The Thinning

Gail Behrend spent twenty years as a mechanical engineer, learning to think in systems, control the variables, and add factors of safety. Then a relationship ended, she hit bottom, and something completely outside her engineering training showed up. A voice. A rush of energy. An experience of love so total it redrew her entire map of reality. In this conversation, Gail and Steven find that a control systems engineer and an ordained minister have been asking the same questions from very different starting points, and that the answers, when they come, feel a lot alike.

Former Atlanta police detective and Suffolk County cop Michael Morgan spent 30 years burying the weight of the worst moments in other people's lives — homicides, child deaths, the visceral cries he couldn't unhear. When a forced retirement brought everything flooding back, he knew he needed something radical. In this raw and remarkable conversation, Michael shares how ayahuasca unlocked a grief he'd sealed off for decades, what actually happens inside a ceremony, and why the medicine alone isn't what healed him. A must-listen for anyone who's ever wondered what real healing looks like — and what it costs to finally let your guard down.

What happens when “neighborhood lore” about a Native American burial ground turns into a life-altering spiritual calling?In this episode, Steven Martin talks with Mike (joining from the West Coast in Oregon) about an extraordinary series of experiences that began when Mike and his wife considered moving away from their Washington property near Seattle—and instead, his wife began receiving vivid dreams. In those dreams, Native American spirits asked her to stay and learn psychopomp work: helping spirits who have died but haven’t “moved on” find their way into the light.Mike describes how the teachings started through dreams and meditation, how his wife would sense a “tap” (a physical-feeling signal) when someone needed help, and how their work evolved from assisting willing spirits to encountering darker, more complicated cases—what they came to call “spiritual vampires.” He shares the moment he realized he could participate directly, how shamanic training expanded their understanding of “non-ordinary reality,” and why they ultimately shifted to safer spiritual practices.The conversation also explores:Death, grief, and what may happen after we dieWhy some spirits may resist crossing over (fear, guilt, trauma)Near-death experiences, “life review,” and karma as a process (not a free pass)Shamanic journeying, intuition, the “third eye,” and altered states of consciousnessPsychedelics vs. meditation as paths to spiritual insight (and the risks of “recreationalizing” the work)Suffering, love, and the “dark night of the soul”Mike also mentions a later approach influenced by Daniel Foor’s Ancestral Wisdom, calling on well ancestors to do the “heavy lifting,” and shares that he’s rebuilding his website and is open to public speaking. He and his wife wrote a book about their experiences, which he says he gives away to help spread the message.This is a thoughtful, worldview-stretching dialogue about mortality, meaning, and what it might look like to serve both the living—and the dead.

What happens when a lifelong Christian pastor — raised to believe tarot was dangerous, occult, and forbidden — sits down with a professional tarot reader for the first time?In this fascinating and surprisingly emotional conversation, Steven Martin talks with tarot reader and teacher Jeni Archer about spirituality, intuition, faith, skepticism, and the power of symbolic language. What begins as curiosity quickly turns into a deeply personal experience as Steven receives a live tarot reading on camera — and the results leave him stunned.This episode explores:✨ What tarot actually is (and what it isn’t)✨ Why so many religious traditions fear divination✨ The connection between intuition, psychology, and storytelling✨ Neurodivergence, perception, and spiritual sensitivity✨ Whether tarot predicts the future — or reveals what we already know✨ A live 3-card reading that gets unexpectedly personalSteven comes in skeptical. He leaves questioning everything.Whether you’re religious, spiritual, curious, or doubtful, this conversation invites you to consider a bigger question:👉 What if there’s more to human perception than we’ve been taught?Learn more about Jeni's work at https://www.hearthmagickshop.com

In this engaging conversation, Clementine Moss (drummer for the all-female Zeppelin tribute band, Zepparella, shares her unique journey from a late start in drumming at 27 to becoming a spiritual counselor and musician. She discusses the connection between music and spirituality, the influence of iconic drummers like John Bonham, and the importance of groove and feel in music. The dialogue explores the transformative power of music, the role of spirituality in her life, and the idea of channeling energy through performance. Ultimately, Clementine emphasizes the unity of music and spirituality, encouraging listeners to connect with the divine through their passions.Check out Clementine's work at: https://www.clemthegreat.com/

I feel like I found a brother when I interviewed Hunt. He is honest, truthful, and only wants to share with others the power of the experience he’s had. Hear his story and embark upon his journey, but know that seeking (and finding) truth does not come without a cost.Hunt's organization: ligare.org

Nancy is a fascinating intuitive with a disarming personality: quite simply, her intuition produces results. Get ready for a wide-ranging conversation about listening to and trusting yourself, and how this can make a difference in the lives of people around you. Nancy has a few wild stories that will keep you listening to the very end! Find out more about Nancy at https://nancyorlenweber.com/.

