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Conspirituality podcast

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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.

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.

 

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Progress

Duration

Release Date

#584

Bonus Sample: Calling Out Bullsh*t

Twitter Files journalist Alex Berenson recently published two articles claiming that Moderna covered up a child's death from a Moderna Covid booster trial—and the FDA is complicit. Children’s Health Defense then hosted him on their TV program to learn more about this outrageous scandal. Do Berenson's claims hold up? All Derek did was click on the links in his own article to discover the "truth." He looks at this phenomenon through the lens of the 2020 book, Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World. Show Notes [Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World] (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563882/calling-bullshit-by-carl-t-bergstrom-and-jevin-d-west/) [Alex Berenson’s article] (https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-a-young-child-died-of-cardiac) [Children’s Health Defense interview] (https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/shows/good-morning-chd/young-child-dies-in-moderna-trial-did-the-fda-know--model-legislation-to-file-in-2025/) [The Lancet study on Covid vaccination in children] (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00272-4/fulltext?page=61%2C0) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

24 hrs Ago

03 MINS

03:53

24 hrs Ago

#583

Brief: Tech-Bro Mormonism (w/Blair Hodges)

We know Bryan Johnson gobbles 100 pills a day. He pumps his son’s plasma through his veins. He does light therapy on his junk and wants to live forever. But do we understand how Johnson’s fascinations reflect his Mormon heritage? No. No we don’t.  That’s why we called our very own Salt Lake City expert, Blair Hodges, host of the Relationscapes podcast.  Blair joins Matthew to discuss Johnson’s transhumanism, which has roots in the LDS but has also led him away from it. They cover the spirituality of his money, whether he’s trying to become a living god, and how his home gym has some distinctive Mormon temple elements. Also: is Bryan really as polite as he seems, or is he hiding Blair has degrees in journalism, religious studies, and disability studies from the University of Utah and Georgetown University. He directed communications for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Studies at Brigham Young University before moving to the nonprofit sector. He has served as communications director for Volunteers of America, Utah and RMHC of the Intermountain Area. He’s currently working on a research project on the history of intellectual disabilities in Mormon thought. Show Notes [Relationscapes] (https://www.relationscapes.org/) —Blair Hodges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

18 Jan 2025

47 MINS

47:54

18 Jan 2025

#582

240: Bryan Johnson’s Impossible Blueprint

In January, 2023, Bloomberg published an article about how tech entrepreneur turned longevity stan, Bryan Johnson, spends $2 million a year in an attempt to live forever—or at least until age 200, as the goalposts shift. Then a Netflix documentary, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, dropped on January 1, taking a deep dive into Johnson’s quest and complex personal life. A strange thing happened along the way: Johnson felt much more personable and relatable than ever before to many viewers. Given the Bloomberg journalist is one of the producers, is this the latest propaganda piece by a supplements-pushing huckster, or is Johnson tapping into something much older and deeper about the human condition? Show Notes [How to Be 18 Years Old Again for Only $2 Million a Year] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/anti-aging-techniques-taken-to-extreme-by-bryan-johnson?embedded-checkout=true) [Politico piece on Mayor Karen Bass and LA Fires] (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/wildfire-threatens-karen-bass-extended-honeymoon-00197228) [Anna Merlan on LA Fire conspiracies] (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/los-angeles-fires-conspiracies/) [Ally Carter Diddy-List Fire Conspiracy Theory Shared by Former Bush Official] (https://www.newsweek.com/california-wildfires-sean-diddy-combs-bush-official-theory-2013322) [Nutritionist Reviews The Blueprint Supplements] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4G_xyyA66w&t) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

16 Jan 2025

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:52

16 Jan 2025

#581

Clarity Lab: Fighting Cancer Misinformation

A one-time drop of Derek's new podcast, [Clarity Lab] (https://www.sirishealth.org/clarity-lab) , the official podcast of [Siris Health] (https://www.sirishealth.org/) , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building a free educational platform and curating social media channels that feature experts presenting health and science in a clear, compelling manner. Celery juice. Coffee enemas. Ozone therapy. The list of pseudoscientific cancer "treatments" is endless. Yet they all risk pushing people in vulnerable positions toward untenable "cures." Dr Andrea Love joins Derek Beres to discuss the dangers of cancer misinformation, as well as why the field of cancer research is so complex—and rewarding. [Dr Andrea Love] (https://www.immunologic.org/)  is an immunologist and microbiologist, as well as subject-matter expert in infectious disease immunology, cancer immunology, and autoimmunity. She writes the [Immunologic newsletter] (https://news.immunologic.org/) . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

