Haleema Shah Published A Podcast About Near-Death Experiences

For “Altered States,” a podcast from PRX and UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics, Haleema Shah dug into “a speculative theory about the wondrous, terrifying, and profound nature of near-death experiences (NDEs) and DMT trips.” 

Shah told Study Hall, “Survivors of near-death experiences (NDEs) often report seeing a bright light, an aerial view of their bodies, and being embraced by an all-loving God.” 

Shah added, “While many NDE survivors say it was “realer than real,” skeptics suggest that NDE is a chemical trick of the brain, fueled by a surge of naturally occurring DMT. To tell this story, I followed both the research and the emotion — from lab studies to first-person accounts — and tried to capture that tension through sound. The result is an audio journey that lives between science and spirituality, depicting one of humanity’s many attempts to answer an unknowable question – what happens when we die?”