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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

#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

5 hrs Ago

38 MINS

38:48

5 hrs Ago

#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

#560

Bonus Sample: Deep State Religion

An essay from Matthew on how MAGA religiosity obscures the religious nature of liberalism, and how both obscure the underlying religion of capitalism.  Inspired by Walter Benjamin, who in 1921 wrote: One can behold in capitalism a religion, that is to say, capitalism essentially serves to satisfy the same worries, anguish, and disquiet formerly answered by so-called religion. Capitalism is a pure religious cult, perhaps the most extreme there ever was. Within it everything only has meaning in direct relation to the cult: it knows no special dogma, no theology. Show Notes [Mutual Aid Hub] (https://www.mutualaidhub.org/)   [Martin Luther King Jr: Dialectics, Materialism, and the Black Radical Critique of Racial Capitalism with Andrew J. Douglas and Jared A. Loggins] (https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/martin-luther-king-jr-dialectics-materialism-and-the-black-radical-critique-of-racial-capitalism-with-andrew-j-douglas-and-jared-a-loggins)   [230: How Did We Get Here?] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/230-how-did-we-get-here) [Walter Benjamin, "Capitalism as Religion [Fragment 74]," ] (https://www.academia.edu/11188393/Walter_Benjamin_Capitalism_as_Religion_Fragment_74_Religion_as_Critique_The_Frankfurt_Schools_Critique_of_Religion_edited_by_E_Mendieta_New_York_Routledge_2005_259_262) [Max Weber and Walter Benjamin] (https://www.weberscholars.net/2023/04/17/max-weber-and-walter-benjamin/) [Without Dream or Mercy] (https://john-steppling.com/2023/08/without-dream-or-mercy/)   [Has Capitalism Become Our Religion?] (https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/capitalism-religion-eugene-mccarraher-interview/) [On the Concept of History - Walter Benjamin] (https://www.sfu.ca/~andrewf/books/Concept_History_Benjamin.pdf)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

02 Dec 2024

06 MINS

06:09

02 Dec 2024

#559

Brief: The $100M Free Press

The Free Press founder, Bari Weiss, recently hosted Peter Thiel on her podcast. While The FP markets itself as as a return to independent and non-partisan real journalism, Julian and Derek point out that's not the case at all—especially when the organization's $15M in funding comes from rightwing and libertarian VCs. Will Weiss factcheck Thiel's misinformation in real-time, as a "non-partisan" outlet should? Show Notes [Lapdogs Of The "Counter-Elite" Authoritarians] (https://derange.substack.com/p/lapdogs-of-the-counter-elite-authoritarians) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

30 Nov 2024

45 MINS

45:18

30 Nov 2024

#558

234: Trump’s Conspiracist Cabinet

Since the election, Democratic voter disbelief and despair has alternated between grief and rage. We watched some erstwhile vociferous critics of Trump in the legacy media, like Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, kiss the ring and bend the knee, while others adopted a contorted posture of seeming legitimization, like NPR hosting Leonard Leo for a nice long sit-down interview.  Meanwhile, the big egos of MAGA 2.0 seem to rise like Soviet propaganda banners over the American landscape. Trump has named his cabinet picks at lightning speed. His list includes a pro-wrestling executive, a Hare Krishna cult member, a tech billionaire, an anti-vax conspiracy peddler, a FOX News host with far-right tattoos, an alt-med snake oil salesman, two sex offenders, a COVID-contrarian doctor—and, contrary to his claiming to know nothing about it during the election, prominent Project 2025 authors.  What most high profile nominations all have in common is being completely unqualified for the job. Maybe that’s the point. We look at the cabinet picks that intersect with our beat, as pseudoscience conspiracism now completes its journey from the social fringes to deciding White House policies—and all the consequences that entails. Show Notes [Conspirituality’s Project 2025 coverage] (https://www.patreon.com/collection/344328?view=expanded) [Everything You Need to Know About Donald Trump’s FDA Pick] (https://www.importantcontext.news/p/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cce) [No, Medical Errors Are Not the Third Leading Cause of Death] (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/917696?form=fpf) [Dr. Oz Shilled for an Alternative to Medicare] (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/mehmet-oz-medicare-advantage.html) [Trump picks former Florida Rep. Weldon to lead CDC] (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/22/dave-weldon-cdc-trump-pick-00191383) [13 things everyone should know about Pete Hegseth] (https://popular.info/p/13-things-everyone-should-know-about)   [Trump reportedly plans to kick trans troops out of the military within days of inauguration] (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-transgender-military-policy-b2652956.html) [Transgender Military Service in the United States] (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-military-service-us/) [Did RFK Jr. eat McDonald’s in that viral pic aboard Trump’s plane? Here’s the answer] (https://www.miamiherald.com/miami-com/miami-com-news/article295795359.html#storylink=cpy)   [Part One: Vince McMahon, History's Greatest Monster - Behind the Bastards] (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-vince-mcmahon-historys-greatest-115219643/) [C-03-CV-24-004019] (https://dicellolevitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Date-Stamped-Does-1-5-v.-WWE-et-al.-Complaint-10.23.2024.pdf)  — John Does suit against WWE, trigger warning.  [Case 3:24-cv-00090 Document 1 Filed 01/25/24] (https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WWE_complaint.pdf)  — Janel Grant suit, trigger warning.  [152: Tulsi Gabbard’s Krishna Consciousness (w/Nitai Joseph)] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/152-tulsi-gabbards-krishna-consciousness-nitai-joseph) [Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult'] (https://www.businessinsider.com/tulsi-gabbard-science-of-identity-controversial-religious-sect-2022-10) [Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood] (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html) [What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?] (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe) [Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey] (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tulsi-gabbard-cult-putin-democrat-science-of-identity-b2556594.html) [Islamophobic World View of Tulsi Gabbard's Guru Revealed in Unearthed Recordings – Can she Still Run for President?] (https://bylinetimes.com/2019/10/03/islamophobic-world-view-of-tulsi-gabbards-guru-revealed-in-unearthed-recordings-can-she-still-run-for-president/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

