{"podcast":{"title":"MonsterTalk","slug":"monstertalk-162017","podcast_index_feed_id":162017,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6267523/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/7698c27b5af520e6dca580217c19bd71.jpg","author":"Monster House LLC","episode_count":503,"summary":"MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T08:19:22.443337+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017"},"episode":{"title":"S05E29 - Science of the Supernatural with Melissa Maffeo","slug":"s05e29-science-of-the-supernatural-with-melissa-maffeo","published_at":"2026-05-04T03:55:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017/s05e29-science-of-the-supernatural-with-melissa-maffeo","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017","url":"https://www.monstertalk.org/?p=2976","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71832858/s05e29_monstertalk.mp3","summary":"Neuroscientist Dr. Melissa Maffeo joins Blake and Karen to discuss her new book Science of the Supernatural: Critical Thinking for the Mind and Brain (Cambridge University Press, 2026). Melissa is an associate teaching professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, where she also serves as Associate Director of the Neuroscience Program. In this episode, Melissa talks about using paranormal topics as an accessible entry point for teaching psychology and neuroscience, and shares her view that most supernatural experiences can likely be explained by what's happening in our brains - even if we don't yet have all the answers. The conversation covers a wide range of topics from the book, including the God Helmet experiments, the neuroscience of out-of-body experiences, how parasites can hijack behavior, and whether prior belief shapes what we experience. Extended show notes at our website. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support . Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.","meta_description":"Neuroscientist Dr. Melissa Maffeo joins Blake and Karen to discuss her new book Science of the Supernatural: Critical Thinking for the Mind and Brain (Cam…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2700,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/monstertalk-162017/episodes/s05e29-science-of-the-supernatural-with-melissa-maffeo/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017/s05e29-science-of-the-supernatural-with-melissa-maffeo.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}