Welcome to Test Tubes and Cauldrons, a podcast where we talk about the science behind spirituality! Astra, Fel, and Han are three occult practitioners with a love of science who are trying to do what everyone else is…make sense of the crazy world around us and our purpose in it! Hop into the discussions and try not to blow up a test tube or two!
Try to keep your feet on the ground as we dive into UFOs, extraterrestrials, and all things paranormal! From primordial soup exobiology and ancient myths reimagined as alien encounters to Buddhist world-systems and Crowley's cosmic pen pals, we're exploring how spirituality and UFO lore shift through time. We'll explore the paraUFOlogy debate, why some spirits absolutely aren't aliens (looking at you, Enochian angels), and how New Age UFO culture gave rise to starseeds, downloads, and a whole galaxy of grifters. Strap in and let us know if you believe in aliens by the end!
Follow Levi on IG: @Saint.Vid
Episode resources:
Vital Dust: The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth by Christian de Duve (on the primordial soup hypothesis among other things)
The Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained Hardcover by Whitley Streiver and Jeffrey J. Kripal
Newkirk Museum of the Paranormal
Haunted Objects podcast
Hellier
The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel
They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers by Gray Barker
3 Oct 2025
Episode 57: Cults vs The Occult
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid just yet, we’ve got a new episode for you! This week we are diving into the world of cults. What defines them, how they intersect with the occult, and why high-control groups can be so hard to spot, especially on social media. From mystery cults of the ancient world to modern movements like Scientology, Jonestown, NXIVM, we unpack the psychology, power structures, and tactics that keep people hooked. Strap in as we talk about charismatic leaders, doomsday prophecies, brainwashing myths, and the BITE model.
Episode Resources:
Let’s Talk About Sects Podcast has many discussions around cults and high-control groups!
Dr. Alexandra Stein - An authority on cults and totalitarianism, her work is crucial in this field! We really recommend her book “Terror, Love, and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems.”
“Teaching New Religious Movements” by David Bromley (the chapter on Moral Panics is especially relevant to this episode)
Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field by Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/9781442677302 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/9781442677302)
Pseudoscience versus Minority Religions; An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-9094-5_9 (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-9094-5_9)
The Cult of ISIS by Florence Gaub: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292675728_The_Cult_of_ISIS (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292675728_The_Cult_of_ISIS)
Combating the Cult of ISIS: A Social Approach to Countering Violent Extremism by Joel Day and Scott Kleinmann (available on Google) When corrections fail:
The persistence of political misperceptions: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-08932-007 (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-08932-007)
The Backfire Effect: https://daily.jstor.org/the-backfire-effect/ (https://daily.jstor.org/the-backfire-effect/)
30 Aug 2025
Episode 56: Hypnosis
You are getting very sleepy…listen to our voices…
Hopefully you haven’t fallen into a trance-induced hypnosis just yet as there is a new episode to listen to! This contentious episode explores both the history of hypnosis and its more modern understanding. There’s a surprising amount of science behind this favored Victorian party trick that also has roots in spiritual practices.
Strap in as we discuss magnets, mesmerism, MRIs, and…The Pope?
Episode Resources:
What is hypnosis and how might it work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6357291/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6357291/)
James Braid: https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2022/01/james-braid-the-father-of-modern-hypnosis/ (https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2022/01/james-braid-the-father-of-modern-hypnosis/),
How does this all work: Hypnotic induction decreases anterior default mode activity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19782614/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19782614/)
The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22579225/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22579225/)
Functional Brain Basis of Hypnotizability: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4365296/ (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4365296/)
Hypnosis for the management of chronic and cancer procedure-related pain in children: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22917107/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22917107/)
Hypnosis and clinical pain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12848218/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12848218/)
Review of the efficacy of clinical hypnosis with headaches and migraines: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17365074/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17365074/)
Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of hypnosis in adult irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24901382/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24901382/)
Use of Hypnosis Today: Where the imaginal appears real: a positron emission tomography study of auditory hallucinations: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9465124/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9465124/)
Hypnotic visual illusion alters color processing in the brain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10910791/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10910791/)
The brain under self-control: modulation of inhibitory and monitoring cortical networks during hypnotic paralysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19555654/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19555654/)
Mesmerizing memories: brain substrates of episodic memory suppression in posthypnotic amnesia: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18184572/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18184572/)
Hypnotic illusions and clinical delusions: hypnosis as a research method: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19866383/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19866383/)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
57 ratings
Contact Test Tubes and Cauldrons
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Test Tubes and Cauldrons?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
