HNN #30: Greg Graffin of Bad Religion

In this month’s audio podcast we speak to Greg Graffin, Ph.D., lead singer of the punk rock band Bad Religion and professor of life sciences at UCLA. This weekend at Harvard, Graffin received the lifetime achievement award in cultural humanism, given by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University.

Segment 1: AHA Adopts HNN podcast

Announcement: Starting this episode, the Humanist Network News audio podcast is now the official podcast of the American Humanist Association. The program will now be promoted to the more than 10,000 members of the AHA.

End: 3:09

Segment 2: Punk Rock, Biology, and Humanism

Song: “New Dark Ages” by Bad Religion. Album: Maps of Hell. Epitaph Records.

Interview: Harvard Sophomore Dan Robinson, president of the Harvard Secular Society, speaks with Greg Graffin, lead singer of Bad Religion. The punk rock philosopher explains the origins of the name Bad Religion and his role as a biology professor. As musician and biology professor, Graffin says he aims to entertain. Graffin also talks about his humanistic worldview, which he describes as naturalism.

Song: “Atheist Peace,” by Bad Religion. Album: Empire Strikes First, Epitaph Records.

End: 34:48

Segment 2: Paradise is Now?

Listener Caller: A listener caller asks HNN co-hosts Jes and Duncan what their thoughts are on the concept of Paradise Now.

End: 39:11

Segment 3: I Ain’t Afraid

Interview: Jes and Duncan reach into the HNN podcast vault to bring back an October 2006 interview with folk singer Holly Near, who wrote and performed the HNN podcast theme song, “I Ain’t Afraid.” Near is a human rights activist whose music carries a humanist message.

End: 49:55

Links:

Bad Religion Official SiteEpitaph RecordsAmerican Humanist AssociationHumanist Chaplaincy at Harvard |Cambridge ForumHarvard Secular SocietyHollyNear.com