I'm very pleased to announce that I'm going to be on Ring of Fire Radio this weekend, discussing my recent AlterNet article on creationism with Mike Papantonio. (Some of you may remember Papantonio as the voice of reason in Jesus Camp. They also used to be part of Air America, and it's good to see they've forged ahead on their own.)

There's a list of local stations that carry Ring of Fire. There's also a downloadable podcast, though it's not free, I'm afraid. I believe it's also available through the iTunes store.

If you do catch the interview, let me know what you think! I'm not the best at extemporaneous speaking, I have to admit - I prefer to have my speeches prepared in advance. But I'm thrilled for the opportunity, and this ought to be a lot of fun.

Last night, I made my debut as a speaker for the Secular Student Alliance, appearing before the atheist student group at Columbia University to discuss the history of church-state separation. It was a short talk, about 20 minutes with Q&A, which suited me just fine for my first foray into public speaking. But I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and I'm hoping there will be more and longer engagements in the future. My thanks again to everyone at Secular Columbia for inviting me.

I've posted the video below. It's my first time, so be gentle!

Don't forget that this Thursday evening, I'll be speaking in New York City at Columbia University. If you live in the area, come out and see me make my debut as a speaker for the Secular Student Alliance!

LOCATION: New York City, NY, Columbia University, Alfred J. Lerner Hall (street entrance near Broadway & 115th Street), Room 503
DATE: April 28, 2011, 6:00 PM
TOPIC: Separation of Church and State: A Very Short Overview
SPONSOR: Secular Columbia
DURATION: 20-30 minutes, with Q&A afterwards
COST: Free

Columbia students and non-students are both welcome to attend. However, if you're not a Columbia student, please comment or e-mail me so I know in advance that you're coming. Non-students will have to be signed into the building, and we need to know how many attendees to expect so we can make sure no one gets left outside. Hope to see you there!

Last month, I announced that I've officially joined the speakers' bureau of the Secular Student Alliance. This month, I'm very proud to announce that I've wrangled my first speaking invitation - and in my home city and at my alma mater, no less. If you live in New York City, come out and see me make my debut!

LOCATION: New York City, NY, Columbia University, Alfred J. Lerner Hall (street entrance near Broadway & 115th Street), Room 503
DATE: April 28, 2011, 6:00 PM
TOPIC: Separation of Church and State: A Very Short Overview
SPONSOR: Secular Columbia
DURATION: 20-30 minutes, with Q&A afterwards
COST: Free

Columbia students and non-students are both welcome to attend. However, if you're not a Columbia student, please comment here or e-mail me so I know in advance that you're coming. Non-students will have to be signed into the building, and we need to know how many attendees to expect so we can make sure no one gets left outside. Hope to see you there!

As most of you probably know, I've been writing for Daylight Atheism for quite some time now. But in all that time, save for a few exceptions, none of you out there in cyberspace have ever met me in person. Well, it's time for that to change.

As of today, I'm now on the speakers' bureau of the Secular Student Alliance, and I'm accepting speaking invitations from SSA affiliates and other freethought groups in the U.S. and Canada. (The SSA page still needs a little work, I know. You can also see my own speaking page, which has a list of topics, till that one's fully up and running.)

Other than reimbursement for travel expenses, I'm not charging for this - it's a privilege to offer my service to the growing secular community [EDIT: I live in New York City, if that's relevant to you and your budget]. So, if you like what you've read on Daylight Atheism or Ebon Musings, and if you represent a convention or a student group that's interested in seeing me speak, send me a message and let's talk!