14 Jan 2025

35 MINS

35:53

14 Jan 2025

#580

Bonus Sample: Kelly Brogan’s Divine Dungeon: Pt 1 (feat/Esme Providence Brown)

Matthew sits down with sex-work veteran and social justice advocate Esme Providence Brown for the first of two chinwags about our famous New Age / wellness antifeminist, Kelly Brogan, and how her craven politics bolster the permission structure for Trumpian misogyny. They track her political and aesthetic journey from labcoat-wearer to wellness pole dancer to BDSM cosplayer—a spiral through deepening layers of appropriation, disavowal of responsibility, and cringe-tastic ideas. This is only Part One! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

13 Jan 2025

05 MINS

05:51

13 Jan 2025

#579

Brief: Vinay Prasad’s Pick-me Campaign

UCSF epidemiology and biostatistics professor Vinay Prasad's star rose when he compared the US response to Covid-19 to the beginnings of the Third Reich in October, 2021. Though a less famous contrarian than others in the MAHA sphere, the hematologist-oncologist has honed his social media trolling over the past few years, always ready for a fight, evidence be damned. Derek and Julian look at two recent videos that signal Prasad might be angling for a position in a potential RFK Jr-run HHS—and all the misinformation he continues to spread. Show Notes BMJ's [Systematic Review on Quarantine Measures] (https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-068302) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

11 Jan 2025

36 MINS

36:15

11 Jan 2025

#578

239: Conspiracy Of Dunces

Like it or not, 2025 is here. What happens in post-truth America when formerly fringe conspiracy theorists, religious extremists, pseudoscience-peddlers, and wannabe authoritarians become a government—now weaponized against their personal enemies, both foreign and domestic? Should political analysis take a page from academics who study professional wrestling? We each offer our views on what's ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

09 Jan 2025

58 MINS

58:17

09 Jan 2025

#577

Bonus Sample: The Giant Rock Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention

George van Tassel was the original UFO contactee. He claimed to have been visited by aliens from Venus in 1953, which led to him hosting thousands of people at the annual Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention for almost 20 years. He channeled “Ashtar, ”a figure still popular in “Galactic Federation” conspiritualist circles today, and spent 25 years building a time machine based on telepathic communications with aliens.  Julian unpacks the wild story of van Tassel’s airstrip, the Mojave Desert’s Giant Rock, and how the FBI may have been involved in his mysterious death and subsequent disappearance of his cellular rejuvenation equipment. This is part of a series of free-standing episodes that excavates the history of pseudoscience and conspiracism beneath contemporary New Age spirituality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

06 Jan 2025

06 MINS

06:07

06 Jan 2025

#576

Brief: Trump the Babyface, Trump the Heel (w/Abraham Josie Reisman)

Journalist and author Josie Reisman says we can’t understand the Trump era without understanding his life-long pro-wrestling fandom, and his bonds with one of his closest friends, WWE tycoon Vince McMahon.  Reisman argues that McMahon’s invention of “neokayfabe,” in which storylines and real life are purposefully and artfully confused, blurs the distinction between fact and fiction. It makes consumers, followers, and voters complicit in creating a spectacle of cruelty.  It’s the kind of argument that once seen, can’t be unseen. It helps explain the contradictory and performative politics of Trump—and how, under his leadership, the administrative state may not be destroyed by fascism directly, but by a theatre of cynicism and catharsis that will allow the latent fascism of the American Empire to explode.  Show Notes [Welcome to Neokayfabe] (https://josie.zone/welcome-to-neokayfabe)   [Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America — Abraham Josephine Riesman // Writer] (https://josie.zone/ringmaster) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

