Dr. Nick Begich has been pursuing independent research in the sciences and politics for most of his adult life. In the first half, he discussed the dehumanizing aspects of technology and the surveillance state and how those in control can censor, manipulate, and invade privacy. All electronic systems can be hacked, he noted, from banks, governments, and the Pentagon, but it is imperative that we protect the democratic process when it comes to our elections. We're really living inside a 1984-style culture, he continued, where citizens' personal data is exploited by both private industry and government. People's willingness to give up information in exchange for using social media, or just the tracking of their browser viewing, creates a digital profile of individuals that can be incredibly detailed and even predictive of their behavior, he pointed out.

Some think that because Cambridge Analytica got caught using Facebook and Google data to influence elections in 2016, these types of technological manipulations have ceased. "What people don't understand," Begich cautioned, "is that they didn't go away. They just became new enterprises, new names, and new faces," and if the players behind such endeavors aren't prosecuted, then they aren't disincentivized enough to desist. Yet, he conceded that if people are manipulated or bullied too much in a surveillance society, they start pushing back. And while the transhumanist movement seeks to extend the human mind and lifespan through technological means, he considers this an overly materialistic approach that ignores our consciousness's innate or hidden abilities.

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As both a medium and a psychic, Karyn Reece uses her expertise and personal experience to provide insight into death and navigating out-of-body experiences (OBEs). In the latter half, she spoke about the powerful mystery of the afterlife, as well as her work with clients relaying messages from spirit and clearing away negative entities. In the afterlife, there is a broader sense of understanding, and a feeling of being at home, she reported. In addition to loved ones, the spirits of favorite pets or animals can visit. She believes in both heaven and hell, though stated there are variations of each. The colors in heaven are more intense than what we see in our plane, and flowers are larger, she said, while a glimpse she had of hell, revealed screams, fires, and demonic entities.

During the dying process, a person may experience someone calling out their name, changes in the room lighting, and angelic-like music drawing them in a specific direction, she shared. When she assists clients with demonic cleansing, she sometimes has odd experiences the night before, including poltergeist-like activity, and being attacked in her dream state while in the out-of-body realm. In one such case, she was pushed into a cavern, and said a prayer to God and then bounced back up. Describing some of her OBEs, which can occur during a deep meditation, she first sees a hallway, and then finds herself in different dimensions, as well as the physical realm. We all travel out-of-body during sleep, she suggested, and to recall more of those journeys, try saying this affirmation to yourself as you're drifting off: "I will remember my out-of-body experiences."

News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Dr. Peter Breggin