How experience shapes extraordinary beliefs Review by Eli Stark-Elster (@eselster.bsky.social) & Manvir Singh (@manvir.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/y9dbwaa5

My favourite chapter so far in @manvir.bsky.social ‘s compelling new book is the one on the oracles of finance. Highly recommended.

In a new article for @us.theconversation.com, I explain our new perspective on how experience shapes extraordinary beliefs -- a good piece to read if you want the quick and dirty deets! theconversation.com/flat-earth-s...

Why do people endorse seemingly extraordinary beliefs such as in pseudoscience & supernatural entities? Leading approaches stress cognitive biases (like agency detection) & social dynamics (like signaling). Eli Stark-Elster & I argue that experience matters too & put fwd a framework explaining how.

Shamans have always been with us. This week, we explore how shamanism works with @manvir.bsky.social and why forms of it pop up in some surprising places, from modern medicine and CEO culture to charismatic Christianity. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

Last month, the Cultural Analytics Lecture series, a collab b/w @ucbids.bsky.social and the I School, kicked off w/ a lecture from @manvir.bsky.social, where he shared his findings on global patterns in music and storytelling. Read about the event: 👇 tinyurl.com/3de3khzd

For this week’s New Yorker (and in celebration of Halloween!), I wrote about how fictional monsters have gone from mean and horrendous to humanized and misunderstood.

Patterns recur through various mythologies: floods, tricksters, battles with monsters, creation and apocalypse. Some scholars believe there is a common source—and hope to find it.

My newest for The New Yorker! I wrote about the project, centuries-old and surprisingly successful at times, of recovering lost mythologies that still resonate in modern storytelling.

Hugely honored to be the inaugural guest on the Minds Over Matters Podcast! We talked about my book and the timeless and ubiquitous echoes of shamanism. Watch our conversation, in glorious 1080p, here:

Excited to speak with Prof. Charles Stang tomorrow (Wednesday, October 15th) about my new book, "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion"! The conversation is sponsored by Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions and will take place at 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern. Join live here: shorturl.at/Holy8

New commentary out w/ @manvir.bsky.social in Religion, Brain, and Behavior! We argue that social learning fails to explain three patterns in religious belief and practice: SBNR beliefs, strategic endorsement of beliefs, and religious experience. Check it out: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Honored to have been interviewed for this week's issue of @currentbiology.bsky.social!

From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Join us for the first lecture in our Cultural Analytics Talk Series, co-sponsored w/ @ucbids.bsky.social! @manvir.bsky.social will discuss projects investigating global patterns in music & storytelling. 📅 Oct. 3, 12:15 - 1:30 pm 📍 210 South Hall, Online www.ischool.berkeley.edu/events/2025/...

A reminder that the deadline for commentary proposals for my new BBS paper is tomorrow! An honor of publishing with BBS is having thoughtful colleagues engage with one's work, and I can't wait to see y'all what think.

I'm giving a free book talk next Wednesday at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Come by if you're in the Boston area!

‘One veteran shaman, returning from his first experience performing at a top-dollar eco-lodge, asked the ayahuasca researcher Stephan Beyer why these people had come halfway round the world to see him when they weren’t sick.’ @mikejay.bsky.social on shamanism: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Thrilled to see this mammoth review of "Shamanism" in @lrb.co.uk from master drug historian @mikejay.bsky.social! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Why do societies reliably develop strikingly similar traditions like dance songs, hero stories, shamanism & justice institutions? In a new BBS target article, I propose a theory for such "super-attractors" + cultural evolution more broadly. Now open for commentary: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

BBS just announced a call for commentaries on @manvir.bsky.social's target article, "Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold" Deadline is Sep 10! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Super fun having @manvir.bsky.social on the podcast (again)! I strongly recommend his new book—especially if you like your non-fiction laced with personal narrative, quirky characters, & history of ideas.

I really enjoyed Manvir Singh's Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. Addictive listen and great mix of anthropology, history, and religion.

Thank you, @kensycoop.bsky.social, for having me on! We had a great conversation about shamanism—its cognitive foundations, place in Paleolithic societies, role in Abrahamic religions, manifestations in industrialized societies (including hedge wizards), and much more.

I loved this interview about shamanism with @manvir.bsky.social It offers *such* a radically different perspective on why we see shamans all over the world entering altered states of consciousness that one might call "trance" youtu.be/Ijf8cNBgztA @thedissenteryt.bsky.social

Arvio: Shamaanit ja saarnaajat eivät ole kaukana toisistaan

Shamanism is on the rise, both in practice and in popular culture. Manvir Singh has spent years exploring why it is so enduring, what we can learn from it and the surprising forms modern shamans take.

My newest essay is about wearing a turban: what it means to me, what others assume about it, and why the most personally meaningful symbols can also feel the most burdensome. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

(23) Shamanism and psychedelics: 5 Questions for Manvir Singh themicrodose.substack.com/p/shamanism-...

According to one study, nearly 80 per cent of Sikh boys with head coverings in the U.S. report being bullied. Manvir Singh writes about why he wears a turban.

I'm speaking about my book, "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion," tomorrow in NYC at the Society for Ethical Culture. Come if you're around! Details and free RSVP here: ethical.nyc/events/books...

An important new book by Sikh author and PhD anthropologist, Manvir Singh. Very interesting how he makes clear that shamanism remains evident in religious practice all over the world. My review here: www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews...

I also really enjoyed @manvir.bsky.social 's book! If you like it, it helps if you can leave a review (Amazon, Audible, etc.). Here's mine:

Fibished reading Shamanism by @manvir.bsky.social. Stellar book. Reads like an engaging travelogue laced with HRAF and Erowid. Ends with some very relevant discussion around contemporary anthropology's reluctance of dealing with systematic cross-cultural research.

Jesus was a shaman, and so were John the Baptist, Paul, and other early biblical figures. Or were they? Check out www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339... 👇 by @manvir.bsky.social #AcademicSky

Also highly recommend Shamanism by @manvir.bsky.social. It's so good I almost missed a train connection yesterday I was so engrossed! www.penguin.co.uk/books/456535...

Honored that SHAMANISM is one of @newyorker.com's Best Books We Read This Week!!

Meet us at the Davis Public Library in Davis on May 29th for IPN Affiliate @manvir.bsky.social's author talk on "Shamanism: The Timeless Religion." Register for the event, hosted by the Avid Reader, using the link below. Where: 315 E. 14th Street, Davis, CA 95616 Time: 6:30PM #shamanism #UCDavisIPN

Had so much fun talking to @flintdibble.bsky.social! Check out the video here:

New episode (1099), my third interview with Dr. Manvir Singh (@manvir.bsky.social‬). We talk about his book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. #Anthropology #Science YouTube: youtu.be/oScq4BA856s Podcast: bit.ly/3ZppVpj

Up & @ 'em, Skeeple, and happy book birthday to the excellent @manvir.bsky.social! I'm excited for my (pre-ordered) copy to arrive; if you haven't ordered yours, let this be the reminder you needed! bookshop.org/p/books/sham...

"Shamanism" by @manvir.bsky.social is now out. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339.... It's a deep, original, and fun book—highly recommended. My blurb:

Now available: Shamanism: The Timeless Religion written by IPN Affiliate @manvir.bsky.social. Manvir's work cuts through myths and binaries, exploring the deeper meaning behind our fascination with shamanism and ancient ways of knowing. Order your copy now: #UCDavisIPN #shamanism

Today is publication day for my book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. To celebrate, here are some of the most striking clips of shamanic rituals that I came across while working on the book:

Quite a triple-header! Adam Roberts and Richard Bausch are fine writers, but I'll vouch especially for @manvir.bsky.social 's amusing, elegantly written, thought-provoking, and maybe a teeny bit controversial book about shamanism and the origins of all religion, Christianity very much included.

Out today: 🍝 FOOD PERSON by Adam Roberts 🪨 THE FATE OF OTHERS by Richard Bausch 🌕 SHAMANISM by Manvir Singh

Really excited to chat with @flintdibble.bsky.social about my new book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, tomorrow! We'll be livestreaming at 9 AM PDT/12 PM EDT/5 PM UK

Tomorrow at 5pm UK/noon EDT, I will be chatting with Dr Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social about his new book Shamanism: The Timeless Religion We'll delve into the archaeology and anthropology of this fascinating topic. If you miss it, it'll be recorded! youtube.com/live/CSSuIWc...

Thrilled to see SHAMANISM reviewed in The Atlantic! This might be the best line so far: "A panoramic survey: Singh has done the fieldwork, the legwork, and the drugwork.”

Thanks for having me on, Ricardo! We talked about trance, psychedelics, and the tension between ecstatic religious practice and centralized authority, among many other topics. Check it out!