Jeffrey Kripal
Biography:
Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he is also the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.
He is the author of Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred, Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion, The Serpent’s Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion, Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom: Eroticism and Reflexivity in the Study of Mysticism, and Kali’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna.
His present areas of interest include the comparative erotics of mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religious traditions, and the history of Western esotericism from ancient Gnosticism to the New Age. He is currently working on a book on the paranormal and American popular culture.
Past Shows:
Sci-Fi, Superheroes, & the Paranormal
Chair of Religious Studies at Rice University, Jeffrey Kripal, talked about how various sci-fi writers and comic book creators have intertwined myth, religion, and the paranormal into their works, sometimes inspired by their own mystical or paranormal experiences. ... More »
Host: George KnappParanormal & Psychical Research
Jeffrey Kripal, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University, shared his historical analysis of paranormal and psychical research. First hour guest, animal activist Laura Leigh talked about the recent wild horse round-up in Nevada by the BLM, and her lawsuit to stop it. ... More »
Host: George Knapp