Author Conversations with Chris Dabbs

What happens when a centuries-old healing tradition collides with Western ideas of medicine, science and proof?In this edition of Author Conversations, broadcast journalist Chris Dabbs speaks with Dr Scott M Taubold, author of The System of Healing Used by the Filipino Espiritistas.He discusses the history of what Western observers came to call “psychic surgery”, the role of trance and spiritual belief and the place traditional healers can occupy alongside conventional medicine. Originally developed from Dr Taubold’s doctoral research, the book explores the healing practices of Filipino Espiritistas — practitioners whose traditions combine indigenous approaches, spirituality, cultural belief and influences including Christianity. During the conversation, Dr Taubold explains how his interest began after moving to Hawaii, becoming immersed in Filipino culture and later travelling regularly to the Philippines. The conversation also examines the difficult boundary between observation, belief and scientific evidence. Dr Taubold describes experiences he says he witnessed personally but acknowledges the challenges involved in scientifically proving or disproving such phenomena. Chris and Dr Scott discuss:• Why Filipino Espiritista healing became internationally known as “psychic surgery”• The influence of indigenous Filipino traditions and Christianity• Scott’s doctoral research and experiences in the Philippines• Folk healers and their role within local communities• The relationship between belief, placebo effects and mind-body medicine• Claims of unusual healing experiences and the limits of scientific investigation• Why traditional healing practices can disappear as cultures change• Whether conventional and complementary approaches to health can coexist• What Scott hopes readers will take from his research This conversation explores the subject as a cultural, historical and personal account. Experiences and medical or healing claims discussed by the guest should not be interpreted as medical advice or as a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr Scott M Taubold is the author of The System of Healing Used by the Filipino Espiritistas, a work developed from his academic research into Filipino healing traditions. His interest grew through his experience of Filipino culture, family connections to the Philippines and research into complementary, alternative and mind-body approaches to healing. 🌐 Scott Taubold: psychicsurgery.netCONTENT / MEDICAL DISCLAIMERThis programme discusses traditional, complementary and spiritual healing practices and includes personal experiences and opinions expressed by the guest. These claims have not necessarily been established through conventional scientific evidence. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical advice and listeners should consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional regarding medical conditions or treatment.ABOUT THE PROGRAMME Author Conversations with Chris Dabbs is a long-form interview programme featuring authors, writers and thinkers discussing the stories, ideas and experiences behind their work.Hosted by Chris Dabbs, a broadcast journalist, interviewer and university lecturer with experience including BBC Radio and Times Radio, Author Conversations goes beyond the standard book promotion interview to explore the ideas behind the page. 🎥 Watch Author Conversations on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorConversations🌐 Author Conversations:https://www.author-conversations.com 🎙️ Hosted by Chris Dabbs:https://www.chrisdabbs.online  00:00 – Introduction: Dr Scott M Taubold and Filipino Espiritista healing00:38 – What is “psychic surgery”?01:52 – Charlatans, sleight of hand and the placebo effect03:31 – How Scott first became interested in the subject04:39 – Hawaii, Filipino culture and the beginnings of his research06:40 – Turning the subject into a doctoral dissertation07:03 – Scott’s first trip to the Philippines08:06 – How traditional healing fits into Filipino healthcare10:40 – Indigenous traditions, Catholicism and cultural influence13:22 – What Scott says he witnessed during his research15:08 – Spiritual explanations and the limits of scientific proof16:23 – Scott’s own experience of receiving treatment17:28 – What he hopes readers take from the book18:26 – Alternative medicine and conventional healthcare21:27 – Cultural differences and broadening our view of healing22:19 – Mind-body medicine and psychological factors in recovery24:24 – Final thoughts and where to find the book25:26 – OutroBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-conversations-with-chris-dabbs--6905413/support.Every book has a story beyond its pages. In Author Conversations, broadcast journalist, presenter and newsreader Chris Dabbs sits down with the writers behind some of today’s most fascinating books to uncover the research, experiences and ideas that never made it onto the printed page. Featuring bestselling and emerging authors from around the world, each episode goes beyond the blurb to explore the real stories behind the writing. From untold historical discoveries and groundbreaking scientific research to personal journeys, business insights, faith, true crime and the human experience, every conversation is designed to inform, challenge and inspire. Drawing on more than two decades of professional interviewing across radio, television and digital journalism, Chris creates thoughtful, in-depth conversations that give authors the time and space to tell the stories that matter most. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, fascinated by the creative process or simply enjoy intelligent, long-form conversations, Author Conversations offers a unique opportunity to discover the people, ideas and experiences behind remarkable books. Real authors. Real stories. Real conversations.

