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Brother Martin senior with meniscus tear makes sliding save that cliches title-game berth
Brother Martin defender Mateo Tuzzato has played the entire soccer season with a brace on his right knee because of a preseason meniscus tear that will require surgery.
Vanderbilt Health remembers C. Leon Partain, former chair of Radiology
Clarence Leon Partain, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, whose work in nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging helped shape the field of academic radiology, died Jan. 28 in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 85. After beginning his career as a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as faculty at the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina, Dr. Partain joined the ranks at Vanderbilt Radiology in 1980 and was promoted to professor in 1984. He later became the first Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and chair of the department (1992-2000), and subsequently the director of the Center for Imaging Research. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Dr. Partain began to lead Vanderbilt Radiology’s nuclear medicine division. He remained in this role until he was named the department chair. Dr. Partain specialized in multiple fields, including nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. Following his time as chair, Dr. Partain shifted his focus to research and spent time working clinically with radiology’s chest imaging section. In 2015, he retired and was honored for his years of service and named as emeritus faculty. Dr. Partain also held an appointment as professor of Biomedical Engineering. A Tennessee native, Dr. Partain was born in Memphis and later graduated from high school in Clarksville. He then received his BS in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee, his MS and PhD in nuclear engineering from Purdue University and his MD from Washington University. He completed his residency training in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Partain was clinically trained and certified in diagnostic radiology and nuclear radiology by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Partain contributed to the growth of Vanderbilt Radiology and received many academic and research accolades across the specialty through various associations. During his time leading the department, clinical studies increased from 180,000 to 260,000 cases per year, emerging technological imaging equipment expanded the department’s capabilities, and units for angiography and fluoroscopy were added to the tool kit. The department also expanded its footprint with outpatient imaging in Nashville, Bedford County and more. Research continued to expand with continued growth in scientific findings and millions in grant funding for radiopharmaceuticals, functional MRI, nuclear medicine, X-ray, ultrasound and more. Dr. Partain is celebrated for being instrumental in bringing the first MRI and PET/CT machines to the Medical Center. His efforts helped build Vanderbilt Radiology’s prestige in the world of academics and research both nationally and internationally. His society affiliations included the American College of Radiology, the American College of Nuclear Medicine, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). He served as president of the Radiological Research Alliance of the Association of Academic Radiologists and has held executive roles as a member of many radiological society boards. Dr. Partain was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging from 2000 to 2013 and a member of the editorial boards of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the American Journal of Roentgenology, Academic Radiology, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Investigative Radiology. He has authored/co-authored/edited six textbooks, including one of the first comprehensive textbooks on MRI, “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Imaging.” Dr. Partain has also authored/co-authored/edited approximately 100-plus book chapters and 200-plus journal articles. In 2000, Dr. Partain received the Distinguished Service Award from the ABR. In 2014, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the ISMRM. In 2016, he received the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington University for his “contributions to advance the fields of nuclear medicine and medical imaging.” Dr. Partain served the ABR as an examiner for 20 years, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as a member of the Nuclear Medicine Residency Review Committee, and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in multiple capacities. A devout Baptist deacon and man of committed faith, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Judy; children, David (Rebecca), Teri (Bland), and Amy; brother, Larry (Deb); brother-in-law, Tom (Cathy); grandchildren, Sarah (Brandon), Amy, Luke, Tucker, Alex, Ryan and Jake; cousins and a host of nieces and nephews. Vanderbilt Health is grateful to Dr. Partain for his decades of service and major contributions to clinical and research imaging.
