Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal about the suppressed dimensions of consciousness, paranormal experiences, UFOs, eroticism in mysticism, and the deep structure of human imagination. Kripal is one of the few voices from within the academy daring to think—and teach—the impossible.
We explore how the humanities can (and must) evolve to account for precognition, near-death experiences, and altered states, and what it might mean to reconceive the human itself in light of the extraordinary. This is one of the deepest and most nuanced conversations we’ve had yet on the show.
🎓 About Jeffrey Kripal
Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religion and Associate Dean of the Humanities at Rice University. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Authors of the Impossible, Secret Body, and his most recent, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. His work explores how extraordinary human experiences challenge our basic metaphysical and epistemological assumptions.
🌐 Learn more:
jeffreyjkripal.com
🧪 Support this show by liking & subscribing
—
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Opening soundbyte: “I got into the paranormal through people…”
01:24 – Introducing Jeffrey Kripal
05:00 – Can the academy hold space for the impossible?
10:30 – Revisiting Freud, Nietzsche, and the paranormal in intellectual history
16:00 – Jeffrey’s own out-of-body experience in Calcutta
21:00 – Thinking impossibly and ontological shock
27:30 – The imaginal realm: Corbin, Myers, and the caterpillar's dream
34:00 – Afterlife speculation and dying in the imagination
39:00 – Cultural fields, morphic resonance, and consciousness as primary
45:00 – Esoteric pluralism and global models of reality
50:00 – Politics, conspiracy, and the esoteric impulse
54:00 – Sexuality, mysticism, and alien abduction
1:00:00 – Eros, apocalypse, and America’s occult moment
1:05:00 – Reclaiming darkness and symbolic literacy
1:10:00 – Advice for young people and healing through the impossible
1:12:00 – Final reflections: It’s complex—and that’s the point
—
📩 Subscribe to Liminal News on Substack
substack.com/@danielpinchbeck
🔗 FOLLOW DANIEL PINCHBECK
📸 Instagram → instagram.com/danielpinchbeck
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📘 Facebook → facebook.com/danielpinchbeck.author
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💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/danielpinchbeck
📚 Goodreads → goodreads.com/author/show/26172.Daniel_Pinchbeck
📚 Explore My Books
tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv
🌐 Join Our Online Community, e-Courses, Seminars & more! – The Liminal Institute
https://www.liminal.news
🖥️ Official Website
pinchbeck.io
🎧 Also available on:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4dk2HIaOeosK7d4IEY7szb?si=47ada2ca4d6b4c48
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liminal-news-with-daniel-pinchbeck/id1541925540
—
👉 If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, comment, and subscribe to support us!
#JeffreyKripal #Paranormal #Superhumanities #LiminalNews #UFOs #Mysticism #Consciousness #ReligiousStudies #NewEpisode #ImaginationIsReal #danielpinchbeck #occult #philosophy
In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal about the suppressed dimensions of consciousness, paranormal experiences, UFOs, eroticism in mysticism, and the deep structure of human imagination. Kripal is one of the few voices from within the academy daring to think—and teach—the impossible.
We explore how the humanities can (and must) evolve to account for precognition, near-death experiences, and altered states, and what it might mean to reconceive the human itself in light of the extraordinary. This is one of the deepest and most nuanced conversations we’ve had yet on the show.
🎓 About Jeffrey Kripal
Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religion and Associate Dean of the Humanities at Rice University. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Authors of the Impossible, Secret Body, and his most recent, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. His work explores how extraordinary human experiences challenge our basic metaphysical and epistemological assumptions.
🌐 Learn more:
jeffreyjkripal.com
🧪 Support this show by liking & subscribing
—
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Opening soundbyte: “I got into the paranormal through people…”
01:24 – Introducing Jeffrey Kripal
05:00 – Can the academy hold space for the impossible?
10:30 – Revisiting Freud, Nietzsche, and the paranormal in intellectual history
16:00 – Jeffrey’s own out-of-body experience in Calcutta
21:00 – Thinking impossibly and ontological shock
27:30 – The imaginal realm: Corbin, Myers, and the caterpillar's dream
34:00 – Afterlife speculation and dying in the imagination
39:00 – Cultural fields, morphic resonance, and consciousness as primary
45:00 – Esoteric pluralism and global models of reality
50:00 – Politics, conspiracy, and the esoteric impulse
54:00 – Sexuality, mysticism, and alien abduction
1:00:00 – Eros, apocalypse, and America’s occult moment
1:05:00 – Reclaiming darkness and symbolic literacy
1:10:00 – Advice for young people and healing through the impossible
1:12:00 – Final reflections: It’s complex—and that’s the point
—
📩 Subscribe to Liminal News on Substack
substack.com/@danielpinchbeck
🔗 FOLLOW DANIEL PINCHBECK
📸 Instagram → instagram.com/danielpinchbeck
🧵 Threads → threads.net/@danielpinchbeck
📘 Facebook → facebook.com/danielpinchbeck.author
🐦 Twitter / X → twitter.com/pinchbeck
🔵 Bluesky → https://bsky.app/profile/danielpinchbeck.bsky.social
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/danielpinchbeck
📚 Goodreads → goodreads.com/author/show/26172.Daniel_Pinchbeck
📚 Explore My Books
tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv
🌐 Join Our Online Community, e-Courses, Seminars & more! – The Liminal Institute
https://www.liminal.news
🖥️ Official Website
pinchbeck.io
🎧 Also available on:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4dk2HIaOeosK7d4IEY7szb?si=47ada2ca4d6b4c48
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liminal-news-with-daniel-pinchbeck/id1541925540
—
👉 If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, comment, and subscribe to support us!
#JeffreyKripal #Paranormal #Superhumanities #LiminalNews #UFOs #Mysticism #Consciousness #ReligiousStudies #NewEpisode #ImaginationIsReal #danielpinchbeck #occult #philosophy
