…

Conspirituality

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Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon.As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia.Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.

#465

Bonus Sample: Let's Talk About Gary Brecka

"Human Biologist" and life coach Gary Brecka's star rose after biohacking UFC President Dana White's health. Yet Derek has a few questions this week: Is someone with a degree from a chiropractic college qualified to talk about seed oils, GMOs, depression, tinnitus, fluoride, detoxifying through water fasts, and diet plans? Is it concerning that his 10X Health System cofounder is a fervent Scientologist? And what happens when you actually read the science Brecka is linking to? Show Notes [Worst U.S. cities for air pollution ranked in new American Lung Association report] (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worst-air-pollution-ranked-cities-american-lung-association-report-state-of-the-air/) [GMO Foods: How Genetically Modified Foods Sabotage Your Health | Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9scCsGMqvo) [Are children and pregnant women risking their health by eating “GMO” foods? The American Association of Pediatrics controversially says ‘yes’. The real question: Is the AAP endangering the food vulnerable?] (https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2024/01/18/are-children-and-pregnant-women-risking-their-health-by-eating-gmo-foods-the-american-association-of-pediatrics-controversially-says-yes-the-real-question-is-the/) [Organic foods are not healthier...or pesticide free.] (http://healthier...or) [A Comprehensive Review of Health-Benefiting Components in Rapeseed Oil] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9962526/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

19 hrs Ago

05 MINS

05:54

19 hrs Ago

#464

Deep Cut: On Belief

A Deep Cut from our Patreon archive (July 2023) What do we mean when we say that we believe something? When the QAnon Shaman got dressed on the morning of January 6, he put on his red, white, and blue face paint, his postmodern quasi-Native American horned fur hat, and grabbed the spear to which he had attached an American flag. In performance mode, this cosplay persona had already garnered him a taste of the attention that would soon increase exponentially as he became the most recognizable figure of the Capitol Riot. In today’s Bonus, Julian argues that his costume, as well as his ritual actions on that day were also an expression of a political worldview, run through with deeply held spiritual beliefs about the world and his role in it. The history of political religion, propagandistic conspiracies, and progressive spiritual convictions may show that—far from being trivial—belief is at the heart of the American, and perhaps the human, story. Intro music: [Single Origins—Luz Cafe] (https://open.spotify.com/track/2KeZQQu5hROsUjVrT92VRJ?si=9b86c986ef2c4bd4) Interstitial: [Silent Song—Eccodek (EarthRise SoundSystem Remix)] (https://open.spotify.com/track/0ksJEx73tRS7FpvrNpMK4a?si=fdb1e8b2a4ec4f17) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

27 Apr 2024

55 MINS

55:19

27 Apr 2024

#463

203: Is This a Joke? (w/Neal Brennan)

Neal Brennan has upped the artistic ante in stand-up comedy. In Netflix specials like "3 Mics and Blocks" he’s explored loneliness, isolation, and the mental health fallout of growing up the youngest of 10 in a Catholic family with an extremely unwell father. In the process he’s made some of the great mysteries of family pain and inner turmoil more tolerable. And—he’s a fan of our podcast, because in his search for relief, he’s tripped through the land of psychedelics, where conspirituality can sour the active ingredients. Neal joins us today to talk about his weird journey through the plant medicine scene, to wonder whether emotional and spiritual healing makes him funnier, and to answer our questions about how today’s comics are dealing—or not—with their supersized role as political pundits. His new special is called [Crazy Good.] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJaoILz98Y) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

25 Apr 2024

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:53

25 Apr 2024

#462

Bonus Sample: The Dark Sun, The Red Cow, and The End of Days

Tensions between Israel and Iran escalated as supernaturally-charged conspiracy theories about the solar eclipse flooded the internet. And so Julian searched for answers about the mysterious “red heifer.” What is so special about a red cow? Might its discovery and ensuing journey from Texas to Jerusalem have played a role in the October 7 attacks? Why are zealots from all three Abrahamic religions so focused on one piece of holy real estate? Could apocalyptic prophecies actually be self-fulfilling, even when the metaphysics are make-believe? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

22 Apr 2024

06 MINS

06:01

22 Apr 2024

#461

Brief: Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide (w/Theo Wildcroft & Harriet McAtee)

