The Observable Unknown

By Dr. Juan Carlos ReySociety & Culture Documentary Science Social Sciences Health & Fitness Mental Health

The Observable Unknown episodes

September 21, 2025 Dr. Daniel Jorgensen
The guest for this episode is Dr. Daniel Jorgensen, a distinguished scholar of Religious Studies whose work has illuminated the esoteric scene, the cultic milieu, and the occult Tarot. His research has expanded the sociology of religion beyond institutional boundaries, into the rich and often misunderstood margins where seekers continually redefine meaning and identity.
Our conversation will explore not only the frameworks he’s developed, but also the questions they raise for the future of religious studies: What does it mean to live at the edge of tradition? How do symbols shape social life? And why does the study of esotericism matter - not only for scholars, but for all who are searching for meaning in a fractured age?

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45 min
September 19, 2025 Interlude III: The Observable Unknown in Words, Instincts, & Myths
In this Interlude, Dr. Juan Carlos Rey traces how three great thinkers sought the Observable Unknown in their own fields. Max Müller uncovered forgotten meanings buried in language, Konrad Lorenz revealed the instinctual patterns beneath human behavior, and Claude Lévi-Strauss exposed the hidden structures shaping myth. Together, their work shows that mystery is not distant - it lives in the words we speak, the instincts we carry, and the stories we inherit.
8 min
September 18, 2025 Interlude II: The Observable Unknown in Mind & Society
In this interlude, host Dr. Juan Carlos Rey explores how the observable unknown reveals itself in the hidden life of the mind and the shared structures of society. Drawing on the insights of Freud, Jung, Julian Jaynes, Adler, and Peter Berger, this interlude traces how unconscious drives, archetypes, inner voices, human striving, and cultural meaning-shields shape our lives.
What emerges is a portrait of mystery not as something to be feared, but as the ground of our humanity—seen in dreams, myths, relationships, and the sacred canopies we build to endure existence.
Join the journey into psychology and sociology’s deepest questions: How do we live with what can be seen but never fully known?
7 min
September 17, 2025 Interlude I: The Observable Unknown — Ontology & Teleology
In this special Interlude of The Observable Unknown, host Dr. Juan Carlos Rey steps away from dialogue to offer a sustained philosophical reflection on the very title of the show.
Through the lenses of Kant’s tension between phenomena and noumena, Heidegger’s play of truth as both revealing and concealing, Aristotle’s vision of wonder as the root of philosophy, and the profound wisdom of Taoist, Vedantic, and Buddhist traditions, this interlude explores how the observable unknown is not merely a poetic phrase but a condition of Being itself.
This lecture invites listeners to slow down and reflect - not only on what is seen, but on what forever withdraws, calling us deeper into the mystery.
It is an offering of thought, crafted to sit alongside the conversations you already know and love on this show.
The Observable Unknown is not only about voices in dialogue - it is also about pausing, listening, and letting mystery speak.
9 min
September 14, 2025 Dr. Robin Hager
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Robin Hager - a clinician whose path began in the labs and lecture halls of the University of Arizona, and was forever changed when she stepped into her first healing-touch class.

Her journey is a story of integration: from writing medical protocols that saved lives, to guiding patients and families through plant medicine ceremonies with shamans in Peru. From the halls of hospital administration to the sacred breath of vibrational sound therapy, Robin’s life is a testament to what happens when intellect bows to intuition - and when science and spirit agree to walk hand-in-hand.

This is a conversation about courage, about healing beyond the prescription pad, and about rediscovering medicine as service - not just business.
1 hr 1 min
September 07, 2025 Dr. Carla Garapedian
In this episode, we welcome a woman whose life’s work has bridged journalism, cinema, and memory. From the anchor desk at BBC World News to the frontlines of conflict, from digitizing the testimonies of Armenian genocide survivors to directing films that confront the darkest truths of our history - Dr. Carla Garapedian has carried voices the world tried to silence back into the light.
Her new project, Nemesis 1921, revisits a Weimar-era trial that shaped how we think about law, justice, and accountability - offering not just history retold, but a mirror to our present moment. She is also the filmmaker behind Screamers, a landmark documentary interweaving the testimonies of survivors with the urgent voice of System of a Down, and she continues to lead the search for Auction of Souls (1919), the first cinematic rendering of the Armenian genocide, long thought lost.
Carla is not only a filmmaker and journalist - she is a guardian of memory, a steward of stories that demand to be heard. It is an honor to welcome her today.
The Observable Unknown is a podcast exploring consciousness at the intersection of neuroscience, culture, and lived experience. It is written and hosted by Dr. Juan Carlos Rey of drjuancarlosrey.com and crowscupboard.com, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the interior dimensions of human experience. https://squareup.com/outreach/nyD7vi/subscribe
59 min
August 31, 2025 Fereshteh Forough
Fereshteh Forough, founder of CTI (Code To Inspire), discusses her journey, obstacles, and vision for the future.
The Observable Unknown is a podcast exploring consciousness at the intersection of neuroscience, culture, and lived experience. It is written and hosted by Dr. Juan Carlos Rey of drjuancarlosrey.com and crowscupboard.com, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the interior dimensions of human experience. https://squareup.com/outreach/nyD7vi/subscribe
59 min
August 24, 2025 Dr. Juan Carlos Rey
In this episode, I'll be answering personal questions submitted by listeners and clients through our website, crowscupboard.com
The Observable Unknown is a podcast exploring consciousness at the intersection of neuroscience, culture, and lived experience. It is written and hosted by Dr. Juan Carlos Rey of drjuancarlosrey.com and crowscupboard.com, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the interior dimensions of human experience. https://squareup.com/outreach/nyD7vi/subscribe
53 min
August 17, 2025 Samuel F. Reynolds
On this episode, we meet Samuel F. Reynolds, president of the International Coalition of Astrology Educators, whose contributions have been honored with the International Society for Astrological Research’s 2022 Community Service Award.
The Observable Unknown is a podcast exploring consciousness at the intersection of neuroscience, culture, and lived experience. It is written and hosted by Dr. Juan Carlos Rey of drjuancarlosrey.com and crowscupboard.com, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the interior dimensions of human experience. https://squareup.com/outreach/nyD7vi/subscribe
1 hr 8 min
August 10, 2025 Margie Dillenburg, Ph.D.
Some people do not simply work in the world… they bend it, ever so gently, toward growth.
They design experiences that don’t just inform but awaken. They educate, they mold, they transform whatever they hold.
They leave behind no statue, no symphony, no temple of stone -
And yet they build invisible cathedrals in the lives of those they touch.
My guest today is one of those people.
For nearly two decades, Margie Dillenburg has walked alongside leaders who imagine new futures,
from the heart of social impact to the restless edge of for-profit innovation.
She knows what it means to help something small become something world-changing
and to carry a full heart into spaces that can sometimes forget they have one.
Today, we look past the résumé and into the mystery.
Who is the designer behind the experience?
What moments of doubt, wonder, heartbreak, and transformation made her the guide she is today?
And what is the hidden current - her own private dialogue = that flows beneath all she does?
The Observable Unknown is a podcast exploring consciousness at the intersection of neuroscience, culture, and lived experience. It is written and hosted by Dr. Juan Carlos Rey of drjuancarlosrey.com and crowscupboard.com, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the interior dimensions of human experience. https://squareup.com/outreach/nyD7vi/subscribe
1 hr 9 min

About The Observable Unknown

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The Observable Unknown is a scientific and psychological podcast exploring consciousness, perception, behavior, identity, altered states, symbolism, neuroscience, and the hidden structures shaping…