Are We More Than Our Brains? Dr Sharon Dirckx on Mind, Meaning & the Mystery of Being Human

Luke Martin is joined by Dr Sharon Dirckx, Cambridge-trained brain-imaging scientist and some time Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics speaker, for a wide-ranging conversation on the mind, meaning and what makes us human. Sharon reflects on her journey from biochemistry into fMRI research, including work on addiction, and explains why consciousness remains a “hard problem” for purely material accounts of the mind. They explore the language of “soul”, what Christians do (and don’t) mean by it, and why near-death experiences raise provocative questions about whether we are more than our brains. Sharon, author of Am I Just My Brain? also weighs the cultural shift away from hard reductionism, engages the promise and limits of AI, and argues for a wiser, more disciplined partnership with technology. Finally, the conversation turns to natural suffering and Sharon’s book Broken Planet, offering a grounded Christian framework for pain, hope and healing. For Sharon Dirckx: https://www.dirckx.org For Luke Martin: follow on X https://x.com/luke_s_martin SOCIAL LINKS Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe Facebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable 👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢 • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate