Social scientist and author Dan Ariely is a psychology and behavioral economics professor at Duke University and co-founder of several companies implementing insights from behavioral science. In the first half, he discussed the human side of the misinformation crisis-- examining what drives otherwise rational people to adopt deeply irrational beliefs. He looked at the psychological apparatus behind why people latch onto incorrect ideas. Often behind such beliefs, there is one element of truth, but it's taken out of context, he said. At the root may be a person's sense of unhappiness or stress related to their life, and they look for a villain or someone to blame outside of themselves.

An interesting aspect of the phenomenon is that as someone's irrational belief becomes more complex, they start feeling more in control, as they think they know something that others don't, Ariely reported. It's not that all conspiracies or unusual opinions are necessarily wrong, he pointed out, but it becomes problematic when such ideas become a central tenet in someone's life, and they operate from a constant attitude of distrust and suspicion. To counter the effects of this issue, he suggested not ostracizing or rejecting those who hold irrational beliefs, as they may be at a weak point in their lives. He also recommended trying to live more in a state of ambiguity, where you allow that contrasting opinions may simultaneously hold some value, as well as how we might maintain skeptical perspectives about businesses or government, for instance, without assuming these organizations are evil in intent.

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Lori Spagna radically transformed her life after a series of near-death experiences while living in Maui. In the latter half, she spoke about her channeling and telepathic communications with pets, the secret energy of animals, and the spiritual role they play in our lives. In her reception of telepathic messages, she finds that animals utilize different frequencies, primarily the theta brainwave, she explained, which humans typically don't know how to access. In their relationships with people, pets are kind of like "energy sponges," she said, and they can dissipate or neutralize the energy to balance things out, and this is one of the ways they help or calm us. Pets like dogs don't have to learn forgiveness-- "that's a virtue they already have," and they are also non-judgmental and magnanimous, she added.

Our pets, she continued, often pick up on what we're thinking and feeling in an instinctual rather than analytic way. "One of the best ways we can help animals is to be living our best lives, for us to be living in a state of joy, as much as we can," Spagna commented. Beyond the typical pet species, she has also communicated with such creatures as elephants and dolphins. Once, on a safari, she looked into an elephant's eye, "and in an instant, I saw my whole life, and I heard the elephant say 'remember who you are.'" Many elephants have access to the Akashic records, so they hold knowledge of Earth's history, she revealed. During the last hour, she gave readings related to listeners' pets.

News segment guests: Howard Bloom, Mish Shedlock