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The Hammer of Witches

In the eighth episode of the neurodissent podcast, we discuss the infamous witch-hunting text, the Malleus Maleficarum, which means “The Hammer of Witches” in English. The book was first written around 1486 by two men who were part of the Inquisition. In other words, they were inquisitors, tasked with identifying, prosecuting, and punishing suspected witches. […]

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Thunder Magic

In the sixth episode of the neurodissent podcast, we explore thunder magic rituals. During China’s Song dynasty (960 – 1279 AD), ritual masters formalized thunder magic for the first time, writing down instructions to transmit their magical practices to others. One of those masters was Wang Wenqing (1093 – 1153 AD). In this episode, we […]

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The Exorcists of Heian

In the fifth episode of the neurodissent podcast, we explore exorcism in the Heian period of Japanese history which lasted from 794 to 1195 AD. During this time, priests and mediums performed rituals to exorcise spirits who had possessed people. In this episode, we delve into Heian exorcism rituals, exploring how they might have provided […]

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St. Jerome & the Fires of Lust

The neurodissent podcast‘s third episode (season 1) is now online! In this episode, we talk about the theologian St. Jerome, who lived in the Roman empire from around 340 – 420 AD. Jerome’s writings were influential during his time, and have remained so for over 1600 years. Among the many things he wrote was the […]

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Jesus Christ & the Demoniacs

The neurodissent podcast‘s second episode (season 1) is now online! In this episode, we explore healing stories about Jesus Christ told in the Gospel of Mark. In Mark, we find stories of Jesus Christ exorcising demons. Using modern medical or psychiatric knowledge, listeners may recognize these afflictions as diagnoses like epilepsy and posttraumatic stress disorder. […]