Why The Telepathy Tapes is About Something Far More Important than Telepathy
And what is the ultimate message we should take from the hit series?
An early November Saturday
I feel fortunate hearing about it early and watching the past couple of months unfold.
It was the first weekend of November when
sent us the message; a podcast with the accompanying note:(Assuming this is accurate) this is the most compelling evidence for psi I’ve ever heard. Telepathy with non-speaking autistic kids that’s 100% accurate.
Tom is rare in that he has good instincts about what’s legit while also being open enough to explore the far edges of what we might be able to accept as “real.”
There’s a lot of wacky stuff on the internet these days, and it takes deep discernment to be able to parse out the possibly-real from the sensational. One must remain both open and skeptical at the same time.
So I pulled up the first episode and listened, immediately struck by both the production quality and the compelling nature of the story.
Here we had Ky Dickens, the creator of the podcast, exploring the worlds of non-speaking autistic children who seemed to be demonstrating other-worldly abilities to communicate with their primary caregivers.
Ky is an award winning filmmaker with a history of sharing the stories of the underrepresented and the marginalized. Ky’s background is important because it’s not like she’s spent her creative career hunting UFOs and Bigfoot. She’s a legit filmmaker trying to bring positive change to our world.
And the telepathy demonstrated in the first few episodes is amazing, with even Ky’s often skeptical production crew left in disbelief at what they’re witnessing. The kids seem to be able to literally read their parents’ minds, identifying random words, numbers, colors, and even complex images from across the room; and sometimes from a different room.
As we move deeper into the podcast it begins exploring things beyond pure telepathy, diving into group consciousness and shared awareness. Many of the autistic individuals talk about meeting up at a metaphysical location called “The Hill” where they go to connect and hang out. And Ky soon learns that “The Hill” isn’t just visited by kids from a specific geographical region, say Atlanta, but rather it seems that many non-speaking autistic individuals from all over the world not only know how to find “The Hill” so they can meet-up there regularly, they all give this meeting place the exact same name.
From there, around episode 5, Ky begins to speak with the teachers of these children, and it turns out they’ve been having these experiences too, the autistic kids reading their minds, for decades.
And the further I got into the show, the more compelling it became. Even though I loved it from episode 1, I felt the more I listened, the better and better it got.
And by the time we reach episodes 6 and 7 Ky begins to delve into the mystical, which shouldn’t surprise us, as telepathy has always been an ability associated with those individuals with advanced spiritual gifts.
(For those new to the terms “mystical” and “mysticism,” we can define them as referring to direct experiences with ultimate reality, with that reality being the Divine, God, the Universe, Spirit, or Source.)
The Most Popular Podcast in the World
By late December the Telepathy Tapes was emerging as one of the top podcasts in the world, some days surpassing even Joe Rogan. Suddenly it was all over twitter. I received texts from friends I’d shared the podcast with even a few weeks earlier, telling me their friends were talking about it now.
Suddenly there was this injection of hope and excitement from many of the people I know that maybe there’s more to this world than the doom and gloom we’re subjected to each and every day. And it gave me hope that something else I’ve been hearing about lately might actually happen.
I haven’t written much about it yet, but there’s been much talk among various spiritual teachers and communities of a growing sense that 2025 and 2026 will see much of our Western materialist worldview challenged in ways that previously may have seemed impossible. That a new world would open up, allowing us the nuance to finally begin to understand that science and spirituality can not only coexist, but that when one goes deep enough into the mystical we realize they’re two aspects of the same reality.
And in the meantime even Joe Rogan has begun listening to the Telepathy Tapes, giving it a major shoutout during his recent Christmas day interview with Duncan Trussell.
Not Without Skeptics
But as we should expect with any popularization of spiritual phenomena that challenges the status quo, there have also emerged a few skeptical voices, calling into question the validity of tests and the discernment of Ky and the parents who’ve been involved.
And these voices should be welcomed so we don’t accidently fall victim to a compelling, well-intentioned mistake.
I use the word “mistake” because most of the skeptics believe Ky to be operating in good faith, but they fault Ky (and the audience) for wanting to believe the impacted parents, teachers, and children just a little too much.
There’s also some controversy around remarks made by Dr Diane Hennacy Powell, who’s featured prominently in the podcast. Dr Powell has commented that some of the testing done in the early episodes of the podcast wouldn’t pass scientific rigor. But Ky herself calls this out during the actual podcast, so it’s puzzling why this has been taken by a few as such a “gotcha” moment.
Are We Missing the Point?
Most of the skeptics I’ve seen of the podcast are demanding more proof. Better studies. Greater rigor. More science.
All of this is welcomed, and it seems there will even be studies done by the University of Virginia, which has a long and solid track record of rigorous psi phenomena research.
(Note: it’s interesting now that the podcast has become a worldwide phenomena that the research funding is suddenly becoming available, when for many years Dr. Powell could find little interest or funding for these studies. Where have all the curious scientists and funders been all these years?)
But I believe these demands for more “proof” miss the point.
Sure, the first few episodes are specifically about telepathy and the mechanics of how the communication between caregiver and child are taking place. However I’d argue that telepathy is just the hook, the preview of a far more important phenomena the series reveals.
Listening beyond the first few episodes it becomes clear that many of these non-verbal autistic individuals have insights, abilities, and messages that can only be described as spiritual, or mystical.
In fact, some of the messages shared by these autistic children are on par with history’s greatest spiritual teachers of all time.
Which got me thinking, how many of those who feel skeptical of the Telepathy Tapes have actually listened past the first 3-4 episodes? Because it’s in those early episodes where all the questions around “manipulating the outcome” and “is it really telepathy?” occured, often asked by Ky herself.
And again, my point is that telepathy, as cool as it seems, is not the main story.
Telepathy is just the teaser to get listeners to the real message of episodes 7-10, which is the spiritual guidance these beautiful souls are offering to humanity.
An Elaborate Hoax to…Spread Love?
If you listen carefully to the podcast you’ll hear that some of the caretakers and children have been documenting their spiritual experiences long before Ky began her work on the topic.
For example we have Josiah, who in episode 9 is connected telepathically with the author Max Davis, who lives halfway across the country. A book documenting Josiah and his remarkable gifts was published almost nine years ago, all the way back in 2016.
And those who’ve listened to the series will remember Houston, the young man who is best friends with another star of the podcast, John Paul. Houston, and his mom, Katie, published their book four years ago, in 2021, about his abilities and insights that defy understanding.
Then there’s the teacher Jes Kerzen, who appears throughout the series, telling the story of Asher, a young man whom she met in her classroom many years ago when he was only six years old. Jes and Asher remain in regular contact even today, over twenty-five years after their initial meeting.
I was in awe of Asher’s insights shared throughout the series, as they are on par with some of the deepest mystical truths I’ve come across. And I was thrilled to learn that Jen and Asher have published a memoir of these insights.
Overwhelmingly, time and again, these kids are sharing a consistent message of love and connectedness.
They’re sharing that we as humanity need to wake up. Wake up to who these individuals who’ve been marginalized and discarded by society truly are; and wake up to who we as a species truly are, and what actions we need to take before it’s too late.
My guess is that the parents and caretakers of non-verbal, autistic children experience some of the greatest physical and emotional exhaustion of any adults on the planet. I found listening to their stories (and what their day to day struggles have been like) to be nearly overwhelming at times. I know as a parent there are weeks when I can barely keep up, so I cannot imagine what these parents endure on their children’s behalf.
And so these hard working parents probably aren’t the type of folks who are going to conspire and coerce their children into faking a deeply mystical worldview (that includes mystical metaphysics) in an elaborate plot to spread a message that love and greater connection is the ultimate answer.
Ky herself even calls this out in an upcoming interview with
and , when she says the following:As far as the skeptics coming after it around telepathy and stuff, there are always going to be people who just can’t believe this, but unless we hired hundreds of actors that are therapists, teachers, parents, siblings, doctors, ministers…which didn’t happen obviously…so then what did happen? Are all these people lying around the world?
No.
So the question for a lot of people is can you believe the testimony of hundreds of people, thousands really, saying the same thing, who don’t know each other, in different states and different countries, and I think that’s pretty convincing evidence right there.
Here’s the clip:
No Red (or Yellow) Flags
I’m always careful to state that while I might be an aspiring mystic, I’ve personally only had a handful of mystical experiences to date. I don’t pretend to be a mystic, nor do I consider myself to be an expert on mysticism.
But it is a serious hobby of mine.
I’ve consumed 20-30 hours of mystical material a week for the last 15 months or so, and I feel I’m able to easily and regularly debunk a great deal of sensationalist content found on YouTube and social media. There are all sorts of psi/paranormal podcasts and videos out there that are an embarrassment and an insult to these topics.
I’ve also listened to each episode of the Telepathy Tapes at least twice, and I can say with full and complete confidence that there wasn’t a single red flag (or even a yellow flag) regarding the mystical principles, frameworks, messages, or metaphysics presented by the children (or adults) in the podcast.
And while I’m blessed to have lots of friends to discuss mysticism with these days, even a year ago I had almost no one to discuss it with, mostly because I couldn’t find anyone who knew anything about it.
I’ve come to think of Mysticism as a sort of invisible door you walk through, and once you do, it becomes very easy to spot the fakes. And I see no evidence that these kids or their caretakers are faking their insights, not even a little bit.
So my point here is that once again I find it impossible to believe that some of the busiest, most exhausted people on earth (the parents of these children) are secretly studying mysticism and have banded together over many, many years to pull off an elaborate hoax about how our world would be a better place if we all reoriented our lives around spreading love.
Because once we reach the end of season one it’s clear that this is ultimately what the series is about.
Will It Be Proven?
But the skeptics still demand proof.
Maybe with Season 2 and the University of Virginia research we’ll finally get a scientific stamp of approval.