Matthew is joined by Theo Wildcroft and Harriet McAtee, co-editors of The Yoga Teacher's Survival Guide: Social Justice, Science, Politics, and Power (Singing Dragon Publications), a volume of essays from 16 yoga world contributors. Three yoga culture critic nerds get into the weeds of how wellness workers and yoga teachers survive and navigate a post-pandemic world that exists at the crossroads of: ---capitalism and spirituality ---medicine and religion ---modern therapeutics and precolonial philosophy and caregiving ---gigwork and care work Theo is a yoga scholar. Harriet has been training yoga teachers for seven years in a little school in Oxford, UK. Show Notes [The Yoga Teacher's Survival Guide | Singing Dragon - US] (https://us.singingdragon.com/products/the-yoga-teachers-survival-guide) [Theo Wildcroft] (https://theowildcroft.com/) [Harriet McAtee] (https://nourishyogatraining.com/harriet/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

20 Apr 2024

42 MINS

42:19

20 Apr 2024

#460

202: Steve Hassan and the Trans Cult Conspiracy Theory

“Cult expert” Steve Hassan has been publicly concerned with the complex sociology of trans youth since 2020. We track that interest back to his communications with gender critical activists in 2017, who reached out to him because they believed that his cult theory could shed light on what they believed were nefarious aspects of the trans awareness movement. In the spirit of helpfulness, but without any chops in the subject, he stepped up to the plate and started swinging. Regardless of how earnest or paranoid his concern is, his access to this landscape has been bought with his intellectual legacy, and been filtered through networks that question trans identity altogether. His most inflammatory (but also silly) claim is that many young people are being hypnotized by online pornography and influenced by social media groups to the extent they inexorably choose medical transition. We investigate and analyze this unfortunate skid into the culture war mud. Hassan has stated at length his opposition to the “cancel culture” he believes is directed at Rowling and himself. This episode is not that. It’s a sober evaluation of legacy, disciplinary overreach, and what better public intellectual engagement would look like. Show Notes Full show notes posted to [our website] (https://www.conspirituality.net/) and [Patreon] (https://www.patreon.com/conspirituality) . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

18 Apr 2024

1 HR 22 MINS

1:22:09

18 Apr 2024

#459

Bonus Sample: Long Haul Stories: Matthew Stillman

Following up on our Long COVID episode with Tara Haelle, Matthew will be expanding the Listener Stories portfolio with stories from listeners about navigating Long COVID. Why? Because there’s nothing like a mysterious disease, denied by some, stigmatized by others, and politicized by multiple interests, that will bring a person closer to the appeal of alt-med conspirituality. Matthew Stillman is our guest today. Author, documentary filmmaker, and lifelong New Yorker, Stillman grew up in an eccentric family of spiritualism and alternative medicine, but which also fostered a healthy respect for evidence-based medicine. So what happens when experts at Mt. Sinai Center for Post-COVID care reach the end of their capacity to help him with not one but two strains of Long COVID? Red light therapy! Chinese herbs! And a bracing contemplation of what it means to explore the tension between hope and knowledge. Show Notes [Matthew Stillman] (https://stillmansays.com/) [The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals | Nature] (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3) [How Genes from Neanderthals Predispose People to Severe COVID-19 | The Scientist Magazine] (https://www.the-scientist.com/how-genes-from-neanderthals-predispose-people-to-severe-covid-19-70975) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

15 Apr 2024

07 MINS

07:40

15 Apr 2024

#458

Brief: A History of the Gay Right (w/Neil Young)

Matthew is joined by historian Neil J. Young, co-host of the excellent Past Present Podcast, to talk about his new book: Coming Out Republican: a History of the Gay Right. Young’s riveting storytelling shows how, beginning in the aftermath of WWII, many American gay men—born into socially conservative and religious families from which they had struggled to individuate—hitched the wagon of their political hopes to a Republican party they believed would champion their privacy and individual civil rights. Ground zero for their fiercely libertarian clubs and action committees was San Francisco, where a culture of rugged entrepreneurship fostered the slogan “Keep the government out of our bedrooms, and out of our wallets.” It was an individualist politics that looked to Civil Rights and women’s rights movements for inspiration, but not allyship. In time that same GOP would lead a culture war against everything queer—paradoxically led by closeted gay politicians who, with deeply conflicted motives, legislated against their fellows. But even as the tide turned, many gay Republicans kept their shoulders to the unforgiving wheel of respectability politics. Young illuminates the flashes of bravery and self-reliance in these men’s stories, but also shows what happens when a marginalized group seeks acceptance and political power—instead of liberation—within a culture built on exclusion. Neil writes for WaPo, the Atlantic, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Vox, Politico, Slate, and the New York Times. Show Notes [Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right, Young] (https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo212887554.html) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

