Music
Long-running Atheist radio show replaced with non-stop Christmas music
by Jeremy Mersereau
November 17, 2016
Bad Santa.
An atheist radio show based in – yep, you guessed it, Madison, Wisconsin, one of about 3 possible locations for an atheist radio broadcast in the continental U.S. – has been taken off the air in favour of nonstop Christian worship music. Praise His name! OK, OK, it’s actually a 24-hour Christmas music station, but the point still technically stands.
“Freethought Radio,” a decade-old radio program for nonbelievers hosted by husband-and-wife team Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, was unceremoniously yanked from the Madison airwaves in favour of round-the-clock Yule magic. To add a perhaps tenuous insult to injury: the abrupt switch happened the day after the U.S. election. Yep, I think a leftist, atheist radio show getting axed in favour of a unending loop of Christmas music the day after Trump is elected actually qualifies as real-life pathetic fallacy.
“We’re excited to spread cheer throughout the community with popular holiday music on WXXM,” said the president of iHeartMedia Madison, Keith Bratel, in an extremely measured statement about the 180-degree format change.
Gaylor and Barker won’t be silenced permanently, however, the switch only applies to the Madison market. Freethought Radio will still be on the air in multiple other cities, including some in Alberta. I’m sure an atheist radio show in Alberta maintains a robust listener base, perhaps even numbering in the dozens!
[H/T The News & Observer]
