My guest for this episode is Dr Diana Walsh Pasulka, who joined me to talk about her new book ‘Encounters: Experiences with Non-human Intelligences’.

Diana is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She writes and teaches about the history of the catholic tradition and new religious movements, particularly as they intersect with digital technologies. Her published work has explored topics as varied as from the catholic doctrine of purgatory to UFOs, to human potentials and has received international acclaim, with her 2019 book ‘American Cosmic’ especially offering an intriguing insight into the religiosity of the UFO mystery.

In Encounters, she writes about the work of experts across a range of fields who are endeavouring to connect humanity with unknown life-forms and help to encourage a rethink on some of our most basic assumptions about life and its manifestations beyond our experiences.

I begin the interview by talking with Diana about her first book about purgatory, and how researching and writing that led on to her other writing projects such as American Cosmic. We then move on to her new book and talk about some of the people featured in it, and the work they are doing to help reorientate our understanding of the world around us.

To find out more about Diana's research and her books go to https://dwpasulka.com/.

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