13 Apr 2024

43 MINS

43:50

13 Apr 2024

#457

201: Librarians Are Not Groomers (w/Heath Umbreit)

When Moms For Liberty attacks libraries with demands to ban books about MLK Jr and age-appropriate sex education, and claims that librarians are grooming their children into the trans agenda, they’re enacting the worst forms of neo-fascist bullying. But they’re also paradoxically defending a troubled American legacy against a librarian culture attempting to course-correct towards greater inclusion. To discuss this problem, Matthew talks to Heath Umbreit, a reference librarian who works at a public library in the northeastern U.S. Mis- and disinformation has been a professional and personal interest of theirs for several years; Heath's study of the phenomenon focuses on a critical examination of popular narratives about disinformation, the concept of epistemic supremacy, and the ways in which information and disinformation intersect with systemic power differentials in American society. Show Notes Derek gives the [Keynote Address at the 2023 Oregon Library Association's Annual Conference] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWnHfrC8WSY) [Library Bill of Rights | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues] (https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill) [Students, authors fight censorship in PA schools] (https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/state/2023/04/18/book-ban-censorship-pushback-teens-authors-pennsylvania-central-bucks-policy/70115924007/) Kuo & Marwick, " [Critical Disinformation Studies] (https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/critical-disinformation-studies-history-power-and-politics/) " Morales & Williams, " [Moving Toward Transformative Librarianship: Naming and Identifying Epistemic Supremacy] (https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edited-volume/5114/chapter/3075316/Moving-toward-Transformative-Librarianship-Naming) " danah boyd, " [You Think You Want Media Literacy... Do You?] (https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2018/03/09/you-think-you-want-media-literacy-do-you.html) " PEN America, [2023 Banned Books Update: Banned in the USA] (https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/) Kelly Jensen, [Trauma, Book Bans, and Libraries: A Resource Guide for Library Workers, Library Supporters, and Beyond] (https://bookriot.com/library-trauma-resource-guide/) Kristen Browde, [Who's Making News for Sex Crimes Involving Children?] (https://www.whoismakingnews.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

11 Apr 2024

1 HR 17 MINS

1:17:42

11 Apr 2024

#456

Bonus Sample: Project 2025's Disdain for Public Education

Project 2025 is the libertarian conservative Heritage Foundation’s systematic governance plan for the next Republican president. The 920-page plan aims to implement the "unitary executive theory," which would give all of the power of the US government to the executive branch—Donald Trump, if he wins in November. Derek and Julian read the chapter on the Department of Education, which focuses on unlocking public funds for Christian schools while banning any discussion on DEI, CRT, or gender theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

08 Apr 2024

06 MINS

06:50

08 Apr 2024

#455

Brief: The High Cost of Wellness

A common sentiment in wellness spaces is that people turn to alt-med practices due to the exorbitant costs of American healthcare. While the latter is certainly true, Derek and Julian discuss why a lot of products and services in wellness land is really just another form of extractive capitalism. Head to [factormeals.com/conspirituality50] (factormeals.com/conspirituality50) and use code conspirituality50 to get 50% off your first month plus 20% off your next month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

06 Apr 2024

44 MINS

44:33

06 Apr 2024

#454

200: Rogan-Rufo Reality Check

This week we take stock of the full entrenchment of the Mirror World, where conspirituality influencers bask in the rays of confident delusion. After a little stage-setting on the heterodox mediasphere, we open with a snapshot of conspirituality Valhalla as we listen in on Joe Rogan and Chris Rufo talking about unhoused people as though they are children who haven’t been given good boundaries. Then we’ll look at four instances in which the spectacle brokers meet reality. What happens when Chaya Raichik gets bodied by Taylor Lorenz? What happens when the Moms for Liberty have to explain themselves on 60 minutes? What happens when Destiny rejects Jordan Peterson’s bullshit? And what happens when the mack daddy of it all, Alex Jones, gets confronted by Sandy Hook parents, face to face? Does reality break through? Head to [factormeals.com/conspirituality50] (factormeals.com/conspirituality50) and use code conspirituality50 to get 50% off your first month plus 20% off your next month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