28 Nov 2024

1 HR 12 MINS

1:12:56

28 Nov 2024

#557

Relief Project #4: Rob Schenck

Matthew here with the fourth installment of Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.  Rob Schenck joined me in Episode 199 to discuss his deradicalization from the Evangelical anti-abortion movement. Today he joins me to discuss some things he’s learned about hope, faith, resilience and building community in hard times. Show Notes [Costly Grace - Rob Schenck] (https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9780062687937/costly-grace/)   [199: Inside Anti-Abortion Christian Nationalism (w/Rob Schenck)] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/199-inside-anti-abortion-christian-nationalism-rob-schenck) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

26 Nov 2024

19 MINS

19:09

26 Nov 2024

#556

Bonus Sample: The UFOs Are Being Censored!

The climate denialist who exposed the so-called “censorship industrial complex” returns, this time at another congressional hearing. Michael Shellenberger has come to blow the whistle on Big Government’s UFO cover-up.  Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Anna Paulina Luna alternate between showing off their knowledge of fantastical History Channel “documentaries” and playing bad cop interrogators. Reverse-engineered UFO’s! Recovered alien “biologics!” Interdimensional beings! Organic machines that defy the laws of physics!  Shellenberger and his fellow “witnesses” provide precisely zero evidence for any of these earth-shattering claims. Welcome to the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee circus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

25 Nov 2024

06 MINS

06:00

25 Nov 2024

#555

Brief: How to Fire a Billionaire

AG1 built a billion-dollar brand in large part by tapping into the fitness and wellness podcast and YouTube markets. Recently, AG1’s founder, Chris Ashenden, resigned after a decades-old real estate scam in his native New Zealand came to light. While Chris has mentioned it in passing, he’s always claimed to have paid full reparations for his crime—and it was a crime. Turns out that he hasn’t paid it all, as uncovered by New Zealand journalists Jonathan Milne and Mike Wesley-Smith. They join Derek to discuss their year-and-a-half long investigation that resulted in a billionaire founder leaving one of the most well-known supplements brands in the world. They also talk about why journalism still matters in a world seemingly run by billionaires.  Show Notes [AG1 founder Chris Ashenden resigns amid scrutiny of NZ criminal history] (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/billion-dollar-company-ag1-founder-chris-ashenden-resigns-amid-scrutiny-of-nz-criminal-history/SBBOE7BOCBDJNNBDRND3KCH2PA/) DELVE: Powder Keg podcast on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/delve-powder-keg/id1691056155) | [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/6s0AsmHLbNJhu4NNJmXmu4) | [iHeart] (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-delve-powder-keg-116622693/) [Trump sues for billions from media he says is biased against him] (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/trump-sues-media-outlets-bias) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

