There's trouble in Lumpkin County, with a capital T that rhymes with P and that stands for Prayer! At least fifty students and four teachers at Lumpkin County High School (north of Atlanta) ditched class for SIX HOURS to participate in an impromptu prayer rally that started when one student questioning his faith sought counseling from the weight coach. No one will be disciplined over this incident, and many in the community are outspoken in their support of the students and what they see as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. For more info watch this and this.

Also: A report from the recent protest of the National Day of Prayer rally in Roswell, GA. And an ad on Craigslist for a godless yard sale has tongues wagging.

Finally, another Baseball Bat of Doubt!

We interview Susan Gerbic, coordinator of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, an international team of writers and editors whose goal is to ensure that skeptical topics on Wikipedia are fair, accurate, and have the level of detail they deserve. Those interested in participating should befriend Susan on Facebook.

Plus:

Herbert and Catherine Schaible have been on probation for the last two years for relying on prayer rather than medical care, resulting in the death of their young son from pneumonia in 2009. Now they're back in court after another son--this one an 8-month-old--died in agony from diarrhea. At home. While his parents prayed. Amazingly, the worst these callous nutjobs could get is 10 years in prison.

In sports-related news, basketball pro Jason Collins becomes the first active player in the four major American sports leagues to come out of the closet. Most applaud his historic action, but a few have voiced (inevitably religiously-based) criticism. And Tim Tebow might be painting Bible verses on his cheeks and kneeling dramatically from the sidelines next season--the Jets have let him go.

Finally, the Baseball Bat of Doubt swings into action once again.

We interview Dr. Frans de Waal, world-renowned primatologist and author of The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the Primates (available in hardcover and for Kindle). In this new book, he looks at the pre-human basis for morality, how human beings do not hold a monopoly on morals, and takes the "New Atheists" to task for being "insulting" to religious folk. For more about Dr. de Waal, visit the Living Links website.

Plus:

A North Carolina legislator has proposed a resolution stating that the First Amendment applies only to the US Congress and rejects any federal court ruling that insists otherwise. Theoretically the state would be claiming the power to pass a law declaring an official state religion. What year is this?

An appeals court has tossed out American Atheists' lawsuit to prevent the National September 11 Memorial and Museum from displaying a piece of rubble from the WTC that resembles a Christian cross.

The Baseball Bat of Doubt! In this installment of our new recurring segment, another listener from Finland shares what led him to reject religion and embrace science and reason.

We interview Dr. Volkan Topalli, co-author (with Dr. Thomas Brezina and Mindy Bernhardt) of the new research paper "With God on my side: The paradoxical relationship between religious belief and criminality among hardcore street offenders," just published in the February 2013 issue of the journal Theoretical Criminology. Volkan, an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University, isn't just some tweed-wearing ivory tower intellectual--he's a dedicated researcher who visits some of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in cities like Atlanta, New Orleans and Saint Louis, interviewing career drug-dealers and car-jackers to find out what makes them tick. For a detailed account of the gritty work this guy does, check out this profile from Creative Loafing.

Plus:

As the Supreme Court tackles gay marriage, we look at two interesting developments in the struggle for LGBTQ rights. First, there's Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who revealed how he reversed course on gay marriage when his son came out. Second, Green Street United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina announces it won't perform any marriages--period--until their denomination changes its policy of discrimination against homosexuals.

The Baseball Bat of Doubt! In this installment of our new recurring segment, a listener from Finland reveals what led her to reject religion and embrace science and reason.

We interview Chip Walter, author of Last Ape Standing: The Seven Million Year Story of How and Why We Survived, an excellent new summation of the best current understanding of human evolution. It's available in hardcover and for Kindle. For more about Chip and his work, visit ChipWalter.com and AllThingsHuman.net.

Plus:

Oddsmakers are taking bets on who the new Pope will be (although after we recorded this the Cardinals inconveniently chose Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has taken the name Pope Francis).

A Christian school in California fired a pregnant woman for breaking the school code by fornicating--then offered the job her fiance (the man who got her pregnant)!

Muslim rioters in Pakistan burned 100 homes over rumors that a Christian garbageman made disparaging remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. Luckily, President Asif Zardari is "asking religious leaders for suggestions on how to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law." Problem solved.

The Baseball Bat of Doubt - By popular demand, we introduce a new, recurring segment in which listeners share the moment in which, for them, the cognitive dissonance of superstition was knocked aside by science, reason or logic.

And a reminder:  Derek Colanduno of Skepticality, Blake Smith of Monster Talk, and John Snider of American Freethought will do a special presentation for the Atlanta Skeptics. It’s a fundraiser for the upcoming Atlanta Skepticamp. For more info visit meetup.com/atlantaskeptics.

We interview Troy Boyle, president of the new National Atheist Party. For more about the NAP visit USANAP.org.

Plus: Pat Robertson is at it again. This time he's warning against the dangers of possessed pre-owned sweaters. And finally, check out the new hardcover edition of the Skeptic's Annotated Bible. It's a bug-crushing 1,632 pages, containing the full King James Bible with detailed skeptical commentary from author Steve Wells.  As always, the SAB is available online at SkepticsAnnotatedBible.com.

And a reminder:  Derek Colanduno of Skepticality, Blake Smith of Monster Talk, and John Snider of American Freethought will do a special presentation for the Atlanta Skeptics. It’s a fundraiser for the upcoming Atlanta Skepticamp. For more info visit meetup.com/atlantaskeptics.

We interview Dan Riley, author of Generation Atheist, which profiles the experiences of 25 young up-and-comers in the  atheist community. It's available in paperback or for Kindle). For more information visit GenerationAtheistBook.com.

Meanwhile...Russia gets smacked by a meteor, and the Pope announces he's retiring. The Pope! Retiring!

And a reminder:  On March 16th, Derek Colanduno of Skepticality, Blake Smith of Monster Talk, and John Snider of American Freethought will do a special presentation for the Atlanta Skeptics. It’s a fundraiser for the upcoming Atlanta Skepticamp. For more info visit meetup.com/atlantaskeptics.

We interview Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist podcast and author of the new memoir Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason (available in paperback or for Kindle).

Plus: Boy Scouts of America might go gay, and a Catholic hospital wins a lawsuit by arguing that a fetus is not a person.

Announcements:

John Snider will join Derek Colanduno of the Skepticality podcast and Blake Smith of the Monster Talk podcast for a special three-in-one "live" podcast discussion for the Atlanta Skeptics.  This is also the fundraiser for the upcoming Atlanta Skepticamp, so your participation is triply welcome. Mark your calendars for March 16th.

We interview Carlos Diaz, the new president of Atheist Alliance International. Carlos talks about the latest developments with AAI, including the Atheist Census initiative.

Plus: President Obama picks a more liberal minister to deliver the benediction at his second inaugural.

Distant Early Warning: John Snider will join Derek Colanduno of the Skepticalitypodcast and Blake Smith of the Monster Talk podcast for a special three-in-one "live" podcast discussion for the Atlanta Skeptics.  This is also the fundraiser for the upcoming Atlanta Skepticamp, so your participation is triply welcome. Mark your calendars for March 16th.

Bonus: At the end of the show we include the song "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" by Scotsman Rossco Galloway. He's just moved to Sweden from Edinburgh, but you can check out his music at ReverbNation.com/RosscoGalloway.