<p>Our guest is Dr. Jerry Jaffe, a Toledo native and professional stand up comic who has written a book titled &quot;Religious Satire in the Era of New Atheism&quot; He will introduce you to some of the ideas and examples from his research. Focused on the context of the post-9/11 American culture phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the New Atheism – as embodied by public intellectuals such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins – Dr, Jaffe documents the rise of comedic satire in relation to evangelical beliefs and religious dogma. Drawing on the author’s own experience of stand-up performance, he examines the comedy of figures such as Mark Maron, Bill Maher, and Ricky Gervais and presents material from interviews with comedians including Lewis Black, John Fugelsang, and Leigh Ann Lord.</p><p>We also discuss the tarnishing of New Atheism because several members turned out to be problematic individuals with some holding transphobic views and others being accused of islamophobia.</p><p>Dr. Jaffe discusses islamophobia in comedy and how it is better to &#39;punch up&#39; rather than &#39;punch down&#39;. He also argues that many comics in the US don&#39;t satire Islam because comedy works when it is relatable to the audience. He also explains it is better to make fun of the powers that be in a religion rather than the adherents.</p><p>01:00 Origin of a comedian</p><p>14:00 Personal favorite part of the book</p><p>19:38 The fall of New Atheism</p><p>31:16 Why don&#39;t we make fun of Islam?</p><p>41:28 Future writing plans</p><p><a href="https://glasscityhumanist.show/2026/god-laughs-and-hypocrites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>Full show notes &amp; links used</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://glasscityhumanist.show/email2u" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>Subscribe to our free newsletter</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://bit.ly/glasscityshop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>Check out our Merch</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://humanistswle.org/donations/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>Donate to our Podcast fund</strong></a></p>