23 Nov 2024

38 MINS

38:07

23 Nov 2024

#554

233: DC’s Catholic Power Center (w/Gareth Gore)

Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei, an ultra-conservative, high-demand, secretive Catholic organization in Madrid, Spain, after receiving a supposed vision from God in 1928. His small inner circle initially initiated university students into strict obedience, celibacy, medieval practices of self-flagellation, and deceptive recruitment techniques to convert their friends.  Operating outside of the mainstream church, Opus Dei rose to prominence under Spain's authoritarian dictator, Francisco Franco. Escriva was eventually canonized as a saint while the group amassed enormous wealth and influence around the world.  Today, their reactionary religious and political mission has established a foothold in Washington DC through the Catholic Information Center—the tabernacle closest to the White House.Bill Barr, Leonard Leo, and Project 2025 mastermind, Kevin Roberts, all visit for spiritual guidance. Meanwhile, scandals and lawsuits involving child sex abuse, money laundering, and human trafficking plague Opus Dei's reputation. Gareth Gore joins us to discuss his controversial new book on the past and present of this secretive organization, Opus. Show Notes [Pew Research Center: America’s News Influencers] (https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/11/18/americas-news-influencers/) [How Opus Dei Converted DC] (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/opus-dei-members-catholic-washington-dc-politicans-jd-vance.html) [Gareth Gore Author page for his book, Opus] (https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Gareth-Gore/197393118) [Opus Dei Paid $900K to Settle Sexual Misconduct Claim] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/01/08/opus-dei-paid-settle-sexual-misconduct-claim-against-prominent-catholic-priest/) [Argentine Prosecutors Accuse Opus Dei of Human Trafficking] (https://apnews.com/article/argentina-opus-dei-c04dc1f54c033a967975c6261922f698) [Maria del Carmen Tapia Book Summary on Opus Dei] (https://odan.org/resources_beyond_tammy) [Financial Times on Opus] (https://www.ft.com/content/a62202ea-1897-4847-8e49-9deab4fa507c)   [Biblical omen uncovered in aftermath of Hurricane Helene | Daily Mail Online] (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13987153/Biblical-omen-aftermath-Hurricane-Helene-North-Carolina-Georgia.html) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

21 Nov 2024

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:18

21 Nov 2024

#553

Bonus Sample: Thinking About "Holism"

A personal journey through health describing what led Derek to focus on health, science, and healthcare as a career and, eventually, this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

18 Nov 2024

05 MINS

05:56

18 Nov 2024

#552

Brief: Post-Election Online Survivor Group Dynamics

The post-election online chaos has a lot in common with what can go wrong in online survivor groups. Matthew tracks how opportunities for connection and solidarity can crater into gravity wells of recrimination, trauma-dumping, moral outrage porn, and the rise of new influence hierarchies. Not just because of differences in politics and values and temperament—but because of inequality and privilege.  A meditation on the difference between building a boat to sail in vs. a boat in a bottle, on considering the second arrow, and on when to log the fuck off.  Show Notes [Mutual Aid Hub] (https://www.mutualaidhub.org/) [MORAL OUTRAGE PORN C. Thi Nguyen and Bekka Williams] (https://philarchive.org/archive/NGUMOP) [The Second Arrow — Sutta Central] (https://suttacentral.net/sn36.6/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin)    [Log the Fuck Off with Amber Frost, Matt Christman, & Ben Fong] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcuj7SWlgg4) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

