An exiled Northern Irish anthropologist and a hitchhiking Australian psychologist take a close look at the contemporary crop of 'secular gurus', iconoclasts, and other exiles from the mainstream, offering their own brands of unique takes and special insights. Leveraging two of the most diverse accents in modern podcasting, Chris and Matt dig deep into the claims, peek behind the psychological curtains, and try to figure out once and for all... What's it all About? Join us, as we try to puzzle our way through and talk some smart-sounding smack about the intellectual giants of our age, from Jordan Peterson to...
Bonus · Fri, April 25, 2025
We immerse ourselves in the dark waves of the discourse to bring you treasures beyond mere mortal ken. Supplementary Material 27 00:00 Introduction & Australian Holidays 03:53 James Lindsay's New Revelations 07:20 Michael O'Fallon's Conspiracy Hipsterism 09:41 Trump, Bukele, and Transparent Conspiracies 11:53 The Whitehouse declares the Lab Leak is a FACT 14:42 The conspiracy leak treadmill: UFOs, RFK assassination, and lableak 21:26 The Rise of the Idiots: Grimes on Transformers Cinematography 29:17 Lex vs. Flint: The mask slips 33:21 The Iron Curtain falls on Lex's Subreddit 35:18 Subreddit Moderation Choices 41:46 Douglas Murray on Joe Rogan 46:36 Darryl Cooper's Nazi Apologetics, the Role of Experts and JAQs 57:25 Strategic Disclaimers & Convincing Apologetics 01:03:28 The Rogansphere and Media Power 01:07:30 Murray on the Lab Leak 01:12:19 Murray's Anti-Establishment Hypocrisy 01:19:10 Standards in Journalism 01:22:42 Alternative Media's Double Standards 01:28:33 Douglas Murray joins Sam Harris 01:29:26 The Psychology of Religious Extremism 01:36:04 Radicalisation and Extremism 01:41:24 Murray's 'Criticism' of MAGA 01:44:32 What is even the Right Wing? 01:55:11 What about Elon Musk? 02:05:40 AfD isn't that bad, and Elon has promoted Douglas too! 02:16:10 Rogan and the Moon Landing 02:17:16 Sam is still a bad judge of character 02:19:29 Isn't everyone a hypocrite? 02:23:16 Free Speech Debates 02:26:58 The role of Moderation 02:31:37 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hr 32 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Sam Harris Episode 410 Douglas Murray: The Whole Catastrophe Joe Rogan Experience #2303 - Dave Smith & Douglas Murray Flint's post about Lex Fridman Grimes on Transformers' cinematography James Lindsay on being used by Nazis Nathan Barley on YouTube <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-ori
Fri, April 18, 2025
In this episode, Matt and Chris pour themselves a stiff drink and slip into the fever‑dream crossover of Jordan Peterson and Michael Shellenberger, a conversation that opens with the claim that Western Europe is now the single greatest threat to free speech; yes, croissants and GDPR apparently out‑authoritarian China and Russia. According to Shellenberger, we can now rest safe as free speech has been restored and “America Is Back!” thanks to God-Emperor Trump and the living avatar of honest utterance, Elon 'Horus' Musk. Our hosts marvel as Shellenberger insists USAID is a rogue soft‑power leviathan that somehow staged January 6th, sabotaged the 2020 election, and deserves to be nuked from orbit... although he can’t quite prove any of that YET. Alongside the conspiratorial drivel there is also a heavy serving of Peterson's obscurantist mythicism and dinner‑party anthropology as he explains how Hungary is a model democracy, the US nation beset by parasites, and that this is all inevitably connected to how people are not paying enough attention to Jesus. But that is not all! You will also learn about Manly Men vs. Gentlemen, Musk’s “move fast and break government” ethos, and the revelation that free speech is not a nice‑to‑have but a must‑have—unless you are a lawyer, journalist, or student on the wrong side of the Trump administration. So buckle up for an hour of dystopian déjà vu, as two self‑styled rebel intellectuals morph into state propagandists, cheerleading every single action of Trump and Musk while lecturing the rest of us on free thought. Sources “Trump, Musk, Kennedy: The Dawn of Transparency,” The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Ep. 526. Shellenberger's Substack , including gems like "Why Trump’s Victory Is, For Millions Of Us, Cathartic" and "Both USAID And The CIA Were Behind The Impeachment Of Trump in 2019" Taibbi & Shellenberger testify to the House Judiciary Committee to help uncover "the Biden-Harris Administration's unconstitutional censorship campaign" Singal-Minded articles detailing Shellenberger's sloppy journalism and <a href="https://conspiracytheories" rel="noopener noreferrer" targe
Wed, April 16, 2025
In this stunning crossover episode, Matt and Chris are joined by Australian 'media personality' and podcast host Josh Szeps for a joyful discussion of podcasts, gurusphere, and general media dynamics. As you might imagine, we discuss issues around the heterodox sphere, cultures of criticism, and the issues involved with 'platforming' controversial figures. We discuss the constantly surprising popularity of Lex Fridman and his unique interview style, how the heterodox respond to criticism, and rampant hypocrisy. Also, Matt is finally held to account for his food takes, and we find out the real story behind the Olympic mascot, Olly the Kookaburra. Sources Josh's Substackistan podcast
Bonus · Sat, April 12, 2025
We project our insecurities onto the gurusphere, wallowing in our inadequacy to bond over shared hatred of outgroups, and interview Flint Dibble along the way. Supplementary Material 26 00:00 Introduction and Greetings 01:53 Ol' Squeaky and Lex's horny poems 05:11 Eric Weinstein is still waiting for the call 09:26 Interview with Flint Dibble 11:05 Introduction and Catching Up 12:19 Joe Rogan and Public Perception 14:57 Hypocrisy and Slander 16:05 Graham Hancock and Neo-Nazi Connections 22:08 Upcoming Exposé on Joe Rogan 23:03 Pyramids of Giza: New Claims 24:45 Debunking the Mega Structures Theory 25:20 The Researchers Behind the Claims 28:21 Scientific Methods and Evidence 31:58 Conclusion on Pyramids and Science 35:13 Gurusphere Dynamics 37:47 Pseudo-Archaeology and Public Perception 46:11 Mr. Beast's Egypt Adventure 50:36 The Role of Pseudo-Archaeology in Conspiracy Theories 58:50 Post-Interview Discussion 59:53 Trump's Tariffs and Economic Impact 01:04:30 The Amazing Tariff Formula 01:09:45 Geoffrey Miller's 9D Chess Theory of the Tariffs 01:13:30 Contrapoints Conspiracy Video 01:14:55 Some things Matt will not mention on Tariffs 01:17:35 QAnon Anonymous on Graham Hancock 01:22:33 Some Other News covers Joe Rogan 01:30:13 Ryan Beard's Destiny Content Nuke 01:32:33 The Studies Show covers Conspiracies 01:33:53 Hasan argues for tariffs 01:37:40 Back to Rogan and Chris Williamson 01:39:21 Critically Reviewing Cory Clark's Study 01:47:58 Incestuous Bro Podcasts and Legacy Media Struggles 01:53:00 Bonding over outgroup hatred and Criticism Capture 02:02:04 USAid is funding the attacks on Tesla! 02:07:56 Trump's Badass Son humilates Biden 02:10:28 Tribal Hypocrisy 02:11:52 Joe Smashes All Your Paradigms! 02:14:59 The villain, Sam Harris criticizes the hero, Lex Fridman 02:20:18 Does Lex speak to EVERYONE? 02:23:44 Concluding Thoughts from Maladjusted Haters The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hr 25 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Archaeology with Flint Dibble- Megastructures under Giza Pyramids⁉️ ARCHAEOLOGY REWRITTEN or viral 💩? Piers Morgan episode with Flint and Milo Rossi Joe Rogan Experience #2293 - Chris Williamson <a href="https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/graham-hancocks-ancient-apocalyp
Sun, April 06, 2025
In this very special decoding, Matt and Chris revisit the wisdom of the internet’s favourite philosopher-warrior/political theorist, Lex Fridman, as he dives once again into the complex realities of the Ukraine war. Joining Lex is IDW hero and conservative commentator Douglas Murray, who actually offers some sensible insights on the specific topic of Ukraine . Fear not, though, Lex ensures his signature 'non-partisan' approach remains intact, framing Zelensky as a potentially corrupt leader who is emotionally driven, and responsible for prolonging the conflict to evade the inevitable investigations. Meanwhile, Putin remains a tragically misunderstood patriot whose greatest crime is that he loves his country a little too much. Lex is in rare form, reaching new heights of weaponised naiveté, and bravely defending himself against the legions of online "grifters, drama-farmers, liars, bots, sycophants, and sociopaths." Expect generous servings of geopolitical delusions, questionable polemics, and heartfelt serenades to Joe Rogan—all delivered with Lex’s characteristic humility and wisdom as a love-filled Man of Peace. We are genuinely sorry to drag you back into Lex's world, but someone has to keep an eye on his Ukraine takes. Sources Lex Fridman- Douglas Murray: Putin, Zelenskyy, Trump, Israel, Netanyahu, Hamas & Gaza | Lex Fridman Podcast #463 DTG: Lex Fridman's Take on the Zelensky Interview: The Wounded Bird and Ukrainian Bot Farms DTG: Douglas Murray: Can indulgent dinner conversation save OUR civilisation?
Bonus · Sun, March 30, 2025
We embrace our hybridity, stare down Lovecraftian Donkey-Dragon hybrids, and enter into true Dialogos. Supplementary Material 25 01:06 DTG Grievance Mongering 02:25 Book Club Reflections 04:09 Important Health and Lifestyle Updates 09:51 Andrew Huberman's Trail of Death 17:14 Jeff Bezos and Media Control 25:04 Another exciting round of Lab Leak Discourse! 31:17 Scientific Evidence vs. Public Discourse 38:28 Matt and Chris' Respectful Debate 44:05 Rewriting of Covid History 47:04 Conspiracies and Political Pressure 50:40 Eric Weinstein is STILL Waiting for the Call 59:41 Pageau considers the Lovecraftian Horrors of Sesame Street 01:07:17 Sarah Haider (Re)Invents 'Pioneer Traditionalism' 01:11:36 Chris Williamson's annual pilgrimage to the Khan 01:12:37 Fact Checking Bullshit with Eric Weinstein 01:17:16 Breathless Reactions to New Pyramid Theories 01:22:59 Credulity Checking with Matt's Son 01:24:40 Cruel Racist Attacks on Poor Graham Hancock from the Devil Flint Dibble 01:31:44 The Insane Hypocrisy of Alternative Media: Corrupt Academics are being controlled! 01:37:21 Soaring Rhetoric, Petty Tribalism, and Obvious Hypocrisy 01:39:19 No Charity for evil Flint Dibble 01:43:35 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 46 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources New York Times- Zeynep Tufekci: We Were Badly Misled About the Event That Changed Our Lives Kristian Andersen's BluSky thread about the article Kristian Andersen's article about the emails/slack messages, etc. Huberman's lamentations for his dead friends The Rubin Report: Analyzing Trump’s Tactics | Eric Weinstein Joe Rogan Experience #2293 - Chris Williamson Flint Dibble: Megastructures under Giza Pyramids⁉️ ARCHAEOLOGY REWRITTEN or viral 💩? <a href="https:/
Sat, March 29, 2025
In this very special episode, Matt and Chris, despite swearing off any further Dr. K content after their previous three-part series, find themselves bleary-eyed and once again tumbling into the familiar depths of the K-Hole. Yes, they’re back with Dr. K, everyone’s favourite enlightened Twitch non-therapy therapist, now emerging from a self-declared midlife crisis with some powerful new revelations. Chief among them: while enlightenment may not technically be for sale, you can certainly pay to “level up your propensity for it.” After years of humble-bragging about undercharging for his mental health guides, Dr. K has boldly pivoted to defending high-priced spiritual initiations. If you thought enlightenment involved effort, introspection, and maybe a bit of humility, think again—it turns out you can outsource your spiritual growth to a guru, who will do the grinding for you. Great news for Elon Musk. Join Matt and Chris as they machete their way through a jungle of surreal analogies—landscaping contracts, parental down payments, Bluetooth enlightenment, and monetised spiritual energy transfer—all in service of a worldview where the real obstacle to self-actualisation is your reluctance to wire $10,000 to a spiritually enriched craftsman for a golden amulet. So fill up your chakras, empty your critical thinking cup, and enjoy this trip through the mystic marketplace—where your spiritual awakening is just one overpriced relic away. Links Squeex: Indian Hate on the Internet (A Discussion w/ Dr. K) DTG- Dr. K (Part 1): OPed Ayurvedic Medicine vs. Nerfed 'Western' Allopathy DTG- Dr. K (Part 2): Rhetorical Judo Flips DTG- Dr. K (Part 3): Therapeutic Non-Therapy
Bonus · Sun, March 23, 2025
In the wake of our Naomi Klein episode, the masses have spoken. And like the responsible Gurometricians that we are, we've taken your feedback to heart and thus open this episode with a series of scientific and spiritual recitations. Then it's straight back into the sweet science—and mystical art—of Gurometry, as we test how well it measures up to Naomi Klein’s anti-capitalist spirit. Fun for the whole family! P.S. Don't worry—Chris Langan’s Gurometer has not been forgotten and will be arriving very soon! The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 4 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Gurometer: Naomi Klein 00:00 Introduction 01:29 Sponsor Shoutouts! 03:29 Naomi Klein Feedback 05:03 Podcast Format Limitations and Reading the Book! 11:37 Consistency in Standards of Evaluation 20:21 Evaluating the Arguments Independent of the Conclusions 24:53 The Importance of Disconfirming Evidence 26:28 Differing Definitions Cross-Culturally 29:36 The Gurometer 29:59 Galaxy Brainness 32:03 Cultishness 34:02 Anti-Establishmentarianism 38:12 Grievance Mongering 38:55 Self-Aggrandizement 41:29 Cassandra Complex 44:06 Revolutionary Theories 46:53 Pseudo Profound Bullshit 49:25 Conspiracy Mongering 53:57 Excessive Profiteering 54:48 Moral Grandstanding 56:04 Final Scores and Reflections 58:52 Quickfire Guru Bonus Points
Fri, March 14, 2025
In this episode, your favourite neoliberal Decoder shills take a break from managing the decline of late-stage capitalism to examine the insights of famed writer and renegade activist Naomi Klein. The focus is her latest literary offering, Doppelganger , where Klein wrestles with the existential dread of being confused with Naomi Wolf and uses that mix-up as a gateway to explore the "Mirror World" of conspiracy theories and online gurus (a landscape our listeners know all too well). Along the way, Matt and Chris discover Klein's views on Steve Bannon's dubious charm (and what percentage he gets right), the cause of Russell Brand's descent, the real agenda behind conspiracy theories, and why neoliberal capitalism remains the root of all evil. Plus, special guest interviewer Ryan Grim parachutes to 'just ask questions' about the lab leak, vaccine side effects and other forbidden topics that the people were not allowed to talk about! So, whether you’re a champagne socialist, a crypto libertarian, a neoliberal shill, or just here for the popcorn, join Matt and Chris as they parse Klein’s content and consider: is Klein speaking truth to power, or just preaching to the choir? Sources Penguin Books: How did conspiracy theories become mainstream? | Naomi Klein | Big Questions Naomi Klein. Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World. Politics and Prose. Naomi Klein — Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World - with Ryan Grim THIS- The Rebel Sell: If we all hate consumerism, how come we can’t stop shopping? Ryan McBeth: Exposing the Military Industrial Complex
Bonus · Sat, March 08, 2025
In this special quasi-crossover episode, we stare deeply into the abyss while enjoying a beverage with renowned psychologist and occasional podcast co-host, Mickey Inzlicht. P.S. The Decoding of Naomi Klein is coming next week! Two Psychologists, One Anthropologist, Three Beers 00:27 Introduction 05:57 Mickey's Sabbatical in Japan 12:13 Sensemaking 3.0 25:25 Francis Foster's Bizarre Podcast Roast 34:38 Sabine Hossenfelder thinks Academia is Communism 36:11 The Irony of YouTube Incentives 39:34 Proper Criticisms of Academia 43:28 Is Academia Centrally Planned? 46:24 Culture War Pandering 53:53 Entering the Matt-rix 55:00 In Bed with the Russians notices the Red Scare Wounded Bird Pose 01:00:03 On the etiquette of Replications 01:06:17 Academic Debates on the Effect of Culture on Visual Illusions: Joe Henrich vs. Amir & Firestone 01:11:18 The Legend of Captain Cook: Sahlins vs Obeyesekere 01:12:58 Ideas vs People: Sarah Haider, Colin Wright and an epidemic of hypocrisy 01:17:19 Admitting Mistakes and Research Integrity 01:24:38 Interpersonal Relationships vs. Adversarial Systems 01:33:24 Wastage in Academia 01:39:49 Elon Musk, Pregnancy, and Modern Cults 01:49:01 Signing Off The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Mickey's Substack: Speak Now, Regret Later Inzlicht, M., Cameron, C. D., D’Cruz, J., & Bloom, P. (2024). In praise of empathic AI. Trends in Cognitive Sciences , 28 (2), 89-91.Chicago. And a summary article by Mickey! Bad Boys Done Good vs Triggernometry host Francis Foster Sabine Hossenfelder - Should we defund academia? Alexander Beiner - From Rebel Wisdom to Kainos Joe Henrich's thread responding to the Dorsa and Chaz paper Chris' old blog on Captain Cook and <a href="https://godknowswhat.wordpress.com/2009/
Bonus · Fri, February 28, 2025
Chris and Matt confront their inner demons, manifest their personal deities, and dive into the Onto-Logos. Supplementary Material 24 00:00 Introduction 02:32 Matt's Surprise Shaming 06:39 Jordan Peterson's Inner Monologue Revealed 10:04 Trump on Ukraine 15:22 Sean Carroll explains US cuts to science funding 16:47 Bleak Prospects for the US 24:14 Aella vs. Arrogant Red Pill Man 37:22 Be wary of Overcorrecting 43:11 John Vervaeke meets Hermes 52:59 False Dichotomies of the Spirit 01:03:38 Entering into Dialogos with Matt's Inner Darwin 01:07:39 Perspectival and participatory phenomenological identity transformation. 01:09:20 Other ways of knowing spirits 01:13:45 Materialists and their Monological Mindsets 01:18:37 Welcome to the Onto-Logos 01:24:06 Bad Faith Commenters 01:29:35 Pageau and the Metaphysics of Pepe the Frog 01:36:32 Next Book Review: Other Minds The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 41 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Third Eye Drops: Encountering Higher Consciousness, The Daimon & The Paradox of Reality | Dr. John Vervaeke Dave Rubin's video of Peterson's speech at the ARC conference Whatever podcast: She Did 100 Men In 1 DAY?! 1,000 NEXT?! Lily Phillips, Eva Lovia, Aella, Andrew! | Dating Talk#227 Aella's Substack Sean Carroll: Bonus Episode | Cuts to Science Funding and Why They Matter Sabine Hossenfelder: Trump and Musk Take On Academia Huberman tweeting excitedly about the funding cuts Jonathan Pageau: Supplement to the Metaphysics of Pepe Interview with Jordan Peterson
Bonus · Sat, February 22, 2025
Chris and Matt have their models exploded, the maps ripped up, and their minds blown as the Gurusphere expands into exciting new territory. Supplementary Material 23 02:47 Chris Williamson blows our minds! 08:57 Content Predator psychology and motivational posting 12:28 Balancing the Scales 14:07 Eric Weinstein the master of Rorschach Tweets 20:26 Modern Sages Reunited: Bret Weinstein and Joe Rogan 24:29 Open-Minded Joe Rogan 34:26 Maybe prescriptions are actually bad! 37:38 Andrew Gold expands into Race & IQ 46:47 4 Warning Signs of Radicalism 56:45 Monomaniacal Fixation vs. Pluralism 01:05:26 Rejoinder: What if it is a diagnostic? 01:09:43 Lex wants to join DOGE 01:10:31 Lex's next world leader interview: Modi 01:14:57 Matt's Final Thought: People contain multitudes 01:16:57 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 19 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Eric Weinstein's profound tweet on history as we know it The Joe Rogan Experience#2269- Bret Weinstein Andrew Gold Heretics: CONTROVERSIAL: Are Some Races DUMBER? - Nathan Cofnas (4K) Lex wistfully imagines joining DOGE and thinks deeply about his upcoming interview with Modi Recent investigation of 'Race Realist' networks and outlets Kruglanski, A. W., & Moskalenko, S. (2025). Psychology of the Extreme . Taylor & Francis.
