Eric Burns will be joining me for Part 2 on the Born To Talk Radio Show Podcast on Monday, December 18th from 1-2 PT. I’m delighted Eric has agreed to be a part of this podcast since we didn’t complete our conversation last month. This is a testament to his genuine commitment, authenticity, and professionalism. I’m very grateful for this opportunity.
Eric Burns.
To begin with, Eric was a correspondent for NBC News, appearing regularly on NBC Nightly News and the Today Show. He was named one of the best writers in the history of broadcast journalism, joining such luminaries as Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Charles Kuralt, and David Brinkley. He is also the winner of two Emmys for television news commentary. Eric has written 15 books, two of which received the highest award given by the American Library Association.
Several years ago, Eric became intrigued with spiritualism and séances. When the Dead Talked…and the Smartest Minds in the World Listened is the result of that curiosity. It’s well-researched, with the assistance of the Society for Psychical Research in London and the American Society for Psychical Research in New York, both founded in the 1870s. Eric has captured the history, the believers, and the doubters, and those in between.
Did You Know?
One-third of Americans believe they have spoken with the dead, as spiritualism surges again in the US. This was reported by Casey Cep in her May 24, 2021, New Yorker article titled, “Why Did So Many Victorians Try to Speak with the Dead?” Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, and Queen Victoria all attended séances.
You might be wondering, how did they connect? What did they discuss? Why were the “smartest minds in the world” so interested in these questions? And lastly, why did they struggle so mightily to rouse interest in their fellow academics?
That’s what intrigued Eric to write When the Dead Talked…and the Smartest Minds in the World Listened, published by Story Merchant Books.
When the Dead Talked…and the Smartest Minds in the World Listened.
“In the late 19th century, an estimated 11 million Americans believed in something called Spiritualism. They believed in it so ardently that it came to be thought of as a religion, and it became the seventh most popular religion in the United States. It’s fundamental tenet—virtually its only tenet—was that it was possible for the living to communicate with the dead.”
In Closing.
When the Dead Talked…and the Smartest Minds in the World Listened calls attention to a little discussed, little understood, yet increasingly important part of life in America.
Conversations + Connections = Community
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