🚴 A 70-year-old retired detective. A 150-mile charity bicycle ride. Thousands of cyclists travelling from Houston to Austin.💥 And an explosion that turns an endurance challenge into a dangerous rescue mission.Author Reynold Conger joins Author Conversations' Chris Dabbs to discuss A Dangerous Bike Ride, the first book in his Richard Tracy series.📖 The idea for the novel came from a striking real-life moment. Shortly after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Reynold and his wife were in Austin watching their own children complete the Texas MS 150 bicycle ride. Surrounded by thousands of cyclists and spectators, his writer's mind posed a disturbing question: could something similar happen here?From that thought grew the story of Richard Tracy — a 70-year-old retired detective, former Marine and marathon runner who reluctantly agrees to join his children on the two-day ride.Richard isn't a cyclist. He is expecting sore muscles and a struggle to keep up.❤️ Instead, he meets Mary Beth Austin, a retired chef, gardener, widow and accomplished cyclist.Then... an explosion changes everything.🎙️ In this wide-ranging conversation, Reynold talks about creating an older action hero, writing later-life romance, drawing on the experience of a police officer friend to shape Richard's detective instincts and developing antagonists whose own damaged perceptions make them particularly dangerous.🧪 He also explains how his background as a chemist, engineer and international consultant influences the technical detail in his fiction and why aspects of himself and his wife inevitably found their way into Richard and Mary Beth.📚 And A Dangerous Bike Ride is only the beginning: Reynold reveals how the Richard Tracy series develops and why, in later books, the balance between rescuer and rescued doesn't always remain the same.🎤 Hosted by broadcast journalist, interviewer and university lecturer Chris Dabbs, Author Conversations is the long-form interview programme exploring books, ideas and the people behind them.▶️ Watch Author Conversations on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorConversationsWatch on YouTube - tap here🌐 Discover more:https://www.author-conversations.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-conversations-with-chris-dabbs--6905413/support.Every book has a story beyond its pages. In Author Conversations, broadcast journalist, presenter and newsreader Chris Dabbs sits down with the writers behind some of today’s most fascinating books to uncover the research, experiences and ideas that never made it onto the printed page. Featuring bestselling and emerging authors from around the world, each episode goes beyond the blurb to explore the real stories behind the writing. From untold historical discoveries and groundbreaking scientific research to personal journeys, business insights, faith, true crime and the human experience, every conversation is designed to inform, challenge and inspire. Drawing on more than two decades of professional interviewing across radio, television and digital journalism, Chris creates thoughtful, in-depth conversations that give authors the time and space to tell the stories that matter most. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, fascinated by the creative process or simply enjoy intelligent, long-form conversations, Author Conversations offers a unique opportunity to discover the people, ideas and experiences behind remarkable books. Real authors. Real stories. Real conversations.

