1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: You're listening to Alive Again, a production of Psychopia Pictures 2 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: and iHeart Podcasts. Welcome to Alive Again, a podcast that 3 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: showcases miraculous accounts of human fragility and resilience from people 4 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: whose lives were forever altered after having almost died. These 5 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: are first hand accounts of near death experiences and, more broadly, 6 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: brushes with death. Our mission is simple, find, explore, and 7 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: share these stories to remind us all of our shared 8 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: human condition. Please keep in mind these stories are true 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: and maybe triggering for some listener, and discretion is advised. 10 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, Dan Bush here and welcome to Live Again. 11 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,639 Speaker 1: I wanted to start by saying that, you know, although 12 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: I've never had a near death experience myself, I've always 13 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 1: been deeply intrigued by existential questions. Like most of us, 14 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: I've experienced tremendous loss and profound grief. These moments bring 15 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: us face to face with our deepest doubts and our 16 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: greatest hopes. I've always been fascinated with I guess the 17 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: impermanence of this life. I mean, after all, that is 18 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: our shared human condition. Right. Eventually everyone dies, everyone we know, 19 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: every person currently living on this planet. Everyone passes on, 20 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: so it always brings up for me the question of 21 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,479 Speaker 1: what is the point? What is the point of our existence? 22 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: Is there any inherent meaning here? And I remember as 23 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: a kid thinking how frightening and simultaneously funny our predicament is. 24 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: And I mean that, I mean from one perspecise, if 25 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: it's completely absurd, isn't it? We all seemingly appear here 26 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: in this existence, at a specific point in time and space, 27 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: inhabiting a body for what is just a blip in 28 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: the grand scheme of a relatively short, unpredictable time, wherein 29 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: we struggle to survive our desires, struggle to belong to 30 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: something greater than ourselves, struggle to have meaning and purpose, 31 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: and all the while, none of us can say for 32 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: sure why These are the big questions that have followed 33 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: me since I was a child. What really happens at 34 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: the moment of our death? Does the surge of DMT, 35 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: a powerful psychedelic compound that occurs in the brain trigger 36 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: these profound visions and experiences reported by those who have 37 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: come back from the brink? Or is there life after death? 38 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: And why do these near death experiences share so many 39 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: themes across vastly different cultures and personal backgrounds. Today's science 40 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: tells us about flat EEGs there's no brain activity in 41 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: the cerebral cortex, yet people report being vividly aware during 42 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: these moments. About seventeen percent of survivors describe near death experiences, 43 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,959 Speaker 1: and their descriptions are as diverse as they are profound. 44 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: And although no two near death experiences are the same, 45 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: these survivors are one hundred percent certain that they have 46 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: experienced something extraordinary and this is super interesting. People who 47 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: are resuscitated after flatlining often ask the same exact question, 48 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: why did you bring me back? Whether or not somebody flatlines, 49 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: a brush with death changes them. It changes their outlook, 50 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: their behavior, and their consciousness. In some of these stories, 51 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: the survivor is left with an even greater existential dilemma. 52 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: They enter into an ongoing struggle with PTSD, or they 53 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: are still to this day seeking tools and coping mechanisms 54 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: to reconcile the trauma. Others share stories about how their 55 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: experience change them in a very different way, renewing their 56 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: sense of purpose and meaning. And then you will hear 57 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: fascinating stories where the experience of a seemingly miraculous survival 58 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: instigates an absolute transformation of a person's relationship with the world, 59 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: with the people in their lives, and with themselves. And 60 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: these stories aren't just about bright lights or out of 61 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 1: body experiences. They're about acquiring a transcendent sense of peace, love, 62 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: and belonging. As a filmmaker and storyteller, I've always been 63 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: driven by something that I think is fundamental to the 64 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: human experience. It's the need to belong. My work, from 65 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: films to fiction podcasts, explores characters grappling to find their 66 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: place in the world and compensating for lack of a 67 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: sense of belonging. So Alive Again extends this exploration, sharing 68 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,679 Speaker 1: extraordinary stories of survival and the profound realizations that often 69 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: come with them. Whether it's David Ditchfield, who with no 70 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: previous or formal musical training, composed a symphony after surviving 71 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: a horrific train accident, or Rodney White, who entirely reinvented 72 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: art following his brush with death, or Peter Panigor, who, 73 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: after dying on an ice climbing expedition, glimpsed the true 74 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: nature of the cosmos and his place within it. These stories, 75 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: they challenge and they inspire us more than that. They 76 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: show us a shared reality, one that is interconnected in 77 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: ways that we might not fully understand. So that's really it. 78 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: I invite you to join us as we delve into 79 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: these incredible testimonies. Here. It's not about religious faith or 80 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,119 Speaker 1: scientific proof, neither of those. It's about the universal truths 81 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: that these stories illuminate. It's a peak at our shared humanity, 82 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: after all, the one thing we all have in common. 83 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: We will all pass from this life in one form 84 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: or another eventually, so let's explore together what it means 85 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,279 Speaker 1: to truly belong in this vast, mysterious universe. Welcome to 86 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: alive again, and thanks for listening.