December 5, 2004: The God Part of the Brain - Matthew Alper
Podcast: The Art Bell ArchivePublished On: Thu Oct 09 2025
Description: Art Bell welcomes Matthew Alper, author of The God Part of the Brain, to revisit his theory that human beings are neurologically hardwired for spiritual belief. Alper argues that every known culture, without exception, has believed in some form of spiritual reality, suggesting a genetic basis for religiosity rooted in the brain's need to cope with awareness of mortality. He explains the bell curve of spiritual capacity, placing zealots on one extreme and the spiritually tone-deaf, including himself, on the other.Alper expresses frustration that recent publications, including a Time magazine cover story on the so-called God Gene, have restated his theories without crediting his prior work. He describes a specific scientist who rewrote his book's arguments as original research, changing only minor terminology to avoid plagiarism claims. Art confirms that Alper first presented these ideas on the program years earlier, well before the mainstream scientific community embraced them.The discussion also covers new research on the neuroscience of love, including the role of oxytocin in bonding during breastfeeding and intimacy. Art opens the show with news about chimera experiments blending human and animal cells, a proposed bill criminalizing commercial-skipping on DVRs, and a caller who produces subliminal sleep audio revealing that at least one percent of media content contains hidden messages.
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