04 Apr 2024

1 HR 08 MINS

1:08:56

04 Apr 2024

#453

Bonus Sample: The GOP Thinks Food Stamps Are the Real Problem

Project 2025 is the libertarian conservative Heritage Foundation’s systematic governance plan for the next Republican president. The 920-page plan aims to implement the "unitary executive theory," which would give all of the power of the US government to the executive branch—Donald Trump, if he wins in November. This week, Derek and Julian investigate the chapter on the Department of Agriculture, which aims to strip funding for food stamps and welfare programs and further deregulate Big Ag. And if you think the author is part of a climate change denial think tank, you'd be correct. Head to [factormeals.com/conspirituality50] (factormeals.com/conspirituality50) and use code conspirituality50 to get 50% off your first month plus 20% off your next month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

01 Apr 2024

07 MINS

07:17

01 Apr 2024

#452

Brief: Woman, Life, Freedom (w/Negin Shiraghaei)

The death of Mahsa Jina Amini at the hands of the Islamic Republic’s “morality police” in September 2022 lit a fuse on a fervent global protest movement. Jina’s crime was wearing an “improper” headscarf in public. The slogan, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” which first emerged in the fight for Kurdish equality, was used by thousands of brave, defiant women in Iran (along with male supporters), who called for an end to oppression, discrimination, tyranny, and dictatorship. Eighteen months later, the Iranian government has increased video surveillance and morality police patrols, imposed even harsher penalties for female disobedience, and leaned even further into brutal torture methods and daily executions. Meanwhile, Ali Khamenei’s administration floods the population with propaganda and conspiracy theories. Julian talks to Iranian human rights activist and former BBC World Service reporter, Negin Shiraghaei, about the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, which she says remains active and unstoppable. Show Notes Iran [one year after Woman, Life, Freedom] (https://www.amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/iran-one-year-after-the-woman-life-freedom-uprising-international-community-must-combat-impunity-for-brutal-crackdown/) Iran: [Alarming Surge in Executions] (https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/12/iran-alarming-surge-executions) Khamenei Refuses US Help, [Citing COVID Conspiracy Theory] (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/22/coronavirus-iran-conspiracy-theory-141188) Iran’s Supreme Leader [Calls Gender Equality a Zionist Plot] (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-khamenei-gender-equality-women-zionist-plot-society-role-islamic-leader-theocracy-a7641041.html) Iranian Singer [Sentenced to 3 years in Jail for Mahsa Amini Protest Anthem] (https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/03/04/iranian-singer-shervin-hajipour-sentenced-to-prison-for-mahsa-amini-protest-anthem) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

30 Mar 2024

34 MINS

34:29

30 Mar 2024

#451

Brief: Yes, Huberman’s Behavior Matters

In response to Kerry Howley’s meticulous reporting on the deceptions of Andrew Huberman in New York Magazine, Huberstans around the world are braying that the man’s private life has nothing to do with his virtue as a science communicator. Not so, we argue in this brief. Deception in one mirrors deception in the other, and there is no private life for the influencer who wants to influence your private life. Beyond shilling for Athletic Greens and saying that sunscreen winds up in your brain, Huberman opines on relationships, sex, and addiction issues as if he is an expert—instead of (an alleged) hot mess. Pseudoscience and pseudotherapy are parallel harms—both using manipulative jargon to convince consumers or women respectively that the influencer is well-researched and using best practices to be of service. So we advise all Huberstans to view their hero… holistically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

30 Mar 2024

27 MINS

27:57

30 Mar 2024

#450

199: Inside Anti-Abortion Christian Nationalism (w/Rob Schenck)

