Phenomenology of the Phenomenon - Dr. Kimberly Engels in conversation with Dr. Diana W. Pasulka

Dr. Kimberly Engels interviews Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of “American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, and Technology” and “Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences.”

Together they discuss the intersection between the methodologies employed in religious studies and phenomenology, Dr. Pasulka's transition from neutrality towards UAP encounters to a stance of belief, and what it means to truly take experiencer testimony seriously as honest descriptions of events that may have actually occurred. This conversation is enriched by Dr. Pasulka's expertise in the history of religious experience and her years of UAP field research.

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Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). Her research focuses on religion, technology, and emerging religious movements. She has authored a series of acclaimed books, including “Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences” (2024).

Diana appears on popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, Lex Fridman, Mysterious Universe, and in the New York Times, The Guardian. She was the consulting producer for the Emmy nominated Amblin Netflix Series called Encounters, and the consultant for the first Conjuring movie in the franchise. Her insights were also featured in the J.J. Abrams-produced docuseries “UFO.”

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Dr. Kimberly S. Engels is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Molloy University and past president of the North American Sartre Society. She received her PhD from Marquette University, where she first studied phenomenology. Her UAP research interests lie in the lived conscious experience of individuals who report UAP encounters.