Fri, February 21, 2025
In this episode, Matt finally gets his revenge on Chris by dragging him deep into the eccentric world of Chris Langan—the self-proclaimed possessor of a 200 IQ and creator of The Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe , yet another grand unifying theory of everything. Langan presents himself as an intellectual titan, offering mathematical, social, religious, and philosophical insights so profound that mere mortals can barely grasp them. Prepare to have the mysteries of the universe, God, anti-God, angels, and demons unveiled. Consciousness, determinism, and free will? All finally explained. But that’s not all—somehow, it all connects to globalist plots, election conspiracies, vaccines, UFOs, and, of course, the devil pulling the strings. Join us for conservative pundit Michael Knowles’ therapy session with one of his idols-a man who reassures him that he is a very smart boy and that his fundamentalist Christian beliefs are, in fact, completely correct. If you thought Eric Weinstein was something, imagine him cranked up to 12. That’s Chris Langan... Also... get ready for Matt's double down on his Aussie food takes. Links CTMU Radio: Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See Malcolm Gladwell interview discussing Chris Langan Good Reddit post on the problems of the MEGA IQ test
Bonus · Thu, February 20, 2025
In this episode, Matt and Chris take a look at a recent developmental psychology paper on the social evaluation of young babies. Do they display a preference for agents who are nice to others or could they care less at the babbling age? This is a large-scale, multi-lab, preregistered replication effort of a rather influential paper so it ticks all of Chris' Open Science boxes, but how does Matt react? Is he stuck in his pre-replication crisis paradigms? Join us to find out and along the way find out about baby Matt's psychotic tendencies, how cats feel about cucumbers, and how Matt narrowly escaped being eaten by a big ol' crocodile. Paper Reference: Lucca, K., Yuen, F., Wang, Y., Alessandroni, N., Allison, O., Alvarez, M., ... & Hamlin, J. K. (2025). Infants’ Social Evaluation of Helpers and Hinderers: A Large‐Scale, Multi‐Lab, Coordinated Replication Study. Developmental Science , 28 (1), e13581. Original Study: Hamlin, J. K., Wynn, K., & Bloom, P. (2007). Social evaluation by preverbal infants. Nature , 450 (7169), 557-559. Decoding Academia 32 00:00 Introduction 00:59 Matt's Close Shave with a Crocodile 03:15 Discussion on Crocodile Behavior 05:13 Introduction to the Academic Paper 06:18 Understanding Registered Reports 07:49 Details of the Replication Study 12:07 The Many Babies Study 18:23 Challenges in Developmental Psychology 20:35 Original Study and Replication Efforts 26:27 HARKing and the QRP problem in psychology 34:24 Discussing the Results 36:58 Exploring the Red Ball Experiment 39:38 Forest Plot Analysis 41:19 Infant Preferences and Social Evaluation 43:24 Failure to Replicate the Original Study 47:06 Exploratory Analysis and Moderators 50:03 Interpretations and Implications 54:21 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Behavior 58:34 Prosocial Evolutionary Speculation 01:05:10 Psychopathic Baby Matt 01:06:28 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections 01:11:20 Comparative Psychology on Snake Hatred! The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 15 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Wed, February 12, 2025
We immerse ourselves in the Dark Side of the Gurusphere and come out forever altered by what we've seen and praying for an escape from this demon-haunted world. 00:00 Introduction 01:38 Reverse Culture Shock in Australia 11:01 Tim Tams and Food Progress 12:14 Russia Today endorses Lex's statements on Zelensky 19:20 Elon Musk's Controversial Gesture 38:31 Destiny's (Most Recent) Controversy 01:02:12 Bryan Johnson vs. Andrew Huberman: Civility Insights 01:14:21 Sacriligeous Sycophancy: Bill Ackman and Sam Altman 01:15:55 Jonathan Pageau's Stargate Theories 01:26:52 Escaping the Demon-Haunted World The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 30 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Russia Today tweeting about Lex and announcing his upcoming interview with Putin Joe Rogan Experience #2260 - Lex Fridman Video comparing Musk's gesture with other politicians' gestures Pxie's statement about the lawsuit on her substack and Destiny's response on his subreddit Bryan Johnson and Huberman's Twitter Exchange Bill Ackman suggesting Trump's achievements are greater than God's Jonathan Pageau's thread on Stargates
Bonus · Tue, February 11, 2025
'Tis a New Year (sort of), and amidst all the chaos in the world, we thought we'd offer a small glimmer of light by making this Patreon episode available to everyone! If you enjoy it, consider joining us on Patreon—or not, it's your call! In this episode, Matt and Chris scry through the portents and ponder the apocalyptic insights of the tech and finance titan Peter Thiel. We all know that Thiel is an urbane gentleman of great refinement with a collection of revolutionary ideas but does he make the Gurometer sing? Tune in to find out—and, as a bonus, learn more than you ever wanted to know about the intricacies of academic grading systems.
Tue, February 04, 2025
In this episode, Matt and Chris tackle the big ideas—or at least the ones rattling around in Peter Thiel’s mind. Tech billionaire, venture capitalist, and political kingmaker, Thiel has long been a looming figure in Silicon Valley, known for his deep pockets, contrarian takes, and peculiar philosophical musings. But beneath the surface-level libertarian posturing, what does Thiel actually believe? And does it hold up to scrutiny? The decoders dig into Thiel’s recent interview on Uncommon Knowledge, where he waxes biblical about end times, interprets the katechon with all the confidence of a medieval theologian, and seamlessly blends venture capitalism with prophecies of the Antichrist. Along the way, they explore Thiel’s method of connecting historical dots with pure vibes, and his Jetsons Fallacy, the deep disappointment that the world looks more like The Office than a 1960s vision of the future. They dissect the Sensemaker Aristocracy surrounding him—with its reverent back-patting and strange mix of deference and obfuscation that turns tech moguls into prophets. They also highlight Thiel’s bizarre leaps in logic, from citing biblical prophecies to warning about one-world free-trade Communist government conspiracies and his confusing stance on technological progress—simultaneously lamenting stagnation while fearing we’re racing too fast toward Armageddon. Of course, no billionaire worldview would be complete without some COVID conspiracies, and Thiel delivers, crafting an elaborate Fauci Bioweapon Paradox in which the pandemic response was simultaneously overblown and also secretly justified because the virus was (obviously) engineered. So is Peter Thiel a visionary? A libertarian Cassandra? Or just a very wealthy man with a lot of half-formed ideas and a habit of mumbling them into microphones? Matt and Chris wade through the mess so you don’t have to. Stay till the end for the Revolutionary Leprechaun Theory of Western Civilization… if you dare. Links Hoover Institute: Apocalypse Now? Peter Thiel on Ancient Prophecies and Modern Tech (Part 1) Hoover Institute: Apocalypse Now? Peter Thiel on Ancient Prophecies and Modern Tech (Part 2) WIRED article on the Thiel, Hogan, & Gawker business
Wed, January 22, 2025
In this episode, we look at a recently released segment by Lex Fridman, where he reflects on his interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. We examine Lex’s self-presentation as a Christ-like figure—someone who is willing to suffer, feign naivety and ignorance, and even risk his life in the name of world peace—all while maintaining an eight-hour daily study regimen and enduring relentless, unfair attacks from Ukrainian bot farms and war-loving critics. Like true sensemakers, we also entertain an outlandish alternative hypothesis: what if Lex is, in fact, an arrogant and biased podcaster—dismissive of criticism, oblivious to his political leanings, and adopting a “wounded bird” persona to elicit sympathy from his audience? Join us as we sift through the Zelensky's (supposed) failures, the bot farms, and the wounded bird theatrics to determine whether Lex is a hero for peace—or just another podcaster lost in his own narrative. Sources Lex Fridman reflects on Volodymyr Zelenskyy interview Supplementary Material 21: The emergency snake, thought = secularised prayer, and Love and War Chris' thread on Lex and his wounded bird pose Lex Fridman Podcast- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine, War, Peace, Putin, Trump, NATO, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #456
Bonus · Fri, January 10, 2025
It's 2025, and the Gurusphere shows no signs of slowing down—so here we are, diving into some grim crossovers. This time, the bro-optimiser Andrew Huberman has teamed up with the chaos dragon himself, Jordan Peterson. Meanwhile, the ever-affectionate Lex Fridman finally scored an interview with Zelensky. Bret, however, remains preoccupied with Goliath's ongoing PsyOps. P.S. Matt broke his dongle so he's on the AirPods, we will be back to proper audio setup next episode. Supplementary Material 21 00:00 Introduction and Farewell to America 01:43 Memorable Encounters and Experiences 03:48 Oldering & the Destruction of the Self 08:35 The American Understander Issues his Verdict 12:07 The Pageau Brothers, Jesus' Laugh & The Emergency Snake 19:01 Bryan Johnson has concerns about Vaccines 21:48 The High IQ Crowd and Trump's Greenland Plans 27:44 The PsyOps Cyclops Strikes Again 37:15 Huberman X Peterson: Optimising Christianity 39:22 Secret Prayers and Bible Conversations 43:34 Thougt = Secularised Prayer 48:56 Huberman's Intelligent Design Argument for God 55:49 Christian Optimising Stack 01:07:56 Marc Andreessen on Vigor, Pride and Achievement 01:13:30 Faux Heterodoxy 01:19:24 Plain Steaks are the best! 01:24:47 Jordan Peterson's Diet Struggles 01:32:25 Lex Fridman's Interview with Zelensky 01:37:52 Lex plugs Rogan's comedy club 01:41:09 Elon Musk and Trump are anti-corruption! 01:44:27 Critique of Lex Fridman's Interview Style 01:46:07 Lex's dream and Russia's security guarantees 01:53:25 Lex's Strategic Naivety 02:05:12 Lex reads A LOT 02:11:40 Lex and Putin predictions 02:12:39 Lex will endure the attacks against him 02:14:56 Wrapping Up & Patreon Love Bomb The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hrs 16 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Chris' thread on Lex and his wounded bird pose Huberman Podcast- Dr.Jordan Peterson: How to Best Guide Your Life Decisions & Path Lex Fridman Podcast- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine, War, Peace, Putin, Trump, NATO, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #456 The Free Press: Bryan Johnson: How Not to Die in 2025 <a href="https://x.com/PageauMatthieu/status/1778440159354065011" rel="noopener noreferrer" tar
Bonus · Thu, January 02, 2025
Back once again with the dark art of Gurometry, we turn our sights to the bad boy of Silicon Valley—the mulleted maestro, the edgy eejit, Curtis Yarvin. A legend in his own mind, but how does he rank on the Gurosity scale? Join us as we dissect his essence across 11 factors, from his revolutionarily mundane and incoherent ideas to his dazzling absence of charisma. Tune in as we feed this 'dark enlightenment' thinker into the Gurometer and reveal his true colours. The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (34 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Curtis Yarvin: Gurometer 00:00 Introduction to Gurometry 02:27 Curtis Yarvin: The Man, The Myth, The Eejit 04:43 Galaxy Brainlessness 05:48 Cultishness 08:32 Anti-Establishmentarianism 09:55 Grievance Mongering 12:43 Self-Aggrandizement and Narcissism 13:30 Cassandra Complex 16:21 Revolutionary Theories 17:59 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit 19:43 Conspiracy Theories Galore 23:55 Moral Grandstanding 25:50 Gurometer Scores and Analysis 27:56 Bonus Point Attribution 34:03 Final Thoughts on Curtis Yarvin
Bonus · Fri, December 27, 2024
In this end-of-year supplementary material, we unleash the hounds of war, battle through the discourse, and emerge alive but bloody and battered on the other side. Enlist now and join the fight. Supplementary Material 20 00:00 Introduction and Ethnographic Insights 01:38 Matt's Observations from Washington DC 05:50 Smithsonian Museums and Star Wars Memorabilia 07:48 Lego Creations and Gacha Collectibles 12:13 Social Media and Blue Sky 'Culture' 13:29 Matt's Contribution: Eric Weinstein's UFO Speculations 21:21 Graham Linehan, Andrew Doyle, Jordan Peterson & Recognising Past Errors 23:18 Jordan Peterson's Reflections on Vaccination 28:59 Huberman's Upcoming Vaccine Series 30:52 Taylor Lorenz and Stochastic Terrorism 32:31 The Hypocrisy of Glorifying Violence 36:29 The Problem with Political Violence 43:48 Tim Kennedy's Exaggerated Military Stories 55:09 Tim Kennedy's Response to Criticism 01:07:37 Prebunking Criticisms 01:17:20 Shane Smith at Vice is NOT A CONSPIRACY GUY 01:21:27 Final Thoughts on Populism and Vibes-Based Reasoning 01:25:18 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 26 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Jordan Peterson: Europe Imploding | Andrew Doyle & Graham Linehan | EP 506 Tim Kennedy: Setting the Record Straight Piers Morgan Uncensored: “Why The F*CK Are You Laughing?!” CEO Murder Arrest & Daniel Penny NOT GUILTY The AntiHero Podcast: Ep 101: Tim Kennedy: The Book Of Lies Valhalla VFT: Green Berets, Delta Force & Navy SEAL DENOUNCE Tim Kennedy Stolen Valor LIES
Wed, December 25, 2024
In this long-anticipated episode, Matt and Chris venture into the peculiar world of Curtis Yarvin—a reactionary blogger, tech entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed monarchist. Known to his early followers by the pseudonym "Mencius Moldbug," Yarvin has become a prominent figure in the "dark enlightenment" and neo-reactionary circles. Some have even hailed him as an "intellectual powerhouse" of the modern far-right, with endorsements from influential figures like Peter Thiel and J.D. Vance. But what is Curtis really all about? In this episode, the decoders revisit the Triggernometry swamp to examine the political insights unearthed by the hard-nosed journalists Konstantin and Francis during their ferocious intellectual exchange with Yarvin. Prepare for thrilling revelations, including the historical figures and movements Yarvin has catalogued in his encyclopedic memory, his pick for the best Elizabethan monarch, and the surprising number of non-monarchs he believes are secretly running monarchical regimes. True to form, Yarvin’s rhetorical style is nothing if not meandering. So get ready for a whirlwind tour through his "mind palace," exploring topics like Soviet Russia, Elizabethan England, Shakespearean conspiracy theories, and a fantasy world of reactionary and techno-libertarian musings—not to mention the obligatory lab-leak narratives. Is Yarvin an edgy intellectual, a provocative contrarian, or just a verbose windbag with run-of-the-mill conspiratorial takes and a moody teenager's perspective on history? Matt and Chris tackle these questions, striving to decode Yarvin’s vision for society—and hoping, against all odds, that he might in the end just answer a single question. Links Triggernometry: Curtis Yarvin- The Case Against Democracy UnHerd: Curtis Yarvin: Welcome to the Dark Enlightenment Behind the Bastards Part One: Curtis Yarvin: The Philosopher Behind J.D. Vance Behind the Bastards Part Two: Curtis Yarvin: The Philosopher Behind J.D. Vance The Guardian: He’s anti-democracy and pro-Trump: the obscure ‘dark enlightenment’ blogger influencing the next US administration
Fri, December 13, 2024
In this special festive episode, Chris and Matt are joined by seasoned decoder and quiz master Helen Lewis to discuss the myths around genius, extract her 2025 Guru predictions, and, of course, participate in that most sacred of DTG traditions: Helen's annual Guru Quiz. Once again, the decoders must prove their mastery of the gurusphere’s esoteric knowledge, and once again, one decoder will come up short. Who will it be? You already know... but do your best to feign surprise! But that’s not all! Discourse/Discord creature and DTG Weinstein correspondent Dan Gilbert (Bad Stats online) also makes an appearance to enjoy another mystery quiz and a dystopian guru squad-building game. Play along at home and see if your chosen guru team can match the synergistic power of our curated champions. Links Helen Lewis on Substack Dan Gilbert on Twitter and YouTube