Reverend Rob Schenck spent 30 years on the front lines of the Evangelical war against Roe V. Wade. He blockaded abortion clinics, screamed at women in crisis, used fetal remains as political props, and helped wage a covert war of moneyed influence over federal officials to end abortion access. Now, in a return to his deeper religious commitments, he is repenting his past. In an interview with Matthew, he discusses his blissful conversion experience as a teenager rooted in what he believed was a radical social justice movement. And he describes what he now sees: an anti-abortion movement helping to galvanize the Christian Nationalism poised to wreak havoc on American politics, and what we can do to push back against its aggression. Show Notes [Fresh Air for July 11, 2018: An Evangelical Minister's Change Of Heart On Abortion] (https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2018/07/11/627941127) [Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach] (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/us/supreme-court-leak-abortion-roe-wade.html) [Former Anti-Abortion Lobbyist Rev Robert Schenck Statement on "Operation Higher Court"] (https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5045152/anti-abortion-lobbyist-rev-robert-schenck-statement-operation-higher-court) [Robert "Rob" L. Schenck] (https://www.c-span.org/person/?43473/RobertRobLSchenck) [About - Truth Revealed] (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/truthrevealed/about/) — Rob Schenck’s blog Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

28 Mar 2024

1 HR 12 MINS

1:12:39

28 Mar 2024

#449

Bonus Sample: Conspirituality and the Imaginary Children (Series Intro)

In this series of audio essays, Matthew will examine how children as symbols—but not persons with their own internal lives—are at the center of conspirituality anxiety and discourse. There are two types of imaginary child in conspirituality. One is an object of dread. The other is an idol of aspiration. In the realm of dread we have fetuses murdered by late term abortion, children who are trafficked, made autistic by vaccines, sexualized by pornography in elementary school, or mutilated by trans activist doctors. In the realm of idols we have newborn babies sliding like dolphins into warm birthing tubs after a mere hour of ecstatic, medically-unassisted home births. We have little girls in prairie dresses or first communion veils who must be protected from library drag queens or woke grade school teachers. We have starseeds and indigo children who carry prophecies from the great beyond. We often reflect on the problem of authority on this podcast. Who are our leaders, and what gives them power? Why do conspiracists default to God to corroborate fantasies? What gap in cultural fatherhood is Jordan Peterson trying to fill? With this series, Matthew looks in the other direction: what does the conspirituality crowd do with its own authority? How do misgivings, regrets and shame in relation to children get inflated and projected into moral panics? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

25 Mar 2024

08 MINS

08:22

25 Mar 2024

#448

Brief: Unmasking Jay Shetty (w/John McDermott)

Former monk turned spiritual influencer to the stars, Jay Shetty, has amassed 15 million followers on Instagram. He’s interviewed Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, and Kobe Bryant on his popular podcast. Shetty has received accolades from Gwenyth Paltrow and Ellen Degeneres. He even officiated J Lo and Ben Affleck’s wedding. Yet when LA-based writer John McDermott was assigned to cover Shetty for Esquire, something seemed…off. When he started pulling at some threads, Esquire pulled out of the feature. Fortunately, The Guardian agreed to publish McDermott’s investigative reporting, in which he found little of Shetty’s origin story holds up to scrutiny. John joins Derek and Matthew to discuss. Show Notes [Uncovering the higher truth of Jay Shetty] (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2024/feb/29/jay-shetty-self-help-empire) [‘Very few have balls’: How American news lost its nerve] (https://www.semafor.com/article/03/17/2024/very-few-have-balls-how-american-news-lost-its-nerve) [Jay Shetty Is Full Of SH*T!] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfu4j7EIGqs) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

23 Mar 2024

29 MINS

29:33

23 Mar 2024

#447

198: Holy Food (w/Christina Ward)

Does God have a recipe? That’s the first line of the blurb of Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat: An American History by independent food historian, Christina Ward. Ward’s survey of American religious groups and cults through the foods they grow, source, and prepare leads into an in-depth discussion about cults and high-demand groups that use food, and food restrictions, as a method for control. That’s not all she tells Derek—they also discuss the ritual of sharing a meal. Matthew and Julian offer their own reflections on food in high-demand settings before Christina joins to discuss her excellent book. Show Notes [Holy Food] (https://feralhouse.com/holy-food/) [Christina Ward] (https://www.christinaward.net/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

