LIMINAL NEWS with Daniel Pinchbeck

Please share the full video essay @LiminalNewsPod on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nt333tOV0RE?si=VpcCGmWWicR1MMPT I explore the rise of Palantir, Peter Thiel's techno-authoritarian worldview, and the emerging fusion of AI surveillance, militarism, techno-feudalism, and reactionary politics in America. Drawing on thinkers like Byung-Chul Han, Eva Illouz, and Catherine Liu, I examine how modern subjectivity itself has been reshaped by neoliberalism, social media, therapeutic culture, and algorithmic control — and why collective resistance to authoritarian power feels so fragmented and muted today. Is this simply a temporary backlash against progressive culture… or are we watching the birth of a permanent techno-fascist order? #Palantir #PeterThiel #AlexKarp #TechnoFascism #AI #SurveillanceState #Authoritarianism #Trump #LateCapitalism #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #TechnologicalRepublic #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalControl #ByungChulHan #Technofeudalism #Neoliberalism #Geopolitics #IranWar #PalantirTechnologies ================================== Please subscribe to the Liminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/

What happens when the grift consumes the grifter? In this video essay, I examine the suicide of David Wilcock — bestselling New Age author and a central figure in what's now called "conspirituality" — and what his collapse reveals about a culture sliding toward collective psychosis. Within days of his death, conspiracy theories began circulating through the same alternative-media ecosystem he helped build. I don't believe he was murdered. I think he killed himself. But that reflex — to turn every event into proof of a hidden war — is precisely the pattern Wilcock spent decades cultivating, and may be part of what ultimately destroyed him. This video is adapted from my Substack essay: https://danielpinchbeck.substack.com/... Drawing on my brief overlap with Wilcock, as well as the work of David G. Robertson, I explore how figures like Wilcock built mass followings through a mix of mysticism, fringe science, and conspiracy — and how these belief systems sustain themselves, even through failure. This essay asks a deeper question: how do we remain open to genuine mysteries — consciousness, psychic phenomena, the limits of science — without slipping into delusion? And in an age where every event is absorbed into the narrative, is it still possible to think clearly… or has the grift already won? #LiminalNews #DavidWilcock #Conspirituality #QAnon #NewAge #Disclosure #AncientAliens #DanielPinchbeck #ConspiracyTheories #UFOs #Gnosticism #DavidIcke #CoreyGoode #EdgarCayce #CulturalCritique #VideoEssay #Documentary #SocialCommentary #MediaTheory #Philosophy ================================== Please subscribe to the Liminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/

I speak with Adam Levy, a Minneapolis-based activist, educator, and musician, about what he describes as an unprecedented federal crackdown unfolding right now in the Twin Cities. Adam shares first-hand accounts of ICE raids, racial profiling, mass detentions, and families being targeted in their own neighborhoods — including a harrowing incident in which a baby nearly died after tear gas was fired under a family's car. Drawing on his background as a public historian who has studied fascism and genocide, Adam places these events within a broader historical and political context, warning that the United States is entering a dangerous and unstable phase. We also discuss how communities in Minneapolis are responding in real time: mutual aid networks, encrypted communication systems, legal accompaniment, nonviolent direct action, and community patrols designed to slow or disrupt enforcement. What emerges is a picture of grassroots resistance forming in the absence of institutional protection — and a sober assessment of what may come next. This is a difficult but essential conversation about democracy, state power, moral responsibility, and what it means to resist when the rules begin to collapse. 👉In this episode, we explore: • First-hand reports of ICE raids and detentions in Minneapolis • Civil liberties, racial profiling, and collective punishment • Historical parallels to fascist movements and authoritarian states • How mutual aid, patrols, and direct action are slowing enforcement • Why Minneapolis became a federal target • The psychological toll on communities under siege • What peaceful resistance can still accomplish — and where this may be heading 👤 Guest Bio: Adam Levy is a Twin Cities–based musician, educator, and activist. A former high school teacher of U.S. history, government, and economics, he is widely regarded as a public historian focused on movements of liberation, fascism, and genocide. After losing his child to suicide in 2012, he became deeply involved in mental health advocacy and community organizing. He is currently active in on-the-ground resistance and mutual aid efforts in Minneapolis. 🔗https://www.adamlevy.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #Minneapolis #ICERaids #Immigration #CivilLiberties #Authoritarianism #Activism #Resistance #Fascism #Democracy #MutualAid #HumanRights #MinneapolisProtests #LiminalNews #AdamLevy