You probably eat some of these foods every week. But how much do you actually know about where they came from?Author and entrepreneur Paul Hesketh joins Chris Dabbs to uncover the extraordinary stories hiding behind some of the most ordinary products in our kitchens.Paul’s book, Behind the Barcode, explores how familiar foods became the products and global brands we recognise today — and the conversation reveals just how strange that history can be.We discover why baked beans are actually cooked inside the tin, how the secrets of tea production were taken out of China in an extraordinary episode of commercial espionage and why pepper and other spices once represented enormous commercial power.Paul also tells the story of the BBC’s famous 1957 spaghetti-tree April Fool, explores the accidental development of Worcestershire sauce and explains how apparently simple innovations in packaging helped transform products such as crisps and instant noodles into global industries.Then there’s the unlikely UK legal battle over whether a Jaffa Cake is really a cake or a biscuit — a distinction worth millions in VAT.But behind the entertaining stories is a bigger question.How did inventions, science, packaging, marketing, trade and big business turn everyday foods into multinational industries — and why are the people who originally developed some of these products often forgotten?Drawing on more than four decades in business as well as his background in agriculture, Paul looks at the extraordinary journey food takes before it reaches our shelves and why understanding that journey may also change the way we think about sustainability and what we consume.A fascinating conversation about the history, science, business and sheer ingenuity hidden behind the barcode.IN THIS EPISODE OF AUTHOR CONVERSATIONSWhy Paul believes we know surprisingly little about the food we buyThe unexpected way baked beans are cookedHow commercial espionage helped spread tea around the worldWhy pepper and spices once represented immense wealth and powerThe BBC’s famous spaghetti-tree hoaxThe strange origins of Worcestershire sauceHow instant noodles became a global phenomenonWhy packaging technology was crucial to the success of crispsThe forgotten inventors behind some of the world’s biggest food brandsWhy McDonald’s is as much about property as burgersThe multimillion-pound question: is a Jaffa Cake a cake or a biscuit?How science allows modern food to be preserved and distributed globallyWhy bringing a new food product to market requires enormous investmentSustainability, industrial food production and knowing where our food comes fromPaul’s forthcoming book, Beyond the BlueprintFEATURED BOOK: Behind the Barcode — Paul HeskethWhat looks like an ordinary supermarket shelf is actually the end point of centuries of invention, science, trade, rivalry, marketing and human ingenuity.Paul Hesketh explores the stories behind familiar foods and explains how seemingly simple products became part of enormous global industries.Author website: www.paulhesketh.com and www.author-conversations.com/paul-heskethBook:Available through Amazon in print and Kindle formats.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-conversations-with-chris-dabbs--6905413/support.Every book has a story beyond its pages. In Author Conversations, broadcast journalist, presenter and newsreader Chris Dabbs sits down with the writers behind some of today’s most fascinating books to uncover the research, experiences and ideas that never made it onto the printed page. Featuring bestselling and emerging authors from around the world, each episode goes beyond the blurb to explore the real stories behind the writing. From untold historical discoveries and groundbreaking scientific research to personal journeys, business insights, faith, true crime and the human experience, every conversation is designed to inform, challenge and inspire. Drawing on more than two decades of professional interviewing across radio, television and digital journalism, Chris creates thoughtful, in-depth conversations that give authors the time and space to tell the stories that matter most. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, fascinated by the creative process or simply enjoy intelligent, long-form conversations, Author Conversations offers a unique opportunity to discover the people, ideas and experiences behind remarkable books. Real authors. Real stories. Real conversations.

