Carlos Eire is a Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. At 11, during the height of the Cold War, he became one of the 14,000 unaccompanied children airlifted from the Soviet colony of Cuba to the US. He is now a historian of late medieval and early modern Europe who focuses on the Protestant and Catholic Reformations; the history of popular piety; the supernatural, and death. His book, They Flew, was awarded the prize for Best Book in the History of Religion by the American Academy of Religion and has been nominated for the Book Prize in Science and Religion awarded by the International Society for Science and Religion. All of his writings are banned in Cuba, where he has been proclaimed an enemy of the state. Carlos is also the Co-Host of the Christian Mysticism podcast.

Lots of scintillating topics in this discussion: his Cuban parents, Santeria and the problem solving religion, "curses and cures", the malocchio (el mal de ojo), bringing your beliefs into the afterlife, exploring "the weird vs the Weird" and his personal Near Death Experience while on an operating table.

Carlos,

Profile: https://history.yale.edu/people/carlos-eire
Book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001HPHJRE
The Christian Mysticism Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@christianmysticismpodcast

Dio: The birth of the warding off of the evil eye at rock concerts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PXmSkLYMTI

Sebastian Maniscalco: the pepper hanging from rear view mirror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcSEeDoh-hA

Episodes mentioned:

Luis Zuniga ep 115 – Cuban political prisoner
Rune Rasmussen ep 90 – Nordic Animism
Father John Szada ep 174 - Exorcist
Bayo Akomolafe ep 102 - Philosopher
Dr. Iya Whitley ep 185 – Space Psychologist
Dr. Kim Penberthy ep 209 – Clinical Psychologist

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