FJN logo

Frontier Journalists’ Network

Covering Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

by | Jun 25, 2024 | Consciousness, Cover Page, Near-Death Experiences (NDE), Topic Briefs for Journalists | 0 comments

This is part of FJN’s Topic Briefs for Journalists series.
View COVERING NDEs main page

PHOTO Pexels

Consciousness continues to fascinate philosophers, scientists and lay people. One of the most studied aspects is the phenomenon when a person appears unconscious or even physically dead, yet returns to full consciousness with an awareness of what transpired while his or her physical body died. While there are varying conditions to what recovered patients and their doctors report, most of them are generally considered “Near-Death Experiences” (NDEs). This descriptor was coined by Dr Raymond Moody in 1973. This FJN Topic Brief aims to provide journalists with history on the science, cultural connotations and resources to cover NDEs.

Covering NDEs

Compiled by Martin Redfern for FJN

Are you an editorial professional with knowledge of a particular aspect of human phenomena? If you may be interested in penning a Topic Brief for the FJN, please contact us via and we’ll share guidelines and terms.

Story Ideas

Space psychologist helps babies develop innate inner knowing

Sep 23, 2026

A cognitive engineer renowned for helping astronauts use their extrasensory perception for problem solving in space now helps babies develop a similar, innate pre-verbal knowing. IMAGES Canva Research shows that an infant can be born with up to 150 types of...

Parton guided by a “divine, creative force”

Sep 12, 2026

The death of beloved American pop music artist Dolly Parton raises the question of where profound inspiration comes from. There are answers, both post-materialist and materialist. Dolly Parton 2011. PHOTO Leeann Cafferata/Wikimedia Commons Dolly Parton was crystal...

Awe as a bridge between the secular and the sacred

Aug 31, 2026

IDEAS ON THE FRONTLINE Breakthrough cognitive research and a recent survey reveal a new bridge between the secular and the sacred: the emotion of awe. Nearly everyone experiences it. PHOTO Canva Human beings have a propensity for awe and wonder, both scientific...

Prestigious study: Oneness of universe may be real, not illusion

Aug 25, 2026

The notion that we are separate from the world may be an illusion upheld by the brain, while the sense of oneness attained when using psychedelics may be “a glimpse of a bigger picture,” say researchers behind a Nature study. IMAGE: Canva In a landmark study published...

Minds influence biology, leading scholar suggests

Aug 10, 2026

IDEAS ON THE FRONTLINE A cutting-edge American biologist has proposed an idea that radically challenges orthodoxy: Biology is influenced by non-physical processes. IMAGE Canva Noted research biologist Michael Levin has proposed that “minds,” described as dynamic...

Documentary about life’s basic force to be shown worldwide

Aug 9, 2026

Everything is frequency. That is the message of a new documentary drawing large audiences. SCREENSHOT from thefrequencymovie.com “Frequency – The Secret of Everything” is a full-length documentary film featuring leading postmaterialist voices exploring what it...

Brain resonates with “hum of the universe”

Jul 10, 2026

IMAGE Pexels/Alari Tammsalu German theoretical physicist Joachim Keppler has proposed that consciousness arises not from the brain but through resonant interaction with the fundamental energy field of the Universe.  The research director at the DIWISS Research...

Science close to accepting placebo as healing

May 18, 2026

May 2026 Leading researchers conclude the placebo response is real and important, and are pivoting to understand and "harness" the underlying mind-body connection. PHOTO: Canva An editorial in the May issue of The Lancet Psychiatry urges clinicians to stop thinking of...