Free Thinking Contributors

Democratic Discourse with Michael De Dora

Washington, D.C.

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Michael De Dora is director of CFI's Office of Policy and the organization's representative to the U.N. Michael has an M.A. in political theory from Brooklyn College, and a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communication from the University at Albany. He also blogs at: www.themoralperspective.com

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The Morning Heresy with Paul Fidalgo

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Paul Fidalgo is communications director of the Center for Inquiry, and previously led communications for the Secular Coalition for America and FairVote: the Center for Voting and Democracy. He holds a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University, where his master’s thesis was on atheists in American politics. Paul is also an actor and musician whose work includes five years performing with the American Shakespeare Center. He lives in Maine with his wife Jessica and kids Toby and Phoebe. His personal blog is Near-Earth Object.

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Advocatus Diaboli with Tom Flynn

Buffalo, NY

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Tom Flynn is executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism and editor of its flagship magazine, Free Inquiry. He was a founding coeditor of the newsletter Secular Humanist Bulletin and a founder of the First Amendment Task Force, now a project of the Center for Inquiry. He designed and directs the Council's museum at the Dresden, N.Y., birthplace of 19th century agnostic orator Robert Green Ingersoll. He is also vice president for media at the Center for Inquiry and director of its audio-visual production arm, Inquiry Media Productions. He has written or edited four books; most recently he edited The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Prometheus, 2007) with a foreword by Richard Dawkins.

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No Faith Value with Ronald A. Lindsay

Amherst, NY

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Ronald A. Lindsay is president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Georgetown University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has been described both as a lawyer masquerading as a philosopher and as a philosopher pretending to be a lawyer. Both statements may be true. One undisputed fact: He is the author of Future Bioethics: Overcoming Taboos, Myths, and Dogmas (2008).

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Investigative Briefs with Joe Nickell

Amherst, NY

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Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and "Investigative Files" Columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1998), Pen, Ink and Evidence (2003), Unsolved History (2005) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC's Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.

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The Bible Geek with Robert M. Price

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Born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1954, Robert Price moved to New Jersey in 1965. At Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary he took an MTS degree in New Testament (1978), then, at Drew University, a PhD in Systematic Theology (1981) and a second PhD in New Testament (1993). He has served as Professor of Religion at Mount Olive College, North Carolina, pastor of First Baptist Church, Montclair, NJ, and Director of the Metro NY Center for Inquiry. He founded and edited the Journal of Higher Criticism and has authored scores of articles on the Bible and religion. His books include Beyond Born Again, The Widow Traditions in Luke-Acts, Deconstructing Jesus, The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, The Da Vinci Fraud, The Reason-Driven Life, The Pre-Nicene New Testament, Jesus Is Dead, and The Paperback Apocalypse. Price is a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. He serves as Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies at Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary and Professor of Biblical Criticism for the Center for Inquiry Institute in Amherst, NY. He and his wife Carol and daughters Victoria and Veronica live in Selma, NC.

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A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford

Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Benjamin Radford is a scientific paranormal investigator, a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, and author or co-author of six books and over a thousand articles on skepticism, critical thinking, and science literacy. His newest book is The Martians Have Landed: A History of Media Panics and Hoaxes. Radford is also a columnist for Discovery News and LiveScience.com.

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Hollywood Reality Check with Jim Underdown

Hollywood, CA

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James Underdown has been Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles since 1999. He is also the Founder and Chair of the Independent Investigations Group, a team of inquirers who look into paranormal, pseudo-scientific, and extraordinary claims. He is also the creator of the Steve Allen Theater at CFI-L.A. Jim has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows including Hannity and Colmes, Penn and Teller's Bullshit, History's Mysteries, Proof Positive, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. He is a regular Skeptical Sunday guest on the SETI Institute's Are We Alone? radio show/podcast. His many pre-CFI endeavors include writing and directing short films (A Day in the Life of Frank Sinatra, The Test, Dear Father), and directing his stage play, Party of 13, a secular re-telling of the Last Supper. Jim also toured midwest comedy clubs as the Poet Laureate of Calumet City, IL.

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It’s Only Natural with John Shook

Amherst, NY

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John Shook is Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry Transnational in Amherst, N.Y., and Research Associate in Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, since 2006. He has authored and edited more than a dozen books, is a co-editor of three philosophy journals, and travels for lectures and debates across the United States and around the world.

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Freethought from the Heartland with Reba Boyd Wooden

Indianapolis, IN

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Reba Boyd Wooden is Executive Director of Center for Inquiry Indiana. She started Humanist Friendship Group of Central Indiana in 1999 which became Center for Inquiry Community of Indiana in 2005. On April 1, 2007, Center for Inquiry Indiana opened on the Indianapolis downtown canal walk at 350 Canal Walk, Suite A. Reba has a BA from University of Indianapolis with a major in Social Studies Education and a minor in Business Education, an MS from Butler University in History/Education, and an MS in Counseling and Counselor Education from Indiana University. She retired after 37 years in public education in 2005. She spent her last 13 years as a high school guidance counselor and the previous years in the classroom. She has two children and five grandchildren. She has officially hiked 7,000+ miles with Indianapolis Hiking Club.

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Guest Contributors

Lauren Becker

Amherst, NY

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Lauren Becker, Director of Marketing at the Center for Inquiry, is a science and nature interpreter who has taught at museums, parks, and planetariums around the country. Known for her commentaries on Point of Inquiry, the Center for Inquiry’s radio-show style podcast, she is an experienced environmental activist and advocate for science literacy and education.

Kendrick Frazier

Albuquerque, NM

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Kendrick Frazier is editor of the Skeptical Inquirer and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is editor of several anthologies, including Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience.

Debbie Goddard

Buffalo, NY

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Debbie Goddard is the outreach director at the Center for Inquiry and the director of African Americans for Humanism. Before working for CFI, she participated in local freethought groups in the greater Philadelphia region and helped organize and support campus groups internationally as a volunteer. She has also been involved with LGBTQ issues and progressive activism.

Sarah Kaiser

Buffalo, NY

Sarah Kaiser is a campus organizer for CFI On Campus. Before working at CFI, she got her start in the freethought movement as the co-founder and president of the Secular Alliance at Indiana University, where she helped organize a nationally recognized atheist bus ad campaign and large campus speaking events. As an atheist, a feminist, and a small part of the universe’s way of understanding itself, she is thrilled at the chance to help advance CFI’s mission. On Twitter: @sarahebkaiser.

Julia Lavarnway

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Julia Lavarnway is the managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer and the “News and Views” columnist for Free Inquiry's quarterly newsletter, Secular Humanist Bulletin. She is the founder of We Are SkeptiXX, a blog dedicated to supporting women in the skeptics movement.

Edward Tabash

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Edward Tabash is a constitutional lawyer in the Los Angeles area. He serves on the boards of the Center for Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism and chairs the Council’s First Amendment Task Force. He has represented the Center and the Council in amicus briefs, in church/state separation cases, and before the California and United States Supreme Courts.