Video of Michigan Talk

The Freethought Association of Michigan has put a video of the talk I gave to their group on January 24 of 2007 at the Women's City Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can download it by going to the Freethought Association Past Events page dedicated to this event (Richard Carrier on January 24, 2007, "Sense and Goodness Without God") and right-clicking the link there to download the mp4 video (

Penn & Teller's Magic Bullet

I just got back from vacation and have one great story to tell. Everything went well, my sister's wedding, my talk in Vegas, our trip to Hoover Dam, and so on. But most unexpected was my appearance on stage during the Penn & Teller show as a participant in their famous "Magic Bullet" trick. I'll tell you all about that in a bit.However, I must pause on another oddity. Though it never touched us,

Atheist Blogroll

I have joined the Atheist Blogroll, which is like a webring where you can locate authentic blogs maintained by atheists the world over. From now on you can find the scrolling alphabetical list of blogs (with a link to the list homesite), down my blog's right margin, under the label "Other Godless Blogs," just beneath my subject index. But I'll also put it here so you can jump right into the pool

History Before 1950

All too frequently I run into hacks inordinately fond of quoting obsolete historical scholarship, sometimes a hundred or more years old. I take them to task, for instance, in my summary critical review of the woefully unreliable work of Kersey Graves in my article Kersey Graves and The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors (2003), whose infamous book is a fine example of how (with a few exceptions)

Appearing in Las Vegas

General Notice:Yes, my blog has been quiet and I haven't been answering email. That's because I'm hell bent on completing my degree this Summer. So I'm working double overtime on nothing else. Things are going to stay that way for a while. I'll be pausing briefly in May to see my sister's wedding and relax and de-stress for a week. But since I'll be in Vegas for that anyway, I've been invited to

AC Interview

Christopher Ray interviewed me for Associated Content. See "An Exclusive Interview With Richard Carrier" ( March 20, 2007). It's fairly brief, but I talk more about my Coast Guard experience than I have anywhere else, and about some other things that don't usually come up, so fans might be keen to read it. In addition, for those who are curious, the only projects I'm currently on (and very busy

Bloglet Las Jesus

Just a quick update on three unrelated bits of news:1. Yes, I know all about the "Lost Tomb of Jesus" fiasco. And yes, it's bogus. Its advocates have not only made factual errors and crucial omissions fatal to their case, but their statistical model is completely wrong. I'm writing a critique of their claims for print publication, so I'll announce that here when it's published. But to make a long