. 

    Gregory Peccary in TX blows the whistle on people who insist on giving airtime to well researched mysteries that are not commonly accepted yet continue to be exploited. Even when there is no evidence, people want things to be real, and it eats up tons of money. Why do you think Ouija Boards are still being sold? What kind of wacky inventions can you come up with to make people think we are communicating with the dead?

    When Bagel in Canada was a teenager, he experienced a 10 mile walk in the rain where he engaged in prayer that he thought was answered by god by manipulating the weather and summoning a ride. It was not until an atheist kid mentioned “if statistical anomalies did not happen, that fact would be a statistical anomaly itself” that Bagel realized it was all a crock. Why would god stop the rain and not help millions of starving children? Where are god’s priorities if this were true? What kind of terrible arguments did you used to believe that jump out at you now as silly?  

    Daen Dark in AR believes that divine sovereignty is our inseparable connection to the one true creator that has no real name. How do you demonstrate that this is creation without giving an example? Is the creator in your mind also in our minds? What are you doing that people are not doing to perceive this creator? Is this creator an energy or is it an actual being? If this is a working theory, it needs to be nailed down so you can demonstrate it to everyone. Think critically about what the real reason is for you to think and talk this way. Using poetic and artistic language may sound beautiful, but does not make something true. Many of us have come from the same place as you and have realized that using these ideas do not make things work. Start looking at the world as it is, and not the way you want it to be. 

    Jim in FL has gone from Greek Orthodox to Deism where a higher power is an energy that can’t be known by man and needs to bring people together. If this can’t be known by man, how can you perceive and define it? Why do you conclude that this energy is a higher power? If you make a claim, it is up to you to explain how you got there. We are trying to find out how you got to this belief, not engage in a debate. How do we know that any of this is not man made? It may be hard to know when you have exhausted all the variables. How can we come to the same conclusion as you with this concept of Deism being the only remaining explanation so that we can relate? 

    Dee in IA has some thoughts about the caller who chemically alters his brain with drugs, and wants to know how the “woo” helps us with trans rights and the law. Taking a drug that makes you think you saw god does not mean there is a god. 
    Stephen Harder, our back-up host joins us to help close out the show. Thank you for joining us and remember our question of the week is: What is something that you know, but wish you didn't? 

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    1 March 2025, 3:25 am
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