Bonus · Fri, November 29, 2024
In this truly epic-length supplementary material, we spin 70 critical paradigms simultaneously while trying to avoid the wily tricks of some hostile transdimensional forces. Do we succeed? Join us to find out! Supplementary Material 19 00:24 Introduction: More American Insights(!) 13:12 Peterson Orbiters: The Pageau Brothers 17:41 Pageau & Rod Dreher: Aliens are transdimensional spirits 25:56 Pageau: Alex Jones was Right! 27:01 Peterson & Pageau's Lazy Christian Apologetics 44:17 Joe Rogan: Fuck Ukraine! 56:28 Peter Thiel has questions about Vaccines and Autism 01:03:20 Big Rogan's CENSORSHIP CAMPAIGN against Flint Dibble 01:09:07 Nassim Taleb vs. Colin Wright: Seed Oils 01:23:10 Taleb and Squid Ink Flounces 01:32:40 Conspirituality & the issues with extended analogies 01:50:27 Leftist Millenarianism? 01:56:06 Cultish Spectrums 02:02:34 Critical Feedback: Decoding the Decoders 02:08:30 You were not allowed to talk about this! 02:21:56 Signing Off The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hrs 24 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Sources Free Press- Peter Thiel and the Triumph of the Counter-Elites Jonathan Pageau - Living in Wonder - with Rod Dreher Jordan Peterson - Beyond Dawkins | Jonathan Pageau | EP 496 Taleb's Twitter Rampage with Colin Wright on Seed Oils Consumer Reports: Do Seed Oils Make You Sick? Conspirituality: Brief: Post-Election Online Survivor Group Dynamics Be Scofield: A Critical Review of Amanda Montell's "Cultish" A Public Letter to Joe Rogan from Flint Dibble Joe Rogan Experience #2231 - Jimmy Corsetti & Dan Richards <a h
Bonus · Sun, November 24, 2024
In this special episode, we return to the forboding Dragon's Den of the Peterson-verse and enjoy a rather punchy conversation between Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins, facilitated by Alex O'Connor. As always, the discussion is dense with abstract symbolic interpretations, evasive answers to direct questions about biblical events, and highly speculative claims. So Matt and Chris don their best decoding armour, steel their resolve, and prepare to face down endless waves of indulgent analogies and the constant conflation of mythological and scientific truths. Important insights from Matt on American public toilets, shower technology, and stories of Chris' previous life as a coal-shovelling street urchin are also included. Links Dawkins vs Peterson: Memes & Archetypes | Alex O’Connor Moderates | EP 491 The Times: We Who Wrestle with God by Jordan Peterson review — rambling, hectoring and mad The Guardian: We Who Wrestle With God by Jordan Peterson review – a culture warrior out of his depth
Bonus · Sat, November 16, 2024
Still in the land of the free and restocked with important new insights from his US travels, Matt is confronted with the Gurusphere's predictably depressing reaction to the election. And what's that we hear in the distance... is it a honking car? Supplementary Material 18 00:00 Matt's American Ethnography 10:59 Eric Weinstein is waiting for the call 14:32 Huberman, Krauss, and MAGA Sycophancy 18:39 Boghossian and other would-be Intellectual Clerics of the MAGA regime 22:52 Sam Harris criticises Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, and MAGA 32:05 The Fifth Column, The Free Press and World Weary Both Sides-ing 53:19 Election Reflections: Macro and Micro Causes 01:04:40 Longer Term Trends 01:10:08 Sarah Haider and the Hip Vibe of the New Right 01:24:00 Richard Dawkins Dual Nature 01:31:08 A Plea to Sean Carroll and our Listeners 01:33:06 An important note on Bouldering The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 36 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Eric's phone is not ringing Huberman making his pitch Krauss being a sycophant to Elon Boghossian's lack of interest in protests in Hungary Sam Harris Making Sense 391: The Reckoning A Special Place in Hell: Adios Amigos: The Special Place Finale That graph mentioned about the loss of support for incumbent regimes Dawkins being a fool on Twitter The Fifth Column: #234 - Come On and Zoom! (Wagnerian Opera Edition)
Tue, November 12, 2024
In this highly non-topical episode, Matt and Chris dive into the entertainingly gruff world of Sabine Hossenfelder, the German theoretical physicist and popular YouTube science communicator. Known as a joyful science curmudgeon, Sabine excels at making complex science accessible to a wide audience. Yet, there's another side to her content: one that's increasingly steeped in the YouTube algorithm’s culture-war-fueled clickbait, complete with prolific both-sidesing and even hints of her own brand of science-denialist rhetoric. We can already imagine Sabine’s response: tone policing from establishment scolds who are trying to silence a fearless truth-teller for exposing academia’s dark underbelly. Perhaps that’s all it is—maybe Matt and Chris are aligned with BIG PHYSICS, out to quash any dissent about supersymmetry, string theory, or the academic publishing machine. Or… maybe it’s something else. Maybe Sabine has pivoted to pander to the (so-hot-right-now) anti-establishment YouTube crowd, declaring that modern science has achieved nothing of value in 50 years and claiming that scientists (especially climate scientists) are too scared to challenge ideological dogmas for fear of jeopardizing their careers or funding. It’s certainly one of those things. Whatever the case, join Matt and Chris as they tackle this perplexing case of rhetorical indeterminacy, unpack YouTube audience dynamics, and delve into Sabine's unexpected alignments with Eric Weinstein and her 'sharp' critiques of Tucker Carlson. Links Sabine Hossenfelder: The crisis in physics is real: Science is failing Sabine Hossenfelder: Fossil Fuels Don’t Come From Fossils? Tucker Carlson Fact Check Sabine Hossenfelder: My dream died, and now I'm here Sabine Hossenfelder: Theories of Everything [Music Video] Professor Dave Explains: The Problem With Sabine Hossenfelder Professor Dave Explains: No, Sabine, Science is Not Failing
Mon, November 04, 2024
Matt and Chris dip their toes into the fetid, guru-infested swamp surrounding the 2024 U.S. election. Straining to see what lurks in the murky depths, they encounter dark shapes, including Eric Weinstein pledging his services to whoever wins (or will give him a call), Joe Rogan conspiracy hypothesizing with Donald Trump, the Free Press hosting a truly heterodox election party, Michael Moynihan pulling no punches, and finally, Jordan Peterson’s shockingly sycophantic psychological assessment of Donald Trump and his cohort. Join Chris and Matt as they navigate the election discourse swamp and the ever-unsettling convergence of internet personalities and political power, examining how these online figures function like the courtiers of old—gathering around their would-be kings, flattering them with pseudo-profound or sycophantic praise, and vying to secure their place in the new order. All very cheerful stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree! Links A Psychological Analysis of Trump’s Personality by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson | EP 492 Professor Dave Explains: The Problem With Sabine Hossenfelder Matt Johnson's article on Joe Rogan: A Conspiracist for the Trump Era Joe Rogan Experience #2219 - Donald Trump Moynihan on Triggernometry: The Most Important Election in History - Michael Moynihan QAnon Anonymous: Episode 211: Tulsi Gabbard P1 (The Cult) feat Mike Prysner
Bonus · Fri, November 01, 2024
In this episode, Chris and Matt open the lid on Matt's adventures in America. Basking in the land of the free, Matt is forced to consider YouTube dynamics, indulgent podcast conversations, potential Russian influence campaigns, and the environmental toxins that sound him. We will return soon with another SM election special and a better mic for Matt! Content 00:00 Introduction 03:20 Matt's American Insights 10:41 Flint Dibble, Graham Hancock & a silly racist 19:21 YouTube & Audience Capture with Andrew Gold 27:35 Justin Trudeau accuses Jordan Peterson of being Russian Funded 34:29 Bernie Sanders & Lex Fridman: What's the point? 47:24 Huberman's Latest PSA 52:20 Environmental Toxins and Modern Health Concerns 58:58 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 3 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Express article on Hancock's work being used by racists National Post article on Peterson's response to Trudeau's accusations Huberman's Twitter PSA on microplastics Bernie Sanders Interview | Lex Fridman Podcast #450
Bonus · Mon, October 28, 2024
In this special international episode of Decoding the Gurus, Chris and Matt jump on the hottest online topic and devote an hour to reviewing Richard Dawkins' influential work from the 1970s, The Selfish Gene. This book influenced Matt and Chris when they were teenage decoders, but how does it hold up now that they have evolved into (quasi)adult forms? Based on their rereading of the book they discuss its contribution to the public understanding of evolution, the academic and public controversies it sparked, and Dawkins' broader contributions to science communication and... the culture war. Consideration is given to the criticisms raised by figures like Stephen Jay Gould and Mary Midgley, the implications of seeing humans as meat machines constructed by genes, and what should be understood as the book's core message. So join Chris and Matt as they confront their true nature as gene propagators but also argue that it is possible to simultaneously recognise the importance of human cultural & social development and our genetic & biological legacies. Links Dawkins, R. (2016) The Selfish Gene (40th Anniversary edition)
Sun, October 20, 2024
We return to the world of lost civilizations, pseudo-archaeology, and real archaeology with Cardiff University archaeologist Flint Dibble. Sadly the senior member of the Decoding team was absent for the interview but junior decoder Chris struggled on as best he could. This episode, recorded just before the release of Ancient Apocalypse Season 2 on Netflix and Graham Hancock's associated podcast PR tour, examines the appeal of myths like Atlantis, criticisms Flint has faced from Hancock and others, and the broader challenges of communicating good science online. The discussion covers whether debunking false narratives is effective, Flint's experiences post-Rogan with public engagement and social media harassment, and the importance of academics actively participating in public discourse to counter culture-war-fueled stereotypes. Finally, in a crushing blow, Chris also gets Flint to acknowledge that BIG ARCHAEOLOGY can't disprove his stunning new theory about ancient seaweed submarines. Links Our first interview with Flint from just after his appearance on Rogan. Archaeology with Flint Dibble: The Aftermath of Talking to Graham Hancock on Joe Rogan: A Reply to the Haters Archaeology with Flint Dibble: The Top 6 Penis Bones in Archaeology New Scientist article on Flint: The archaeologist fighting claims about an advanced lost civilisation Real-Archaeology Event! Graham Hancock's Response Video to Flint: Fact-checking science communicator Flint Dibble on Joe Rogan Experience episode 2136 Bridges Podcast: Uniting YouTube Against Fake History Frauds | MILO ROSSI & FLINT DIBBLE | Bridges #21 The Skeptic: Dr Flint Dibble wins 2024 Skeptical Activism Ockham award Halmhofer, S. (2024) Manufacturing History: Atlantis, Aryans, and the use of Pseudoarchaeology by the Far-Right. Conspiracy Theories and Extremism in New Times (pp.53-81) Chapter: 3. Lexington Books.
Tue, October 15, 2024
That's right—we’re back in the heady world of sense-making, but don't worry, we're just in time to witness the final resolution of the ever-looming 'Meaning Crisis.' Join Matt and Chris as they embark on an epic journey with the cognitively inclined philosopher John Vervaeke and none other than the uber-guru, Jordan Peterson, himself. Together, they navigate a vast semantic web of meaning that spans discussions of Power, Beauty, Love, Religion, and, of course... the Logos! Along the way, we'll probe the limits of complex wordplay and autodidactic insights, consider the ancient art of delegation, and ponder how the religious-shaped void might just be filled with engagement in Dialogos. On the more mundane level, we'll also explore the inner workings of Jordisan Academy, the logistics of the 'We Who Wrestle with God' tour, upcoming Sensemaking cruises, and the vital multivitamins every Responsible Man should be taking. So come along as Matt and Chris grapple with the Omega Rule, cast aside their reductive materialism, and bow down in horror and awe to worship the words that the eternal Logos issues forth. Links The Meaning Crisis: Resolution | Dr. John Vervaeke | EP 482 The Stoa: Wisdom Signalling & the Wisdom of Criticism w/ John Veraveke, Chris M, Chris Kavanagh, & Matt Browne A Bit of Fry and Laurie: A Bit of Fry & Laurie Concerning Language John Vervaeke: Awakening from the Meaning Crisis
Bonus · Tue, October 08, 2024
We plunge ever deeper into the convoluted world of guru punditry and are dazzled at the theatrics at the 'Rescue the Republic' event, inspired by the profound insights of Eric Weinstein on political speeches, and thrilled at Michael Moynihan's hard knock interview with the moderate heterodox thinker Megyn Kelly. Join us won't you? 00:00 Introduction and Health Check Adventures 04:15 Exploring the GuruSphere and GuruCon 08:57 Matt and Chris Debate Round 1: The Unholy Alliance 16:35 Russell Brand and Jordan Peterson's Prayer Time 24:51 Bret's Amazing Metaphor: David and the Phoenix 36:01 Matt Taibbi's Speaking Truth to Power with the Bible 40:24 Rage Against the War Machine 43:25 Eric Weinstein's analysis of Kamala Harris 58:44 Joe Rogan's Bias and Broken Conspiracy Prone Brain 01:13:53 Michael Moynihan softballs Megyn Kelly 01:26:11 Cynical Chris and Moderate Megyn: Alex Jones & Tucker are right! 01:32:57 Hard Knock Heterodoxy 01:47:35 Matt and Chris Debate Round 2: Left and Right The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2 hr 1 min). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Rescue The Republic Website Rage Against the War Machine All the videos from the Rescue the Republic event Eric Weinstein deciphers Kamala's speech for Chris Williamson Megyn Kelly Enjoys Watching Legacy Media Crumble | HONESTLY
Sat, October 05, 2024
There are many different systems for quantifying a person's essential essence. You could use an Ayurvedic questionnaire to determine your doshic levels, you could consult an astrologer to identify your most auspicious dates and the origins of your personality quirks, or you could even ask a psychologist to take a personality inventory and discover your OCEAN traits. But if you want pure insight, crystallised through something that is BEYOND science, you must find yourself that very rare and extremely precious instrument- a gurometer. Sought after by kings and queens, politicians and CEOs, athletes and inventors, the gurometer is your one-stop shop for quantifying your secular guru essence. Normally, due to the delicacy of the topic and the arcane, and, dare we say, dangerous, nature of Gurometry, we keep these insights locked behind the gilded Patreon gates. Still, sometimes we think the world deserves to know about how the science and art of gurometry are progressing. So, here is a little peek at the beautiful science in action as we attempt to quantify Dr. K according to our 11(!) Gurometer characteristics. Play along at home if you dare but remember Guromancy is not something to trifle in idly. Should you want more details about the art of Gurometry, please see this previous episode for more information and if you want to know more about Dr. K then look at any of our three previous episodes. Also, it is perhaps worth mentioning that Gurometer episodes for ALL previous gurus are available on Patreon. We will be back soon enough for some full-length decodings.
