In the first half, author and practicing human rights attorney Dan Kovalik talked about the increasing problem of "cancel culture," and how many progressives are concerned about the growing difficulty of exercising free speech and open debate of ideas. Accelerated by social media, cancel culture is a phenomenon in which someone does or says something that is deemed offensive (often racist or sexist), and people quickly attack them on sites such as Facebook or Twitter, sometimes calling for them to lose their jobs or status. This issue has particularly arisen in academic settings, he noted. For instance, when a professor was thought to fall asleep during a Zoom call on racial diversity, students felt it showed insensitivity, and she should be fired. "Many people are too quick to judge others for even the smallest of missteps," he commented. This creates a fearful environment, where people are concerned about losing their livelihoods or reputations for what could be a minor or unintentional infraction.
While Kovalik agrees that overt racism or sexism and inciting or organizing violence can be legitimate grounds for banning someone from a social platform, it's less acceptable when someone is just expressing an opinion that others disagree with. For example, an NYU instructor questioned the mask mandates during the pandemic and referred to them as a form of social control-- and then students and fellow teachers called for him to be fired. There is a kind of "mob mentality" in which people start ganging up on someone, and those that might want to defend the chastized individual can be reluctant to do so out of fear that they'll be attacked next. Kovalik believes in free speech rights and a robust debating of ideas and sees cancel culture as a cautionary tale, and as something that is ultimately counterproductive to progressive causes.
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In the latter half, author and near-death experiencer Tricia Barker discussed the aftermath of her NDE, which included sensing the energy of ghosts, working as a medium, and interviewing and supporting others who had NDEs. Talking about near-death experiences can have numerous positive effects for people, she cited, including having less fear of death, making significant life changes, becoming more aware of one's intuition, and feeling more connected to nature and people. While there are similarities between spiritual awakenings and NDEs, in the latter, people are more aware of being disconnected from their bodies, such as hovering above themselves on the operating table, she noted.
Barker found that when many NDErs come back, they become interested in working as healers or serving humanity. She has discovered that the energy of God's unconditional love can be healing when it's brought into meditation or prayer practices. During her NDE, she encountered light beings that fostered physical healing during her surgery (for more on Barker's NDE, view the recap from her 2019 show appearance). In the last hour, she gave readings for callers, in some cases, communicating with their deceased loved ones. When doing a reading, she often sees two angels standing behind people, and they can be sending intelligence, humor, healing, or a message.
News segment guests: Capt. Kelly Sweeney, Dr. Peter Breggin