16 Nov 2024

17 MINS

17:38

16 Nov 2024

#551

232: Gaslighting The Election

Once upon a time, there was a golden age. A time when the news media was fair and balanced, unbiased and honest. But we've lost all that to the corrupting influence of big money, political correctness, and woke censorship. Blame the radical left. Not to worry: the online charisma of heterodox new media figures like Bari Weiss and her plucky, centrist, truth-telling little start-up, The Free Press, has come to Make Journalism Great Again. Yet their supposed heterodoxy is neither neutral nor journalistically rigorous. It's pure culture war contrarian sensationalism that wastes little ink critiquing the rise of right-wing authoritarianism. We trace these tangled threads by listening in to the supposedly non-partisan The Free Press election night livestream, which giddily praised Trump for being the consummate bullshitter that will take an ax to Democratic institutions. Show Notes [The evolution of France’s left and right politics, from the 1789 French Revolution to this year's election] (https://theconversation.com/the-evolution-of-frances-left-and-right-politics-from-the-1789-french-revolution-to-this-years-election-76226)   [What to Know About the Origins of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ in Politics, From the French Revolution to the 2020 Presidential Race] (https://time.com/5673239/left-right-politics-origins/)   [Our American Zion] (https://jacobin.com/2020/02/bari-weiss-how-to-fight-anti-semitism-review)   [When a Terrorist Comes to Your Hometown] (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/opinion/sunday/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-bari-weiss.html) [Columbia's Own Middle East War] (https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/columbia-own-middle-east-war) [Bari Weiss’s Unasked Questions] (https://jewishcurrents.org/bari-weisss-unasked-questions) [TFP latest round of fundin] (https://www.ft.com/content/de999cfe-1604-41e4-9ba4-c2ad42cefb9c) g [Thiel/Lonsdale and UATX funding] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-01/joe-lonsdale-like-peter-thiel-plows-his-tech-fortune-into-conservative-causes) [UATX huge cash injection after pro-palestine protests] (https://nypost.com/2024/10/14/business/deep-pocketed-donors-fund-anti-woke-university/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

14 Nov 2024

1 HR 11 MINS

1:11:16

14 Nov 2024

#550

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

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

11 Nov 2024

05 MINS

05:36

11 Nov 2024

#549

Brief: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

Derek discusses Tucker Carlson advocating for corporal punishment as a way to discipline children in his appearance at the Turning Points USA MAGA rally. This is an unlock from a recent Patreon bonus, with a new intro from Matthew. Show Notes [Stephen Colbert: Tucker Carlson’s Weird Daddy Issues] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjzA2cPvr5E) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

09 Nov 2024

28 MINS

28:31

09 Nov 2024

#548

231: New Age Bible, Postmodern Novel (w/ Sheila Heti)

Rapid-response electoral punditry is not our lane. So, while we gather our feelings and thoughts, Matthew hosts novelist Sheila Heti for a discussion of her encounter with A Course in Miracles, and what she discovered when she investigated its origin story for Harper’s Magazine. Was Helen Schucman, the book’s “scribe”, mentally ill? Was she unduly influenced by her boss at Columbia Medical School, William Thetford, who once worked for the CIA’s MKUltra programme, and with whom she was clearly in love, even though he was gay? Were they dropping acid on assignment from Langley? Why was the initial dictation of the book so radically altered by its first editors? Why did Helen Schucman curse A Course in Miracles so soon after publication? Why did she keep writing trite poems to Jesus before dying in bitterness? Heti was the ideal gumshoe for this project, because as a novelist all-too-familiar with internal voices and the feeling of “channeling,” she was able to feel her way into Helen’s life. Matthew asks her what she found. Show Notes [The New Age Bible — Sheila Heti] (https://harpers.org/archive/2024/09/the-new-age-bible-sheila-heti-a-course-in-miracles/)   [Sheila Heti] (https://www.sheilaheti.com/) — website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

07 Nov 2024

1 HR 09 MINS

1:09:32

07 Nov 2024

#547

Bonus Sample: Elections on 3 Continents

Having lived under Apartheid in South Africa, voted in the UK, and now staring down this terrifying US election, Julian reflects on the political differences between the three countries. Stay tuned for some hopeful poetry at the end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

04 Nov 2024

06 MINS

06:00

04 Nov 2024

#546

Brief: No Really, They’re Coming For Your Pets

Recently, “holistic veterinarian” Marcie Fallek, whose latest book, “Little Miracles Everywhere: My Unorthodox Path to Holistic Veterinary Medicine," is the #1 bestseller on Amazon in the Alternative Holistic Medicine category, appeared on Children's Health Defense's daily morning show. During “Pet Vaccines and Holistic Vet Care" she spreads the same sort of vaccine misinformation and fear-mongering that RFK Jr's nonprofit has become infamous for. All of which made Derek realize that yes, they're actually coming for our pets. Show Notes [Why Your Vet Bill Is So High] (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/vet-private-equity-industry/678180/) [Private Equity Is Killing Your Pets] (https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/private-equity-pets-veterinarian/) [Nearly 70% of veterinarians have lost a colleague or peer to suicide, study finds] (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/11/nearly-70-of-veterinarians-have-lost-a-colleague-or-peer-to-suicide-study-finds) [The acute suicide crisis among veterinarians: 'You're always going to be failing somebody'] (https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231010-the-acute-suicide-crisis-among-veterinarians-youre-always-going-to-be-failing-somebody) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

02 Nov 2024

25 MINS

25:30

02 Nov 2024

#545

230: How Did We Get Here?