21 Mar 2024

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:30

21 Mar 2024

#446

Bonus Sample: Ketamine Soul Mates

Dolphins, drugs, new age music. Isolation tanks as a portal into other dimensions. True love and fake aliens. Julian shares a personal love story from the nineties that intersects with the work of prolific scientist, inventor, and psychonaut, John C. Lilly. The belief that we can contact extraterrestrial civilizations, which are waiting to usher humanity into a golden age of light and love, is now a hugely profitable and popular commodity. Apparently these extraterrestrials also want to help us vanquish the forces of Deep State darkness. This is evidenced by the QAnon-and-alien-disclosure-style of programming on Gaia’s spiritual subscription platform (which brings in roughly $80 million annually). Yet: Gaia is currently embroiled in a legal battle with a former host who claims that his stories about secret space programs and eight-foot tall “blue avian” aliens are actually part of his trademarked creative IP. When it comes down to dollars, he admits it’s all make-believe. Has he really ever dropped acid in a flotation tank though?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

18 Mar 2024

05 MINS

05:21

18 Mar 2024

#445

Brief: RFK Jr Hijacks the “Crisis in Masculinity” (w/Natalia Petrzela)

Masculinity, in all its wounded and preening anxiety, is the perennial currency of American populism. America’s foremost public historian on fitness and education, Natalia Petrzela, returns to the pod to discuss her recent study, with Ilyse Hogue, of the appeal RFK Jr. has with young men, and what progressives can learn from it. Show Notes [Bio – Natalia Petrzela] (https://nataliapetrzela.com/bio/) [RFK Jr. has a distinct appeal when it comes to young male voters] (https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rfk-jr-trump-biden-comes-young-voters-rcna139357) — Petrzela and Hogue [Robert F. Kennedy Jr | "My Plan To Heal Addiction" | News Nation] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IoBab7CIKQ) Prior coverage of RFK Jr. [Brief: RFK Jr Flirts with Body Fascism (w/Natalia Petrzela) — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-rfk-jr-flirts-with-body-fascism-natalia-petrzela) [164: The Two Faces of Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/164-the-two-faces-of-robert-francis-kennedy-jr) [Brief: The New Age Origin Story of RFK Jr’s Campaign — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-the-new-age-origin-story-of-rfk-jrs-campaign) [Brief: RFK Jr’s New Director of Propaganda — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-rfk-jr-new-director-of-propaganda-del-bigtree) [Special Report: RFK Jr.’s Independence Day — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/special-report-rfk-independence-day) [Brief: RFK's Health Propaganda Roundtable — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-rfk-health-propaganda-roundtable) [Brief: RFK Jr., The Anti-Vax Candidate — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-rfk-jr-the-anti-vax-candidate) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

16 Mar 2024

31 MINS

31:14

16 Mar 2024

#444

197: Psychic Surgery (feat Brad Abrahams)

The “healer” mutters prayers, flutters his hands over the patient’s belly, then rubs his fingers close to her navel. A stream of what looks like blood shoots out from between his fingers. After a few more finger wiggles, he appears to pull several bloody cocktail shrimp out of an invisible incision. The patient is healed. Of something. Welcome to “psychic surgery.” Documentarian of the uncanny, Brad Abrahams, takes our correspondent seat this week to explain how Shirley MacLaine, Burt Lancaster, Andy Kaufman, Charlie Mingus, and tens of thousands of Americans got drawn into the morbid healing craze that kicked off in the 1970s, and which may have seen its last hurrah with the imprisonment of Brazil’s John of God. Centuries of colonization in Brazil and the Philippines, Brad explains, made conventional medical care basically unavailable for anyone poor or outside of major cities. This left a void for traditional and alternative healing to fill as the only real options, as well as provide a connection to a cultural identity that had been systematically repressed. And of course, charlatans rode the wave. Brad brings his characteristic curiosity, empathy, and cultural competence, holding the door open for us to imagine why this abject form of medical and spiritual fraud speaks so deeply to so many. Show Notes [Brad Abrahams] (https://bradabrahams.net/) [Love And Saucers — Brad Abrahams] (https://bradabrahams.net/love-and-saucers) [Do you see what I see? | Short Doc about Controversial Conspiracy Theorist Artist David Dees] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgzkLGFLe8) — Brad Abrahams [72: John of Fraud (w/Lisa Braun Dubbels & Mirna Wabi-Sabi) — Conspirituality] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/72-john-of-fraud-lisa-braun-dubbels-and-mirna-wabi-sabi) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

14 Mar 2024

1 HR 07 MINS

1:07:01

14 Mar 2024

#443

Bonus Sample: How to Stamp Out Racists (and more)

