Emily C. Bell, AlterNet

Visitors to Washington, D.C. will now be able to add the Museum of the Bible to their sightseeing to-do lists. The museum, which cost $500 million to build and opens Friday, proclaims its purpose is, “to invite all people to engage with the history, narrative and impact of the Bible.” However, the Museum of the Bible and its founder Steve Green have been entangled in politics, making the high-tech, 430,000-foot space more controversial than it may appear. It's all part of a larger pattern of the mixing of politics and religion in spaces that are billed as being for entertainment or education.

The Los Angeles Police Department has apparently been arresting residents for speaking 20 seconds longer than their allotted time at public city hearings. Now the ACLU of Southern California is fighting an ordinance that could make it even harder for residents to speak out—especially those who dissent against the practices of the LAPD. If passed, the ordinance will make it "an arrestable offense to violate any posted rules of public facilities” and would empower law enforcement to make criminal trespass charges, tighten restrictions on speaking time and shut down criticism at meetings.

Noam Chomsky sat down earlier this summer with actor Wallace Shawn for the New York Public Library podcast. Chomsky brought his traditional dry sense of humor to the wide-reaching conversation, which ranged from the threats facing the survival of the human species to the popularity of Bernie Sanders.

Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer’s speech at the University of Florida on Thursday continues causing controversy, now with leaks showing that Spencer contacted the alt-right group Anti-Communist Action (Anticom) to help with his security.