With days left before the most consequential US election in our lifetime, we reflect on the last 4.5 years of this podcast while expressing our hopes–and our own reporting goals—for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

31 Oct 2024

1 HR 32 MINS

1:32:07

31 Oct 2024

#544

Relief Project #3: Michelle Cassandra Johnson

Matthew here with the third installment of Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.  Michelle Cassandra Johnson was an early guest on our show and helped us lay the groundwork for understanding the reality and impacts of racism in the worlds of wellness and new spirituality. She’s an author, activist, and racial equity trainer. Her latest book,  [A Space For Us: A Guide For Leading Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Affinity Groups] (https://www.aspaceforusbook.com/) , was published by Beacon Press in August 2023. She lives in North Carolina with her sweet dog, Jasper, and her honeybees. Show Notes [Michelle Cassandra Johnson] (https://www.michellecjohnson.com/) [Conspirituality 40: White Supremacy: Grift and Gravity (w/Michelle Cassandra Johnson & Daniel Lombroso)] (https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/40-white-supremacy-grift-and-gravity-michelle-cassandra-johnson-daniel-lombroso)   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

29 Oct 2024

31 MINS

31:33

29 Oct 2024

#543

Bonus Sample: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

Derek discusses Tucker Carlson advocating for corporal punishment as a way to discipline children in his appearance at the Turning Points USA MAGA rally. Show Notes [Stephen Colbert: Tucker Carlson’s Weird Daddy Issues] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjzA2cPvr5E) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

28 Oct 2024

06 MINS

06:07

28 Oct 2024

#542

Brief: Leonard Leo’s Plan to “Crush” Democracy

Billionaire legal activist Leonard Leo has had a role in placing all six conservative justices on the SCOTUS, and so therefore is in large part responsible for the overturning of Roe V Wade. But his right-wing activism isn’t even close to over, as he recently stated during a rare interview with The Daily Wire. Derek and Julian discuss Leo’s dark vision for the future. Show Notes [Swamp Creatures 6: Leonard Leo, Judicial Kingmaker] (https://www.patreon.com/posts/swamp-creatures-96485431) [Inside Leonard Leo’s Plan For Conservatives To ‘Crush Liberal Dominance’] (https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-leonard-leos-plan-for-conservatives-to-crush-liberal-dominance) [We Don’t Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right’s Supreme Court Supermajority] (https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority) [Leonard Leo’s Extremely Revealing Letter to a Dark-Money Group] (https://newrepublic.com/article/186013/leonard-leo-85-fund-revealing-letter-dark-money-group) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

26 Oct 2024

37 MINS

37:36

26 Oct 2024

#541

229: Stanford Has Fallen

On Oct 4, Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine, economics, and health research policy at Stanford, held a symposium at his university. Titled “Pandemic Policy: Planning the Future, Assessing the Past,” it was marketed as an open-minded series of panel discussions involving a range of experts to debate and discuss the efficacy of Covid mitigation techniques. In reality, it was a collection of mostly anti-vax and definitely anti-lockdown contrarians that tried in vain to bait people like Dr Peter Hotez to attend in order to give the event an air of legitimacy. Held on the anniversary of the “Covid is bad for business” doctrine, The Great Barrington Declaration, the day presented an opportunity to air supposed “censorship” grievances and demands that the public should have a say in the science of future pandemics. The rub: most everyone involved is invested in the economics of public health, not the science, though those lines were freely and falsely blurred throughout the day. Considering Stanford’s new president, economist Jonathan Levin, gave the opening remarks, the Covid contrarians took one more step into the mainstream with their business-first, science-whatever attitudes. Show Notes [Pro-COVID UK Charity With Anti-Vax Ties Behind Controversial Stanford Health Policy Conference] (https://www.importantcontext.news/p/pro-covid-uk-charity-with-anti-vax) [Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says a failing economy is worse than coronavirus] (https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/23/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-says-bad-economy-worse-coronavirus/)   [Dr. Vinay Prasad: “Public Health’s (Mis)Truth Problem”] (https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/vinay-prasad-public-healths-mistruth-problem/) [Can Stanford Tell Fact from Fiction?] (https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/10/19/opinion-stanford-fact-fiction-pandemic-conference/amp/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

24 Oct 2024

1 HR 14 MINS

1:14:32

24 Oct 2024