Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation

About

Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the world we encounter.

  • 433 - Symbolism Happens! The Mandela Effect Is Not a Glitch in the Matrix
    I explore the Mandela Effect from a symbolic perspective. The Mandela Effect is a psychological phenomenon where a large group of people collectively share the same false memory of an event, detail, or pop culture fact. It has stirred up conspiracy...
  • 432 - Yelena Popovic - Moses the Black
    I speak with filmmaker Yelena Popovic, who viewers may recognize as the director of the stunning film of the life of St. Nektarios of Aegina, Man of God (2021). In this interview we discuss her upcoming film, Moses the Black, releasing January 30th of...
  • 431 - Joshua Sturgill & Dcn Seraphim Rohlin - The Art of Imitating Heaven: Structure and Meaning in Ancient Cosmology
    "Ancient people knew the sky the way that we know the highways around our cities." Today's podcast is a bit different. Deacon Seraphim Rohlin is here to introduce you to our new Symbolic World Course presenter, Joshua Sturgill. Together they discuss...
  • 430 - JP Marceau - The Mythology of Demographic Collapse
    In this interview, I sat down with Jean-Philippe Marceau—author of Post-Reductionist Christianity, our very first theory book at Symbolic World Press—to discuss his surprising and widely praised new Symbolic World article on the emerging global...
  • 429 - Martin Shaw - Longing and Mystery: The Quest for the Holy Grail
    In this conversation, I sit down with storyteller and mythologist Martin Shaw to explore the Holy Grail. We talk about desire and longing, failure and mercy, chivalry and the feminine, and why the Grail stories continue to be relevant across...
  • 428 - Why they want you to think Christmas is pagan
    In this video I discuss the persistence of the idea that Christmas was "stolen" by Christians from the pagans, or that it's secretly still pagan. Merry Christmas everyone. Christ is born! YouTube version: https://youtu.be/uh6rhiTrTnk Christmas...
  • 427 - Dr. Iain McGilchrist - Artificial Intelligence, Possession, and Mental Illness
    In this conversation, I speak with British psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Dr. Iain McGilchrist about intelligence, mental illness, and AI. Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DRtpKyKJcss Get Dr. McGilchrist’s books:...
  • 426 - Andrew Gould - Monks and Pirates: Two Extremes that Explain the Rest of Us
    In this conversation filmed (by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin) in the Florida Keys, I sit down with my friend Andrew Gould to finally revisit a surprising claim he made years ago—that pirates and Orthodox monks share deep symbolic parallels. We discuss ships...
  • 425 - The Cosmic Dance of Decorating a Christmas Tree
    This is a repost of a patron video I made several years ago about decorating the Christmas tree as a family. Support us for access to more video like this. Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/9y32OFyvskg NEW COURSE: The Quest for the Holy...
  • 424 - Universal History: The American Religion - with Dcn Seraphim Rohlin
    "Americans who think they are Christians, truly are something else; intensely religious, but devout in the American Religion." In this episode of Universal History, I sit down again with Deacon Seraphim Rohlin to explore the roots and characteristics...
  • 423 - Catholic Unscripted - Violence as the New Normal
    This is a repost of an interview I did a few months ago on the Catholic Unscripted Podcast after the Charlie Kirk assassination. We discuss the topic of violence, the end of the World War 2 consensus, Israel, enchantment, science and technology, sex...
  • 422 - Why Exaggeration Is Necessary in Storytelling
    Given we're still in the fall season, I watched The Conjuring and it got me thinking about how real events can become exaggerated in story form. In this video, I look at how legends are created, and that exaggeration of certain elements of an event...
  • 421 - Deacon Seraphim (Richard) Rohlin - Recovering Our Heritage
    I’m excited to share this powerful talk by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin, my collaborator at the Symbolic World Press and co-host of the Universal History Podcast. In this talk from the 2025 Touchstone Conference, he explores how we can recover our heritage...
  • 420 - How Free Will Actually Works
    This was September 2025's patron video that we decided to make public. Thank you to my supporters. I explore the question of free will, drawing on the insights of St. Maximus the Confessor. While thinkers like Sam Harris argue that free will is an...
  • 419 - Trick or Treat: Halloween Symbolism in Little Red Riding Hood
    Pre-order Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf now and get a free audiobook read by me, as well as an exclusive Q&A: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/products/the-tale-of-little-red-riding-hood-and-the-big-bad-wolf 💻 Website and blog:...
  • 418 - The Symbolism of the Entire Divine Comedy in the First Canto
    In this video, I read and reflect on the first canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy — the opening of Inferno. This incredible canto puts the entire poem in perspective, serving as a microcosm for Dante's journey through inferno, purgatory, and into...
  • 417 - Three Things Christians Must Do to Rebuild Culture (Touchstone talk)
    This talk took place at the 2025 Touchstone conference, Great and Wonderful Days: Rediscovering the Christian Life in a Post-Christian Age. The title of my talk was “This is the Day”. https://www.touchstonemag.com/ Original YouTube version:...
  • 416 - Tangled: The Triumph of Self-Realization
    I explore how Disney’s Tangled reimagines the classic Rapunzel story and what these changes reveal about our modern world. Tangled captures a pivotal moment in Disney’s storytelling where there was a shift from the traditional fairy tale’s emphasis on...
  • 415 - Charlie Kirk's Assassination: We have gone beyond the pale
    Huge changes are happening in the political landscape. In this video, I reflect on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and how this moment has deeply affected me toward recognizing how broken our unity has become. Drawing on symbolic insights, I explore...
  • 414 - Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin (Universal History) - American Folk Magic and Christianity: From the Reformation to Mormonism
    Enchantment never truly disappeared from the modern world. In this episode of Universal History Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I explore the world of magic and folk superstition in American Christianity. What is magic? Where’s the line between prayer and...