Bonus · Wed, October 02, 2024
This is a preview episode to remind those who might be interested that we have a bonus Decoding Academia series, available at the Patreon at the Revolutionary Genius tier and above, which is now up to episode 30! On Decoding Academia we usually focus on specific papers and indulge our more nerdy and academic tendencies. It is almost like a journal club of two! In this episode, we take a look at a study exploring the connections between Dark Humour, online trolling, and Dark personality tendencies. This is right up the alley for two brooding Decoders with twisted dark mentalities. Expect shocking personality quizzes, dad jokes & dank memes, Bayesian sidetracking, and an inception-level discussion of alleged regressions. This is one for all the family! Paper examined: Voisey, S., & Heintz, S. (2024). Do Dark Humour Users Have Dark Tendencies? Relationships between Dark Humour, the Dark Tetrad, and Online Trolling. Behavioral Sciences , 14 (6), 493.
Tue, September 24, 2024
Join Matt and Chris for a deep dive into the discourse created by Darryl Cooper’s controversial interview with Tucker Carlson. The decoders tackle Cooper’s revisionist takes on Winston Churchill, Hitler, and WWII, asking whether throwing in strategic disclaimers really makes it all okay. They also explore reactions from the wider comment-o-sphere, including the musings of libertarian firebrand/idiot Dave Smith, mainstream historians and history YouTubers, and the hosts of Triggernometry, Konstantin and Francis, as they try to unpack Niall Ferguson’s sharp critique of Cooper. Along the way, Sam Harris enters the fray, on a search for grown-ups in the alternative media. But does Harris offer a mature critique, or is he engaging in his own cycle of grievance-mongering? Matt and Chris examine his response and consider if it rises above or contributes to the podcasting noise. Whether you are a staunch critic of Sam Harris or a devoted fan, we promise this episode has something to disappoint everyone! Links Tucker Carlson: Darryl Cooper: The True History of the Jonestown Cult, WWII, and How Winston Churchill Ruined Europe The History Underground: Was Churchill the Chief Villain of WWII??? A Response to Darryl Cooper & Tucker Carlson Cooper's follow up thread on X. Triggernometry: “Tucker Has Become an Enabler of Fascists” - Sir Niall Ferguson Dave Smith | Darryl Cooper | Part Of The Problem 1169 Sam Harris: Episode 383 Where Are the Grown-Ups? Free Press: Sohrab Ahmari. Pseudo-Scholars and the Rise of the Barbarian Right SPLC: McInnes, Molyneux, and 4chan: Investigating pathways to the alt-right Vox: Ezra Klein. Sam Harris, Charles Murray, and the allure of race science <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/9/17210248/sam-harris-ezra-klein-charles-murray-transcript-podc
Bonus · Mon, September 16, 2024
We rip off the unconvincing plastic mask to reveal the true gurus lurking underneath and discuss: Russian Propaganda and Influencer Scandal Profit Incentives in Alternative Media and the Need for Disclosure Excessive Profiteering and Advertising Lex Fridman interviews Trump (with love) Trump and Anti-Vaxx Conspiracy Theories Trump and Kamala Debate Reactions and Heterodox Takes Destiny vs. the Low Bar of the Alternative Media When Joe met Bret Rogan & Bret's Massive Projection and Hypocrisy Financial Incentives in Alternative Media Gabor Maté cites some Neuroimaging Studies Matt's HUGE Correction on Twitter Funding The University of Austin in Texas still exists! The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 47 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Legal Eagle video on the Tenet Media scandal Kanai, R., Feilden, T., Firth, C., & Rees, G. (2011). Political orientations are correlated with brain structure in young adults. Current Biology, 21(8), 677-680. Boekel, W., Wagenmakers, E. J., Belay, L., Verhagen, J., Brown, S., & Forstmann, B. U. (2015). A purely confirmatory replication study of structural brain-behavior correlations. cortex, 66, 115-133. Joe Rogan Experience #2198 - Bret Weinstein Donald Trump Interview | Lex Fridman Podcast #442 The Guardian: We each have a Nazi in us. We need to understand the psychological roots of authoritarianism. Gabor Maté.
Fri, September 13, 2024
Join Matt and Chris as they conclude their deep dive into the content of Dr. K, the streaming psychiatrist behind Healthy Gamer GG. In previous episodes, they explored his promotion of Ayurvedic medicine and his use of the rhetorical strategies often seen in Complementary and Alternative Medicine spaces. This time, they tackle his more controversial work: the (non)therapy sessions with influencers, focusing particularly on his challenging and controversial conversation with the late streamer Reckful. The episode considers how Dr. K navigates the boundaries between professional therapy and public conversation, examines his response to an official reprimand from his governing body, and questions whether his justifications withstand scrutiny. Matt and Chris critically assess the validity of legalistic defences, the ethics of publicly streaming sensitive conversations with vulnerable individuals, and broader concerns about mixing mental health care with entertainment. It's a lengthy episode and features discussions on patient-therapist power dynamics, definitional debates, and the complexities surrounding regulatory oversight and professional/general ethics. We warn you this is not a very light episode and deals with sensitive issues related to suicide and mental health. Links HealthyGamerGG: Talking Depression with Reckful HealthyGamerGG: Ethics HealthyGamerGG: Ludwig and Dr. K's Journey of Death and Consciousness HealthyGamerGG: Tired of Work, Society, and Life... (featuring response to reprimand) Dr. K's official reprimand by the Medical Board Dr. Mike: Debating The Value Of Eastern Medicine (Ayurveda) | Healthy Gamer Dr. K Critical Video by MrGirl: Dr. K - Reckless Critical YouTube video by Koubitz: Dr. K's Hidden Agenda The New York Times: The Gamer and the Psychiatrist <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Healthygamergg/comments/1eagagd/important_update_on_board_comp
Bonus · Sat, August 31, 2024
World travels complete the Guru Decoders reconvene to examine how the Gurusphere has been behaving in their absence. Bad news abounds. Featuring: Introduction and Hosts' Reunion Chris's Travel Tales Cultural Observations and Comparisons Health Concerns and Anti-Vax Movement RFK Jr. and Political Endorsements Quarantine Measures in History Bret Weinstein endorses Trump Eric Weinstein's quasi-endorsement Stephen Bartlett promotes Bret and gets in trouble for ads Plagiarism Allegations against Robin Di Angelo Elon Musk's Twitter Investors Revealed Konstantin Kisin vs. a normal Interview Jonathan Pageau and 5G Conspiracies Sam Harris & Destiny Conversation Sam's Analysis of Jordan Peterson Social Media Derangement: Sam vs. Destiny Offline vs Online Behaviour Focus on the Far Left vs. the Far Right Closing Thoughts & Next Episode The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 36 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links RFK endorsing Trump Delusions, Right and Left: A Conversation with “Destiny” (Steven Bonnell) (Episode #381) Konstantin Kisin vs. NBC interviewer Fortune: Elon Musk was just forced to reveal who really owns X. Here’s the list BBC: Steven Bartlett nutrition adverts banned for being misleading Eric's quasi-endorsement of RFK Jnr. and Trump Bad Stats clip of Pageau from Peterson Academy Bret endorsing Trump and RFK Jr. Free Beacon: Robin DiAngelo Plagiarized Minority Scholars, Complaint Alleges
Bonus · Wed, August 14, 2024
We reflect on the meaning of some biblical scriptures to understand the gurus, alongside: Jonathan Pageau gets into the Olympics RFK Jnr. and the Dead Bear Guru Dystopia: Trump Meets Adin Ross Eric Weinstein enters the 2024 Campaign The penetrating insights of Joe Rogan Coffeezilla fights back against Logan Paul's defamation case Litigious Musk and nuisance lawsuits Celebrity cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other scams Flashbacks to Simon Singh vs. The British Chiropractic Association Elon Musk's Interview with Jordan Peterson Jordan Peterson's interview 'techniques' All Meat Diet Proselytising Musk vs. the Sumo Champion The incredible confidence of self-help gurus The importance of 'smarts' in success The meaning of the Zacchaeus story The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 19 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Coffeezilla Defense Drop Coffeezilla - Logan Paul Sued Me Coffeezilla - I got scammed for $1,000,000 (about his indemnity insurance) Adin Ross looks up the word fascist The Horrific Clip of Trump meeting Adin with Hasan's commentary Video of Jordan Peterson's interview of Elon Musk The Guardian: Simon Singh wins libel battle New York Post article about Elon vs. The Sumo Wrestler RFK talking to Roseanne about the Bear New Yorker: What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?
Sun, August 11, 2024
In this life-enhancing episode, Matt and Chris venture into the futuristic world of tech entrepreneur and biohacker Bryan Johnson, clarifying along the way that he’s not the ACDC frontman. They examine Johnson's Project Blueprint and 'Don't Die' movement—a quest for indefinite lifespan extension through supplements and lifestyle changes—and consider whether their apprehension means they are actually death lovers gorging themselves each day on death burgers and life-draining whiskey. The decoders analyze his carefully crafted appearance and branding, considering how he presents himself as a revolutionary figure but in reality seems to be peddling some familiar tropes, along with a supplement line and some expensive blueberries. As usual, they consider the rhetorical moves, parasocial manipulations, and the likelihood for the lofty claims to become a reality. One thing that is clear by the end: Bryan Johnson is certainly not a modern-day vampire. Links Tracing Woodgrains thread on Bryan Johnson Blocked and Reported: Episode 199: Was The Naked Man In The Woods Vindicated, Or Is The Naked Man In The Woods Douchey As Charged, Or BOTH?? Blueprint by Bryan Johnson Fortune article on Bryan Johnson's Dont Die Dinner with Huberman and the Kardashians Bryan Johnson YouTube: I'm Starting A Revolution If you want to support the show, join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Sat, August 03, 2024
We tour the Guru-sphere's balanced and considered response to the Olympics Opening Ceremony and Kamala Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate. And oh boy are they on form! Addressing Petty Grievances: The Show's Format The Furor French Olympics Opening Ceremony Trump's Assassination Conspiracies The Great Flowering of Kamala Harris Takes Konstantin Kisin and Cringe Immunity Steven Pinker vs. Triggernometry Bret Weinstein's New Conspiracy Hypothesis The Wonders of Peterson Academy Bret's Falsifiable Prediction We Never Miss! The Importance of Supporting the Podcast Lex Fridman's Selective Centrism and Wounded Bird Pose The Hypocrisy of Reactionary Puritans Ken Klippenstein on Steve Bannon's War Room Final Thoughts and Farwell The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 17 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Bret's New Conspiracy Hypothesis Triggernometry: Is This the Death of Harvard? - Steven Pinker Lex's wounded bird pose Journalist Ken Klippenstein Enters The War Room
Sat, August 03, 2024
Join Matt and Chris as they hunker down with the dulcet reassuring tones of Gabor Maté, the Hungarian-Canadian physician renowned for his unconventional perspectives on trauma, stress, and addiction. Inspired by Maté they reflect on early childhood experiences, explore whether unprocessed trauma has steered them towards a life engulfed by modern gurus, and discover how to stay true to their authentic selves & avoid manifesting debilitating illnesses. With an atmospheric background storm setting the scene for the early segments, tune in for 'cheerful' discussions about childhood trauma, emotional repression, the unexpected cause of female cancer, and the toxic horror that is modern life. The episode also considers 'classic' YouTuber motifs and selected long-form insights, courtesy of "Diary of a CEO" host Stephen Bartlett. So get ready to uncover the authentic crystal butterfly within, cast off the myth of normality, and soar unfettered by past trauma. Links The Diary of a CEO- Gabor Mate: The Childhood Lie That’s Ruining All Of Our Lives. | E193 The Diary of a CEO- Doctor Gabor Mate: The Shocking Link Between Kindness & Illness! The Conversation: Gabor Maté claims trauma contributes to everything: from cancer to ADHD. But what does the evidence say? Business Live: Huel advert on Steven Bartlett’s podcast The Diary Of A CEO banned Huel -Steve Bartlett joins Huel Board
Bonus · Sat, July 27, 2024
We are a little behind the news cycle with this release, so we apologise for that. For context this episode was recorded after Trump's assassination attempt but before Biden announced he was stepping down. We will return with the Gurusphere's insane reaction to that event next time. Here we consider: Trump's leaked conversation with RFK Junior A very special request from Matt Tammy Peterson's admiration for Tommy Robinson Alex Jones releasing NEW Sandy Hook conspiracy theories on InfoWars Jonathan Pageau's new spin on Intelligent Design The Fifth Column and selective application of criticism Bari Weiss' Free Press visits the RNC Moynihan's non-partisan interview with Anna Khachiyan Our now (totally out-of-date) political opinions on Biden The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 17 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Knowledge Fight on Alex's Deposition and the episode where he outlines his new Sandy Hook conspiracy Legal Eagle video on the Alex Jones trial CONFIRMED: Deep State Sandy Hook Operation Gave Order To Shut Down Infowars The Free Press LIVE from the RNC: Biden’s Interview, Trump, J.D. Vance, and More!Honestly with Bari Weiss Ron DeSantis Truth in Media event Jordan Peterson: Why the Establishment Hates This Man | Tommy Robinson | EP 462 Pageau's new spin on Intelligent Design Video of Trump and RFK Jr.'s leaked call
Thu, July 25, 2024
Decoding the Gurus is now a venerable institution and as such we have built up quite a menagerie of would-be gurus and even a handful of not-really gurus. So like all the hip kids today, we decided to look back at our previous gurus and arrange them on a tier list of Secular Guruosity. If you would like to play along we’ve made a version accessible online so you can provide your rankings ( available here ) or you can see ours. Also, due to an image-importing hiccup, we missed Sam Harris (B), Robert Wright (D) and Richard Dawkins (D). All are now added to the template! Hope you enjoy and we will be back soon with a full-length decoding of Gabor Maté before the concluding chapter of the Dr. K trilogy. If you want to support the show, join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Fri, July 19, 2024
A special Supplementary Material where we take a gander at some of the reactions to the recent assassination attempt on Trump and then dig deeper with some responsible model conspiracy hypothesizing with Bret and Heather. Also featuring: Our completely predictable response to the shooting John Cusack's Conspiracy Theory Tim Kennedy's Conspiracy Venn Diagram Scientific Cosplay with Bret and Heather Learning about logic with Heather The Lab Leak theory revisited with Bret The Fall of Plato's Cave Mind Controlled Shooters The Unity 2024 Platform The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (57 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Cave of Mirrors: The 234th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Tim Kennedy: How Leadership Failures Led to an Assassination Attempt on Trump John Cusack's conspiracy tweet
Mon, July 08, 2024
Join Matt and Chris for a trademark 'short' episode as they continue to navigate the complex, occasionally controversial world of Dr. K in this second multi-dimensional episode. This time they take a look at some more recent content and reflect on whether they were wrong to identify Dr. K as such a strong advocate of Ayurvedic medicine. In their investigations, they explore the science of visualisation and manifestation, updated genomic information about the Doshas, and the power of mantras to bend the universe. But primarily they focus on the recent lively discussion between Dr. K and another famous YouTube Doctor, Dr. Mike. Their discussion touched on various topics including the mechanisms of science, the power of consciousness, personalized treatments, and the placebo effect. All good fodder for the DTG grinder even if it ends up, as it so often does, with Chris and Matt gently discussing their points of view about the nature of mind and the (alleged) mystery of subjective experience (we are sorry!). So join us for a thought-provoking ride through scientific criticism, holistic practices, and age-old East vs. West / Alternative vs Science-based medicine debates as we attempt to decipher whether Dr. K is a modern-era internet sage or a charismatic storyteller and alternative medicine advocate. Links Doctor Mike: Debating The Value Of Eastern Medicine (Ayurveda) | Healthy Gamer Dr. K HeatlhyGamerGG: The Truth About Visualization & Manifestation HealthyGamerGG: Optimize Performance and Develop Self-Understanding with Ayurveda Science is Dope: Should we adopt Ayurveda | An Indian's response | Dr. Mike vs Dr. K
Bonus · Sat, July 06, 2024
We get put in our place by an old champion, who reminds us why they are the king. Also this episode: Chris' post-conference thoughts on the UK Matt's Great American Burger Giveaway Non-Tribal Joe Rogan meets Jimmy Dore Lex Fridman meets Ivanka Trump The UK election and the heterodox response Jordan Peterson and the spiritual kingdom of Farageism Russell Brand and Alex Jones pray together Galaxy Brains Collide: Eric Weinstein meets Terrence Howard Still wearing a jacket to save the world Eric is the one who knocks Eric the scientist defends his colleague Neal deGrasse Tyson The hidden layers Gold-tier criticism and cultish subreddits Bad faith Matt and Good faith Chris say Farewell The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 29mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links “Something BIG is about to happen” - EXCLUSIVE Alex Jones Interview on INFOWARS shut down - 391 Russell Brand Ivanka Trump: Politics, Family, Real Estate, Fashion, Music, and Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #436 Joe Rogan Experience #2173 - Jimmy Dore Joe Rogan Experience #2171 - Eric Weinstein & Terrence Howard Jordan B. Peterson Podcast - Conservative Failings and the Reform UK Party | Nigel Farage
Sun, June 23, 2024