In this conversation, we’re diving into one of music’s strangest (and most human) questions: where does it actually come from? Why do some kids seem to arrive already “plugged in” — composing, improvising, and owning music long before anyone could reasonably teach it? And what is that unmistakable feeling musicians describe as “the zone,” where it doesn’t feel like you’re doing the music so much as channeling it?  Host Steven Martin and jazz musician/professor Kurt Ellenberger explore:Prodigy stories (from Mozart to Joey Alexander) and the eerie sense that “there isn’t enough time in a life” to practice your way there  The idea that music may be spiritual—a wordless force that still hits the deepest parts of us  What “the zone” feels like, and why even your past self can sound like a different person when you listen back  A fascinating bridge between emotion and physics: harmonic series, symmetry, and why your brain expects musical resolution  If you’ve ever wondered why music can feel bigger than technique—why it can feel like mystery, memory, and meaning all at once—this conversation is for you.  Join the discussion: Have you ever experienced “the zone” (in music or anything else)? Drop your story in the comments. 

Michelle Henderson joins Steven for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about spiritual calling, religious fear, and what it means to step outside the “church box” without abandoning faith. Michelle shares her journey from education and burnout to intuitive work—and a pivotal ayahuasca experience she says helped purge deep fear and reconnect her to love and purpose. They dig into prayer, channeling, shared mystical experiences, and why so many people feel the old frameworks “aren’t holding anymore.” A curious, compassionate episode for anyone wrestling with spirituality, tradition, and the courage to follow what feels true.

What happens when certainty loosens—and experience takes the lead?In this episode of The Thinning, Steven Martin sits down with Hope Fitzgerald for a wide-ranging conversation about intuition, change, and what it means to stay fluid in a world that often rewards rigidity. Hope reflects on her decades-long journey through spiritual study, dowsing, and end-of-life work, including a series of formative experiences that reshaped how she understands consciousness, surrender, and responsibility.Together, they explore the tension between skepticism and trust, the risks of projecting authority onto spiritual teachers, and why genuine transformation often requires letting go of achievement-driven spirituality. Along the way, they discuss dowsing as an ancient technology of attention, the metaphor of the “Infinity Wave” as a way of navigating change, and how moments of profound experience don’t remove us from ordinary life—but ask more of us within it.This is a conversation about discernment rather than certainty, practice rather than performance, and whether our ways of making meaning actually help us live with more openness and care.

What if inner peace has nothing to do with spiritual experiences, self-improvement, or finding the “right” path?In this episode of The Thinning, Steven Martin sits down with trauma recovery guide Laura Giles for a wide-ranging, grounded conversation about why so many sincere seekers still feel unsettled—and what might actually be missing. Laura challenges the culture of instant gurus and peak experiences, arguing that peace isn’t something we acquire from outside ourselves, but something that emerges when we feel safe, connected, and no longer alone with what’s happened to us.Together, they explore how everyday experiences like bullying, emotional neglect, and disconnection shape the nervous system; why trauma is less about what happens to us and more about facing it alone; and how attachment, not enlightenment, may be the real foundation for healing. Drawing from animist perspectives, trauma science, and lived experience, the conversation asks a quieter but more demanding question: does our spirituality actually help us live better with one another?A thoughtful episode for anyone wary of easy answers—and curious about what peace might look like when certainty loosens.

A deep conversation between two pastors about a profound psilocybin experience in a Johns Hopkins study and its impact on spirituality, preaching, and understanding of consciousness.Host: Steven D. MartinGuest: Rev. Kerra Becker English

What happens when our explanations fall short—but the experience remains?The Thinning is a new long-form podcast exploring the edges of human understanding: consciousness, near-death experiences, anomalous encounters, and the questions they raise across science, psychology, and culture. The show isn’t interested in hype or easy answers. It’s interested in how people make meaning when certainty loosens—and how those moments quietly change the way we live.Listen to the trailer, then join the conversation where curiosity leads and the veil feels thin.