Prof. Stephen E. Braude discussed the paranormal and parapsychology including examples of psychokinesis, the evidence for the survival of death, and a scientific discussion of psychic ability. He reviewed the case of Katie, the 'Gold Leaf Lady,' who has unprecedented episodes of psychokinesis in which a metallic foil materializes on her skin. He reported on the Felix Experimental Group, a séance circle based in Germany that has apparently been getting a lot of "classic late 19th century spiritualist phenomena," including table levitations, and large amounts of medium-produced ectoplasm.
Braude conducted research into the existence of an afterlife, and found it difficult to prove. Suppose you go to a medium who gives you messages from deceased relatives-- the medium may be picking up accurate psychic information from the living person rather than the dead, he noted. Yet, there seem to be times when the deceased have reasons for getting a message across to the living. He cited a case in Iceland, where a spirit repeatedly contacted a séance group, asking for help in finding his leg. The group was able to confirm certain details of his story, about a tall man who drowned, and whose dismembered body washed up on shore.
He spoke about the case of Pearl Curran, who had just an 8th grade education, but channeled 28 books of poetry and fiction, supposedly by a 17th century woman from England named Patience Worth. But on close examination, it looks less like a survival of death, than a strategic formation of an alter ego by Curran to serve her needs, he commented. Braude also offered analysis of precognitive dreams, noting that at times it could be that a person has previously visited a place and done a kind of "psychic scanning of the environment," and this scanning feeds prescient information into a dream about a future event at that location.
Space News
First hour guest, Richard C. Hoagland talked about what was behind JFK's now 50-year old mandate for the US to go to the moon. He also reported that it's soon to be announced that the moon has as much water inside it as the Earth has in its oceans. Further, he suggested that Comet Elenin, may be some kind of ship coming into our solar system "on a hyperbolic trajectory in the plane of the planets...timed to arrive this fall."
News segment guest: James McCanney