If consciousness is just the workings of neurons and synapses, how do we explain the phenomenon of near-death experience? By some accounts, about 3% of the U.S. population has had one: an out-of-body experience often characterized by remarkable visions and feelings of peace and joy, all while the physical body is close to death. To skeptics, there are more plausible, natural explanations, like oxygen deprivation. Is the prospect of an existence after death “real” and provable by science, or a construct of wishful thinking about our own mortality?
The annual tradition of gathering Hollywood’s best and brightest has continued with this year’s Hollywood Issue, and Vanity Fair’s executive west coast editor Krista Smith joins to give us a look behind the scenes of the biggest photo shoot of the year.
34 Min
Jan 26, 2017
On The Gist, Matthew Dicks offers more tricks for helping Gist listeners tell better stories. You’re welcome. This class focuses on how to bring the emotions behind our experiences into how we tell our stories. Dicks is the author of Memoirs of...
29 Min
Jul 6, 2015
In this episode of BackStory, Ed, Joanne, and Brian look at the many reasons for joining the U.S. armed services.
42 Min
May 26, 2017