The Symbolic World

I finally sit down with Diana Pasulka to talk about UFOs, alien intelligence, AI, psychedelics, transhumanism, and the strange religious framework forming around all of them. We look at how these phenomena overlap with older spiritual categories, and why the promise of technological transcendence may be a counterfeit of something Christianity already understands.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/6TqYxG9gxwc
Her books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/D.W.-Pasulka/author/B07NL6KZN5

Join Dr. Zac Porcu for his course, A Demonological History of the World: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/a-demonological-history-of-the-world
6 weeks, 12 hours
Price: Only $120, and Involved patrons can get 10% off. Apply your discount code at checkout.
Live classes: Sep 15 - Oct 20

Pre-Order GodsDog: Monk now and/or get volumes 1 and 2 on sale! https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/collections/godsdog

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe

Timestamps:
00:00 – Coming up
01:58 – Introduction
02:52 – How a Religious Studies Scholar Ended Up Studying UFOs
08:52 – UFOs as Religious and Spiritual Phenomena
13:25 – A Demonological History of the World
14:41 – The Mythology and Narrative of UFOs
16:38 – Why Governments Use UFO Disinformation
20:56 – Technology, Magic, and Non-Human Intelligence
24:22 – Aliens, Demons, and the Modern Image of the “Grey”
27:43 – Psychedelics and Encounters With Other Beings
30:19 – AI as an Alien Intelligence
32:02 – UFOs and the Promise of a New Revelation
34:29 – Spielberg and the Alien as Saviour
38:35 – Arthur C. Clarke, Demons, and Childhood’s End
40:50 – Transhumanism vs. Christian Transfiguration
45:42 – God’s Dog: Monk
46:42 – Aliens as Our Future, “Evolved” Selves
49:06 – How the Alien Narrative Collides With Christianity
52:36 – Project Stargate, Remote Viewing, and Psychic Espionage
56:18 – Why Is the AI Project Also Called “Stargate”?
57:30 – 2001: A Space Odyssey, AI, and UFO Disclosure
01:01:29 – AI Is Feeding on Us
01:03:00 – How Should Christians Respond?
01:06:26 – AI Cannot Give Us Transcendence
01:08:42 – Recovering the Spiritual Senses
01:10:39 – Isolation Makes Us Vulnerable to Propaganda
01:11:39 – Diana’s Next Book on Christianity
01:13:00 – The Noosphere, the Singularity, and an Apocalyptic Moment
01:17:06 – Christianity Makes Us More Human
01:18:20 – Conclusion

Dr. Zac Porcu joins me to discuss his upcoming course on the demonological history of the world, looking at the pagan gods, fallen angels, magic, and technology. We explore what happens when you take seriously the early Christian claim that the gods were real, but fallen.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/WMKOzuhnib4
Learn more about Dr. Zac: https://zacharyporcu.com/Join Dr. Zac Porcu for his course, A Demonological History of the World: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/a-demonological-history-of-the-world 6 weeks, 12 hoursPrice: Only $120, and Involved patrons can get 10% off. Apply your discount code at checkout.Live classes: Sep 15 - Oct 20Pre-Order GodsDog: Monk now and/or get volumes 1 and 2 on sale! https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/collections/godsdog🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website, blog, courses: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com📚 Store: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

This was July 2026's patron video that we decided to make public. If you want to support us and get extra symbolism videos, subscribe a a paying member to The Symbolic World: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribeIn this video, I analyzed the movie Obsession, which was released in May of this year. It had a low budget and was directed by a YouTuber, yet became a massive breakout box office and critical success.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/z09N5ErcoTEJoin Dr. Zac Porcu for his course, A Demonological History of the World: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/a-demonological-history-of-the-world 6 weeks, 12 hoursPrice: Only $120, and get 15% off through September 8, 2026 at 11:55PM ET! After the early bird sale, Involved patrons can still get 10% off. (Discounts can't be combined.)Live classes: Sep 15 - Oct 20Pre-Order GodsDog: Monk now and/or get volumes 1 and 2 on sale! https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/collections/godsdog============Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Christian Roy and I discuss Jacques Ellul’s theology of technique (technology) and the way modern systems turn power, efficiency, and mediation into ends in themselves. AI brings this crisis into focus, especially in our speech and relationships, but the deeper question is whether technology still serves a meaningful purpose —or whether we have begun to serve it. We also explore the Christian idea of non-power as a way beyond the logic of domination.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/HH_vCnVDTdo

Christian’s book: Theology and Technique: https://www.amazon.ca/Theology-Technique-Jacques-Ellul/dp/1725259788

Join Dr. Zac Porcu for his course, A Demonological History of the World: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/a-demonological-history-of-the-world
6 weeks, 12 hours
Price: Only $120, and get 15% off through September 8, 2026 at 11:55PM ET!
Live classes: Sep 15 - Oct 20

Pre-Order GodsDog: Monk now and/or get volumes 1 and 2 on sale! https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/collections/godsdog

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com

🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Louise Perry is a British journalist, author, and host of the Maiden Mother Matriarch Podcast. She’s a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and has been described as a leading reactionary feminist. She interviewed me for us to discuss why progressivism became such a powerful cultural force, how the postwar story shaped modern politics and storytelling, and why fairy tales still preserve patterns that our culture has tried to flatten or subvert.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/HVRY6WP4hFA
Her website: https://www.louisemperry.co.uk/
Her X account: https://x.com/Louise_m_perry
Register now for the Universal History Masterclass hosted by Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin: ⁠https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass⁠

Pre-order GodsDog 3 and get volumes 1 and 2 on sale! https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/