What Can Shamans Teach Us About Religion? | Many Minds with Manvir Singh
Wed Jan 21 2026
The world is full of religions, but none as timeless as shamanism. And whilst many modern religions have shed their shamanic skins, the shaman is rarely as far away as we have been told.
Or so argues anthropologist Manvir Singh in his book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion.
Singh’s work is fascinating in its capacity to link the exocit with the familiar, showing how rainforest rituals are not so far removed from urban modernity as we might think.
Today, I will have the rare chance to enjoy Singh's insights together with you, as a listener. The hard work will be done by Kensy Cooperider, the host of the Many Minds Podcast.
Many Minds is one of my own go-to shows and has a lot to recommend for it. Just like On Humans, it breaks down complex scientific concepts about humanity into easy-to-follow yet in-depth conversations. Yet unlike On Humans, it has insanely well-referenced show notes! Just check this one out.
Kensy and I had a beachside chat this November and decided it would be good to introduce ourselves to each other's audiences. So here we go!
LINKS
Many Minds: https://disi.org/manyminds/
Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute: https://disi.org/
Episode page: https://disi.org/the-shaman-with-a-thousand-faces/
Manvir Singh: https://www.manvir.org/
KEYWORDS
Anthropology | Psychology | Religion | Cross-cultural study | Abrahamic religions | Neo-shamanism | Human universals |
More
The world is full of religions, but none as timeless as shamanism. And whilst many modern religions have shed their shamanic skins, the shaman is rarely as far away as we have been told. Or so argues anthropologist Manvir Singh in his book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. Singh’s work is fascinating in its capacity to link the exocit with the familiar, showing how rainforest rituals are not so far removed from urban modernity as we might think. Today, I will have the rare chance to enjoy Singh's insights together with you, as a listener. The hard work will be done by Kensy Cooperider, the host of the Many Minds Podcast. Many Minds is one of my own go-to shows and has a lot to recommend for it. Just like On Humans, it breaks down complex scientific concepts about humanity into easy-to-follow yet in-depth conversations. Yet unlike On Humans, it has insanely well-referenced show notes! Just check this one out. Kensy and I had a beachside chat this November and decided it would be good to introduce ourselves to each other's audiences. So here we go! LINKS Many Minds: https://disi.org/manyminds/ Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute: https://disi.org/ Episode page: https://disi.org/the-shaman-with-a-thousand-faces/ Manvir Singh: https://www.manvir.org/ KEYWORDS Anthropology | Psychology | Religion | Cross-cultural study | Abrahamic religions | Neo-shamanism | Human universals |