Recently I had the chance to do an interview with Alex Tsakiris, host of Skeptiko. For those who are not familiar with ‘Skeptiko,’ http://skeptiko.com is a leading podcast and platform that discusses the science behind consciousness, paranormal and other metaphysical phenomena. Mr. Tsakiris has interviewed a wide variety of prestigious scientists, scholars, experiencers and thinkers. He focuses on the growing body of scientific evidence that contradicts the dominant materialist paradigm. His interviews have had a strong effect on my beliefs and I encourage anyone who is curious about these subjects, to check him and his podcast out. You may be exposed to ideas, facts and revelations that you never knew were out there and perhaps, have your worldview altered.

 

Alex Tsakiris, Skeptiko Interview

You started Skeptiko in 2007 and today it has become the leading podcast in exploring human consciousness, metaphysical phenomena and revealing the flaws in scientific materialism and just mainstream science in general. What led to its creation and why do you think it’s been so successful?

• Alex: I’ve always been interested in the big picture questions… Who are we? Why are we here? When podcasting came along I thought… “if I start a show maybe all these really smart people will talk to me and tell me the answers.”

The word explorer often brings up images of people travelling, climbing mountains, living with tribes in remote places of the world, doing adventurous things, blahblah…but certainly being explorer doesn’t only mean doing those things, I think it encompasses so much more than that. You have studied, explored consciousness and metaphysical phenomena at an extremely in-depth level for a long time. Have you ever identified with being an explorer and the work you do as a sort of expedition into the unknown?

• Alex: That’s a cool question… and a cool paradigm thru which to look at this stuff. I’ve been into yoga for a longtime. I think that made me more open to the idea of “exploring” my consciousness. There’s also a map versus territory thing going on with the explorer paradigm… I like that 🙂

Many travelers and explorers come to realize the incredible value and importance of discovery by personal/subjective experience and not just trusting what you read and hear about something, (ex: reading about Sichuan China vs. going there) do you share that value? What is the value in making discoveries by subjective experience if any?

• Alex: Of course, but I’m equally energized by the scientific method’s built in aversion to anecdotal evidence. A near-death experience with Jesus should not be discounted or ignored, then again, it’s shouldn’t be taken as unchallenged proof re the “baby Jesus hypothesis.” Spiritually transformative experiences are really interesting in this regard…. the push the limits of science and at the same time demand scientific discernment.

Do you believe that being overly dogmatic and neglecting the value of personal/subjective experience, are a few of the root causes of today’s mainstream science’s refusal to acknowledge or consider metaphysical/paranormal, consciousness phenomena?

• Alex: I think it has more to do with folks not wanting change their beliefs. I think one of the barriers for folks is that the evidence for the falsification of materialism is so overwhelming. it’s a “how could this be” kinda thing. The emperor has no clothes.

 

You are a data person and are notorious for using the data to flip materialism and its arguments on their heads. Why isn’t the knowledge of the data or objective evidence for say, near death experiences and that consciousness survives bodily death, reaching the common person? And what other tools do we need to utilize to raise consciousness about the very real reality of the strong objective evidence against materialism?

• Alex: Is the glass half full or half empty? Near-death experience science has exploded in the last ten years. Materialists are in full retreat. On the other hand, we still see a lot of “science as we know it.”

 

We live in the age of Neil Degrasses Tyson, Sam harris and Michael Shermer. Why do so many people think these guys are so smart and have all the answers? (laughs)

• Alex: Most of us look for science celebrities who reinforce our existing beliefs… makes us sleep easier.

This seems like a big one and many are skeptical of if we are, but in a nutshell, do you think we are in the midst of a paradigm shift and that Materialist science is well on its way to kicking the bucket or do we still have a long way to go?

• Alex: I’m resistant to the notion that we’re at a special point in time. I think there is “backdoor materialism” thing going on re this myth of progress. It’s pretty easy to find very old books that seem to have a better handle on philosophical and spiritual questions than those on the Amazon bestseller list.

Are there any new exciting plans for you and Skeptiko in 2018 that you are able to share?

• Alex: I’m just trying to pick my way thru the weeds one episode at a time.

 

What are your guy’s thoughts on Materialism and Mainstream science? Message me or leave a comment, I would love to hear!

For more on Alex, he can be found at http://skeptiko.com