Not Everyone Believes, Ross Douthat

This podcast examines, page by page, the ideas proposed by Christian writer Ross Douthat in his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.

In his book, Ross Douthat claims that religious belief in general, and Christian belief specifically, is the rational choice. Do his arguments hold up to scrutiny?

Why make this podcast? Well, not everyone believes. We want to know why Ross Douthat thinks that’s so terrible, and why he’s using his power as a member of the media elite to try to get everybody in America to believe the same thing.

Clifford Cook 10/21/26 Clifford Cook 10/21/26

Ross Douthat Won't Face Facts Of Faith Healing And Near Death Experiences

In chapter 3 of his book Believe, Ross Douthat completely ignores the deadly consequences of faith healing, and doesn't bring up studies that find that only a tiny minority of people bring up even the most banal reports of lights or sounds in near death experiences in non-biased research.

Clifford Cook 10/20/26 Clifford Cook 10/20/26

Sloppy Writing Isn’t Rational, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat’s book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious is full of factual errors and dishonest partial quotes that break trust with intelligent readers. Ross Douthat couldn’t even get the year of his favorite Catholic miracle right, and didn’t do research into a well-known electrical problem that provides a rational, materialist explanation for smoking bicycle lights.

Clifford Cook 10/19/26 Clifford Cook 10/19/26

Questioning Religious Authority Isn't Embarrassing, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat argues that scientists and atheists are to blame when religious people discover that what Christian preachers tell them isn’t true. Douthat is angry at skeptics embarrass people by pointing out the crazy lies of religion. Why isn’t he angry at the religious lies?

Clifford Cook 10/18/26 Clifford Cook 10/18/26

Repaired Radios That Play Music Are Not Proof Of God, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat and Michael Shermer alike are completely unable to provide any reason to believe that dead people can turn on radios to communicate with living people. Douthat once again cannot justify his belief in religion.

Clifford Cook 10/16/26 Clifford Cook 10/16/26

The Foreskin Of Jesus Isn’t Magic, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat's church has preached about miracles performed by the head of St. John the Baptist, and the foreskin of Jesus, which is miraculously supposed to be held as a holy relic by 31 different Christian churches.