In this episode, we welcome Lydia Amir, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University, pioneer of philosophical practice, and a leading voice in transformative philosophy and the philosophy of humor. Lydia reflects on her lifelong commitment to bringing philosophy beyond the academy and making it responsive to the needs of communities and the challenges of our time. We explore her understanding of philosophers’ responsibility, the role of philosophical practice in professional education, and her distinctive claim that humor is a key bridge between theory and lived transformation. The conversation also highlights her work on philosophy as an alternative form of spirituality grounded in reason and dialogue. Sandra Radinger, guest researcher and philosophical practitioner, joins the dialogue, contributing perspectives from her work in philosophical practice and palliative care, and deepening the discussion on transformation, responsibility, and lived philosophy.

00:01:29 – Entry into philosophical practice & academic life journey

00:05:00 – Positioning philosophical practice among different approaches

00:06:53 – Responsibility of philosophers & philosophy beyond academia

00:11:23 – Philosophy and the “needs of the epoch” / unusable philosophy

00:13:16 – Philosophy’s contribution to professional education

00:15:05 – Relationship between philosophy and humor

00:19:31 – Necessity of humor for philosophizing

00:20:43 – Playfulness and the figure of the philosopher

00:25:05 – Transformative philosophy and its core ideas

00:29:18 – Role of the philosophical practitioner in personal transformation

00:32:57 – Current frontiers and future of philosophical practice

00:36:40 – Hopes for the future of lived philosophy

00:41:12 – Final reflections on promoting philosophy worldwide

Literature:

• Amir, L. (ed.) (2015): Humor and the Good Life in Modern Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Amir, L. (ed.) (2017): New Frontiers in Philosophical Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Amir, L. (2017): Rethinking Philosophers’ Responsibility. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Amir, L. (2024): The Legacy of Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Laughter. Routledge.
• Amir, L. (2025): Handbook of Transformative Philosophy. Springer.

In this episode we welcome Dr. Donna Thomas, co-director of ICreates@UCLan and Perrott-Warrick Senior Researcher administered through Trinity College Cambridge. Donna investigates children’s and adults’ extrasensory experiences within human development, bringing together psychological, social-scientific, and parapsychological perspectives. As she puts it: “Having a wider understanding of what it means to be human will inform how we develop services for people.” We talk with Donna about the kinds of unusual experiences children report, how creative and participatory methods allow them to express what lies beyond language, and why taking these experiences seriously matters for wellbeing. She also shares insights from her research on children’s near-death experiences in paediatric intensive care, and invites us to rethink dominant assumptions about consciousness, reality, and what it means to be human.

00:01:01 – Origins of Donna’s Research Interest

00:05:29 – Personal Extraordinary Experiences

00:11:04 – Children’s Unusual Experiences

00:16:35 – From Research to Services

00:22:59 – Post-Materialist Worldview

00:26:24 – Extrasensory Experiences and Development

00:29:59 – Children’s Epistemic Authority

00:34:01 – Creative Research Methods

00:39:06 – Philosophical Dialogue with Children

00:42:07 – Children’s Intuitive Wisdom

Literature:

• Thomas, D. M. (2025): Towards a natural semiotics for centralizing ‘out of this world’ images in research with children. In: Qualitative Research. Vol. 25(I). DOI: 10.1177/14687941241234284
• Thomas, D. M. & O’Riordan, Z. (2025): “My mind is not my brain”: exploring consciousness with children using creative research methods. In: Qualitative Research in Pychology. 22:2. DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2024.2354338
• Thomas, D. (2023) Children's Unexplained Experiences in a Post Materialist World. Collective Ink Publications.
• Thomas, D. M. (2022): Rethinking Methodologies in Parapsychology Research with Children. In: Journal of Anomalistics, Vol. 22.

In this episode, we welcome Rupert Sheldrake – biologist, author of over a hundred scientific papers and fifteen books, and one of the most original and influential thinkers in contemporary science. Educated at Cambridge and Harvard, and listed among the world’s most spiritually influential people for twelve consecutive years, Sheldrake is known for pioneering and provocative research on morphic fields, telepathy, and the re-enchantment of nature. Our conversation with him explores his critique of mechanistic science, his research on human and animal telepathy, the role of spiritual practices such as meditation, gratitude, ritual, and pilgrimage, and the formative influence of his years in India. Together, we discuss how science might evolve by embracing openness, lived experience, and wisdom traditions—inviting a more holistic and interconnected understanding of life.

00:01:15 – Origins of Morphic Fields

00:04:24 – Morphic Fields and Re-Enchantment

00:06:08 – Telepathy in Animals

00:10:31 – The “Science Delusion” Explained

00:14:46 – Morphic Fields and Other Fields

00:15:23 – Why Science Lost Interest in the Unexplained

00:20:13 – Seven Spiritual Practices

00:27:45 – Influence of India on Your Thinking

00:31:03 – Integrating Spiritual Practice into Research

00:33:50 – Pilgrimage as Research Practice

00:37:15 – Coincidences, Synchronicity and Guidance

00:40:08 – Reflective and Hermeneutic Research

00:41:41 – Wish List for the Future of Science

Literature:

• Sheldrake, R. (2017): Science and Spiritual Practices. Reconnecting through direct experience. Coronet Books.
• Sheldrake, R. (2012): The Science Delusion: Freeing the spirit of enquiry. London: Coronet Books.
• Sheldrake, R. (1999): Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home. New York: Crown.
• Sheldrake, R. (1988): The Presence of the Past: morphic resonance and the habits of nature, New York: Times Books
• Sheldrake, R. (1981): A New Science of Life: the hypothesis of formative causation Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher.