George Knapp was joined by near-death experience (NDE) expert Dr. Penny Sartori for a discussion on her extensive research into NDEs and their life changing after effects. Sartori credited an encounter with a terminal patient for launching her quest to understand death, the dying process and the role of NDEs. Documented cases of NDEs go back as far as Plato and are found throughout Medieval history, she explained, noting three percent of all people in the world report having had an NDE. Eleven to twenty percent of resuscitated patients claim to have had NDES as well, she added.

Sartori identified several characteristics common to NDEs in the West, including out-of-body travel, seeing a bright light, meeting deceased relatives/friends or religious figures (based on cultural heritage), and the life review. She detailed some interesting features of the rather rare Japanese NDE cases. Those who report having NDEs in Japan often wander through fields of poppies near a family temple, encounter noisy children dressed as monks, and see a rainbow bridge and wall of golden light, Sartori revealed. Those that cannot cross through the wall of golden light are sent back to life, she noted.

Sartori shared some cases from her five-year clinical study of NDEs and the profound impact the episodes had on her patients. One woman returned from an NDE with a sudden and inexplicable understanding of quantum physics. In another case, a man reported meeting his deceased granddaughter who imparted unknown information to him that was later verified by his own living daughter, Sartori recalled. In still another case, a young girl at odds with her mother saw things from a different perspective during an NDE and returned to mend that relationship. "[NDEs] are telling us a great deal about life as well as what happens as we approach death," she said.

Portable Backpack Nukes

In the first hour, author D.B. Grady talked about a cold war mission to create portable nuclear weapons. Grady said he uncovered this little known piece of American history through numerous FOIA request and interviews with members of the special forces, military leadership and nuclear experts. The backpack nuke came into the Army arsenal in 1964 and was developed out of fear the Soviet Union would launch a limited non-nuclear strike in Europe, he explained. The 58-lb atomic bomb was designed for special forces units to carry with them on missions, he added. According to Grady, the small but powerful weapon could create physical and radiological barriers, demolish transportation infrastructure and even redirect rivers. It was finally retired in 1989, he revealed. Related Link: The Littlest Boy