Alok Kanojia, better known as Dr. K, is a charismatic psychiatrist and online streamer who offers a unique blend of psychological, self-help, and spiritual advice to guide individuals through the complexities of modern life, aiming to help them become Healthy Gamers™. Join Matt and Chris as they embark on a multi-part journey through the diverse biomes of Dr. K's content and try to ascertain the meta. In this first episode, Matt and Chris take a critical look at a 2019 video in which Dr. K discusses his views on Ayurvedic medicine, the problems with Western medicine, and the unacknowledged scientific evidence for Ayurvedic claims. We consider whether the evidence provided matches the rhetoric and relive youthful follies as we immerse ourselves in the all too familiar water of complementary and alternative medicine discourse. So join us as we learn about the universal mind and single type of depression proposed by modern medicine, how a tripartite classification is actually incredibly individualistic, how the shape of your nose and kink in your hair predicts the food you should eat and the quality of your bowel movements, and the surprising benefits of drinking elephant milk. In Part 2, we will delve into Dr. K's recent discussion/debate over Ayurvedic medicine with Dr. Mike, another popular YouTube doctor. And finally Part 3 will focus on the dynamics of Dr. K's long-form, somewhat controversial, mental health-themed interviews with influencers. Links Dr. K's Healthy Gamer GG website Healthy Gamer GG- Ayurveda Pt. 1: Gunas, Cognitive Fingerprint, Personality Science is Dope: Should we adopt Ayurveda | An Indian's response | Dr. Mike vs Dr. K List of Studies mentioned in the episode Simon Singh's court case that Chris mentioned The Iced Coffee Hour: Harvard Psychiatrist on How To Get Ahead of 99.9% of People (Starting NOW) Some of Matt's related papers: 1) Thomson, P., Jones, J., Browne, M., & Leslie, S. J. (2014). Why people seek complementary and alternative medicine before conventional medical treatment: a population-based study. Complementary therapies in clinical practice , 20 (4), 339-346. & 2) Browne, M., Thomson, P., Rockloff, M. J., & Pennycook, G. (2015). Going against the he
Bonus · Fri, June 07, 2024
We stare into the abyss and welcome darkness into our souls as we discuss: Feedback on the Žižek episode Middle Aged Men's Health Update Alina Chan and the newest round of Lab Leak Discourse Discourse Surfing Pundits Alex O'Connor cornering Jordan Peterson on the resurrection The philosophical and Marxist implications of Peppa Pig Potential Alternatives to Hipster Christianity and New Atheism Andrew Gold's Heretics Channel and Toxic YouTube Dynamics Editorializing and Responsible Criticism Balaji Srinivasan's Waffling Defence of Huberman The 'Elite Defector' Pose Verbal Fluency vs. Substance Heterodox and Anti-Vaxx Incentive Structures James Lindsay's most recent idiocy Desperate Call to Action Links Alina Chan's NYT Article on the Lab Leak Our episode addressing Alina and Matt Ridley's points with relevant experts Jordan Peterson's Podcast: Navigating Belief, Skepticism, and the Afterlife | Alex O'Connor @CosmicSkeptic | EP 451 Andrew Gold - Heretics: EXPOSED: I Didn't Show THIS in Viral 'Woke' Debate with Eni Aluko (4K) Balaji's huge Twitter thread defending Huberman Summary of Huberman's Math Meme Top Earning Substacks The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 14 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Sun, June 02, 2024
Join Matt and Chris as they plunge into the heady mental universe of Slavoj Žižek, the Slovenian philosopher known for his eclectic and provocative ideas. The duo parses Žižek's 'unconventional' takes on ideology, consumerism, and revolutionary theory, peppered with his playful movie criticism of films like Jaws and a Clockwork Orange and even a few that he hasn't even watched. We delve into snuffle-laced discussions of transgressive acts, revolutionary politics, moderate conservative communism, consumerist psychology, and musings on whether Jaws is really about a shark. Throughout all Žižek's dramatic flair is shining through, but is he actually as provocative and hated as he likes to suggest? Matt and Chris have some thoughts... Expect to reconsider everything you thought you knew, listen to some edgy book blurbs, and finally collapse in a puddle with the deconstruction of your ideology. Links Novara Media: Our World Is Coming To An End | Aaron Bastani Meets Slavoj Žižek | Downstream The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012) - Slavoj Žižek Jacobin: Žižek’s Left-Wing Case for Christian Atheism Philosophize This- Episode #196 - The Improbable Slavoj Zizek - Pt. 1 (Also, there are three other Žižek episodes in this series!) Article on the speech Žižek gave at the Frankfurt Book Fair Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Mon, May 27, 2024
We curse the dark omens emerging from the Gurusphere as we consider: The Illusion of Disciplinary Boundaries Flint Dibble Feedback and Rays of Hope Russell Brand and Bret Weinstein: Guru One-upmanship Bret Weinstein loves MOINNNNK Hard Ad Pivots and Peasants Popping out of Wells Ken Klippenstein and Populist Rhetoric Questioning mainstream narratives and their so-called 'experts' QAnon Anonymous missing Left Wing Populism? Alex O'Connor, Jordan Peterson and the costs of indulgent podcasting Chris reaching across boundaries to Jonathan Pageau Our only comment on the Drake and Kendrick Feud The beautiful ballet of reaching across the aisle Terence Howard on Rogan Links Russelling with God | Russell Brand on DarkHorse Ken Klippenstein- Why I'm Resigning From The Intercept A Farewell To Bad News feat Ken Klippenstein (E278) Navigating Belief, Skepticism, and the Afterlife | Alex O'Connor @CosmicSkeptic | EP 451 Terrence Howard is Legitimately Insane The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 13 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Fri, May 24, 2024
Matt and Chris jump into the world of debates, dramas, and online personas with the ever-controversial streamer, Destiny (Steven Bonnell). We discuss our Decoding episode a little bit but mostly broader issues including the value of 'debate porn', edginess & Twitter bomb-throwing, reality TV orbiter drama, and the perils of hero worship and parasocial relationships. As you might anticipate, we also cover various 'hot-button' issues including Destiny's involvement in Israel-Palestine discourse, the ethics of engaging with extremists, and whether Destiny was genuinely arguing for the right to murder the DDoS kid. Finally, we wrap up with some discussion of media literacy, the challenges of navigating online discourse, and strategies for laypeople to better engage with research. Links Our Decoding episode on Destiny Destiny's Gurometer Episode Destiny's Positions as summarised on his Wiki Discussion with a Lawyer about the DDoS kid Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Thu, May 16, 2024
We do bonus episodes every month that are focused on analysing academic content or discussing research and we thought it might be useful to let new listeners know! So find attached a preview... In this episode of Decoding Academia, Matt and Chris delve into a paper that explores the complex world of dark personality traits and their impact on authenticity. They examine how traits like narcissism and psychopathy might intersect with the concept of the true self, and consider whether cultural differences in self-conception play a significant role. The episode also features reflections on Logan Roy from Succession and a friendly disagreement between Matt and Chris about labels in psychology. Paper referenced: Bulbuc, A. A., & Visu-Petra, L. (2024). Shedding a light on authenticity in high dark trait individuals: A morally grey territory? Personality and Individual Differences, 224, 112632. The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers at the Revolutionary Genius tier (1 hr 9 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Fri, May 10, 2024
We shake our heads in despair at some truly terrible Guru crossovers: Old Man Health Routines: Jogging, Diets, and the Pursuit of 'Wellness' Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand offer the apotheosis of indulgent Christian-themed sensemaking Taylor Lorenz and activist journalism Are Twitch Streamers the Future of Journalism? No. Huberman gets himself in hot water over Marijuana episode The Value of Debating Pseudoscience with Huberman Casey Means: Cramming all the pseudoscience red flags into a single Tweet When Red Scare met Steve Sailer: Ironic Hipsterism X Old Skool Scientific Racism Links JBP Podcast: The Collective Unconscious, Christ, and the Covenant | Russell Brand | EP 444 Washington Post: Twitch streamers become go-to news source for campus protest coverage (Taylor Lorenz) Red Scare: Sailer Socialism w/ Steve Sailer Huberman Lab: Dr. Casey Means: Transform Your Health by Improving Metabolism, Hormone & Blood Sugar Regulation Casey Means Red Flag filled Pinned Tweet New York Magazine: The Man Who Invented Identity Politics for the Far Right The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 43 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Thu, May 02, 2024
In this episode, join Matt and Chris as they enjoy a stimulating discussion with the archaeologist Flint Dibble. Flint recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to discuss the evidence (or lack thereof) of advanced ancient civilizations facing off against the famed pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock. The episode was a four-and-a-half-hour tour de force in science communication and effective debunking, thanks to Flint's efforts. We talk to Flint about his experience on the show, the extensive preparation involved, his thoughts on how to effectively engage with pseudo-archaeology and strategies for enhancing broader science communication. Additionally, Flint discusses the significance of authentic archaeological work and the crucial role of academic participation in public discourse. We enjoyed this one a lot and hope you will too! Links Flint's YouTube Channel Flint on X Joe Rogan Experience #2136 - Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble Flint's Guardian Article: Lost civilisations make good TV, but archaeology’s real stories hold far more wonder Critical YouTube series on Hancock's Netflix Show Ancient Apocalypse Flint's Conversation Article: With Netflix’s Ancient Apocalypse, Graham Hancock has declared war on archaeologists Flint's Cardiff University Profile Atun Shei Review: An Archaeologist Debated Graham Hancock. I Have Thoughts Medium Article by Chris that talks a bit about Graham Hancock's Book Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Bonus · Fri, April 26, 2024
We watch in awe as the guru-sphere grapples with a host of 'alternative' theories: Bret promotes pseudoscience on Polio and alternative theories on evolution The Gurusphere collides with Tucker's takes on evolution Rogan and Tucker praise Alex Jones' prophetic abilities Tucker's views on spiritual UFOs Hasan endorses Lex Fridman as the most genuine centrist Contrasting Destiny and Hasan's transparency World War 3 Warnings The Great Archaeology Debate: Dibble vs. Hancock Graham Hancock- A Grievance Mongering Masterclass Intentional Misrepresentation White Supremacy angers Great Joe The Cass Review Controversy: A lesson in misinformation Links The Untold Story of Polio – Forrest Maready on DarkHorse Jerry Coyne's old takedown of Bret's confused theories about evolution Bret's tweets defending Tucker Joe Rogan Experience #2138 - Tucker Carlson Joe Rogan Experience #2136 - Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble The Iced Coffee Hour- Confronting Hasan Piker on Socialist Grift, Hypocrisy, and How “The Top 1%” Keeps You Poor! The Iced Coffee Hour- Destiny on Debating Ben Shapiro, Toxic Wokeism and Getting Divorced A comparison of the reactions to Iran's missile launches More or Less (BBC)- 98%: Is misinformation being spread about a review of trans youth medicine? The Cass Report Systematic Reviews from the Cass Report The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1 hr 51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Mon, April 22, 2024
In this episode, Matt and Chris dive deep into the world of online streamers, focusing on the pioneering and controversial figure Steven Bonell II, better known as Destiny (AKA Mr Borelli). As seasoned explorers of sense-making jungles, Petersonian crystalline structures, and mind-bending labyrinths in Weinstein World, they thought they were prepared for anything. However, the drama-infused degeneracy of the streamer swamps proves to offer some new challenges. Having previously dipped their toes in these waters by riding with Hasan on his joyous Houthi pirate ship (ignoring the screams of the imprisoned crew below decks), Matt and Chris now strip down to their decoding essentials and plunge head-first into streamer drama-infested waters as they search for the fabled true Destiny. Destiny is a popular live streamer and well-known debater with a long and colourful online history. He is also known for regularly generating controversy. With a literal mountain of content to sift through, there was no way to cover it all. Instead, Matt and Chris apply their usual decoding methods to sample a selection of Destiny's content, seeking to identify any underlying connective tissue and determine if he fits the secular guru mould. In so doing, they cover a wide range of topics, including: Destiny's background and rise to prominence in the streaming world How much of his brain precisely is devoted to wrangling conservatives? What's it like to live with almost no private/public boundaries? What are the ethics of debating neo-Nazis? The nature of the Destiny's online community Whether murder is a justified response to DDOS attacks? Whether they succeed or fail in their decoding will be for the listeners to judge, but one thing is certain: if this is your first exposure to the streaming world, you are in for a bit of a ride. Links The Institute of Art and Ideas: Destiny and the new world of Internet politics | Steven Bonnell full interview End of the Leftist Arc? - Destiny Addresses the Recent Drama Iced Coffee Hour: Destiny on Debating Ben Shapiro, Toxic Wokeism and Getting Divorced Helpful Reddit thread with a bunch of relevant videos and summaries Documentary on Destiny Lore by Dingo: The Steven "Destiny" Bonnell II Iceberg Destiny's Po
Bonus · Sat, April 13, 2024
We ponder whether, due to our naivety, do we actually deserve the gurus and other topics, including: Is Hasan Piker even better than we said? The ethical quandaries of online therapy with Dr. K The False Halos of Status and Success The Rest is History Luther series and parallels with Secular Gurus The Power of Polemicists: Peterson, Trump, and Martin Luther? Secular vs. Religious Gurus Shit-posting Missives Orthodoxic Atheism and Orthopraxic Religion Lex Fridman's Reflections on Intellectual Humility Some important Messages from the hosts Links Game Rant Article about Hasan Piker's donation to Strike Funds Uncovering the Higher Truth about Jay Shetty by John McDermott Coffeezilla Interview with John McDermott Dr. K and Doctor Mike: Debating The Value Of Eastern Medicine (Ayurveda) That stream with Dr. K and his wife The Rest is History: Series on Martin Luther Article by Chris in Aeon about Orthopraxic Religion Lex's extremely humble tweet about his intellectual humility The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 19mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Fri, April 05, 2024
Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, a writer, and a popular 'public intellectual'. He rose to fame with Sapiens (2014), his popular science book that sought to outline a 'History of Humankind' and followed this up with a more future-focused sequel, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2016). More recently, he's been converting his insights into a format targeted at younger people with Unstoppable Us: How Humans Took Over the World (2022). In general, Harari is a go-to public intellectual for people looking for big ideas, thoughts on global events, and how we might avoid catastrophe. He has been a consistent figure on the interview and public lecture circuit and, with his secular message, seems an ideal candidate for Gurometeratical analysis. Harari also has some alter egos. He is a high-ranking villain in the globalist pantheon for InfoWars-style conspiracy theorists, with plans that involve us all eating bugs and uploading our consciousness to the Matrix. Alternatively, for (some) historians and philosophers, he is a shallow pretender, peddling inaccurate summaries of complex histories and tricky philosophical insights. For others, he is a neoliberal avatar offering apologetics for exploitative capitalist and multinational bodies. So, who is right? Is he a bug-obsessed villain plotting to steal our precious human souls or a mild-mannered academic promoting the values of meditation, historical research, and moderation? Join Matt and Chris in this episode to find out and learn other important things, such as what vampires should spend their time doing, whether money is 'real', and how to respond respectfully to critical feedback. Links The Diary of a CEO: Yuval Noah Harari: An Urgent Warning They Hope You Ignore. More War Is Coming! Our previous episode on Yuval and the Angry Philosophers Current Affairs: The Dangerous Populist Science of Yuval Noah Harari (a little overly dramatic)
Bonus · Sun, March 31, 2024
We test the boundaries of the Supplementary format with a stacked third edition containing: Matt's Review of Dune 2 and the Three-Body Problem Hasan Piker's Anti-Capitalist Merch The Controversy Surrounding Andrew Huberman Differential Charity and Selective Decoupling Grace before meals at Triggernometry and Christian Hipsterism Jordan and Bret's Pseudoacademic-ese High-Level Idea Jacking Dream Instructions Links Hasan Piker's Ideologie Store New York Magazine: Andrew Huberman's Mechanisms of Control Slate: So, Should You Trust Andrew Huberman? The Darien Gap & Postmodernism | Bret Weinstein & Jordan Peterson | EP 434 Triggernometry: Can We Live Without Religion? - Alex O'Connor Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 33mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Tue, March 26, 2024
We take a look at a recent conversation between Jordan Peterson and the streamer Steven Bonnell (AKA Destiny) and use the opportunity to reflect on Jordan's journey as a public intellectual and guru. We consider how his stances have changed, whether he is more extreme now than when he emerged or if it is just his presentation style that has shifted. Along the way, we look at his demon-infested understanding of the COVID-19 vaccines, his climate change denialism, and address the unresolved question of the ages: Were the Nazis actually right-wing? Links Jordan Peterson Podcast: Streaming, Politics, & Philosophy | @destiny | EP 433 Video of Jordan Peterson on climate change and climate policy at the Cambridge Union Historian specialising on the Nazis article in Haaretz: Exposing Jordan Peterson’s Barrage of Revisionist Falsehoods About Hitler, the Holocaust and Nazism The Nazis were not right-wing meme Snopes article on whether the Nazis were socialists Reuters: Fact Check: No evidence to link UK excess deaths to COVID-19 vaccines Jordan Peterson is Back! - Bret Weinstein's DarkHorse Podcast The Guardian: Jordan Peterson’s ‘zombie’ climate contrarianism follows a well-worn path
Bonus · Fri, March 22, 2024
The adventure in formatting continues with the second Supplementary Material episode, in which we: lament we don't command the same level of loyalty as Sam's fans commend a noted sycophant for warning about idolising heros assess the degree to which the "Dissident Dialogues" conference is anything other than bog-standard right-wing orthodoxy; and reveal the TRUTH about Norman Finkelstein's angry ranting as well as so many more opinionated meanderings , for those decent citizens who are willing to pay us the measly sum of $2 month so Chris doesn't have to do three jobs just to exist in this capitalist society On this episode: Sam Harris Devotees Dissident Dialogues Lex's important message about not worshipping idols Trumpian Bloodbath & Media Criticism Lex Fridman's Israel-Palestine Debate Finkelstein vs. Destiny Genocidal Debates The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 14mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Lex Fridman Podcast: Finkelstein, Destiny, M. Rabbani & Benny Morris Dissident Dialogues – A PLACE FOR DANGEROUS IDEAS Guardian News clips from the 'Bloodbath" speech Joe Rogan & Jonathan Haidt Disagree About Donald Trump BLOODBATH Comment Lex's anti-Idol Tweet Guardian Article (2015): Israel exonerates itself over Gaza beach killings of four children last year UN investigation (2015) that covered the beach bombings and reached more critical conclusions The Globe and Mail (2015): Account from a reporter
Bonus · Fri, March 15, 2024
What happens when you try to squeeze a muscle-bound Twitch streamer into a precise measurement instrument like the Gurometer? And can it even function when it encounters this level of left-wing nodulation? It's an empirical question and since the Gurometer recently had all its oil replaced, we decided to give it a go. This is also a reminder that we do Gurometer episodes for ALL the Gurus we cover and you can find the back catalogue over on the Patreon, if so inclined. The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (44 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus
Wed, March 13, 2024
Avast Ye Harties! Yar! This week be the inaugural episode of a New Streamer/Academic Guru season. Join us as we set sail with a bang and embark on an adventure with the famous and controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Formerly of the Young Turks, Hasan has carved out a niche as a popular left-wing commentator. He is sometimes described as representing a new wave of political communicators who leverage social media and live streaming to reach new audiences, particularly disengaged younger viewers. But how does he fare in these Decoding waters? We take a look at his recent interview with Rashed Al-Haddad, a dashing Yemeni teenager (nicknamed Tim Houthi Chalamet), who recently found himself streaming video on an international transport ship hijacked by Houthi militants. But fear not! Hasan addresses this sensitive topic and the complex geopolitical issues involved with due diligence and care. Moreover, Rashed reports that all of the kidnapped crew are having a grand old time in Yemen! They are simply vibing with their captors, chewing khat, and have fully embraced the honourable Houthi perspective. The Houthis' official slogan, "God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam", and reports of severe human rights abuses in their territory, might still give one pause... but as Hasan explains—drawing on his deep political and psychological insights—the Houthis are just like the heroic Straw Hat pirates in the popular anime One Piece! So with that settled, we can focus on the more important questions like what videogames Rashed likes, if he has ever heard of Mr. Beast, whether he's eaten 'Western' food, what cartoons he watched growing up, and if there are KFCs in Yemen? Truly, this is a conversation for the ages, and Hasan is just the man for the job. So join us for this week's episode as we ponder whether combining influencer culture with political analysis was a wise move and if there are any possible contradictions or minor ideological skews in Hasan's content. Links - Hasan Interviews Viral 'Hot Yemeni TikTok Pirate' | Hasanabi Reacts - Atlantic article about the Houthis and the situation in Yemen - AP article on the crew of the hijacked 'Galaxy Leader' ship and their ability to contact their families - Amnesty article on Houth
Bonus · Thu, March 07, 2024
An adventure in formatting, welcome to the inaugural Supplementary Material episode. Here we are trying to save you all from the ever-expanding intro segments. On this episode: Announcement of the New Format Who Decodes the Decoders? A Mystery Sense-Making clip Lex Fridman on Navalany Jordan Peterson's fury at the Associated Press Bre Weinstein's superpower: Cringe Immunity Anti-Capitalists for AG1 and the ethics of sponsorship The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (54 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Post-Apocalyptic Theology Decodes Us John Vervaeke & Jordan Hall discuss Christian Virtues in a Diverse World 2lazy2try: Bret Weinstein Has Completely Lost It Some More News 'promoting' AG1 Jordan Peterson's unhinged tweet attacking the Associated Press
Wed, March 06, 2024
In this episode, Matt and Chris converse with Kevin Mitchell, an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, and author of 'Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will'. We regret to inform you that the discussion does involve in-depth discussions of philosophy-adjacent topics such as free will, determinism, consciousness, the nature of self, and agency. But do not let that put you off! Kevin is a scientist and approaches them all through a sensible scientific perspective. You do not have to agree but you do have to pay attention! If you ever wanted to see Matt geek out and Chris remain chill and be fully vindicated, this is the episode for you. Links Kevin's website Robert Sapolsky vs Kevin Mitchell: The Biology of Free Will | Philosophical Trials Kevin's TedX Talk: Who’s in charge? You or your brain? | Kevin Mitchell | TEDxTrinityCollegeDublin
Sat, March 02, 2024
Controversial physics firebrand Sean Carroll has cut a swathe through the otherwise meek and mild podcasting industry over the last few years. Known in the biz as the "bad boy" of science communication, he offends as much as he educ.... > No, we can't back any of that up obviously, those are all actually lies. Let's start again. Sean Carroll has worked as a research professor in theoretical physics and philosophy of science at Caltech and is presently an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He currently focuses on popular writing and public education on topics in physics and has appeared in several science documentaries. Since 2018 Sean has hosted his podcast Mindscape , which focuses not only on science but also on "society, philosophy, culture, arts and ideas". Now, that's a broad scope and firmly places Sean in the realm of "public intellectual", and potentially within the scope of a "secular guru" (in the broader non-pejorative sense - don't start mashing your keyboard with angry e-mails just yet). The fact is, Sean appears to have an excellent reputation for being responsible, reasonable and engaging, and his Mindscape podcast is wildly popular. But despite his mild-mannered presentation, Sean is quite happy to take on culture-war-adjacent topics such as promoting a naturalistic and physicalist atheist position against religious approaches. He's also prepared to stake out and defend non-orthodox positions, such as the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, and countenance somewhat out-there ideas such as the holographic principle. But we won't be covering his deep physics ideas in this episode... possibly because we're not smart enough. Rather, we'll look at a recent episode where Sean stretched his polymathic wings, in the finest tradition of a secular guru, and weighed in on AI and large-language models (LLMs). Is Sean getting over his skis, falling face-first into a mound of powdery pseudo-profound bullshit or is he gliding gracefully down a black diamond with careful caveats and insightful reflections? Also covered the stoic nature of Western Buddhists, the dangers of giving bad people credit, and the unifying nature of the Ukraine conflict. Links YouTube 'Drama' channel covering all the Vaush stuff in excruciating detail The Wikipedia entry on Buddhist Modernism Sharf, R. (1995). Buddhist modernism and the rhetoric of meditative experience. Numen , 42 (3), 228-283. <a href="https://radleybalko.subst
Wed, February 28, 2024
Sometimes our intrepid Decoders like to focus on a specific rhetorical technique or recurrent pattern that can be observed across the Gurusphere. Here, Matt and Chris take a look at a bite-size portion of the philosopher John Gray's recent appearance on Sam Harris' Making Sense podcast. Gray was invited to outline his critique of New Atheism, and his response is a remarkable monologue that encompasses a vast range of intellectual topics, philosophical thinkers, and historical periods. We travel from ancient religion to medieval peasants and finally to (almost) the contemporary era. It is a veritable tour de force of an erudite philosopher's mind palace. So join us for a hike around through that palace and see if you agree with our assessment that the notable features reflect some common issues in academic, philosophical, and guru discourse. Alternatively, you might find Gray's approach vibes with your interests, and that it is Matt and Chris who are simply showcasing their grumpy materialist perspective (again). It will probably be impossible to tell unless we first consider what Spinoza said to Oldenburg in 1665 while taking due consideration of the Kokutai doctrine as elaborated by the Mito School in Meiji Japan, but that, of course, leads us to ancient Egypt and the pharaohs... Links Is Moral Progress a Fantasy?: A Conversation with John Gray (Episode #354)
Sat, February 17, 2024
Sam Harris is an author, podcaster, public intellectual, ex-New Atheist, card-returning IDWer, and someone who likely needs no introduction. This is especially the case if you are a DTG listener as we recently released a full-length decoding episode on Sam. Following that episode, Sam generously agreed to come on to address some of the points we raised in the Decoding and a few other select topics. As you will hear we get into some discussions of the lab leak, what you can establish from introspection and the nature of self, motivations for extremism, coverage of the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and selective application of criticism. Also covered in the episode are Andrew Huberman's dog and his thanking eyes, Joe Rogan's condensed conspiracism, and the value of AI protocol searches. Links Our Decoding Episode on Sam Our interview with three virologists on the Lab Leak Kevin Drum's blog. 'I read the entire Slack archive about the origin of SARS-CoV-2. There is no evidence of improper behaviour' New York Magazine article by Eric Levitz 'Sam Harris’s Fairy-Tale Account of the Israel-Hamas Conflict' Making Sense Podcast Episode 351: 5 Myths about Israel and the War in Gaza Making Sense Podcast Episode 352: Hubris & Chaos- A Conversation with Rory Stewart Global Catastrophic Risk Institute: The Origin and Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Expert Survey. The Israel Democracy Institute. War in Gaza Public Opinion Survey (2): See Question 15. <a href="https://
Fri, February 09, 2024
Sometimes it's important to check in on old friends, just to make sure they're doing okay. That's the theme for today's episode. We felt it was necessary to pay an unannounced house call to our old pals Bret Weinstein and Jordan Peterson. Rumor had it that Jordan was facing some challenges with his clinical license, while Bret had been brewing up revolutionary evolutionary theories that weren't getting the recognition they deserved. Knowing Jordan's stoic nature and aversion to publicity, we anticipated he'd be reluctant to 'make a fuss.' So, we decided to drop by his podcast to see how he and his daughter, Mikhaila, were handling the news that another Canadian court had determined that the evil College of Psychologists of Ontario does indeed have the authority to reprimand him for rampaging on social media like a deranged badger. We were confident he would be taking it all in his stride, with his usual level of decorum and we were certainly not disappointed. As for Bret, well, let's just say he's cracked the code behind the Chinese evolutionary LINEAGE and its motivation for instigating the one-child policy, with implications that shake the very foundations of our current world order. This is one for the history books and cements Bret's status as a world-class evolutionary thinker. When you start looking through Bret's evolutionary lens, suddenly everything starts to make sense. So come join us to see how these two titans of the Guru-sphere are faring in 2024 and in the process learn exactly which of them is morphing into a Lord of the Rings character. Links Ep. 71 The Tucker Encounter on X: Bret Weinstein travelled to the Darien Gap to understand who's behind the invasion of our country. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast: My Clinical License is as Good as Gone Clip of Bret elaborating on his new theory with Neil Oliver on GB News Article on previous complaints the Ontario Board received about Jordan Peterson CBC News article on the Ontario Court judgement Article by a Canadian Lawyer on the Judgement
Tue, January 30, 2024
Join us for a mini decoding to get us back into the swing of things as we examine a viral clip that had religious reactionaries, sensemakers, and academic philosophers in a bit of a tizzy. Specifically, we are covering reactions to a clip from a 2014 TEDx talk by Yuval Noah Harari, the well-known author and academic, in which he discussed how human rights (and really all of human culture) are a kind of 'fiction'. Get ready for a thrilling ride as your intrepid duo plunges into a beguiling world of symbolism, cultural evolution, and outraged philosophers. By the end of the episode, we have resolved many intractable philosophical problems including whether monkeys are bastards, if first-class seating is immoral, and where exactly human rights come from. Philosophers might get mad but that will just prove how right we are. Links The original tweet that set everyone off Bananas in heaven | Yuval Noah Harari | TEDxJaffa Paul Vander Klay's tweet on the kerfuffle An example of a rather mad philosopher Speak Life: Can We Have Human Rights Without God? With Paul Blackham (The longer video that PVK clipped from) Standard InfoWars article on Harari
Bonus · Fri, January 19, 2024
In this episode, our intrepid hosts embrace a rare opportunity for sincere self-reflection, spurred by a face-to-face meeting in an inspiring ryokan in a Japanese mountain setting. The discussion delves into the nature of the podcast, audience capture, underlying motivations, and their thoughts on the journey so far and the path ahead. In an act of pure parasocial manipulation, listeners are invited to imagine the snowy ryokan landscape and 'taste' the amber liquid savoured during the conversation. And should you desire to TRULY see the location (with your eyes) photos and additional videos are up on Patreon. In any case, we genuinely do want to send a New Year note of thanks to all the listeners for their support, especially the smart ones who agree with us and recognise that Matt is the bad one. Normal decoding services to resume shortly...
Thu, December 28, 2023
Andrew Huberman, Stanford academic and host of a science-themed podcast, recently released an episode on Autism with guest Dr. Karen Parker. Considering the prevalence of misinformation about vaccines and autism and this episode being promoted as providing an overview of the topic, we were interested to see how the topic would be covered. In part, this interest was because of Huberman's strategic choice to avoid any discussion, let alone any recommendation, of COVID vaccines during the pandemic. The topic came up 2 hours and 43 minutes into the episode and lasted for around 10 minutes. What we found was interesting and we think deserving of a mini-decoding. What you will not find here is any endorsement of lurid anti-vax claims or cheers for Andrew Wakefield. Indeed, Huberman notes that Wakefield's research was debunked, while his guest Dr. Parker explains the consensus view amongst researchers that there is no evidence of a link. What you will find: Huberman readily engaging in ‘both sides’ hedging: maybe Wakefield’s research helped locate real issues with preservatives, maybe there are too many childhood vaccines (some clinicians 'in private' recommend none), maybe new data will come out later that reveals a link between autism and vaccines. There certainly are a lot of questions and could it be that 'cancel culture' is the real problem here rather than the existence of a very influential anti-vaccine movement? Let's just say, when you pair this with Huberman's comments on the potential dangers of Bluetooth headphones/sunscreen, the potential benefits for negative ion bathing and grounding, the lab leak origins of COVID, endorsement of AG1 and a host of other supplements, and fawning over figures like RFK Jnr and Joe Rogan... we have some questions of our own. Links Huberman Lab 154: Dr. Karen Parker- The Causes & Treatments for Autism Vaccine Schedules from the 1940s to 2019 BMJ: How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed Jonathan Jarry: Andrew Huberman Has Supplements on the Brain Huberman's comments on Instagram about RFK Jnr
Sat, December 23, 2023
Sam Harris is the subject today and a man who needs no introduction. Although he's come up and he's come on, we've never actually (technically) decoded him. There is no Gurometer score! A glaring omission and one that needs correcting. It would have been easy for us to cherry-pick Sam being extremely good on conspiracy theories, or extremely controversial on politics, but we felt that neither would be fair. So we opted for a general and broad-ranging recent interview he did with Chris Williamson. Love him or loathe him, it's a representative piece of Sam Harris content, and therefore good material for us. Sam talks about leaving Twitter, and how transformative that was for his life, then gets into his favourite topic: Buddhism, consciousness, and living in the moment. That's the kind of spiritual kumbaya topics that Sam reports causing him little pain online but Chris and Matt- the soulless physicalists and p-zombies that they are- seek to destroy even that refuge. On the other hand, they find themselves determined by the very forces of the universe to nod their meat puppet heads in furious agreement as Sam discusses the problems with free speech absolutism and reactionary conspiracism. That's just a taste of what's to come in this extra-ordinarily long episode to finish off the year. What's the DTG take? You'll have to listen to find out all the details, but we do think there is some selective interpretation of religions at hand and some gut reactions to wokeness that leads to some significant blindspots. So is Sam Harris an enlightened genius, a neo-conservative warmonger, a manipulative secular guru? Or is he, in the immortal words of Gag Halfrunt, Zaphod Beeblebrox's head specialist, "just zis guy, you know?". Sam was DTG's white whale of 2023, but we'll let you be the judge as to whether or not we harpooned him, or whether he's swimming off contentedly, unscathed, into the open ocean. Links Sam Harris - Take Back Control Of Your Mind (4K) | Modern Wisdom 661 DTG Special Episode: Sam Harris & Meditation is all you need DTG Special: Interview with Sam Harris on Gurus, Tribalism & the Culture War DTG Special Episode: Interview with Evan Thompson on Buddhist Exceptionalism <a href="https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/interview-with-worobey-andersen-holmes-the-lab-leak" rel="noopener noreferrer" target=
Fri, December 22, 2023
Seasons greetings from Decoding the Gurus! Time to grab a hot chocolate, cosy up to the fire, and wrack your brain to see how much attention you've been paying to all those gurus... that's right it is time for the annual Guru quiz! Luckily for us, the esteemed journalist and author, Helen Lewis, is back as a combined special guest and quiz master. Prepare for stunning revelations, scintillating dystopic erotic fiction, and more nootropic stimulation than you can shake a stick at. So who will triumph this year Chris or Matt? And how will Helen fare when the tables are turned? Join us, find out, and have a happy Christmas/non-denominational Winter holiday season! And don't worry, there might be just a little bit more DTG goodness to come before the end of 2023...