New on DVD: Prepare for frights when 'Man Finds Tape'
A found footage horror film tops the DVD releases for the week of Feb. 24. "Man Finds Tape": A brother and sister return to their Texas hometown to investigate surveillance
Why after 70-plus years of readership I won’t renew my Washington Post subscription
My brother and I read a lot growing up. Our Dad, a bomb-designing nuclear engineer with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), purchased our first television the day after we graduated from high school. Yes, there was a statement therein regarding his opinion of a pernicious distraction from our academic pursuits. I can’t imagine what he […]
Motivated by last year’s loss, Brother Martin reaches semifinals for first time since 2013
Humiliated by how his team ended the season a year ago, Brother Martin’s Kaden Rossi walked off the field and made himself a promise: it wouldn’t happen again.
James Van Der Beek's brother shares 'devastation' after actor's death: 'I now know why people call it heartbreak'
James Van Der Beek's younger brother, Jared, shared his 'devastation and pain' in a candid and emotional tribute to the late actor: 'I now know why people call it heartbreak.'
The St. Augustine-Brother Martin winner prevailed in overtime. Here's how they did it.
The basketball game between Brother Martin and St. Augustine was decided in overtime.
Jazz concert held at the Center of Belvedere
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- On Thursday night the Charlottesville Jazz Society hosted Michael Hawkins and the Brotherhood at the Center of Belvedere.
Director Pablo Larraín Launches Pijama, Affordable Movie Rental Service to Help Fix the Distribution Business (Exclusive)
Co-founded with his brother and producing partner, Juan de Dios Larraín, the new TVOD platform offers filmmakers pricing control, 80 percent revenue share and global territory flexibility.
Titans hire GM’s brother as new linebackers coach
The Tennessee Titans hire the brother of general manager Mike Borgonzi to be the team's new linebackers coach.
Friedman, Schiff seek commitments to protect Hollywood jobs amid WBD acquisition
Media giants Netflix and Paramount are making their sales pitches to take over Warner Brothers Discovery, and it's caught the attention of Capitol Hill.
Letter from Assistant Sports Editor: We made it
If there’s anything that’s been a constant in my life, it’s baseball. It’s the game I grew up playing in my backyard with my brothers, soaking in the warm Pittsburgh weather while pursuing my short-lived dreams of making it to the big leagues. It’s the game that signals the return of my favorite time of...
Longtime Detroit firefighters turn brotherhood into business with Mount Clemens restaurant
Two longtime Detroit firefighters turned their brotherhood into a business. Nearly 20 years ago, they opened a restaurant in Mount Clemens that pays tribute to their days in the firehouse.
Plan your weekend with Brevard's best entertainment events for Feb. 13-19
Looking for something fun to do? Blues Brothers, Bee Gees and a cinematic sci-fi concert top our list of Brevard's best weekend events.
The latest Brother Martin-Jesuit game has the winner thinking, ‘We can get to Lake Charles’
Brother Martin has experienced its share of close losses in district games this season.
From Fishing Nets to Furniture: Turning Ocean Plastic Into Usable Products
A brother-and-sister team in Spain started a sustainable business model recycling old and damaged nets into stadium seating and decorations.
Brotherly inspiration drives a Rummel wrestler to state title contention
Rummel High School wrestler Dominick Durham is seeking an LHSAA state championship.
NFL athletes help students celebrate new sports field in East Palo Alto
NFL player Mekhi Blackmon of the Colts and brothers Rejzohn and Nahshon Wright of the Saints and Bears, all played on the field as kids and were at the celebration. "This is where I learned to be a teammate," Bears CB and East Palo Alto native Nahshon Wright said. "This is how I learned to be selfless."
Samson Gash, Catholic Central star, signs to Michigan State football
4-star Novi Detroit Catholic Central wide receiver Samson Gash, the state's fastest player, officially signed with Michigan State football Wednesday.
Brothers of Renee Good, woman killed by ICE officer, call for action in Congress
The forum, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia, highlighted Use-of-force complaints against Homeland Security officers
These Twin Brothers Turned One Beach-Themed Trailer Into a $250M Brand With Over 80 Stores: ‘It’s a Beast’
Mike and Alex Faherty combined complementary skillsets to launch their company.