04 Jan 2025

46 MINS

46:08

04 Jan 2025

#575

238: Diary of a CEO Bro

British entrepreneur and investor Steven Bartlett launched his podcast, Diary of a CEO, in 2017. He quickly found an audience in the tech world, which gave him access to a wide range of celebrities and businesspeople from various domains. By 2024, the podcast became one of the top 5 in the world, netting Bartlett and his team a reported $25M this year alone. Yet as Bartlett’s star rose, his guest list began becoming more and more suspect. Pertinent to our beat, contrarian wellness influencers and philosophers appeared, spreading Covid conspiracies and health misinformation. In his role as curious everyman, Bartlett rarely challenged their narratives, sometimes playing along with their conspiratorial hot takes to an audience in the millions. We look at a few conspiritualist crossovers this week, and discuss what it really takes to become a top 5 podcaster—and the information and integrity that’s sacrificed along the way. Show Notes [The Canonization of St. Luigi] (https://hyperallergic.com/977203/the-canonization-of-st-luigi/) [Sacred Heart of Luigi hanging up at Vito's Pizza] (https://x.com/ElizWorthNews/status/1869796253443477960/photo/1)   Extremist [“Saints Culture”] (https://www.isdglobal.org/explainers/saints-culture/) [Catholic ethicists condemn ‘indifference to suffering’ shown by those celebrating Luigi Mangione] (https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2024/12/12/united-healthcare-shooting-luigi-mangione-catholic-reactions-249485) [41% of young voters say UnitedHealthcare CEO killing "acceptable"] (https://www.axios.com/2024/12/17/united-healthcare-ceo-killing-poll)   [69% Blame CEO Murder on US Healthcare System] (https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/69-blame-ceo-murder-on-us-healthcare)   [Mainstreaming of Violent Accelerationism] (https://www.counterextremism.com/blog/luigi-mangione-and-mainstreaming-accelerationist-saints-culture) [December Wave 2 2024 AmeriSpeak Omnibus | NORC at the University of Chicago] (https://www.kenklippenstein.com/api/v1/file/dd05fae4-1709-4218-a366-112c717f0f03.pdf)    [Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation in Diary of CEO podcast] (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpz163vg2o) [What the Most Famous Book About Trauma Gets Wrong] (https://www.motherjones.com/media/2024/12/trauma-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk-psychology-therapy-ptsd/) [Teal Swan Collection—Patreon] (https://www.patreon.com/collection/372282?view=expanded) [Bessel van der Kolk] (https://greyfaction.org/wiki/bessel-van-der-kolk/#Role_in_the_Satanic_Panic) : Role in the Satanic Panic [He Built a Wellness Empire While Adventuring With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/health/mark-hyman-rfk-jr-functional-medicine.html) [Only 7% of American Adults Have Good Cardiometabolic Health] (https://now.tufts.edu/2022/07/05/only-7-american-adults-have-good-cardiometabolic-health?t) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

02 Jan 2025

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:28

02 Jan 2025

#574

Relief Project #6: Rebecca Solnit

Happy New Year’s Eve! The sixth installment of Matthew’s Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.  Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than 20 books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering  and walking, hope and disaster. Show Notes [Rebecca Solnit] (http://rebeccasolnit.net/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

31 Dec 2024

28 MINS

28:10

31 Dec 2024

#573

Bonus Sample: Why Big Wellness Hates Ozempic

Ozempic might be all the rage among people who want to lose weight, but wellness influencers and MAHA acolytes are raging against the antidiabetic medication. Derek investigates recent statements by RFK Jr and Calley Means and holds up their claims to the data we can all see online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

30 Dec 2024

05 MINS

05:34

30 Dec 2024

#572

Brief: The Free Press Tastes Its Own (Polio) Medicine

We've been highly critical of The Free Press in the past, but a recent memoir-article about grappling with a familial history of polio by Jana Kozlowski stood out. Derek and Julian take no issue with the piece, which was an emotional plea to understand the ravages of polio and the efficacy of vaccines. The comment section is another thing. Show Notes [Polio Ravaged My Family. Forget Its Horror at Your Peril.] (https://www.thefp.com/p/polio-ravaged-my-family-rfk-jr-vaccines) [The First Five Errors in the Moth in the Iron Lung Book] (https://vaxopedia.org/2024/05/15/the-first-five-errors-in-the-moth-in-the-iron-lung-book/?t) [The First Five Errors in Dissolving Illusions by Suzanne Humphries] (https://vaxopedia.org/2024/05/31/the-first-five-errors-in-dissolving-illusions-by-suzanne-humphries/) [Amazon Won’t Take a Stand in War Over Anti-Vaxxer Book] (https://www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-wont-take-a-stand-in-war-over-forrest-maready-book-the-autism-vaccine/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