In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I'm joined by Patrick McCollum, a global peacemaker and the subject of the new documentary The Man Who Saves the World, directed by Gabe Polsky. Patrick's life defies easy explanation. At 15, he was killed in a motorcycle accident and pronounced dead for more than seven minutes. What he experienced during that near-death encounter set him on a path that would take him far beyond anything he could have imagined. Over the decades, Patrick has lived what he calls "ten different lives": a kung fu master an internationally celebrated jewelry designer for presidents, royalty, and film stars a prison chaplain who counseled Charles Manson and spent years on death row at SanQuentin an advisor to presidents, prime ministers, kings, and revolutionary leaders a peacemaker in Africa, the Middle East, and beyond Most recently, Patrick became the central figure in an extraordinary effort to unite Indigenous nations across the Amazon. According to an ancient prophecy shared by elders from more than 300 Indigenous nations, a time would come when someone would help reunite their peoples to stand against the destruction of the rainforest. Patrick agreed to step forward — and over time, helped bring together more than 60 million Indigenous people in a shared commitment to protect the Amazon and sacred lands worldwide. In this conversation, Patrick recounts his journey to meet the Kogi, restoring what they describe as their stolen spiritual inheritance; his deep friendship with Jane Goodall; his belief in seeing every person as sacred — even those we fear or despise — and why, at 75 years old and in declining health, he continues to step forward rather than retreat. We also talk candidly about despair, burnout, the rise of authoritarianism, ecological collapse, and what it means to keep going when the future feels increasingly uncertain. This is a conversation about courage, sacrifice, prophecy, skepticism, and hope — and about what it really means to try to serve something larger than yourself in a time of global crisis. Learn more or support his work: https://patrickmccollum.org/ https://themanwhosavestheworld.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/

The real battleground of our time isn't politics or technology — it's the imagination. Filmmaker Ari Kuschnir and embodiment guide Schuyler Brown join me for a deep conversation about AI, storytelling, spirituality, and how we reclaim agency in an age of dystopian futures. The future is being shaped in the imaginal realm — by the stories we consume, the images we repeat, and the futures we're told are inevitable. In this episode of Liminal News, I'm joined by filmmaker and AI storyteller Ari Kuschnir and embodiment guide Schuyler Brown for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, creativity, spirituality, and cultural resistance. We explore AI not just as a technical tool, but as an imaginal force — one that can amplify propaganda and despair, or be used to create counter-visions, meaning, and agency. Mastering the Alchemy of AI Storytelling: A six-week live seminar for filmmakers, artists, writers, and cultural creators who want to work with AI consciously, creatively, and ethically — without losing their humanity. The course blends practical AI filmmaking workflows with embodiment practices, ethical inquiry, and storytelling frameworks designed to restore agency and imagination in an age dominated by automation and dystopian narratives. 👉 Learn more and enroll here: https://www.liminal.news/mastering-the-alchemy-of-ai-storytelling GUEST BIOS: ARI KUSCHNIR Ari is a storyteller and visual artist whose viral AI shorts — from TRUMP AYAHUASCA and WE CAN TALK to LOVE FORCE ONE and MAGA BALLROOM 2028 — have reached over 150 million views. Founder of the award-winning production company m ss ng p eces, he specializes in metaphysical stories built with emerging tools, imagining different futures while pushing the boundaries of contemporary storytelling. https://mssngpeces.com https://www.instagram.com/arikuschnir SCHUYLER BROWN Schuyler is a facilitator and creative channel. Former brand strategist and corporate consultant. Focuses on intuitive practice, heart-centered collaboration, and maintaining coherence in chaotic edge-times. Offers embodiment and subtle world practices to keep us human. https://www.artofemergence.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/

Are psychic phenomena real—and are science and the humanities finally ready to admit it? In this episode, I speak with Jeffrey Kripal, PhD and Dean Radin, PhD about consciousness, magic, telepathy, UFOs, and why a genuine paradigm shift is already underway. Dean, one of the most prolific researchers in parapsychology, and chief scientist at the Institute for Noetic Sciences, describes how academic institutions—from Harvard on down—are suddenly opening their doors to rigorous studies of psychic phenomena. "The seesaw has turned… we are in the midst of the paradigm shift right now," he tells me. Jeffrey, a leading scholar of religion, explores how UFOs, psychedelics, synchronicities, and anomalous experiences challenge both rigid materialism and religious fundamentalism. He argues that a deeper, more integrated model—dual-aspect monism—is needed to understand what's emerging. https://jeffreyjkripal.com https://www.deanradin.com/ https://noetic.org/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #LiminalNews #JeffreyKripal #DeanRadin #Consciousness #PsiResearch #Paranormal #Magic #UFOs #Telepathy #Psychedelics #Philosophy #AIConsciousness #QuantumMind #FutureOfScience #Spirituality

