We Dissent
We Dissent is a monthly podcast by three secular women, who also happen to be powerhouse attorneys at major secular organizations in the U.S. Join us as we discuss developments affecting the separation of church and state in the US Supreme Court and lower federal courts. We’ll also explore other advocacy work we do to help atheists and other nonreligious people outside the courtroom. We know there are so many atheist podcasts and legal podcasts and you have a lot to choose from, but we hope you’ll join us, the only legal podcast for atheists and agnostics hosted completely by women lawyers. We can’t wait to start these conversations.
Episodes
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca interview Sarah Posner, author and interviewer. They discuss the evolution of the Christian right, debate how to talk about Christian Nationalism, and break down the sky high stakes of this year’s election.
Show Notes
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Sarah’s ...
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca dig into Project 2025, the comprehensive transition project for the next conservative administration. They explain the project and illustrate the throughlines of its policy agenda— Christian nationalist ideology and the obliteration of the separation of church and state.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca speak with Wisconsin State Senator Kelda Roys. They discuss what it’s like to be a nonreligious lawmaker in today’s legislative world as well as the threat of Christian Nationalism to our secular democracy and civil rights like reproductive freedom.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca break down the 2024 Supreme Court term. They explain how the Court decided the two cases affecting abortion access, then they explain several other decisions of the Court that massively disrupt how the government functions and shift even more power away from the people.
Cases and Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by reproductive rights expert, political strategist, and advocate Maya Rupert. They discuss how the fight for reproductive justice is being waged post-Dobbs and why the personal has never been more political.
Background
Not two years after overturning Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court is considering a case that threatens to take the abortion pill, mifepristone, off the market. Alison, Liz, and Rebecca explain how the anti-abortion activist lawsuit started, how it got to the Court, and what we learned from the recent oral arguments.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome guest Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee and lead organizer of BJC’s Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. They discuss the urgent threat that Christian nationalist ideology poses to American democracy, how nonreligious and religious Americans alike can fight back, and Amanda explains the strong historical tradition of supporting state/church se...
Join Rebecca, Alison and Liz for a journey through the history and principles behind the U.S. exempting churches from taxation! We discuss the practice of tax exemption for charitable organizations, including churches, the major cases about the constitutionality of these ideas, and abuses of the Johnson Amendment.
Background
It’s that wonderful time of year when Alison guides Rebecca and Liz through the upcoming legislative sessions in states across the country. We discuss upsetting trends in state legislation and bills we’re monitoring that affect the separation of church and state and threaten true religious liberty for everyone.
Background and Resources
Liz and Rebecca answer your burning questions on religious liberty issues and more! This episode, we reach into the mailbag and take on topics from YOU, our loyal listeners.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca interview Anaya Gayle—lawyer, ex-Mormon, and former BYU assistant dean. They discuss the power and influence the church wields and life for LGBTQ+ students at BYU, as Anaya shares her experience inside the insular LDS community.
Background
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More abou...
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Professor Marci Hamilton, legal icon and leading expert on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and extreme religious liberty. Professor Hamilton explains the origin story of RFRA, how it has led us to the emerging theocracy we face, and what Americans can do to reclaim true religious liberty before it’s too late.
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca go back to school! They discuss the latest wild and crazy state/church violations in public schools reported to their organizations, the postscript on the Coach Kennedy case, and the alarming move by Oklahoma to create the first religious public school.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca take a deep dive into Texas for a case study in theocratic government. They discuss recent Christian nationalist legislation advancing in the state, the takeover of state institutions by conservative Christian legal groups, and the many state/church battles their organizations have fought in Texas.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca discuss a better vision for religious liberty with Liz Reiner Platt, director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project, a law and policy think tank based at Columbia Law School. They talk about using religious exemptions to promote progressive social causes and issues, including the legal fight for a right to abortion based on freedom of conscience.
Read more
The Supreme Court continues to mess up civil rights for everyone. In this episode Rebecca and Liz discuss the two opinions handed down by the Supreme Court at the end of June, Groff v. DeJoy and 303 Creative v. Elenis. They recap the case, summarize the rulings, and discuss implications of the decisions.
Background
Alison, Rebecca, and Liz discuss the pending Post Office case—Groff v. DeJoy—another high-stakes case in which the Supreme Court considers how much hardship a business must bear to accommodate the religious practices of employees. They explain how the case threatens to disrupt decades of case law interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and what the oral arguments may have signaled about the potential outcome.
<...Rebecca, Liz, and Alison discuss the state of state/church separation with Professor Caroline Corbin, constitutional law professor at the University of Miami. They review the history of Establishment Clause jurisprudence, remind listeners about what the Supreme Court did to the religion clauses in 2022, and discuss where we stand now in regards to rights under the First Amendment. TLDR: If you’re a Christian, rest assu...
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Katie O’Connor, Deputy Chief Counsel at Demand Justice, to discuss court reform. Katie explains how the Supreme Court and federal courts have been broken, why it’s an existential threat to our secular democracy, and how we can fix it.
Background
Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome another guest to the pod—Sasha Buchert, senior attorney and director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project for Lambda Legal. Sasha guides us through a discussion of the history of transgender rights in the courts, the current legislative attacks on trans people we are seeing across the country, and the litigation to overturn anti-trans laws.
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