Fri, December 08, 2023
In today's joyous episode, we saunter into the loft apartment, take a draw on our gauloise, and glance icily into a world of bohemian hipsters living their best postmodern tradcath lives. Welcome to the irony-drenched world of 'Red Scare', a popular podcast hosted (sardonically) by Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova. Also joining them in the episode we cover is hip writer and artist, Tao Lin, a pioneer in the alt-lit world. Get ready for hours of 'transgressive' insights, independent research, dorm-room philosophies and monotone delivery. Thrill at their 'edgy' humour, bespoke theories of autism, standard anti-vax bullshit, and all of the usual positions you find with postmodern conservatism. You will learn things like how Tao Lin diagnosed his cat with autism, how long each host was breastfed, why half of Americans will be non-verbal in 2050, how Trump's anti-vaccine conspiracies make him trustworthy, the best way to chug your bootleg raw milk, and that thick books are always full of reliable facts. When it is all brought together, although we might not have an episode that is lighting up the gurometer, we do have a rather contemporary melange of postmodern-conservatism, trad-cath lifehacks, new-age spirituality, anti-vax conspiracy theories, and irony-laced, not even bothered, posturing. So like... enjoy... or whatever... Also features a discussion of Elon Musk's latest grandiosity, some unexpected guru clashing, and confirmation that Chris and Matt are not cool enough to be invited to your next Bohemian soiree. Links Red Scare: Crazy Autistic Asians w/ Tao Lin Elon Musk Interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin James Lindsay & Jonathan Pageau Tussle on Twitter and as usual Demons are involved Tao Lin's Essay The Story of Autism: How We Got Here, How We Heal Catala-Lopez, F., Hutton, B., Page, M. J., Driver, J. A., Ridao, M., Alonso-Arroyo, A., ... & Tabarés-Seisdedos, R. (2022). Mortality in persons with autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA pediatrics, e216401-e216401. <a href="https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11
Sat, November 18, 2023
We are back with more geeky academic discussion than you can shake a stick at. This week we are doing our bit to save civilization by discussing issues in contemporary science, the replication crisis, and open science reforms with fellow psychologists/meta-scientists/podcasters, Daniël Lakens and Smriti Mehta. Both Daniël and Smriti are well known for their advocacy for methodological reform and have been hosting a (relatively) new podcast, Nullius in Verba , all about 'science—what it is and what it could be'. We discuss a range of topics including questionable research practices, the implications of the replication crisis, responsible heterodoxy, and the role of different communication modes in shaping discourses. Also featuring: exciting AI chat, Lex and Elon being teenage edge lords, feedback on the Huberman episode, and as always updates on Matt's succulents. Back soon with a Decoding episode! Links Nullius in Verba Podcast Lee Jussim's Timeline on the Klaus Fiedler Controversy and a list of articles/sources covering the topic Elon Musk: War, AI, Aliens, Politics, Physics, Video Games, and Humanity | Lex Fridman Podcast #400 Daniel's MOOC on Improving Your Statistical Inference Critical commentary on Fiedler controversy at Replicability-Index
Thu, November 09, 2023
In a kind of meta cross-over with our Decoding Academia series, we're going to decode a journal club discussion between two well-known health optimisers: Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Andrew Huberman. So you get to listen to two academics talk about two other academics talk about academic papers... we know... We've already been introduced to the bulging biceps and morning sun-drenched routines of Huberman elsewhere but this is our first introduction to Peter Attia, MD. Attia is a former ultra-endurance athlete and a physician in the field of longevity and performance, a podcaster (who isn't amirite?!?) and author of "Outlive: The Science And Art Of Longevity". Attia introduces us to a paper that casts doubt on the supposed general life-extending properties of a diabetes drug called Metformin. This is a drug that is apparently very well known in the biohacker/life extension communities and one that Attia administered to himself for a number of years despite the rather preliminary evidence. This is the first of many indicators that both gentlemen are certainly on the bleeding edge of self-medicating experimentation, doggedly pursuing the elusive goals of huge pectoral muscles, minds that laugh at the concept of cognitive decline, and bodies that will live... well for a lot longer than Matt and Chris! We get to hear about week-long starvation regimes, medications that take the edge of pizza and doughnut binges, dealing with month-long nausea from self-dosing experimental treatments, and frequent prick-blood tests all for the sake of optimising, optimising, optimising... Huberman's paper (a preprint, actually) falls more into the "big, if true" category - although he seems fairly confident himself. Does *believing* you are getting a treatment generate the relevant physiological and neurological effects in the body that could mean we can bypass the need for certain pharmacological substances entirely, including some vaccines?!? Based on the results of a small-N, fMRI study that reports mixed results, Huberman muses... maybe! Or how about those other small-N studies, with p-values hovering suspiciously close to 0.05 that report other counterintuitive findings? We will leave it to Huberman to explain. But the bad stuff aside, Huberman and Attia (especially Attia) actually do a pretty decent job talking about how to approach research papers and some of the pros and cons of different approaches. Chris and Matt thus have ample opportunities to give credit where credit's due and demonstrate that they are the fair-minded souls everyone knows them to be! In any case, it's an interesting peak into an alternative health optimiser world. It seems to be a rather "serious" hobby a bit like body modification or tattoos. But who are we to judge? Matt likes cultivating succulent plants and Chris is into eating sushi in lush forests. So biohacking, self-experimentation for longevity? Well, at least it's an ethos. Also featuring
Mon, October 16, 2023
On this week's episode, we have an extended interview with author and researcher, Julia Ebner. Julia is a Senior Resident Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and has written a series of books exploring the social dynamics of extremist networks, including The Rage: the Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism , Going Dark: the Secret Social Lives of Extremists , and most recently Going Mainstream: How Extremists Are Taking Over. Julia also recently completed her DPhil at Oxford's Centre for Studies of Social Cohesion and has been developing novel linguistic analyses to help identify the psychological indicators of violence in extremist material and manifestos. She has also endured publishing some papers with our resident cognitive anthropologist. In the podcast, we cover a range of topics from the factors impacting radicalisation, Julia's time working for Maajid Nawaz's organisation, the psychology of conspiracy theories, and her experiences as an undercover investigator. Also on this week's episode, we dive into a recent episode of the DarkHorse to explore the Alex Jones' level conspiracies that Bret and Heather have recently been promoting about the horrific events in Israel. You might imagine it would be difficult to make such a tragic event about COVID dissidents and vaccines but if so you are underestimating the InfoHorse hosts. For a palette cleanser enjoy an extended review-of-reviews and some marathon shoutouts. Links The Guardian: The Big Idea- is it too late to stop extremism taking over politics? Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists | Julia Ebner | Talks at Google Julia's Recent Book- Going Mainstream: How Extremists Are Taking Over Regressive Left Media: Tommy Robinson and Maajid Nawaz: Sleeping with the Enemy Bad Stats thread with DarkHorse clips from episode 195 Andy Last's Beyond Synth Podcast DTG Shedding Light on the DarkHorse: A Mini Review <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/18335330.2023.22
Tue, October 03, 2023
In modern online ecosystems, attention and download metrics reign supreme. Sadly, the gurus are not immune to these incentives, with even the most successful, *cough* Jordan Peterson *cough*, regularly referencing how many people watched their latest video or how many subscribers they have on their 'brave freethinker' tier. Alongside the attention metrics, you also have the interpersonal networks (and dinner opportunities) that matter so much to the guru-sphere. Celebrity interviews, cross-promotional content and collabs, a PragerU video, a shoutout from Joe Rogan, a long-form discussion with RFK Jnr, dinner and a phone call with Eric Weinstein... such are the untold wonders that await anyone who dares to challenge the 'mainstream' orthodoxy by endorsing some element of the contrarian canon (vaccines are dangerous and public health measures were authoritarian, Biden is terrible/Trump isn't that bad, the mainstream media is afraid to discuss paedophiles, etc.). It's very easy to see the impact of the financial and interpersonal incentives in the guru-sphere but what is not as common is for those involved in the hustle to talk transparently about how it all works. Enter Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster, the hosts of Triggernometry. In a recent episode, they lay all of this bare by discussing how Konstantin's viral rhetoric-heavy speech at the Oxford Union (decoded in a previous episode) led to very tangible attention and financial rewards but, perhaps more importantly, the newfound respect of a class of celebrity commentator they had always aspired to belong to. With the encouragement of these intellectual heavyweights they now have BIG plans for a Triggernometry media network! So join us for this refreshing look at the inner workings of the Gurusphere through the hungry eyes of the Triggernometry boys! Also on this episode: some updates on previous gurus (Russell Brand & Ibram X. Kendi), discussion of good(!) alternative media content, personal reflections on what Orwellian governments look like, and the psychology of riding roller coasters. Something for everyone! Links What's Next for TRIGGERnometry Our previous decoding of the Oxford Union speech Chris' Twitter thread on Konstantin's origin story Surfing the Discourse: Analysing the Right-Wing Reactions to the Russell Brand Scandal (feat Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin, and mo
Tue, September 19, 2023
Back in the early days of the podcast, we tried to take a rest from the wearisome repetition of polemical partisan gurus by covering JP Sears- an alternative-health self-help coach with a sideline in 'comedic parody'. Sadly, we soon discovered he was a red-pilled Roganite 'just asking questions' about all the usual right-wing partisan topics, but with an added dollop of pseudo-profound, self-indulgent spiritual blather. JP Sears wasn't an isolated case; he exemplified a disturbingly prevalent trend. One that was supercharged during the pandemic and can be observed clearly in figures like Russell Brand, Aubrey Marcus, RFK Jnr and a whole slew of QAnon and anti-vaccine influencers. To help us disentangle this quagmire and the dynamics at play, we are joined by the three co-hosts of the popular Conspiritualty podcast: Matthew Remski, Julian Walker, and Derek Beres. We've spoken with them many times over the past few years about a variety of topics but in today's conversation, we explore the contemporary state of the Conspirituality sphere and discuss broader themes they have observed (& how they relate to the gurus we cover). We also examine whether they view activism as core to their podcast, how they handle attacks or engage with legitimate criticism, and how they feel about their own place in the ecosystems they discuss. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! Also covered in the opening segment is a cursed guru-sphere crossover between the Triggernometry guys and our old favourite, Scott Adams. Links The new Conspirituality Book! Our recent appearance on Conspirituality to hear the tables get turned! Review of Conspirituality at Science Based Medicine by Jonathan Howard NY Times: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Coalition of the Distrustful 'Why I quit the Conspirutality Podcast' by Be Scofield Medium article referenced on the Defamation case Triggernometry: Trump Must Win to A
Wed, September 06, 2023
We are back with a moderate-sized Decoding that focuses on Andrw Hubernman a baritone podcaster and neuroscientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Huberman is a broad-shouldered, big-bearded... science communicator. Extremely popular with the tech-bro optimiser set, he offers science-based 'protocols' on everything from supplement routines to whether you should avoid sunscreen(!). He's been lauded for his ability to communicate scientific topics clearly and in great depth. But has also faced criticism (including from us!) for his tendency to overhype findings from low-quality studies, promote supplements with dubious claims, avoid any positive mention of vaccines, and cheer on the efforts of his podcasting bros/heroes: Lex Fridman and Joe Rogan. In this episode, we take a look at a rather specific piece of content, just a 20-minute segment from a recent AMA on the scientific evidence for the benefits of 'grounding' and getting out into nature. We will learn all about the negative ions emanating from streams and waterfalls, the joy that can be sparked by seeing a squirrel wrestle with a nut, whether Huberman actually advocates staring into the sun, and try to solve the age-old question of what is best in life- a sushi restaurant or prancing in a forest. Also featuring: some good content recommendations (for a change!) and a review of the recent demented goings on in the gurusphere with one Jordan B. Peterson and his quest to destroy the College of Psychologists of Ontario. Links Surfing the Discourse Podcast Nullius in Verba Podcast Court Decision on Peterson's case against the College of Psychologists of Ontario Conspirituality 163: The Huberman Paradox (w/Jonathan Jarry) Oh No! With Ross & Carrie's first episode on Grounding Mårtensson, B., Pettersson, A., Berglund, L., & Ekselius, L. (2015). Bright white light therapy in depression: a critical review of the evidence. Journal of Affective Disorders, 182, 1-7. P
Fri, August 18, 2023
OK, so we're finally getting around to taking a chunk out of the prodigious, prolific, and venerable Noam Chomsky. Linguist, cognitive scientist, media theorist, political activist and cultural commentator, Chomsky is a doyen of the Real Left™. By which we mean, of course, those who formulated their political opinions in their undergraduate years and have seen no reason to move on since then. Yes, he looks a bit like Treebeard these days but he's still putting most of us to shame with his productivity. And given the sheer quantity of his output, across his 90 decades, it might be fair to say this is more of a nibble of his material. A bit of a left-wing ideologue perhaps, but seriously - what a guy. This is someone who made Richard Nixon's List of Enemies, debated Michel Foucault, had a huge impact on several academic disciplines, and campaigned against the war in Vietnam & the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Blithe stereotypes of Chomsky will sometimes crash against uncomfortable facts, including that he has been a staunch defender of free speech, even for Holocaust deniers... A full decoding of his output would likely require a dedicated podcast series, so that's not what you're gonna get here. Rather we apply our lazer-like focus and blatantly ignore most of his output to examine four interviews on linguistics, politics, and the war in Ukraine. There is some enthusiastic nodding but also a fair amount of exasperated head shaking and sighs. But what did you expect from two milquetoast liberals? Also featuring: a discussion of the depraved sycophancy of the guru-sphere and the immunity to cringe superpower as embodied by Brian Keating, Peter Boghossian, and Bret Weinstein mega-fans. Enjoy! Links Trust Science, Not Scientists | Peter Boghossian & Brian Keating A new Epistemic courage/humility matrix George Monbiot's Correspondence with Noam Chomsky on Denialism Piers Morgan Uncensored (2023): Piers Morgan vs Noam Chomsky | The Full Interview Politics Joe (2023): Noam Chomsky on Keir Starmer's attack on the Labour left, the war on unions and the future of AI Upon Reflections (1989): The Concept of Language (Noam Chomsky) <a href="https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1738&context=gsp" rel="noopener norefer
Sat, July 22, 2023
The casual listener, who might possibly not be a loyal Patreon subscriber, or might hypothetically not listen devotedly to every Gurometer scoring episode, could conceivably be a little vague about what we mean by a secular guru(!). And therefore might be tempted to make an ill-considered and poorly-informed comment on Twitter or Reddit, thus exposing them to the devastating yet apropos riposte of a "You know nothing, Jon Snow" meme in reply. Don't let it be you! Here is a tutorial, a short illustrated primer if you will, on the Science and the Art of 'Gurometry'. No more will you have to live with the shame of not knowing how many syllables there are in anti-establishmentarianism. Never again will you be liable to fall prey to the siren song of pseudo-profound bullshit or fall foul of conspiracy mongers. Listen to it. Study it. Meditate on it. In no time at all you'll be spotting gurus in the wild, categorising, and classifying them at will. You'll feel like an ornithologist who's just been given a great big pair of binoculars, a spotter's guidebook, and a free afternoon to wander about a National park. Impress your friends, family, and potential sexual partners with your intimate and subtle understanding of What It Means to Be a Guru. You're welcome. Links Online Presentation on the Gurometer at The Stoa DTG Episode 21: Calibrating the Gurometer Strenuous Life Podcast: 10 Red Flags You're Following a Guru, Stephan Kesting with Dr Chris Kavanagh
Fri, July 14, 2023
We are back with a double-bill decoding! That's right like moths to the flame, or aliens to a Unified Geometric Field drive, we are back in Weinstein world. This time we are looking at a conversation between the irrepressible (ex?) podcaster & mathematician, Eric Weinstein, and skeptical investigator, author, and recent guest on the show, Mick West. The conversation here concerns the evidence for UAP/UFOs and the reaction of skeptics and advocates. It had the potential to be something forensic and transcendent but sadly it gets mired in the messy 'interpersonal drama' that Eric just hates so much and tries to avoid at all costs. Nonetheless, there is much that can be learnt here, including: the linguistic complexities of the word 'flex', the precise levels of passive aggressiveness that a human mind can tolerate, if there is already secret anti-gravity tech, and whether our obsession with Einsteinian physics is what is stopping us from really understanding what is going on with UAPs. We don't have answers. We are just asking questions... honest! Also featured: a recent kerfuffle in the online psychology world over DEI statements, the numerology spectrum, the potential harms of green drinks, and much much more! So join us, won't you, as we boldly venture through the outermost reaches of the gurusphere. Links Theories of Everything- Eric Weinstein & Mick West: UAPs, Evidence, Skepticism Jonathan Pageau: The Surprising Symbolism of 666 QAnon Anonymous- Episode 168: The Mutant QAnon Numerology Cult in Dallas. Very Bad Wizards- Episode 263: Free Yoel Reason article on the Yoel Inbar incident 2020 Paper on the potential liver impacts of Green Tea Extract Mick West's Book- Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect
