The growing fascination with near death experiences (NDE) and out-of-body experiences (OBE) have people believe that such “experiences†are proofs of the afterlife. But are stories of NDEs and ODEs sufficient evidence for believing in the existence of souls, heaven or hell? Popular accounts of trips to heaven such as that of Eben Alexander in his best seller, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, contribute to the assumption that death is not final. It is quite surprising to see that most people adopt beliefs that require no evidence. For example, a higher percentage of Americans believe in the existence of heaven (75%) and hell (61%) over against evolution (45%), even if there is overwhelming evidence for the latter! But why do people need to believe in the afterlife? This week we will discuss NDEs and explore the mechanisms of such beliefs. We will see that there are more “down-to-earth†ways to explain NDEs and ODEs. Please note that the podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher and Blubrry.