Patriots' star 'excited' for new Commanders OC David Blough
Christian Gonzalez is preparing for the Super Bowl, while his brother-in-law just landed a big promotion.
Arizona Cardinals to hire Mike LaFleur as next head coach
If Mike and Matt LaFleur ever get to face off, they’ll be the second brother pairing to do so in NFL history.
Dodgers Sign Pitcher, Brother of River Ryan
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Ryder Ryan, brother of current pitcher River Ryan, to a minor league deal on Thursday.
Local business owner honors brother with fundraiser for The Shepherd’s House
A local business owner honored her brother with a fundraiser on Saturday.
A history of Dodgers brothers playing together
The Dodgers have River Ryan returning from 2024 Tommy John surgery, and is expected to be part of the team’s starting rotation puzzle in the 2026 season. There’s also at least a chance that he might be teammates with his brother Ryder Ryan, who was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal that […]
A No. 1-vs.-2 showdown between Brother Martin and Jesuit has been moved because of weather
Brother Martin and Jesuit will play their rivalry soccer match two days later than originally scheduled.
Puma's long slide: the rise and fall of a German sports icon
Germany's Puma and fierce rival Adidas have their roots in the very same house where brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler launched their shoe business a century ago, before a major fall-out between the siblings split the company in two.
How 2 brothers turned Selkirk Sport into a leading pickleball brand
Brothers Rob and Mike Barnes started Selkirk Sport in 2014, when they were just 19 and 22 — and when pickleball was considered "a senior sport."
Brother Martin’s 2-sport difference-maker is drawing the respect of opposing coaches
The Crusaders standout is also drawing interest from colleges in multiple sports. Here’s his story.
A Brother Martin senior's late goal decided a close boys soccer match against Newman
The Brother Martin boys soccer team played in a close game against Newman.
Netflix amends Warner Bros Discovery deal to all-cash offer
Netflix sweetened its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and HBO streaming business to an all-cash offer, the companies said Tuesday.
Guggenheim Brothers Media, Ethmar Team on Entertainment, Digital Creator Fund Amid Push to Make Abu Dhabi a Hub for Creative Sector
The partners have a "shared mission of supporting the early-stage creative companies shaping the future of culture from Abu Dhabi to the world."
Business of the Week: BCS Facilities
BINGHAMTON (WIVT/WBGH) – BCS Facilities is the Greater Binghamton Chamber Business of the Week. The commercial janitorial service company is based out of Newtown, Pennsylvania and opened a Binghamton branch in 2024. A second-generation, family-owned business, two brothers are the managing partners at BCS. Some of its local clients include Visions Federal Credit Union, Guthrie, […]
Spaws Grooming named Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce business of the month
Thomas Mecham and his brother are the owners of Spaws Grooming in Rexburg. Spaws Grooming was named the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce business of the month for January. Mecham is grateful for the recognition this will bring the business and credits the hard-working team at Spaws for the acknowledgement.
The Arts and Entertainment Agenda, Jan. 16-22
The Wheeler Opera House tickets presale for The Wood Brothers, Jan. 16 Wheeler Insider tickets will go on presale for The Wood Brothers from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Jan. 16, at the Wheeler House...
Jesuit twin brothers, one who overcame rare brain condition, choose different sporting passions
Jesuit High School
In Lodge Grass, Montana, a Crow community works to rebuild from meth's destruction
Meth is a problem most everywhere, but particularly in Indian Country. In one small town on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, new buildings serve as symbols of a town trying to rebuild after being devastated by addiction.
Stranger Things' Duffer Brothers Address Show's Possible Return Amid "Conformity Gate" Episode Theory
Stranger Things creators Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer shared whether they plan to continue building on the original story amid rumors that Netflix was releasing a secret ninth episode on Jan. 7.
