#347 Mind Beyond the Brain - with Dr. Diane Hennacy
▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/
Is telepathy real — and can it be proven scientifically?
And what does it mean for our understanding of consciousness?
In this episode of Being Human, we speak with Dr. Diane Hennacy, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, former Johns Hopkins faculty member, and author of The ESP Enigma. Diane has spent years rigorously testing individuals — including autistic savants — who appear to demonstrate astonishing telepathic abilities.
We explore why she believes consciousness is not produced by the brain but decoded by it, and what this means for our understanding of what it is to be human.
Diane is hugely entertaining in this profound conversation linking neuroscience, intuition, and human potential.
We explore:
Early experiences with extrasensory perception
First meeting a telepathic autistic child
Finding fame with The Telepathy Tapes and plans for even more sophisticated experiments
Implications for society
What is consciousness and can AI develop it?
Links:
Diane’s Website
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#346 The Science of Magic - with Dean Radin
▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/
What if magic were real — and science could prove it?
In this week’s episode, I speak with Dr. Dean Radin, Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and author of The Conscious Universe and Real Magic. For more than forty years, Dean has studied telepathy, precognition, and mind–matter interaction under rigorous laboratory conditions. From his time in the U.S. government’s secret psychic research program to his pioneering experiments at IONS, he has gathered remarkable evidence that consciousness can influence the physical world.
We explore what quantum physics may reveal about psychic phenomena, why materialism is no longer enough to explain the mind, and how “real magic” might simply be the science of tomorrow. A fascinating conversation about belief, evidence, and the hidden potential of human consciousness.
We explore:
His role in US psychic espionage
Manipulating the future
"Changing the past"
Practical exercises for developing your magical skills
The extraordinarily strong evidence that psychic phenomena are real
Links:
The Institute of Noetic Sciences
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#345 Are We All Connected? - with Roger Nelson
▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/
Can human consciousness extend beyond our brains?
For more than two decades, this week’s guest, Roger Nelson, founder of The Global Consciousness Project, has been exploring exactly that question. From a network of random-number generators placed across the planet, Roger and his team have gathered evidence suggesting that when millions of people share emotion — in moments of tragedy, joy, or global focus — the fabric of our existence becomes more ordered.
Roger explains how these subtle patterns may reveal a deep interconnectedness in human awareness — a kind of worldwide mind that responds when our hearts and attention align. We discuss the origins of the project at Princeton’s PEAR Lab, the surprising results from world events such as 9/11, and what this research might mean for the future of consciousness studies.
Roger is a rigorous scientist and an exemplar of the open-sceptic approach to life.
We explore:
First proof that mind extends beyond the brain
Can we really affect the past?
9/11 and the impact on global consciousness
A three-in-a-trillion chance that we’re not all connected
The noosphere - the next step for human evolution
Links:
The Global Consciousness Project
Connected: The Emergence of Global Consciousness - The Book
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#344 Life After Life - with Dr. Raymond Moody
▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/
What really happens when we die?
In this week’s episode, I speak with Dr. Raymond Moody, pioneering psychiatrist and author of the classic Life After Life. The man who coined the term Near Death Experience or NDE..
Across every culture and background, people who were pronounced dead and revived describe the same extraordinary scenes: a radiant light, a feeling of profound peace, reunions with loved ones, and a sense that death is not an ending but a beautiful transition.
Dr. Moody reflects on five decades of research that have transformed his understanding of consciousness. Once a skeptic, he now believes that something continues beyond the body and that these experiences hold vital lessons for how we live, love, and face our own mortality.
He’s also a very funny guy!
We explore:
His first examination of an NDE
Why we must now accept that consciousness is not simply biochemical
Connection to his own grandma beyond the grave
Appreciating nonsense
The coming consciousness revolution
Links:
Dr.Moody’s Website
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#343 Anyone Can Learn Telepathy - with Ditte Young
▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/
What if telepathy isn’t a rare gift, but a skill anyone can learn?
In this episode of Being Human, I sit down with Ditte Young - family therapist, author, and internationally renowned animal communicator. Ditte shares her extraordinary journey from working in Danish television to becoming a trusted voice for both humans and animals. She explains how she teaches telepathy, why 100% of her students succeed, and what animals reveal about love, presence, and our polluted world.
If you’re already sold on people having these abilities, you’ll love Ditte’s story. If you’re sceptical about this stuff and think it’s all woo-woo nonsense, this episode might just give you pause to think again.
We explore:
- Teaching telepathy
- How animals mirror their owners’ emotions and health issues
- Battling scepticism, direct evidence, and practice
- Enhancing leadership through trusting intuition and self-belief
- How her life as the mother of Philip, her neurodivergent son, shaped her healing path
Links:
Ditte’s Website
About The Being Human Podcast with Richard Atherton
Being Human is for people who want go deep on what it means to be a human making a difference. We’ll discover how to be better humans at work and in life. We’ll explore leadership, relationships and how to make changes in ourselves and our environments. Nothing will be off limits. Welcome.
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