In this episode, Nic and Molly discuss the infamous witch-hunting text, the Malleus Maleficarum, which means "The Hammer of Witches" in English. The book was first written around 1486 by two men who were part of the Inquisition. They were tasked with identifying, prosecuting, and punishing suspected witches. This book was their manifesto about how witchcraft worked, how people could identify witches, how they might protect themselves against their powers, and how these witches should be punished (spoiler alert: the punishment was usually death). In this episode, we focus on how the authors of this text understood the mind by looking at their descriptions of demonic possession brought on by witches. Look for our next episode -- episode 9 -- which will focus on a different aspect of the same book.

In our seventh episode, Nic and Molly look back over our first six episodes. We discuss some of the major ideas we've covered so far: (1) the role of communities in care, (2) the healing power of belief, and (3) the millennia-old conflict between medicine and spirituality. We also consider how practices still in use today by indigenous groups carry on millennia-old traditions of love, wonder, and healing that resist the individualizing and isolating forces found within contemporary psychiatry and capitalism.

In this episode, Nic and Molly and discuss thunder magic rituals, which have a long history dating back at least to China's Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). During the Song dynasty, thunder magic masters had significant power in the emperor's court, demonstrating how revered thunder magic was at the time. We discuss the life of Wang Wenqing, a thunder magic master who was later deified. Today, thunder magic masters still appeal to Wang to strengthen their craft. Check out this episode to hear how masters use magic to exorcise spirits and heal and strengthen themselves and others!