Can ancient plant medicines and indigenous traditions help heal our fractured civilization? Daniel Pinchbeck speaks with Roman Hanis—author of Beyond Ayahuasca and co-founder of the Paititi Institute—about his two decades apprenticing with Amazonian elders, bridging Tibetan Buddhism, Jungian psychology, and ecological preservation. In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I speak with Roman Hanis, author of "Beyond Ayahuasca" and co-founder of the Paititi Institute for the Preservation of Ecology and Indigenous Culture. For over twenty years, Roman has lived and apprenticed among Andean and Amazonian elders, integrating traditional plant-medicine lineages with Tibetan Vajrayana, Jungian psychology, and Daoist internal alchemy. We explore the deeper meaning of "sacred reciprocity," the illness of forgetfulness that afflicts modern civilization, and what it means to reconnect with the original wisdom of the heart. Roman shares his own healing journey from chronic illness to remission in the rainforest, the founding of his eco-spiritual community, and his vision for uniting ancestral wisdom with modern science through rites of passage, education, and intercultural healing. 🌿 Roman Hanis — https://paititi-institute.org 📘 "Beyond Ayahuasca" - https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Ayahuasca-Unlocking-Evolutionary-Indigenous/dp/1401979599 ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #LiminalNews #RomanHanis #BeyondAyahuasca #Ayahuasca #PaititiInstitute #PlantMedicine #IndigenousWisdom #DanielPinchbeck #Consciousness #Ecology #Psychedelics #SpiritualHealing #AmazonRainforest #TibetanBuddhism #JungianPsychology

I sit down with Ramez Naam—scientist, technologist, and award-winning sci-fi author—to unpack how we arrived at the brink of democratic collapse, and what we can still do to pull back. Ramez and I first met years ago at Burning Man. Since then, he's become one of the most lucid voices connecting climate change, clean energy, technology, and political reform. We talk about the tech industry's dangerous silence, the manipulation of social media, the rise of AI influence operations, and why "everything is downstream from protecting democracy." He also shares hopeful insights about the unstoppable rise of clean energy, how humor and compassion can still bridge divides, and why the fight for the future will be won through both emotional resilience and civic action. 🎙️ Guest Bio: Ramez Naam is a computer scientist, futurist, and former Microsoft program manager. He's the author of The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet and the award-winning Nexus science-fiction trilogy. His work explores the intersection of technology, climate, and human evolution. 🔗 https://x.com/ramez 🔗 https://rameznaam.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #RamezNaam #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck #Democracy #Authoritarianism #ClimateCrisis #CleanEnergy #TechEthics #AI #FutureOfDemocracy #BurningMan #PoliticalPolarization #SocialMedia #TrumpEra #Futurism

Filmmaker Betsy Chasse, co-creator of "What the Bleep Do We Know!?", joins me to dissect how the New Age movement morphed into a billion-dollar self-help industry. We discuss cult dynamics, spiritual narcissism, the rise of Trumpian mysticism, and how "manifestation" culture paved the road from The Secret to MAGA metaphysics. In this episode, I speak with filmmaker, author, and cultural critic Betsy Chasse — best known as co-writer and director of the 2004 New Age phenomenon "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" Betsy reflects on the film's legacy and how its ideas about consciousness and quantum reality were later weaponized by the self-help industry. We explore the psychological and economic forces that turned spirituality into a marketplace — from the Law of Attraction to "conscious entrepreneurship." Together, we unpack how the wellness world's obsession with "positive thinking" and "manifestation" created fertile ground for denial, cult psychology, and authoritarian spirituality. Betsy speaks candidly about narcissism, greed, and the need for genuine compassion and social engagement in a time of disinformation, AI disruption, and creeping theocracy. 🎧 Guest Bio: Betsy Chasse is a filmmaker, author, and producer best known for co-creating "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" She has since written "Metanoia," "Killing Buddha," and hosts her Substack Betsy's Rants, where she takes aim at the commodification of spirituality and the contradictions of modern "conscious" culture. https://betsychasse.substack.com/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #BetsyChasse #WhatTheBleep #NewAge #DanielPinchbeck #LiminalNews #LawOfAttraction #Consciousness #Spirituality #CultPsychology #WellnessIndustry #MAGA #AI #TheSecret #QuantumSpirituality