28 Dec 2024

39 MINS

39:28

28 Dec 2024

#571

Unlocked: “What will happen?” (asks a 12 year-old)

A special Patreon bonus unlocked episode as we enjoy the holidays with our families and friends. Matthew got The Question on the morning after the election. At that moment, he came up with nothing but a hug. But then he chewed on it for days, and came up with eleven things to consider.  So here are some notes for possible conversations with tweens about anxiety, bullies, fascism, friends, mutual aid, and love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

26 Dec 2024

30 MINS

30:08

26 Dec 2024

#570

Bonus Sample: Blessed NeoKayfabe of Santa Claus

“If you grow up with it, religion is real until you realize it is also imagined. And after a period of disenchantment or even depression that associates imagination with lies, you might then sense that the imagined part was also real, but because it’s imagined, you know you can change it.” Matthew reflects on how Santa becomes more real in the home after the kids know he’s just a story, but a story of unbridled love and causeless generosity they can now participate in telling. Happy holidays, everyone! Show Notes [A Christmas Carol: Dedicated to Scrooge, And His Art Collection] (https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/blogs/news/1201-a-christmas-carol-dedicated-to-scrooge-and-his-art-collection) —McKenzie Wark [Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America — Abraham Josephine Riesman] (https://josie.zone/ringmaster) [Welcome to Neokayfabe] (https://josie.zone/welcome-to-neokayfabe) —Jodie Reisman  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

23 Dec 2024

06 MINS

06:09

23 Dec 2024

#569

Brief: My Dad Became a MAGA Power Broker (w/Julia Tucker)

Jeffery Tucker is the founder of the MAGA thinktank Brownstone Institute. In 2020, Brownstone published The Great Barrington Declaration, with lead author Jay Bhattacharya—now the nominee for head of the NIH.  Jeffrey’s daughter, Julia, joins Matthew to discuss her dad’s rise through the punditocracy, through decades of fringe libertarian publishing, working for Ron Paul, boosting anarcho-capitalism and crypto, writing for the Epoch Times, and asking such daring questions as: “What’s so wrong about child labour?” Show Notes [Patreon: Post-Catholic Music (w/Julia Tucker)] (https://www.patreon.com/posts/post-catholic-w-96858286?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

21 Dec 2024

38 MINS

38:48

21 Dec 2024

#568

237: Your Revolution is Out of Network

The murder of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has set off shockwaves across America. This week we look at the story’s online impact, people mythologizing the alleged killer, its intersection with conspirituality, and the healthcare system in America writ large. Show Notes [Jen Gunter on insurance denial for her premature babies' oxygen needs] (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/parenting/baby/prematurity-baby-burden.html)   [Exclusive: Luigi's Manifesto - Ken Klippenstein] (https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/luigis-manifesto)   [Savings: Quarter of Americans Have Few, One in 10 Have None | Statista] (https://www.statista.com/chart/20323/americans-lack-savings/)   [The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States] (https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/) [View of U.S. Healthcare Quality Declines to 24-Year Low] (https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-declines-year-low.aspx?t) [MDVIP/Ipsos poll shows Americans are struggling with the healthcare system] (https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/mdvipipsos-poll-shows-americans-are-struggling-healthcare-system?t) [UnitedHealthcare CEO gunned down in Manhattan sold company stocks just before DOJ probe made public | The Independent] (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-sold-stocks-b2659093.html)   [Conservatives Face Backlash From Followers Over UnitedHealthcare Murder - Newsweek] (https://www.newsweek.com/unitedhealthcare-ceo-shooting-ben-shapiro-matt-walsh-backlash-1997728)   [Before fatal subway chokehold, Jordan Neely was on NYC’s list of homeless individuals with dire needs | CNN] (https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/07/us/jordan-neely-subway-nyc-homeless/index.html)   [Kaiser Study on Health Insurance Satisfaction] (https://www.kff.org/private-insurance/poll-finding/kff-survey-of-consumer-experiences-with-health-insurance/) [NIH Debunks Myth that 60% of Bankruptcies are Medical in Nature] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5865642/) [Luigi Mangione’s Anger Wasn’t Neatly Ideological] (https://jacobin.com/2024/12/luigi-mangione-unitedhealthcare-thompson-ideological)   [Gallup Poll on Health Care Satisfaction] (https://news.gallup.com/poll/654044/view-healthcare-quality-declines-year-low.aspx?t) [Ipsos Poll on Health Care Satisfaction] (https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/mdvipipsos-poll-shows-americans-are-struggling-healthcare-system?t) [Mental Illness is 13.5 times More Likely In Lone Wolf Shooters ] (https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-33751-001.html) [Narcissism, Fame Seeking and Mass Shootings] (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320817538_Narcissism_Fame_Seeking_and_Mass_Shootings) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

