Authority on Nostradamus, the occult, and parapsychology John Hogue returned in the first half to update his prophecy alarm. He began with a warning about humankind, in general, experiencing "an evolutionary breakdown or breakthrough" soon. Hogue examined recent astrological changes (such as the end of Mercury retrograde at the beginning of August) and how this may be affecting weather events and the upcoming economic climate. He says he fears "a long term trade war with the Chinese" is approaching and that they will "wait it out" while the U.S. suffers. Hogue believes that the recent protests in Hong Kong are being manipulated by forces in the U.S. trying to push for a "shooting war" with China, and is also concerned about war on "several fronts," such as the continuing hostilities between India and Pakistan, who both possess nuclear weapons.
He shared his analysis of the quatrains of the great sixteenth-century prophet Nostradamus which predicted world events, particularly in WWII, when Hogue said the Nazis (some of whom he said were "very good at reading Nostradamus") tried to force the predictions into a reading of Germany winning the war, which they couldn’t do. Hogue also read passages that he said predicted both the landing on the moon and the Challenger disaster, as well as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He also pointed out that the prophet wanted to be "obscure and nebulous" in order to keep people from figuring out his predictions too easily.
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In the second half, expert brain researcher Neil Slade discussed how easily the brain can be tuned to achieve higher creativity. Slade said that "you’ve got the most complex computer sitting on top of your shoulders," and believes that fine-tuning it and paying attention to your thoughts and actions will allow anyone to take more control of their life and happiness. He continued with his belief that "your brain rewards advanced thinking that helps you survive." Slade referred to photos he provided to illustrate strange phenomena that have been occurring around him, such as a broom that kept flying off the wall of his home, once when he and his wife witnessed the movement. He also described an episode of losing a pair of glasses that inexplicably appeared hanging from a backyard wind chime a couple of weeks after he misplaced them.
As far as training the brain to be more efficient and productive, Slade suggested that research indicates that there are many ways to "tickle your amygdala," which is the area of the brain associated with the processing and memory of emotions. He believes that activities such as meditation, making or appreciating art, exercise, and especially music are all paths to better brain health. Music is one of the best methods because Slade said it "is one of the activities that engages all parts of the brain." He quoted a Harvard study which determined that listening to classical music at 60 beats per minute made learning easier and faster.
News Segment Guests: Charles Coppes, Charles R. Smith.