At what point do you tune someone out and no longer consider them worth considering? Is their entire catalog of thought defined by one encounter you don’t like? Multiple encounters? If you disagree with someone on one point, do you write them off entirely, or can you consider other points of agreement? What if your initial encounter with a thinker is disagreeable? What if you really like someone and then find them increasingly disagreeable over time? Have they really changed that much? Or have you? And would you know it if you did? Derek meditates on these questions while working through his own process of consideration. Most importantly, he lands on one certainty: racists, bigots, transphobes, and misogynists need to be stamped out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

11 Mar 2024

06 MINS

06:36

11 Mar 2024

#442

Brief: The God Pivot: Rogan, Brand, & Huberman

Being a chaos agent is exhausting. The internet never ends. It’s so abstract, groundless. At some point, all of your content seems stale and redundant. All the conspiracy theories, outrage farming, and dietary supplements seem boring; your manic salesmanship starts to feel hollow. Maybe you’re also wondering about whether you’ve sold your soul, or who you may have hurt along the way. What will you turn to? Who will help you? What will your ultimate piece of content be? From time out of mind, there’s only ever been one answer: GOD. Russell Brand, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Huberman have all recently made such confessions of faith. Derek and Matthew discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

09 Mar 2024

35 MINS

35:08

09 Mar 2024

#441

196: Julian Goes to the New Age Expo!

For 22 years, astrologers, channelers, and UFO enthusiasts have run booths next to crystal healers, purveyors of esoteric books and pseudoscience products, and paranormal enthusiasts at Los Angeles’s Airport Hilton. More recently, this event—the Conscious Life Expo—has increasingly featured speakers spouting red-pilled conspiracy theories about COVID, vaccines, and the Satanic alien reptilian cabal coming for your children. To get an insider’s view, Julian donned his gray baseball camp and grabbed his recorder to do his own research on the latest iteration of conference room conspirituality. Show Notes [Introduction to CymaTones cymatic sound therapy] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qWdzqwCDAM) [Activate your Pineal Gland: An introduction to your third eye and exercises to awaken the higher mind: Ruehlig, Bianca] (https://www.amazon.ca/Activate-Your-Pineal-Gland-Introduction/dp/1098364872) [Shawn Buckley, Trucker Lawyer] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kucrCBbJTk) [Ottawa's use of Emergencies Act against convoy protests was unreasonable, violated Charter, court rules] (https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/emergencies-act-federal-court-1.7091891) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

07 Mar 2024

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:13

07 Mar 2024

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#465

Bonus Sample: Let's Talk About Gary Brecka

#464

Deep Cut: On Belief

#463

203: Is This a Joke? (w/Neal Brennan)

#462

Bonus Sample: The Dark Sun, The Red Cow, and The End of Days

#461

Brief: Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide (w/Theo Wildcroft & Harriet McAtee)

#460

202: Steve Hassan and the Trans Cult Conspiracy Theory

#459

Bonus Sample: Long Haul Stories: Matthew Stillman

#458

Brief: A History of the Gay Right (w/Neil Young)

#457

201: Librarians Are Not Groomers (w/Heath Umbreit)

#456

Bonus Sample: Project 2025's Disdain for Public Education

#455

Brief: The High Cost of Wellness

#454

200: Rogan-Rufo Reality Check

#453

Bonus Sample: The GOP Thinks Food Stamps Are the Real Problem

#452

Brief: Woman, Life, Freedom (w/Negin Shiraghaei)

#451

Brief: Yes, Huberman’s Behavior Matters

#450

199: Inside Anti-Abortion Christian Nationalism (w/Rob Schenck)

#449

Bonus Sample: Conspirituality and the Imaginary Children (Series Intro)

#448

Brief: Unmasking Jay Shetty (w/John McDermott)

#447

198: Holy Food (w/Christina Ward)

#446

Bonus Sample: Ketamine Soul Mates

#445

Brief: RFK Jr Hijacks the “Crisis in Masculinity” (w/Natalia Petrzela)

#444

197: Psychic Surgery (feat Brad Abrahams)

#443

Bonus Sample: How to Stamp Out Racists (and more)

#442

Brief: The God Pivot: Rogan, Brand, & Huberman

#441

196: Julian Goes to the New Age Expo!