In the 1960s, one hopeful British psychiatrist hoped he could prevent disaster—not with science, but with the supernatural. For a number of years. Dr. John Barker’s “Premonition Bureaus” collected psychic visions with a single goal: stopping tragedy before it could strike. 

Hosted by Laurah Norton 

Researched by Anna Luria 

Edited by Laurah Norton and Maura Currie 

Produced and Engineered by Maura Currie 

Works Cited:

Bastian, Jonathan. “Predicting the future: The true story of the Premonitions Bureau.” KCRW [Santa Monica, California], 16 Jul. 2022, Accessed May 2023. 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Nicosia.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Jan. 2023, Accessed May 2023.

Cope, Michael. “Premonition: Royal Family to Face Scandal?” The Des Moines Register, 21 Nov. 1972. Accessed May 2023. 

Cummins, Anthony. “The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight review - the press, psychiatry and the paranormal.” The Guardian, 03 May 2022. Accessed May 2023. 

Freeman, Sue. “A woman’s intuition…” Liverpool Echo, 05 Feb. 1973. Accessed May 2023. 

Gladstone, Bill. “Future Watch.” The Gazette [Montreal, Canada], 12 Jan. 1980. Accessed May 2023. 

Harrison, Dave. “Does Mr. Spock figure in your dreams?” Leicester Chronicle, 01 Jun. 1979. Accessed May 2023. 

Irwin, Theodore. “Can Some People See into the FUTURE?” The Pantagraph, 04 May 1969. Accessed May 2023. 

Knight, Sam. “The Psychiatrist Who Believed People Could Tell The Future.” The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2019. Accessed May 2023. 

Mail Reporter, Evening. “The ‘early-warning premonition bureau.’” Birmingham Evening Mail, 06 Feb. 1968. Accessed May 2023. 

Post Reporter, Birmingham. “A Bureau to avert disasters?” The Birmingham Post, 28 Feb. 1968. Accessed May 2023. 

Spraggett, Allen. “Was the premonition a dream or truth?” The Victorian, 06 May 1974. Accessed May 2023. 

“4 Britons among 124 dead in plane crash.” Birmingham Evening Mail and Despatch, 20 Apr. 1967, p. 18. Accessed May 2023. 

“Hitching Hopes To the Stars.” Muncie Evening Press, 10 Jun. 1969. Accessed May 2023. 

“Miss Future…” Evening Post, 06 Feb. 1973. Accessed May 2023. 

“Peering into the future - some just have the knack.” Calgary Herald, 13 Dec. 1972. Accessed May 2023. 

“Royal Puppies.” Evening Standard [London, Greater London, England], 23 Sep. 1971. Accessed May 2023. 

“Soyuz 1.” NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, NASA Official, 28 Oct. 2022. Accessed May 2023. 

“The future is theirs to see.” Evening Post, 07 Jan. 1975. Accessed May 2023.