Liberal capitalism tells us to be good and bad at the same time—innovate, compete, and care. In this episode, I talk with economic anthropologist Brett Scott, author of "Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for Our Wallets", about the failure of liberal reformism, the rise of tech-fueled authoritarianism, and how the ESG illusion collapsed into the culture wars. In this episode of Liminal News, I speak with Brett Scott about what he calls "the contradiction at the heart of capitalism." We unpack how liberal capitalism's moral split—between ruthless competition and moral virtue—has produced both guilt and confusion across modern society. Brett traces the lineage of "good capitalism" from ESG investing to tech-driven "effective altruism," and explains how the right wing and figures like Trump, Musk, and Thiel have exploited that contradiction. We dive into the symbolic death of liberalism, the collapse of reformist fantasies like "stakeholder capitalism," and the rise of a new authoritarian capitalism cloaked in techno-utopian ideals. Later, Brett explores how crypto, stablecoins, and private tech empires are reshaping global power—and what a truly progressive, peer-to-peer alternative might look like. 👉About: Brett Scott is an author, economic anthropologist, and journalist exploring the intersections of money, power, and technology. He's the author of "Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for Our Wallets" and writes the Substack Altered States of Monetary Consciousness. His latest work examines the politics of cash, digital finance, and the psychological architecture of capitalism. 📺 YouTube: / @brettscott 📰 Substack: https://www.asomo.co/ ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #LiminalNews #BrettScott #DanielPinchbeck #Liberalism #Capitalism #Crypto #ESG #PeterThiel #ElonMusk #MarcAndreessen #TechIdeology #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Cloudmoney #Finance #AI #Politics #Utopia #Dystopia #SurveillanceCapitalism

In this episode of LIMINAL NEWS, I talk with Ralph White and Walter Alexander about the extraordinary life, teachings, and legacy of Rudolf Steiner—a visionary philosopher, spiritual scientist, and founder of biodynamic agriculture, Waldorf education, and anthroposophy. We explore Steiner's esoteric Christianity, his teachings on reincarnation and the evolution of consciousness, the challenges of our technological age, and how his ideas remain profoundly relevant today. 👉 Sign up for the month-long Rudolf Steiner seminar here: 🌐 https://www.liminal.news/awakening-th... 👉Ralph White Bio: Ralph taught the first course on holistic learning at NYU, and is the author of The Jeweled Highway: On the Quest for a Life of Meaning. He is director of the New Center for Holistic Learning NY and was co-creator of the New York Open Center, the city's leading venue for holistic programs for over 35 years. Ralph also directs the Esoteric Quest, a series of international conferences on the Western Esoteric Tradition, and is a long-time student of Rudolf Steiner's work. 👉Walter Alexander Bio: Walter has long been a prominent facilitator and program director at Anthroposophy NYC. He has been a fiction writer, teacher (public and Waldorf) and medical journalist (conventional and alternative) and is the author of Hearts and Minds: Reclaiming the Soul of Science and Medicine (Lindisfarne, 2019) and many articles. ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #RudolfSteiner #Anthroposophy #Consciousness #EsotericChristianity #Spirituality #WaldorfEducation #BiodynamicFarming #LiminalNews #DanielPinchbeck

DMT as a hidden technology? Jeffrey Kripal & Andrew Gallimore join Daniel Pinchbeck to explore consciousness, aliens & the end of history. In this episode of the Liminal News, I sit down with two extraordinary thinkers: Jeffrey J. Kripal, historian of religions and author of "The Superhumanities" and "Secret Body," and Andrew Gallimore, neuroscientist and author of "Death By Astonishment", "Alien Information Theory" and "Reality Switch Technologies." We dive deep into the implications of DMT research, extended-state psychedelic experiments, and the possibility of human contact with non-human intelligences. We explore the "death by astonishment" experience, the limits of materialism, and the surprising parallels between ancient religious visions and cutting-edge psychedelic science. Could DMT be a kind of hidden "technology" that points humanity toward a higher-dimensional reality? Are we approaching a civilizational tipping point — an "end of history" moment? And what can science and the history of religions teach us about the true nature of consciousness? 📖 Guest Bios: Jeffrey J. Kripal is a professor of philosophy and religious thought at Rice University and the author of numerous books including "The Superhumanities," "Authors of the Impossible," and "Secret Body." His work examines the intersections of consciousness, altered states, mysticism, and the paranormal, challenging the limits of materialist science. https://jeffreyjkripal.com Andrew Gallimore is a neurobiologist, chemist, and pharmacologist based in Japan. His research focuses on the DMT experience, extended-state psychedelic immersion, and the interface between neuroscience, mathematics, and higher-dimensional theories of reality. He is the author of "Alien Information Theory" and "Reality Switch Technologies." https://buildingalienworlds.com ================================== Please subscribe to the LIminal News Substack Newsletter! https://substack.com/@danielpinchbeck Please buy my books! https://tinyurl.com/mrsmtpwv Please join my online seminars and community at THE LIMINAL INSTITUTE: www.liminal.news Instagram: @danielpinchbeck Official Website: www.pinchbeck.io/ #LiminalNews #DMT #JeffreyKripal #AndrewGallimore #Psychedelics #Consciousness #AlienInformationTheory #Superhumanities #SimulationTheory #EndOfHistory #DeathByAstonishment #Shamanism #Paranormal #Mysticism #terencemckenna