P.A. Straubinger is a graduate with honours from the renowned University of Music and Performing Arts (Film and Television) in Vienna. He has more than two decades of experience as a journalist for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. In the 1990s his interest in Transpersonal Psychology led to intensive practice in yoga and meditation. A personal encounter in the spring of 2000 awakened his interest in the strange topic of Breatharianism. He met a meditation teacher who allegedly had not eaten for more than a year. Still skeptical, he started a 10 year journey of research from around the globe on this topic, searching for traces of evidence and skeptical scrutiny of this human mystery. 200 hours of footage were edited into the 90 minute feature documentary “IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS LIGHT“. It premiered at the International Film Festival in Cannes and became one of the most influential and successful feature documentaries in Austrian cinema history. When it was shown in prime time on National Television viewership outnumbered Hollywood Blockbusters like “Harry Potter“. This then led to a huge public discussion which we take to the next level on this episode of Alfacast!