Throughout history, humans have looked for hidden meanings behind dreams. But in this modern, scientific age, surely we don’t believe dreams could hold spiritual significance anymore? God wouldn’t speak to people through a medium as unreliable as dreams … right?
Meet our guests
Professor Russell Foster is Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. He’s delivered TED Talks and even coached Hollywood actors on how to harness sleep for peak performance. He is the author of Life Time – The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health. He’s also the coauthor of the Oxford Very Short Introduction to Sleep. Highly recommended.
Bronwen Neil is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University. She’s an expert on Byzantine and medieval Christianity. Part of her research involves understanding the social culture of antiquity and the early Middle Ages – a world in which dreams were taken very, very, seriously.
Nima Alizadeh is president of Revelation Ministries Inc., a group dedicated to helping Farsi-speaking Christians navigate their faith. He also leads The Gospel Coalition Farsi edition.
Links
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Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.
To Read
- Forbes has published this article summarising some of the latest developments in sleep study.
- Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is a must-read. Get your copy now.
- Scientific American has composed this article outlining where science is at on dreaming.
- Deirdre Barrett wrote this great article during the Covid lockdown on why dreams were particularly vivid during restrictions.
- Here’s what the Ancient Greek doctors thought of dreams.
To Watch
- Here’s Russell Foster, in conversation with actor Kristen Scott-Thomas on the benefits of a good night’s sleep.
- Here’s that clip from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – a favourite of Producer Kaley’s!
- Here’s a very cool video on how to survive in the Byzantine Empire – a world where dreams could get you in serious trouble!
- This is the CBN news report we played in the episode of Muslims encountering Jesus in their dreams.
To Listen
- Matthew Walker’s episode about sleep on the Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most downloaded episodes – and for good reason.
- We’ve covered the Byzantine Empire on Undeceptions before – check that episode out here.
- The Unexplainable Podcast also covered this topic recently – check out their take on “why we dream” here.
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