19 Dec 2024

1 HR 24 MINS

1:24:04

19 Dec 2024

#567

Relief Project #5: Annie Kelly

The fifth installment of Matthew's Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.  Dr. Annie Kelly joined us in Episode 61 to lay out her research on the manosphere-to-conspirituality pipeline. Today she joins me to discuss the trouble and joy of balancing extremism research with stories of hope and solidarity. Show Notes [Annie Kelly] (https://thesociologicalreview.org/authors/annie-kelly/)    [Vaccine: The Human Story - YouTube] (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsFqDcPnFCImeS6cbFlQxgg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

17 Dec 2024

31 MINS

31:53

17 Dec 2024

#566

Bonus Sample: TheoBros, Political Religion, and Christmas

Extremely online, bearded, Millennial pastors in tailored suits want to repeal women’s suffrage, criminalize gays, and Make America Christian Again. These “TheoBros” even have a guy on the inside: JD Vance. Trump’s Dept of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, attends an affiliated church.  Julian tracks their genealogy and ugly ideas, as well as their parallel reactionary theocratic visions wreaking havoc elsewhere in the world today. Stay tuned for conversational reflections and wholesome holiday wishes at the end! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

16 Dec 2024

05 MINS

05:24

16 Dec 2024

#565

Brief: The Unfreedom of Others (w/Talia Lavin)

Journalist Talia Lavin joins Derek to discuss her recent book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America.  Show Notes [Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America] (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia-lavin/wild-faith/9780306829192/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

14 Dec 2024

27 MINS

27:09

14 Dec 2024

#564

236: Damage Control

As we ride out the aftershocks of the election and prepare for Trump 2.0, it’s as if nothing is bolted down. Trump’s cabinet appointments signal a disregard for competence or temperament as he seems to prioritize fervent deep state conspiracism and anti-woke aggression in his choices. The chattering classes (both legacy and new media) are on the front lines of having to adapt in real time.  What to do? Double down on anti-fascist resistance, turn the disinformation detection devices up to 11, chart a course for sanguine neutrality, normalize the chaos as the world burns, or maybe give this rag-tag group of billionaire outsiders a chance to move fast and break things—in the hope that some of it was not working anyway?  We look at three different modes of damage control currently ripping through American discourse. Show Notes [There’s a conspiracy theory that the CIA invented the term ‘conspiracy theory’ – here’s why] (https://theconversation.com/theres-a-conspiracy-theory-that-the-cia-invented-the-term-conspiracy-theory-heres-why-132117?t) [87: The Aubrey Marcus Spectacle] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/87-the-aubrey-marcus-spectacle) [107: An Open Letter to Aubrey Marcus] (https://www.youtube.com/@AubreyMarcusPod) [214: Aubrey Marcus is Totally Not a Cult Leader] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/214-aubrey-marcus-is-totally-not-a-cult-leader) [Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights in Mexico - Open Society Foundations] (https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/winning-the-fight-for-reproductive-rights-in-mexico)    [Madres de Plaza de Mayo | Learning for Justice] (https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/madres-de-plaza-de-mayo)   [Adweek article on Rogan and MeidasTouch] (https://www.adweek.com/adweek-wire/joe-rogan-audience-growth-shows-expanding-power-of-video-podcasts/) [Kash Patel QAnon Appearances] (https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/politics/video/patel-fbi-trump-qanon-digvid) [Kash Patel Seal Team 6 Endangerment] (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/national-security/3248172/how-kash-patel-was-suspected-of-nearly-botching-seal-team-6-rescue-mission/) [So Marianne Williamson Really is the Peace Candidate—Patreon] (https://www.patreon.com/posts/so-marianne-is-93077532?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)   [“You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza | Amnesty International USA] (https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/you-feel-like-you-are-subhuman-israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/)   [NLG and Other Legal Groups Send Letter to ICC Urging an Investigation into Potential War Crimes Committed by Israel and US in Gaza under “Operation Protective Edge”] (https://www.nlg.org/nlg-and-other-legal-groups-send-letter-to-icc-urging-an-investigation-into-potential-war-crimes-committed-by-israel-and-us-in-gaza-under-operation-protective-edge/) [Russell Tribunal on Palestine, 2014] (https://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TRP-Concl.-Gaza-EN.pdf)    [Friday 17 November: Twenty thousand Palestinians believed to be killed in Israel’s genocide of Gaza] (https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/5957/Friday-17-November:-Twenty-thousand-Palestinians-believed-to-be-killed-in-Israel%E2%80%99s-genocide-of-Gaza)   [Campus Protests Led to More Than 3,100 Arrests, but Many Charges Have Been Dropped] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/campus-protests-arrests.html)   [Harris campaign rejects claim vice president thinks there is a genocide in Gaza] (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-825441)   [A Study Reveals CNN and MSNBC’s Glaring Gaza Double Standard | The Nation] (https://www.thenation.com/article/society/cnn-msnbc-gaza-media-bias-study/)   [Morning Joe: Dems’ Favorite Show, Blatant Pro-Israel Propaganda] (https://jacobin.com/2024/11/morning-joe-biden-gaza-israel)   [The Intercept: Israel-Palestine Coverage] (https://theintercept.com/2024/04/15/nyt-israel-gaza-genocide-palestine-coverage/)   [US MSM downplays Amnesty report] (https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/u-s-mainstream-media-downplays-amnesty-internationals-finding-that-israel-is-committing-genocide/)   [TIME on Iranian Foreign Influence Methods] (https://time.com/7010673/irans-footprint-in-university-protests-is-light-but-revealing/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

