Dean Radin: Chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a former researcher on the government's classified Stargate psychic-spying program. He holds degrees in electrical engineering and experimental psychology and is the author of 'The Science of Magic.'
What this episode covers
Radin walks Rogan through a 45-year career studying psychic phenomena, from Bell Labs and the Stargate remote-viewing program to Princeton's PEAR lab and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. He argues that 150 years of controlled experiments give strong evidence for telepathy, precognition and remote viewing, and that consciousness has a 'non-local' quality similar to quantum entanglement. The conversation covers presentiment experiments, the genetics of psychic talent (including a startling Inquisition theory), and his own unexplained spoon-bending. Radin then details his startup Cognigenics, which is developing an intranasal RNA-interference therapy to treat dementia by downregulating the same receptor psilocybin hits. They close on AI, ancient mysteries, UFOs as 'ultraterrestrials,' and a four-part synchronicity story.
The guest's own work
The Science of Magic: How the Mind Weaves the Fabric of Reality
Dean Radin
“Um, so the book, The Science of Magic, uh, available everywhere.”— Dean Radin
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Dune
Frank Herbert
“the force uh in in Dune, the series Frank Herbert's Dune series, the whole thing about spice.”— Dean Radin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Daniels
“if you push it hard enough you end up with something like the mo that movie uh everything all at the same time.”— Dean Radin
Pluribus
Vince Gilligan
“there is a TV show kind of with this plot. Now the the one called Plurabus... which I think is doing a great job in illustrating”— Dean Radin
The Abyss
James Cameron
“Oh, the abyss. >> Yes. >> Yeah, that was a great movie. >> Yeah, >> that was a good one.”— Joe Rogan
Perplexity
Perplexity AI
“if you start relying on on Perplexity or any other kind of AI, you're in serious trouble because those things are not perfect.”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Radin was recruited into the classified Stargate program after presenting psychic research under the Bell Labs name at a conference.
- Describes Stargate as a 'top secret SCI special access program' where even the code word itself was classified.
- Claims a map dowser named Fran located a crashed nuclear bomber in Africa to within a couple kilometers, an incident later alluded to by President Carter.
- His 'Sci Genes' study found a gene-suppressing mutation more common in populations longer exposed to Christianity, which he ties to the Inquisition killing off psychic 'witches.'
- Says he bent the bowl of a metal spoon without force at a spoon-bending party and still cannot explain or repeat it.
- Reveals his company Cognigenics has an intranasal RNA-interference therapy that doubled memory and cut anxiety ~100% in mice and works in monkeys.
- Says he and the guru Sadhguru agree that giving people real telepathy would be dangerous because it is two-way and could let you inject thoughts and control others.
- Tells a four-part synchronicity story of stumbling on another secret psychic lab next door whose owner had been doing yoga nidra to 'manifest' Radin's arrival.
Worth remembering
- Radin has Gilbert's syndrome, a liver-enzyme mutation that leaves him with high antioxidant bilirubin, a zero cardiac calcium score at 74, and slow exercise recovery.
- Says after 150 years of controlled study there is 'very very strong evidence that telepathy does exist.'
- Researchers could find no consistent psychological, physiological or medical trait separating star remote viewers from average people, only 'talent and openness.'
- In his 'presentiment' experiments, skin conductance shifts about 1.5 seconds before a random emotional image is even selected by the computer.
- Casino data he analyzed showed jackpots and payouts spiked within a day of the full moon, matching old magical lore.
- His side-gene study recruited 3,000 self-reported psychics but could only afford to sequence 13 fully vetted participants.
- A follow-up analysis found 212 SNPs correlated with psychic experiences, one at a million-to-one probability.
- Cites a published case of an 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient who regained speech and continence after a 5g psilocybin dose.
- Invokes 'convergent evolution' (penguin-like auks evolving separately) to argue humanoid aliens may be Earth-born 'ultraterrestrials.'
- Discusses elongated Peruvian skulls lacking a sagittal suture with ~30% larger brain capacity as possibly a different kind of human.