In Research Of

S04E24 - Past Lives


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Blake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy. Subjects include reincarnation claims, past-life regression therapy, and some truly baffling Nimoy wardrobe choices. Link to YouTube Episode (while it lasts) Topics we cover include:

  • Nimoy wandering a Los Angeles graveyard in a strange quasi-military sport coat, and Blake's detective work tying the filming location to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights.

  • The famous Pollock twins case from Hexham, England, where two girls were said to be the reincarnations of their deceased sisters — and how later research complicates the story.

  • Dr. Lucia Capacchione's art-therapy / inner-child work and how the show uses regression narratives to explain modern psychological problems.

  • Playwright A.J. Stewart (Ada F. Kay), who became convinced she was James IV of Scotland and wrote Falcon: The Autobiography of His Grace James IV King of Scots as if from the king's own perspective.

  • Whether past-life regression therapy produces evidence of reincarnation or just vivid, therapist-shaped fantasy, and why skeptics are so wary of hypnosis-based "memories."

    NFA (Nimoy Fashion Alert):

    Cemetery Detective Work:

    Using the 2nd NFA shot, I was able to decipher the tex on the dark tombstone. It is a lot darker in real life with a modern shot.

    That "Find a Grave" entry includes the exact location where Nimoy was standing for this episode's cemetery shot.

    Jeb asked for an animated gif of the woman in the castle with secret doors:

    The cover of Robert and Loy Young's book about reincarnation:

    The twins at the heart of the British (Hexham!) reincarnation story:

    And I can't help but scream - DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE!!! This episode is such a cliffhanger.

    Deeper reading & sources mentioned: Pollock twins case write-up at the Society for Psychical Research's Psi Encyclopedia Psi Encyclopedia on famous past-life claims (including A.J. Stewart / Ada F. Kay): Ada F. Kay / A.J. Stewart biography (reincarnation claim & Falcon background) Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles) – history and the Japanese "Garden of the Pines" section Lucia Capacchione and inner-child / expressive-arts therapy Skeptical overview of past-life regression therapy (Harriet Hall, Science-Based Medicine): General background on past-life regression and why psychologists consider it pseudoscientific

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In Research OfBy William Blake Smith

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