The Best of Coast to Coast AM Back from Death - Best of Coast to Coast AM - 3/20/26
Mar 21, 2026
Dannion Brinkley, a near-death experiencer and hospice volunteer who survived multiple resuscitations, tells vivid stories of being struck by lightning and clinically dead for 28 minutes. He describes out-of-body awareness, a silvery-blue tunnel, watching medical staff from above, prolonged recovery and repeated returns. The conversation touches on free will, choices to come back, and the cultural impact of near-death reports.
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Lightning Strike That Triggered An NDE
- Dannion Brinkley was struck by lightning while holding a landline; the current entered his head, went down his spine, melted the phone, welded his shoe nails to the floor, and threw him onto the bed.
- He described instantaneous nerve-burning, blindness from a fireball, immobility, and then an out-of-body experience where he observed the scene without pain.
Out Of Body Exultation And Observation
- After the lightning, Brinkley experienced exultation as he left his body and regained sight and mobility, contrasting the burning sensation in his body.
- He clearly perceived being free and able to observe his own physical body and surroundings from above.
NDEs Rising Because Medicine Resuscitates More People
- Brinkley frames near-death experiences (NDEs) as an expanding cultural phenomenon driven by improved resuscitation techniques.
- He links increased NDE reports to CPR and medical advances that restore heart and kidney function, producing common narrative threads.