First ‘Entertainment Tonight’ Producer and Former King World and CNBC Exec Andy Friendly Dies at 74
Veteran TV exec and Emmy-nominated producer Andy Friendly died Sunday, Jan. 4, at his home in Bel-Air, according to his family. Friendly was 74. Friendly, the son of legendary journalist Fred Friendly and brother of producer David Friendly, began his career as a writer and producer at NBC News in New York, later becoming a …
Twin(s) brothers throwback: The Cliburn coaches
With the Twins adding the second in a set of brothers, here’s a lookback at another set of brothers in the organization.
Manchester United: Who are Darren Fletcher's son's Tyler and Jack?
BBC Sport profiles twin brothers Tyler and Jack Fletcher, who will hope to get minutes at Manchester United under interim head coach and father Darren
Brother Martin-Rummel goes two OTs — and the winner’s new coach is being heard
Brother Martin basketball coach Wesley Laurendine had plenty to feel good about Tuesday night.
A look back offers a glimpse of what's to come with advances in tech
In this month's River Life column, Quinton White offers a look back at the phases of life and realizing so many advancements in technology.
Former Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins headed to West Virginia
Hawkins' brother is also expected to join him on the Sooners.
Levitt reviews another season of eclectic outdoor entertainment
Carleigh Welsh reviews the eclectic Levitt Pavilion season, featuring The Wood Brothers, comedy, and a gala with Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Brother went from business partner to murder suspect accused of killing 4 and torching 2 houses
Paul Caneiro's long-awaited quadruple murder trial is set to open Monday in New Jersey.
UAH women’s basketball makes history with wild overtime win against defending GSC champs
UAH (12-3, 7-0) will host Christian Brothers (3-8, 0-5) on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Spragins Hall in Huntsville.
Palestine advocates praise NYC’s Mamdani for revoking pro-Israel decrees
Israeli government hits out at newly sworn-in New York City mayor, falsely calling him a 'Muslim Brotherhood Islamist'.
‘Stranger Things’: Duffer Brothers Tease Spinoff Will Unravel Season 5 Mystery
Fans will learn more about the rock Henry Creel encountered as a child.
Auston Matthews, Hughes and Tkachuk brothers highlight 2026 U.S. men's Olympic hockey roster
The U.S. men will begin their pursuit of a gold medal on Feb. 12 against Latvia.
'Big Brother' Host Julie Chen Reveals Mickey Lee's Health Condition After Her Death
The Season 27 competitor died at 35 on Christmas Day.
‘Stranger Things’ Finale: Duffer Brothers Tease Massive & Emotional Series Ending
Matt and Ross Duffer tease what's in store.
‘Stranger Things’ Finale: Duffer Brothers Tease Massive & Emotional Series Ending
Matt and Ross Duffer tease what's in store.
The Year in Entertainment 2025: The TV that was top
The small screen took us everywhere from the shores of Cousins Beach to the emergency room at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center this year. Here's a look at the shows and limited series that defined 2025:It was the medical procedural drama The Pitt that scored the top prize at the Emmys this year. Led by Noah Wyle, who won the best actor in a drama Emmy for his portrayal of Dr. Robby in the new series, The Pitt's first season followed the challenges faced by health care workers on the front lines over the course of a single, 15-hour shift at the hospital. Other big winners at the ceremony included Seth Rogen's new comedy series The Studio, as well as the Netflix limited series Adolescence.Many prestige shows captured the cultural zeitgeist in 2025. Fans traveled to Thailand to check in for season 3 of The White Lotus, while the mystery at Lumon Industries continued to unfold as Severance season 2 rolled out. The Last of Us viewers mourned a fan-favorite character during its sophomore season, while Star Wars fans returned to a galaxy far, far away to bid farewell to Andor as it debuted its second and final season.Nobody could stop talking about The Summer I Turned Pretty. Whether you were team Conrad or team Jeremiah, fans couldn't keep their eyes off the dramatic third season of the teen romance series, which spanned from the U.S.'s East Coast all the way to Paris. While the series ended with Belly finally picking which brother she wanted to be with, the story isn't quite over. A feature film that will end the romantic saga has been greenlit by Prime Video.Finally, the year ended with the release of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. It turned Netflix's streaming records upside down, accumulating 59.6 million views in its first five days and becoming the best-ever premiere week viewing numbers for an English-language series on the streaming platform.Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Latest Epstein files name Trump multiple times
In the more than 10,000 files released Tuesday, Jeffrey Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, said the sex trafficker was killed because he was going to name co-conspirators.
