“If we want to understand consciousness, we must be willing to question everything we think we know about reality.”
Join me today as I sit down with Dr. Dean Radin, Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, whose career journeys from the creative world of concert violin to the rigorous labs of Bell Labs, Princeton, and pioneering consciousness research. In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, we explore the fascinating intersections of quantum physics, creativity, genetics, health innovation, and the frontier science of mind-matter interaction.
We begin with Dean’s personal story: growing up in an artistically gifted family, being steeped in curiosity and creativity, and how these roots inspired his eventual leap from engineering and AI to psychology and the experimental study of consciousness. Dean shares how early disappointments in theoretical work led him to become an empiricist—someone compelled to test the world and chase anomalies rather than settle for conformity.
Hear Dean recount how his fascination with “truth revealed by anomalies” drew him to the controversial field of parapsychology, conducting experiments on mind-matter interaction at Bell Labs, and being invited into the U.S. government’s Stargate program that investigated psychic espionage. These early experiences, combined with his later leadership at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, led Dean to develop robust, double-blind experiments aimed at probing the subtle ways consciousness might interact with physical systems.
We dive deep into his most intriguing laboratory work—including the famous double-slit experiments, where meditators are tasked with influencing quantum interference patterns, and the illuminating Buddha experiment, a playful blend of neuroscience and gamified feedback. Dean explains what these experiments suggest about the nature of observation, agency, and the mind’s mysterious potential to nudge the physical world, highlighting the vital role of variance and mean shifts in these results.
Beyond the quantum, we talk about Dean’s explorations into genetics and health. Learn how his team is uncovering possible genetic correlates for psychic talent through case-control and 23andMe studies, as well as his foray into neurobiological therapies, applying CRISPR and siRNA via innovative intranasal delivery to mouse models of anxiety and memory. Dean discusses forming companies at the edge of psychiatric medicine: targeting neuromodulation, tailoring temporal effects for sustainable healing, and seeking practical paths from pre-clinical trials to real-world impact.
Dean also addresses skepticism and the challenges of taking creative risks in science. He distinguishes between constructive and ideological skeptics, sharing the strategies he uses to preempt critique and foster robust, transparent research. Dean contends that anti-scientific attitudes rooted in dogmatic disbelief are as limiting as blind acceptance, and champions the value of curiosity-driven, high-risk, high-reward research.
The episode rounds out with reflections on creativity, following one’s bliss, and the deeper purpose of science to expand our collective perception of reality. Listen as Dean shares his thoughts on future breakthroughs, the sociological ramifications of new paradigms, and poses thought-provoking questions about AI, consciousness, and the next phase of scientific evolution.
Whether you come as a scientist, skeptic, innovator, or seeker, this discussion with Dean Radin will stretch your imagination and leave you questioning where the true boundaries of science and health really lie.
Deans homepage: https://www.deanradin.com/
The disclaimer: All chats at entangled health are a co-creation between the guest and myself, and not an official statement from our industries. Guests are here in a personal capacity, as am I, so everything we share is just our own take, not the official view of any company nor of my employer or any other organization.