What if some of the moments we dismiss as coincidence are actually pointing us towards change?In this edition of Author Conversations, Chris Dabbs speaks to Mary Glesige, author of Open the Gate: A Journey into Synchronistic Healing.Mary explores the ideas behind her book and the role that synchronicity, awareness and personal insight can play in healing and transformation.The conversation looks at the turning points that shape our lives, the unexpected connections that can alter our direction and the ways we make sense of experiences that seem to arrive at exactly the right moment.Mary also reflects on the personal journey behind Open the Gate, what she means by synchronistic healing and why becoming more open to the patterns around us can change the way we understand ourselves, our experiences and the possibility of growth.A thoughtful conversation about healing, synchronicity, spirituality, personal transformation and the search for meaning in life’s unexpected moment.What if coincidence isn’t always coincidence?Watch Author Conversations on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@AuthorConversations More from Author Conversationshttps://author-conversations.com Chris Dabbshttps://chrisdabbs.online Listen to more Author ConversationsSpotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadioMary Glesige / Open the Gatehttps://author-conversations.com/mary-glesigeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-conversations-with-chris-dabbs--6905413/support.Every book has a story beyond its pages. In Author Conversations, broadcast journalist, presenter and newsreader Chris Dabbs sits down with the writers behind some of today’s most fascinating books to uncover the research, experiences and ideas that never made it onto the printed page. Featuring bestselling and emerging authors from around the world, each episode goes beyond the blurb to explore the real stories behind the writing. From untold historical discoveries and groundbreaking scientific research to personal journeys, business insights, faith, true crime and the human experience, every conversation is designed to inform, challenge and inspire. Drawing on more than two decades of professional interviewing across radio, television and digital journalism, Chris creates thoughtful, in-depth conversations that give authors the time and space to tell the stories that matter most. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, fascinated by the creative process or simply enjoy intelligent, long-form conversations, Author Conversations offers a unique opportunity to discover the people, ideas and experiences behind remarkable books. Real authors. Real stories. Real conversations.

In this edition of Author Conversations, I meet author, artist, poet and therapist Maree Deeley to talk about her novel The Harvest Always Comes – and I discover that there's a very personal story behind that title.Maree grew up around farming and remembers her great-uncle facing difficult seasons with a simple conviction: “the harvest always comes”.It was a phrase that stayed with her, one she later passed on to her own family and which eventually became the title of her first novel.And in many ways, it fits the story perfectly.The Harvest Always Comes follows Felicity and Richard, a couple whose youthful love has gradually given way to distance and routine. Then Mario enters Felicity's world and something begins to change.I particularly enjoyed Maree's description of Mario during our conversation. She compares life to granite, with Mario becoming the mica or feldspar that suddenly makes it sparkle.For Felicity, his arrival is an awakening.But our conversation goes well beyond the novel.Maree has spent many years working as a psychotherapist, clinical hypnotherapist, life coach and healer, so I wanted to know how that understanding of human behaviour finds its way into her characters and relationships.We also talk about the very different ways readers respond to the same story. Maree tells me about an older reader for whom the novel brought back memories of Scotland and Aberdeen, while a much younger reader discovered something entirely different in it.And Maree's creativity certainly doesn't stop with writing.She painted the artwork for the book cover herself, she writes poetry and she's also a musician with nine albums already released and another on the way.Then there's her next novel, Eyes of Innocence.It's a very different and potentially much more challenging book. Maree tells me why she's tackling some difficult contemporary subjects, why she believes the story could eventually work on screen and why she has no intention of slowing down creatively.Perhaps that's what stayed with me most from this conversation.Maree talks about persistence, self-belief and continuing with something even when other people don't necessarily believe in what you're doing.Sometimes you have to keep planting the seeds.Because the harvest always comes.WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:Watch on YouTubeMORE ABOUT MAREE DEELEY:http://www.author-conversations.com/maree-deeleyAuthor Conversations is presented by broadcast journalist Chris Dabbs, bringing authors and their stories into professionally produced, in-depth conversations.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-conversations-with-chris-dabbs--6905413/support.Every book has a story beyond its pages. In Author Conversations, broadcast journalist, presenter and newsreader Chris Dabbs sits down with the writers behind some of today’s most fascinating books to uncover the research, experiences and ideas that never made it onto the printed page. Featuring bestselling and emerging authors from around the world, each episode goes beyond the blurb to explore the real stories behind the writing. From untold historical discoveries and groundbreaking scientific research to personal journeys, business insights, faith, true crime and the human experience, every conversation is designed to inform, challenge and inspire. Drawing on more than two decades of professional interviewing across radio, television and digital journalism, Chris creates thoughtful, in-depth conversations that give authors the time and space to tell the stories that matter most. Whether you’re searching for your next great read, fascinated by the creative process or simply enjoy intelligent, long-form conversations, Author Conversations offers a unique opportunity to discover the people, ideas and experiences behind remarkable books. Real authors. Real stories. Real conversations.