Nearly twenty studies of whether intercessory prayer has a positive (or any) effect on seriously ill patients have been conducted by physicians and other medical researchers since 1965. Results are mixed, ranging from mild positive effects to an increase in adverse effects. The assumptions of the very idea have been challenged—is prayer something that can… Continue reading Peeranormal 22: Intercessory Prayer

Live from Branson, Missouri.

Photographs of “orbs” – small circular or globular lights – that are invisible to the naked eye at the time of the photography are ubiquitous on the internet. Very little scientific research has been conducted to explain the photographic phenomenon. Most of the discussion online asserts that orbs are spirits or some other energy life… Continue reading Peeranormal 20: Orb Photographs

Many people have experienced déjà vu, the feeling that a situation or event is familiar, though there is no evidence that the situation has been experienced before. Recent studies have shown that roughly two-thirds of people have experienced déjà vu at least once. This episode explores three research articles chronicling the phenomenon and its elements… Continue reading Peeranormal 19: Déjà Vu

Many people have experienced déjà vu, the feeling that a situation or event is familiar, though there is no evidence that the situation has been experienced before. Recent studies have shown that roughly two-thirds of people have experienced déjà vu at least once. This episode explores three research articles chronicling the phenomenon and its elements… Continue reading Peeranormal 19: Déjà Vu

“Samhain” (pronounced “sow-in,” with the “ow” like in “cow,” or “sow-een,” with “ow” as in “glow”) is an Irish Gaelic term for the time of “summer’s end,” as well as a festival to mark the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter which, in the Gaelic / Celtic calendar, marked the beginning of… Continue reading Peeranormal 18: Samhain and Halloween

This episode is the final in our series on quantum mechanics and its presumed relationship to metaphysical ideas, religion, theology, and the paranormal. As in Part 1 and Part 2, our panel welcomes Dr. Rob (“Putty”) Putman, who holds a PhD in theoretical quantum physics, but who is presently pastoring a church in Illinois. In… Continue reading Peeranormal 17: Quantum Physics and Metaphysics Part 3

This episode continues our series on quantum mechanics and its presumed relationship to metaphysical ideas, religion, theology, and the paranormal. As in Part 1, our panel welcomes Dr. Rob (“Putty”) Putman, who holds a PhD in theoretical quantum physics, but who is presently pastoring a church in Illinois. In this second episode, we focus on… Continue reading Peeranormal 16: Quantum Physics and Metaphysics Part 2

This episode launches a series on quantum mechanics and its presumed relationship to metaphysical ideas, religion, theology, and the paranormal. During the series we’ll be joined by Dr. Rob (“Putty”) Putman, who holds a PhD in theoretical quantum physics, but now pastors a church in Illinois. In this first episode, we survey the history of… Continue reading Peeranormal 15: Quantum Physics and Metaphysics Part 1

Discovered in 1929, the Piri Reis map, dated to 1513, was virtually unknown except by those who may have seen it displayed in its current home, the Topkapi Palace Museum in Instanbul. That all changed when Erich von Däniken made it part of his ancient astronaut theory in the 1960s. Other ancient aliens theorists have… Continue reading Peeranormal 14: The Piri Reis Map