John Fuglesang is a comedian, actor, Sirius XM host, and author of Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds.In 2012, John performed in the Coexist Comedy tour. In 2015, he hosted the PBS documentary Dream On about the many faces of the American Dream, and he’s the longtime host of Sirius XM’s interview show Tell Me Everything.
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Susie Essman - The God of Comedy/Armin Shimerman - Humor, Humanity, and the Unknown
Susie Essman is best known as the foul-mouthed Susie Greene on HBO’s CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. For 12 seasons her character berated her show biz manager husband, played by Jeff Garlin, and his client, played by Larry David, in expletive-laden tirades that remain masterclasses in verbally-castrating vulgarity. Actor Armin Shimerman is best known as the iconic Ferengi alien Quark on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. But it was a love of classical drama that led him to a career in theatre and, eventually, earned him a place in the science-fiction pantheon.
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David French: Faith That Fears Less, Loves More
David French is a New York Times columnist, who has called himself a “Reagan conservative,” a “pro-life classical liberal”, and an independent. In 2020, David published Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. For The Times, David often writes about “friendship, marriage, parenting” and “the evangelical church". In 2024, the fundamentalist wing of the Presbyterian Church, where David and his family had worshipped for 15 years, cancelled him from appearing on a panel at the Church’s General Assembly to discuss “how to be supportive of your pastor and church leaders in a polarized political year.”
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Ken Burns: Faith in the American Story
Scott talks with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, whose sweeping storytelling has turned history into something deeply human. From "The Civil War" to "Baseball", "Jazz", and "The U.S. and the Holocaust", his work has shaped how we see not just what happened, but who we are. Raised in a family that valued both curiosity and conscience, Ken describes himself as a spiritual deist. He believes there’s meaning woven into the story, even if we’re still editing the final cut. Ken's films ask quiet but profound questions: What does it mean to be an American, and what stories do we tell to prove it?
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Valarie Kaur - Holy Sass, Fully Sikh
Scott talks with author Valarie Kaur, about her book "See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love", her activism, and some historical perspective on the Sikh faith.Valarie’s activism was sparked after the murder of a Sikh family friend in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. She began to document hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans, out of which came her award-winning 2008 documentary film, Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath.
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Host Scott Carter, an award-winning executive producer and writer, known for his work on Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, explores codes of religious, cultural and secular conduct. Among Carter's diverse celebrity guests are Martin Short, Bob Costas, Ken Burns, Patricia Heaton, Killer Mike, Sam Harris, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Larry Wilmore, Moon Zappa, Rainn Wilson, Yvonne Orji, Rabbi Steve Leder and Tim Gunn.