John Edward: my interview with a "psychic medium"

Just 12 hours after writing Tuesday's blog post about the neuroscience of psychics, mediums, and clairvoyants, I was contacted by psychic medium John Edward's media coordinator asking if I would be interested in interviewing him.

It was about an hour ago right now that my phone was ringing: "Hi, is this Jordan? This is John Edward."

A New York native, John is best known for his shows Crossing Over with John Edward (1999-2004) and John Edward Cross Country (2006). He has also authored several New York Times bestselling books and has appeared on many talk shows. It was his appearance on Anderson with Anderson Cooper (admittedly a skeptic) last fall that really drew me in to his abilities. Is this for real?

Unfortunately, I am not a professional interviewer, and my transcript is comprised of hastily-scrawled ink on paper. Below, you will see my questions in bold followed by his translated answers (not word-for-word) from my chicken scratch. Enjoy!

Psychics, mediums, clairvoyants, and...neuroscience?

Seers. Mediums. Clairvoyants. Psychics. Telepathy. Prophesies. Paranormality. Hypnosis.

I love it all—the hope that deceased loved ones are indeed still with us, in a way, bearing comforting messages. The mystery of things we can't prove or disprove. The excitement and freakishness when a psychic's prediction comes true, no matter how vague. Ghosts.

But perhaps what I love most is how it all makes GREAT television. A typical John Edward (pictured) conversation with a studio audience usually goes a little something like this:

My MRI experience

Today I participated in a brain imaging study! I laid in an MRI machine for 45 minutes and looked at pictures of chocolate while smelling chocolate odors. Tough life, right? (Hershey really is the sweetest place on Earth...even in the labs!)

MS blog follow-up: immune-modulating therapies

I received an e-mail requesting that I write a follow-up to last week's blog post on multiple sclerosis (MS). I was asked to detail the immune-modulating therapies available for MS patients.

As a neuroscientist, the purpose of my original post was to explain the basic neurology behind the disease: what myelin is, what happens to myelin during MS, and why lack of myelin results in the symptoms that manifest. I also wanted to inform readers of the latest research in the field. My intention was not to leave out information or misinform, but given my lack of knowledge in other fields, I confined the blog post to my expertise.

Today I'll take off my brain hat and (do my best to) trade it in for an immunologist's.

Together, let's explore the therapies out there for those suffering this mysterious disorder.

Multiple sclerosis: multiple perspectives

Montel Williams and 400,000 other Americans face it everyday. Richard Pryor was confined to a wheelchair in the last few years of his life because of it. Symptoms range from weakness to bladder problems to difficulty talking. Indeed, multiple sclerosis, or MS, is one of the most well-known yet mysterious neurological conditions we know about.

Scientific American "Incubator" blog

Click here to check out my Q&A on the Scientific American "Incubator" blog that was published today!