Host of Atheist Radio Show Says 'Bah, Humbug' to iHeartRadio Programming Change

The owners of a Madison, Wis., radio station replaced a show geared for atheists and agnostics with 24-7 Christmas music, according to The Washington Post.

iHeartRadio changed the format of WXXM (92.1 FM) to round-the-clock Christmas music, meaning the show, "Freethought," no longer had a home there.

"The station actually changed formats completely to all holiday music," Angel Aristone of iHeartMedia told The Post. "We constantly review our programming and listenership throughout all our markets."

"Occasionally this means that we need to make some changes and offer other programming that we believe will resonate well with the audience -- holiday music stations during this time of year are highly popular," she continued.

Aristone said the change was part of a format shift across the country.

"After we produced the show last week but before it was aired, we found out, rather rudely, that the flagship broadcast had been preempted," Annie Laurie Gaylor, a co-host of "Freethought," said during the Nov. 19 edition of the program, which is based in Madison. 

"We had been replaced without notice with 24-hour, wall-to-wall Christmas music playing," she continued.

Gaylor and her co-host, Dan Barker, are also the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is also based in Madison.

The Post reports the two did not believe the format change was an intentional move to silence their voice, and Gaylor told the newspaper the foundation's agreement with iHeartRadio allows either party to void the month-to-month contract in Madison.

WXXM is now known as "Madison's home for the holidays."

According to The Post, Gaylor and Barker are concerned about anything that would hush the opinions of atheists and agnostics following the election of Donald Trump, a man supported by the religious right.

"You can turn on the radio 24/7 and get preached at," she said. "And we feel that has to be countered. We think it's terribly important to have a voice of reason."

"My reaction to all this is 'Bah, humbug,'" she continued.