Lauren Anderson Youngblood, Secular Coalition

On March 23, the day before the Reason Rally, hundreds of atheists converged on Capitol Hill as part of the Secular Coalition for America’s lobby day.  Joining us with a follow-up report on that momentous event will be Lauren Anderson Youngblood, Communications Manager of the Secular Coalition.  She'll also tell us about the Secular Coalition's plans for the upcoming year, and share her insight about the Coalition's new executive director, Edwina Rogers -- a seasoned Republican lobbyist.

Co-hosting is Al Stefanelli, the Georgia State Director of American Atheists (a member of the Secular Coalition) and prolific author.  Al's latest book is Free Thoughts - A Collection Of Essays By An American Atheist, a collection of 60 of Al's most-requested magazine, newspaper and Internet articles.  We'll talk with Al about his new book and today's social-political issues.

Lauren joined the Secular Coalition in 2011, bringing with her several years experience in journalism, marketing writing and web editing. A New York native, Lauren studied Journalism and Political Science at Howard University, and Middle Eastern history at Tel Aviv University in Israel. As a journalist her work has appeared in various publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Congressional Quarterly.

Al began writing in 1985, starting with the New York Times. In 1993 he joined a McClatchy newspaper, writing a weekly column for ten years. His writing continues to be widely distributed on the Internet and in print. Al is a former Southern Baptist Pastor and today is a popular atheist activist.