McClellan Excited for Strong Family Bond at K-State - Kansas State University Athletics
Nick McClellan, a first team all-state honoree at Christian Brothers College (Mo.) High School and one of the finest two-way players in the country, had star...
'Big Brother' alum Mickey Lee in 'critical condition' after suffering multiple cardiac arrests
Micky Lee, an alum of 'Big Brother' season 27, is in 'critical condition' after suffering a 'series of cardiac arrests'. Her family is currently fundraising to help cover sudden medical expenses.
Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. could reshape entertainment industry
Netflix is making one of the biggest moves in entertainment history. On Dec. 5, the company announced plans to acquire the film and television businesses of Warner Brothers Discovery in a deal valued at roughly $72 billion in equity. If approved, the acquisition would bring together two of the most powerful forces in modern entertainment....
Motorcycle groups make special delivery to UVA Health Children’s Hospital
Harrisonburg’s Proud American Riders and Brotherhood on Wheels made a heartfelt delivery to UVA Health Children’s.
'My brother's deteriorating health wasn't recognised in 999 calls'
Adam Hussain, 23, had appendicitis but his worsening symptoms led to his death.
100 Years Ago, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Changed Black
The fact that the meeting was even happening was enough to produce an air of subversive excitement. One hundred years ago on August 25, 1925, Black sleeping car porters, hoping to form a union at the
Puka Nakua's brother reportedly arrested for allegedly taking car from Lakers rookie Adou Thiero
Puka Nakua's brother reportedly arrested for allegedly stealing car from Lakers rookie Adou Thiero
Rob Reiner's daughter found parents dead in their home 5 hours before her brother was arrested for murder
Five hours before her brother, Nick, was arrested in connection with their deaths, Romy Reiner found her parents — Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner — dead in their home.
He made his brothers get their arteries checked. Each had advanced heart disease.
Kevin Murray was his family's health watchdog. His vigilance helped his brothers "avoid a real catastrophe."
Islanders Gameday News: Here come the Ducks
They’re not your father’s Ducks! Or at least not your older brother’s Ducks, or something. Tonight the Islanders host a Fairly Strong Ducks of Anaheim team that is first in its division at a very respectable 19-10-1. After years of “very tough negotiator” Pat Verbeek at the helm, it seems he just needed to hire […]
Chiefs Travis Kelce Delivers Brutal Take on His Own Struggles
On the "New Heights" podcast with his brother Jason, Travis Kelce opened up about his struggles this year on the field.
Paramount's $108 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is big — but not the biggest-ever hostile takeover attempted
In seeking to buy Warner Brothers for $108 billion, Paramount is making one of the top ten largest hostile takeover bids in history.
Paramount goes hostile in its bid for Warner Bros Discovery
It is the same bid that Warner Brothers rejected in favour of the offer from Netflix last week.
ENTERTAINMENT: Netflix Looks To Acquire Warner Brothers For $82.7 Billion
The possibility of rate increases on the current streaming giant and HBO could be in the cards
The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program Celebrates 15 Years of Impact
The program, put on in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, pairs teen girls with top female Hollywood execs.
Paramount throws in more cash in bid for Warner; Comcast wants to combine assets with NBCUniversal
Jockeying for HBO-owner Warner Bros. Discovery has intensified as the auction appears to enter its home stretch.
E-Sports Week in Review
On November 17, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate played SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the first round of playoffs. In just two games, Heath LaPointe took 13 stocks but Albion could not come away with the victory as they lost 0-2.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.