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Unbelievable?

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

Unbelievable?

Premier Unbelievable?

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.72.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0

My dad died when I was nine years old and it broke something in me.

0:05.0

I spent lots of times homeless, causing even bigger rifts in the family.

0:10.0

I was out of control.

0:12.0

Green Pastures is a Christian charity providing homes and support for people facing homelessness across the UK.

0:20.0

As soon as I walked in that place,

0:21.6

I knew there was something different about it.

0:23.6

Through Green Pastures,

0:25.6

Andy found a home,

0:26.6

freedom from addiction,

0:28.6

and a new beginning in faith.

0:30.6

It's the best thing I've ever done.

0:31.6

It released me from that 23 years of addiction

0:35.6

and now I'm senior support worker here at Green Pastures Derby.

0:39.3

Find out more at greenpastures.co.uk.

0:43.3

Hi, welcome to Premier Unbelievable. I'm Luke Martin and today I'm joined by Dr Sharon Dirk's.

0:52.3

Sharon has a PhD in brain imaging from the University of Cambridge.

0:57.0

She is a speaker, a writer, and she deals with lots of fascinating topics like the brain, soul,

1:04.0

consciousness, AI, suffering, and she has a new book coming out about near-death experiences.

1:15.7

Sharon Dirks, welcome to the show.

1:17.6

Thank you. Great to be here.

1:22.0

So your background is in brain imaging.

1:25.9

You studied at Cambridge and you worked in that for several years.

...

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