12 Dec 2024

1 HR 20 MINS

1:20:30

12 Dec 2024

#563

Bonus Sample: The Raw Truth About Health

Researchers in California recently warned that just one mutation in H5N1, the bird flu virus, could make the disease transmissible between humans. While the virus was first identified in 1959 (and became globally significant in 1996), they’re also concerned that increasingly damaging effects of climate change could make us more susceptible to such viruses. The same week, California-based raw milk manufacturer, Raw Farm, was forced to recall its products due to third-party testers discovering it contained H5N1. Derek looks at these converging trends—the wellness-driven fervor over the safety and health benefits of raw milk and the chances of another pandemic—with an investigation into why this matters from a public health perspective. Along the way, he’ll define the three often-confused forms of health in public discourse—individual, population, and public health—and why influencers often confuse them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

09 Dec 2024

04 MINS

04:36

09 Dec 2024

#562

Brief: Freeing the Well-Trained Wife (w/Tia Levings)

Exvangelical author Tia Levings joins Matthew to discuss her harrowing memoir of indoctrination, abuse, recovery, and advocacy, The Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy. It’s a wild GenX journey that tells us a lot about the logic of evangelical support for Trumpism, and how those caught within it can see their way clear the gender terror, rape culture, and fantasies of retribution.  Show Notes [Tia Levings] (https://tialevings.com/)   [This season, Patreon is checking some big things off your wish list] (https://news.patreon.com/articles/patreon-is-checking-some-big-things-off-your-wishlist) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

07 Dec 2024

41 MINS

41:16

07 Dec 2024

#561

235: MAHA Mamas (feat Mallory DeMille)

If you’ve spent one minute on social media in the last few months, you’ve probably heard that seed oils are extremely toxic, food dyes are the reason for rising obesity rates—oh wait, that’s glyphosate—and vaccines are still causing autism. Nevermind the fact that the supposedly criminal preservative, thimerosal, was removed from almost all vaccinations in 2001. Clinical research is irrelevant in MAHA, RFK Jr’s Make America Healthy Again MAGA ripoff. Wellness acolytes have found a champion in Kennedy, who’s going to immediately end chronic diseases and reduce obesity rates by…checks notes…making sure every American has a gym membership. We’ve covered Bobby a lot on this podcast, so today our fearless correspondent, Mallory DeMille, returns to investigate one very vocal and very relieved cohort, the MAHA Mamas. They just know Kennedy is going to truly save the children, science be damned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

05 Dec 2024

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:14

05 Dec 2024