But science and the materialist worldview has become a funny thing. A few of us were chatting about this subject the other day, and our friend, Cognitive Neuroscientist
, had this insight to share:The desire for replication at scale is an inherited belief from a materialistic, reductionist, mechanistic worldview, and it is definitely a boundary we place on ourselves. It's also what keeps scientists in their mental prisons. This isn’t a judgement, it’s just the reality of our current worldview.
In terms of exploring these unconventional phenomena, objective evidence is what will be needed because it's the paradigm we live in. But that boundary should be recognized for what it is and what it isn’t. The universe may or may not have phenomena that happen only once—but it doesn’t mean it didn't happen if we can't replicate it. It would just be considered an outlier.
As a scientist I feel it’s important I point out that we lose a part of our humanity by focusing solely on objective data. We’re constantly discounting peoples experiences, when at the end of the day that's all each of us really have, our own experience. So we have a choice: having the discussion from within the rules of materialism, or expanding out to include philosophically diverse worldviews. This is why it's so challenging to have these conversations; often times those involved are approaching the topic from different worldviews.
And of course Mona’s written an entire book on the topic which details that many, many scientists have had their own personal paranormal or mystical experiences, but the vast majority of them are terrified to speak out publicly about them for fear of how it might stifle their careers.
I’ve also come to believe there’s something about skepticism that actually keeps you on the outside of the mystical.
We have record of a very famous mystic from 2000 years ago saying “these things absolutely don’t work when there are too many doubters in the room.”
So belief does seem to have some impact on the outcome, and this aspect about psi phenomena has been documented for millenia.
For me, these days I’m firmly in the believer camp, and so I acknowledge my deep bias for all things mystical. But I only arrived at this place of “believer” after many years of my own agnosticism.
And so yes, I could be delusional, wanting too much to believe.
However my personal experience has been that a magical life is an amazingly fun way to live. I’ve never been happier, never seen more unexplained blessings, and never been less anxious about the future. And my experience with others navigating the same territory is that the Universe always requires we take the first step, and then it overwhelmingly reciprocates.
I really think it’s a choice we each get to make.
Where Does This All Lead?
Of all the individuals highlighted in The Telepathy Tapes, none touched my heart quite like John Paul. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that he strikes me as a modern-day Christ figure. And as much as I want to write about him in detail I don’t want to spoil the series for anyone who hasn’t reached the end.
What I will say about John Paul is that he clearly possesses a wisdom and a presence that is not of this world, and he seems to be on par with many of our great spiritual figures throughout recorded history.
And it seems that the choice John Paul made was for a reason.
In the final episode of the series John Paul’s girlfriend, Lilly, has an almost shocking message for the audience:
Be very mindful that we are about to go through a cataclysmic shift in the understanding of the fundamental nature of our relationship to the Universe and everything in it…
Wow. What does Lilly mean by this?
And what could be coming in the years ahead that will cause this cataclysmic shift, if we’re to trust her comments?
My first thought in hearing Lilly’s words was to revisit the chatter from the various spiritual teachers and communities that I referenced above. That there’s a growing sense we’re entering a phase of “all that’s hidden will be revealed,” and that the next couple years will see much of our materialist worldview swept away.
And remember Asher, the young man whose 25 year friendship with his teacher, Jes, has revealed many mystical insights and truths that are once again on the level of history’s spiritual greats? Well, Jes details in their book that Asher too sees humanity on the verge of something big; something that will change humanity forever.
What are these individuals trying to tell us? What are they trying to prepare us for?
And if it is indeed the case that our world is about to change so drastically that the very foundations it’s set upon will radically shift forever, then what should we do to prepare?
Episode 9 of the podcast is some of the most powerful media I’ve encountered in years. I’ve listened to it three times now and each time it’s cracked my heart wide open, reducing me to tears with every listen as a message1 comes through from the other side; a place we might traditionally think of as Heaven.
And the message delivered is so simple, so clear, and perhaps so urgent that it might just be worth paying attention to:
“Make your whole life about love.”
(For more of our exploration of the hidden message within The Telepathy Tapes you can check out the second part of our series here.)
Very special thanks to
and for their important contributions to this article, and you can enjoy their deep dive here, and their full interview with Ky here.If you’d like to learn even more about Ky and her important work please also check out this interview and this interview, both by
.And thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article please be sure to ❤️ it so others can find it too.
And what’s been your experience with The Telepathy Tapes? Let us know in the comment section…and so we can cover in future posts!
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Houston is the young man who delivers the message from his friend who is on “the other side.”
As for “more scientific rigor”, I doubt the kids will stand for it; imv these young people will sense the built in bias of skepticism and collapse the wave form of their own volition.
Not to mention the desire to record and measure via electronic instruments being a form of energetic violence to kids with such a high degree of sensitivity.
Just don’t do it. Marvel at the mystery of them. 😊
Thank you for putting into words many of the emotions I felt while listening to the podcast. May we all live in love