In this conversation, I speak with British psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Dr. Iain McGilchrist about intelligence, mental illness, and AI.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DRtpKyKJcss
Get Dr. McGilchrist’s books: https://channelmcgilchrist.com/home/ 

APPLICATIONS OPEN: Ralston seeks 25 students with the curiosity and courage to find light in the darkness. Our one-year MA in the Humanities begins with two months learning Ancient and Modern Greek in Greece, before moving to beautiful Savannah, GA. Full and partial scholarships are available. The deadline for priority consideration is December 18, 2025. Visit https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma

NEW COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail with Dr. Martin Shaw
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to Symbolic World Courses for an intensive week-long journey to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
Catch the early bird sale of 15% off if you register before midnight December 19: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail 
Cost: $160 USD
Dates of live course: January 12-16, 2026
Time: 12 PM-2 PM EST, except for Lecture 3 (January 14) which will be at 4PM-6PM EST

Timestamps:
00:00 Coming up
00:43 Intro music
01:07 Introduction to Ralston College and Its Mission
10:57 The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society
21:02 Intelligence and Consciousness
30:57 The Dangers of Alien Intelligence
39:17 Understanding Addiction and Mental Illness
46:04 Possession and Mental Health: A New Perspective
52:11 The Left Hemisphere and Its Malign Influence
01:03:37 AI: The Modern Sorcerer's Apprentice
01:11:11 All We Can Do

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

In this conversation filmed (by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin) in the Florida Keys, I sit down with my friend Andrew Gould to finally revisit a surprising claim he made years ago—that pirates and Orthodox monks share deep symbolic parallels. We discuss ships and treasure, costumes, death imagery, life on the edge of empire, all converging on how these two seemingly opposite extremes strangely mirror each other. Let me know if you like the format of this video.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/WjMadP6DScM

NEW COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail with Dr. Martin Shaw
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to Symbolic World Courses for an intensive week-long journey to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
Catch the early bird sale of 15% off if you register before midnight December 19: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail
Cost: $160 USD
Dates of live course: January 12-16, 2026
Time: 12 PM-2 PM EST, except for Lecture 3 (January 14) which will be at 4PM-6PM EST

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

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

This is a repost of a patron video I made several years ago about decorating the Christmas tree as a family. Support us for access to more video like this.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/9y32OFyvskg

NEW COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail with Dr. Martin Shaw
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to Symbolic World Courses for an intensive week-long journey to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
Catch the early bird sale of 15% off if you register before midnight December 19: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail 
Cost: $160 USD
Dates of live course: January 12-16, 2026
Time: 12 PM-2 PM EST, except for Lecture 3 (January 14) which will be at 4PM-6PM EST

🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

"Americans who think they are Christians, truly are something else; intensely religious, but devout in the American Religion."
In this episode of Universal History, I sit down again with Deacon Seraphim Rohlin to explore the roots and characteristics of the true "American religion". We trace how movements in American history shaped the spiritual landscape that eventually gave rise to Mormonism, Adventism, spiritualism, and perhaps even your own journey back to traditional Christianity.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/0_RKBPaQAyk
Previous episode: https://youtu.be/o9rMy6lde0c?si=b8d-6tbkuIgAbl4K

Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 10th, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

This is a repost of an interview I did a few months ago on the Catholic Unscripted Podcast after the Charlie Kirk assassination. We discuss the topic of violence, the end of the World War 2 consensus, Israel, enchantment, science and technology, sex and gender, architecture, the structure of a normal vs a crumbling society, and more. Enjoy.

YouTube version on my channel: https://youtu.be/TeCjedp6dJA
Original interview on Catholic Unscripted YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/SSn_q-HQeFg?si=K7RkdByVEFDnoP4j
The Catholic Unscripted Podcast is a UK online apostolate founded by Katherine Bennett, and Mark Lambert. Subscribe at https://www.catholicunscripted.com/

BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Get 30% off courses, 20% off books, and 25% off the Tales For Once & Ever bundle. Use code: BLACKFRIDAY2025 for courses, other discounts are applied automatically. Valid through Dec 3. Don't miss out: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com

Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

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

Given we're still in the fall season, I watched The Conjuring and it got me thinking about how real events can become exaggerated in story form. In this video, I look at how legends are created, and that exaggeration of certain elements of an event can help amplify the meaning and purpose of why we're paying attention to it in the first place.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/fA2cKrvYyTk

Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

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

I’m excited to share this powerful talk by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin, my collaborator at the Symbolic World Press and co-host of the Universal History Podcast. In this talk from the 2025 Touchstone Conference, he explores how we can recover our heritage and live an enchanted Christian life. The title of his talk originally was "The Deep Pattern: Re-Enchanting Time through Medieval Universal History".

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EtvIpApaSrE
https://www.touchstonemag.com/

Universal History podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD&si=iYKlCCZJSt_ob2oi 

Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro by Jonathan
01:15 - Intro music
01:40 - Introducing Dcn Seraphim Rohlin
03:34 - Start of talk
15:20 - Paradiso class
17:08 - Resume talk

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

This was September 2025's patron video that we decided to make public. Thank you to my supporters.
I explore the question of free will, drawing on the insights of St. Maximus the Confessor. While thinkers like Sam Harris argue that free will is an illusion and always contingent on material circumstances, I show how the Christian understanding reframes freedom—not as arbitrary choice, but as submission to the good. True freedom is not transgression, but moving toward higher and higher goods, where life becomes more natural and effortless.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/burSzHmo4o4

The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons can get 10% off)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

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

Pre-order Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf now and get a free audiobook read by me, as well as an exclusive Q&A: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/products/the-tale-of-little-red-riding-hood-and-the-big-bad-wolf

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

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

In this video, I read and reflect on the first canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy — the opening of Inferno. This incredible canto puts the entire poem in perspective, serving as a microcosm for Dante's journey through inferno, purgatory, and into paradise. I discuss in detail, line by line, the rich symbolism and meaning Dante conveys.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/7zzQRg0muMo

If you enjoy this kind of symbolic analysis, join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin as we continue through Dante’s Paradiso, starting live in November. You can get the early bird sale of 15% off if you use the code: EARLYPARADISO at checkout. Our past courses on Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio are also on a 50% sale during the month of October if you use code: DANTE50.
Courses:
-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course 
-Purgatorio:https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio 
-Paradise (upcoming): https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso 

Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

This talk took place at the 2025 Touchstone conference, Great and Wonderful Days: Rediscovering the Christian Life in a Post-Christian Age. The title of my talk was “This is the Day”. 
https://www.touchstonemag.com/

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cnMk_GFpVbw

I explore how our modern world—built on endless disruption and self-expression—has reached its breaking point. We’re witnessing the collapse of a culture that forgot its source, but that’s also at the beginnings of renewal. From art and architecture to worship and storytelling, I share how Christians can remember, celebrate, and create once again—recovering beauty, meaning, and participation in the divine order. This is a moment of opportunity: to rediscover Christ as the pattern of reality and rebuild culture on that foundation.

The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD
-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso

During October you can also get 50% off the Inferno and Purgatorio courses with the code: DANTE50-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course
-Purgatorio: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/