The podcast talks about ESP, a woman claiming to be a witch setting a porch on fire, and the quote of the day about storytelling. It also delves into finding your center, ESP as a paranormal ability, the history of ESP research, and experiments with Zener cards and dice at Duke University.
An Iowa woman claiming to be a witch set fire to a porch after mistaking a stranger's home for her friend's, leading to her arrest for reckless fire usage and drug paraphernalia possession.
ESP research, involving extra sensory perception beyond recognized physical senses, has faced skepticism despite historical studies and investments by government agencies for military applications.
Deep dives
Woman Claims to Be a Witch and Sets Porch Alight
A woman in Iowa attracted by a witch's sign claimed to be a witch, leading to an incident where she almost burned a porch down. Michelle Young, aged 46, mistakenly thought a stranger's home was her friend's, setting fire to items like a taillight and bark. Despite scavenging for peculiar items in the area for hours, she expressed no intention to harm and believed it was her friend's home, although the owner denied knowing her. The police arrested her for reckless fire usage and possessing drug paraphernalia.
Exploring ESP and Its Controversial History
ESP, or extra sensory perception, involves receiving information through means other than recognized physical senses like sight or hearing. Duke University's J.P. and Louisa Raine conducted ESP investigations in the 1930s, using cards and dice in laboratory experiments to test psychic abilities. However, skepticism and criticism from academics challenged the evidence of ESP, with some claiming sensory leakage or cheating in experiments. Over time, parapsychologists delved into the cognitive components of ESP alongside Orthodox psychology research in high-profile journals.
Beliefs and Controversies Surrounding ESP
ESP research challenges basic scientific principles and has faced skepticism despite a significant belief in its existence among people in the United States. The fascination with ESP roots in the spiritualist movement of the 19th century, leading to the study of psychic phenomena like telepathy and hypnosis. The CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency invested in ESP research during the Cold War, known as the Stargate program, aiming to explore psychic abilities for potential military applications. Although some studies suggest evidence of ESP, skeptics argue that results are not significantly different from chance outcomes.
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Our quote of the day Is: ― "I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act." — Janet Mock