Fri, June 23, 2023
The pandemic was a confusing time with public health messages from officials and institutions that were sometimes confused, conflicting, or misrepresented and anti-vaccine misinformation being spread widely. Into this mix, a new phenomenon emerged, that of the covid contrarian. Contrarian doctors usually possessed some relevant qualifications and positioned themselves as independent critical thinkers willing to challenge the dogmas of the mainstream and take a more nuanced perspective on the claims made by anti-vaccine advocates. These contrarian figures are the voices that you would usually hear on 'heterodox' podcasts. Figures like the medical doctor Vinay Prasad, the Stanford professor of Medicine Jay Bhattacharya, or the retired nurse, John Campbell. But did they really offer an alternative critical perspective? Our guest today, Jonathan Howard , a practising doctor and professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, argues no. And he should know, he has spent the pandemic not only treating patients but tirelessly documenting (and refuting) the claims made by the contrarian set. This episode is unfortunately topical due to the recent online fracas surrounding Joe Rogan's credulous promotion of RFK Jnr and the subsequent 'calls for debate' and targeted harassment of Dr Peter Hotez -a public health specialist and advocate for affordable vaccines. In any case, we learnt a lot and enjoyed the discussion with Jonathan and hope you will too. Also covered in this episode: How many pull-ups Matt can do, why Chris is drinking a chalky green potion, and the psychology of placebos. Links Jonathan's New Book- We Want Them Infected Jonathan's articles on the pandemic at Science-Based-Medicine Jonathan's Older Book- Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes: A Case-Based Guide to Critical Thinking in Medicine What the Heck Happened to John Ioannidis? Honestly with Bari Weiss: RFK Jr. Is Striking a Nerve. He Explains Why. Vinay Prasad at The Free Press: What RFK Jr. Gets Right—and What He Gets Wrong <a hr
Wed, June 21, 2023
Michael Shermer, a professional skeptic, recently appeared on the noted apolitical podcast Triggernometry to outline his advice on How to Spot a True Conspiracy Theory . Shermer is someone who has spent decades on the subject and just last year published a new book, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational , so you might imagine he has some important insights to share. Well... sort of. Join us as we cast a quizzical eye over suggestions that every reasonable person should be a conspiracy theorist, Barack Obama may have been controlled by shadowy masters, the CIA invented the very notion of conspiracy theories, and that what we really need is to return the good old days when anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish conspiracies were commonplace and spoken of freely... yes, really! Back soon enough with a full waffle episode! Links Triggernometry- Conspiracy Expert: How to Spot a True Conspiracy Theory Shermer explaining his Tweet endorsing Stefan Molyneux Shermer's participation in Dave Rubin's Book Club for Don't Burn This Book Shermer's 2021 interview with Bret and Heather with no mention of vaccines Shermer correcting his Tweet about the Nazis being leftwing Positive review at Skeptic for Milo's "Dangerous" Book Shermer explaining why he thinks it is good he mixes his Libertarian politics with his science/skepticism
Sat, June 17, 2023
UFOs are all the rage now, and it's certainly a topic that excites many of our gurus *cough* . Hidden mysteries, advanced technologies, conspiracies, and government cover-ups. What's not to like!? The truth, as Mulder so eloquently put it, is out there. And sometimes if you combine the outcome of some posterior technical analysis with some basic priors about the fallibility of human perception and memory, then the truth might be a little prosaic (happy Bayesians!!?). Joining us today is the esteemed Mick West, retired video game developer, who has a long track record of investigating UFO footage, along with a range of other outré phenomena. Mick is admirably positioned to provide practical advice on how to apply critical thinking while being empathetic to friends and family who may have fallen down one or more conspiratorial rabbit holes. Chris and Matt enjoyed the conversation with Mick a lot, and we think you will too! Links An example of Eric's UFO Tapdance Lex's Reddit thread for the Matthew McConaughey Episode Mick West's Book: Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect Theories of Everything Channel: Eric Weinstein and Mick West: UAPs, Evidence, Skepticism Other Links Our Patreon Contact us via email: decodingthegurus@gmail.com The DTG Subreddit
Sat, June 10, 2023
Thought experiment: Imagine you're a human, in a box, surrounded by an alien civilisation, but you don't like the aliens, because they have facilities where they bop the heads of little aliens, but they think 1000 times slower than you... and you are made of code... and you can copy yourself... and you are immortal... what do you do? Confused? Lex Fridman certainly was, when our subject for this episode posed his elaborate and not-so-subtle thought experiment. Not least because the answer clearly is: YOU KILL THEM ALL! ... which somewhat goes against Lex's philosophy of love, love, and more love. The man presenting this hypothetical is Eliezer Yudkowksy, a fedora-sporting auto-didact, founder of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, co-founder of the Less Wrong rationalist blog, and writer of Harry Potter Fan Fiction. He's spent a large part of his career warning about the dangers of AI in the strongest possible terms. In a nutshell, AI will undoubtedly Kill Us All Unless We Pull The Plug Now. And given the recent breakthroughs in large language models like ChatGPT, you could say that now is very much Yudkowsky's moment. In this episode, we take a look at the arguments presented and rhetoric employed in a recent long-form discussion with Lex Fridman. We consider being locked in a box with Lex, whether AI is already smarter than us and is lulling us into a false sense of security, and if we really do only have one chance to reign in the chat-bots before they convert the atmosphere into acid and fold us all up into microscopic paperclips. While it's fair to say, Eliezer is something of an eccentric character, that doesn't mean he's wrong. Some prominent figures within the AI engineering community are saying similar things, albeit in less florid terms and usually without the fedora. In any case, one has to respect the cojones of the man. So, is Eliezer right to be combining the energies of Chicken Little and the legendary Cassandra with warnings of imminent cataclysm? Should we be bombing data centres? Is it already too late? Is Chris part of Chat GPT's plot to manipulate Matt? Or are some of us taking our sci-fi tropes a little too seriously? We can't promise to have all the answers. But we can promise to talk about it. And if you download this episode, you'll hear us do exactly that. Links Eliezer Yudkowsky: Dangers of AI and the End of Human Civilization | Lex Fridman Podcast #368 Joe Rogan clip of him commenting on AI on his Reddit
Sat, May 20, 2023
We are joined by Renée DiResta a writer and researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Renée has done a lot of interesting work on disinformation and influence campaigns. Including leading an investigation into the Russian Internet Research Agency’s multi-year effort to manipulate American society in the lead-up to the 2016 election. More recently she was dubbed by the writer/conspiracy theorist, Michael Shellenberger, as the leader of 'The Censorship Industry'. In short, Renée stands accused of serving as an agent of the Distributed Idea Suppression Complex defending the Gated Institutional Narrative. So being good DISC soldiers ourselves we had to follow our orders and host our exalted leader. We discuss all of this with her and a range of other topics including how important algorithms and bots are in disinformation networks, whether contemporary influence campaigns are really anything new, and how to address debates around censorship and free speech. We enjoyed the discussion a lot and are sure that you will too... or else... Also covered in this episode: Eric Weinstein's suggestions for Twitter CEO, evidence of Lex Fridman's pilled brain, and a rather confusing review. Links Renee's Website Shellenberger's Substack: Why Renee DiResta Leads The Censorship Industry Renee's Response to Shellenberger's claims Making Sense Episode 310: Social Media & Public Trust (with Renee, Bari Weiss & Michael Shellenberger) Chris' old article on Cambridge Analytica on Medium David Pakman: Politics of Trump, Biden, Bernie, AOC, Socialism & Wokeism | Lex Fridman Podcast #375 Report: The Tactics & Tropes of the Internet Research Agency Gurwinder- The Perils of Audience Capture
Mon, May 15, 2023
Our short-lived Christopher Hitchens ends in our second episode and full-length decoding of the punchy Brit. This time we are examining one of his well-known religion-themed debates, debating the question 'Is Islam a Religion of Peace?' for The 92nd Street Y, New York with the academic and writer Tariq Ramadan. This one feels like a bit of a throwback to a post-9/11 & Iraq war world. New Atheism was still a cultural force with some punch but it had also received its own fair share of body blows since its earlier days as a plucky new contender. Regardless of how you feel about that particular genre, we suggest you don a fedora, pour yourself a stiff drink, and be prepared for a heady mixture of substantive points, moralizing rhetoric, and witty retorts from both of these seasoned debaters. Also covered in the episode Andrew Huberman and whether sad women's tears have unique properties, Jordan Hall teaches everyone how to play the guitar, James Lindsay discovers the Logos... and Chris tells us all about his office fridge adventures. Links Hitchens and Ramadan debate at 92nd Street Y New York Huberman's TikTok video about women's tears and his related tweets James Lindsay's Twitter thread on demons and the Logos Reddit Thread with a link to Jordan Hall's Guitar tutorial Daniel Laken's free course on psychology methodology and statistical inference
Tue, May 09, 2023
We are back for an interview with the author and independent writer Matt Johnson discussing the New Atheist hero and legendary debater, Christopher Hitchens. The other Matt recently published a book called " How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment " and kindly agreed to come on and waffle with us about Hitchens and where he fits in comparison to the modern gurus. We cover a range of topics including whether Hitchens would have been in the IDW, if he was an extremophile, how far did he rely on rhetoric over substance and to what extent different labels apply to him. Matt Johnson offers a surprisingly nuanced take and provides us with lots of interesting tidbits regarding Hitchens. This can also be listened to as Part 1 of our Hitchens coverage, as we have a full decoding of a debate of his coming shortly. And what if you are not into Hitchens? Well, there are still some goodies for you! In this episode, we also cover: Guru magnetism & depressing crossovers, Sam Harris' recent appearance with Maajid Nawaz, Scandinavian geopolitics, Chris' review of the Super Mario Bros Movie, and whether we are actually in the pocket of Big Harris! So join us one and all! And don't forget to subscribe to Sam Harris' meditation app using the code 'GurusPodSentMe'. Links Matt Johnson (2023) How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment Matt Johnson's Article at the Bulwark: What Christopher Hitchens Can Teach Us About Liberalism Maajid Nawaz & Sam Harris Reunite for the First Time Since Covid to Debate the Politics of Covid-Mandates Matt Johnson's articles at Quillette primarily about coverage of the Ukraine conflict
Tue, May 09, 2023
We are back for an interview with the author and independent writer Matt Johnson discussing the New Atheist hero and legendary debater, Christopher Hitchens. The other Matt recently published a book called " How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment " and kindly agreed to come on and waffle with us about Hitchens and where he fits in comparison to the modern gurus. We cover a range of topics including whether Hitchens would have been in the IDW, if he was an extremophile, how far did he rely on rhetoric over substance and to what extent different labels apply to him. Matt Johnson offers a surprisingly nuanced take and provides us with lots of interesting tidbits regarding Hitchens. This can also be listened to as Part 1 of our Hitchens coverage, as we have a full decoding of a debate of his coming shortly. And what if you are not into Hitchens? Well, there are still some goodies for you! In this episode, we also cover: Guru magnetism & depressing crossovers, Sam Harris' recent appearance with Maajid Nawaz, Scandinavian geopolitics, Chris' review of the Super Mario Bros Movie, and whether we are actually in the pocket of Big Harris! So join us one and all! And don't forget to subscribe to Sam Harris' meditation app using the code 'GurusPodSentMe'. Links Matt Johnson (2023) How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment Matt Johnson's Article at the Bulwark: What Christopher Hitchens Can Teach Us About Liberalism Maajid Nawaz & Sam Harris Reunite for the First Time Since Covid to Debate the Politics of Covid-Mandates Matt Johnson's articles at Quillette primarily about coverage of the Ukraine conflict
Sun, April 16, 2023
Oprah Winfrey is someone who truly needs no introduction. She's a legend of daytime television, a warm and charismatic juggernaut who steam-rolled her way to the very apex of media success. Now, an extraordinarily wealthy woman, she's busy with philanthropy and helping others manifest their inner light so as to truly Be in this world. Certainly, in a category apart from IDW knuckleheads or bottom-feeding YouTube types, Oprah is nevertheless a self-help and spiritual guru in the truest sense of the word; both in the eyes of her audience and by her own lights. In the interview we cover, she talks frankly about her own philosophy of life and gives advice to others that they might emulate some portion of success. Inevitably not discussed are various controversies around her promotion of pseudoscience, endorsing self-help gurus like James Arthur Ray, anti-vaxxers like Jenny McCarthy and giving a massive leg-up to noted internet doctors, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne, which promotes the Law of Attraction, is not explicitly mentioned, but Chris detects hints of it vibrating throughout the conversation. So join Matt and Chris as they conclusively demonstrate why they remained the perpetual block-sucking kids at the nursery, while Oprah rode her self-actualised rocket past the first grade to become a billionaire media mogul. Also on this week's episode discover whether Oprah earns a place on Guru island, if the intro segments will be tightly edited, how Chris prepares for job interviews, and just how many of Matt's enemies are Nazis! Links Oprah Winfrey: The Secret of My Success. Stanford Graduate School of Business. Kurzgesagt's video on their funding and POV. PBS Space Time Dr Sam Gregson, the Bad Boy of Science
Sat, April 08, 2023
Apologies everyone, we've been compelled to break our 'golden rule' of interspersing decoding episodes with interview episodes. However, the opportunity to talk to the well-known psychologist, Professor Paul Bloom. There are so many reasons to talk to Paul: first, he's a walking, talking cornucopia of knowledge across so fields in psychology that fascinate Chris and Matt. He's also a prolific author, most recently of " Psych- The Story of the Human Mind ", and previously with "The Sweet Spot" about pleasure and pain, and the controversial "Against Empathy". He's also a great educator, having created a bunch of open learning resources in introductory and moral psychology. In addition to the new book "Psych", which offers a layperson's introduction to psychology he is ALSO producing a new podcast with friend of the cast and no slouch at psychology himself, Very Bad Wizard/Psychologist, Dave Pizarro. OK, that's enough reasons. There are probably more reasons, but we have provided enough. And anyway, who says we have to justify our guests and our interview to decoding schedule. We are free agents! We have agency... right? In any case, you cannot complain too much as we felt bad and have thus included in the short intro segment a "mini" (40min!) decoding of the recent appearance of academic/political pundit, Matthew Goodwin, on Triggernometry. And it's a spicy one... Next up Oprah! Coming soon... Links Paul Bloom & Dave Pizarro's Psych Podcast Paul Bloom's New Book: Psych- The Story of the Human Mind Paul's New Ted Talk on The surprising psychology behind your urge to break the rules Triggernometry- Matt Goodwin: We're in the Post-Populist Era New Statesman- Going native: How Matthew Goodwin became part of the right-populist movement he once sought to explain. Eliezer Yudkowsky's Tweet about bombing the WIV
Sat, March 25, 2023
If you have managed to avoid the phenomenon of QAnon up until now, then congratulations! Your life is likely better for not knowing. Sadly many of us have been forced not only to learn about the 'enigmatic'(/idiotic) Q and his merry band of followers but also to witness the consequences of the movement during events like January 6th. Travis View (the pen name of Logan Strain) is part of the motley crew of the hugely popular QAnon Anonymous podcast that attempts to document the phenomenon of QAnon. From undercover investigations to creative writing, the QAnon Anonymous team (including previous guest Annie Kelly) have approached the topic with a creative and anthropological approach. We sit down with Travis and ask him to provide us with the 101 on QAnon before we delve into some of the more arcane topics, including cultish splinter groups, the psychology of QAnon adherents, just how much of a threat he thinks the movement poses, and how does he stay sane while looking at depressing craziness week in and week out. Travis is a wealth of information and a groovy guy to boot. The kind of person you would want to have your back in a Zombie apocalypse. So kick back and enjoy hearing about the crumbling of contemporary society. Links Travis's Instagram account: Great nature photos! QAnon Anonymous Podcast Wisdom Signalling & the Wisdom of Criticism w/ John Veraveke, Chris M, Chris Kavanagh, & Matt Browne
Sat, March 11, 2023
The question of the SARS-CoV-2 origin: whether it was a zoonotic spillover from a wet market, or an engineered virus that escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, is seemingly a debate that will never go away. Most interestingly, while scientists with specific domain expertise seem to be building a consensus towards the former, public opinion appears to be trending towards the latter. This delta between expert and popular opinion has been helped along by the frothy discourse in mainstream and social media, with most figures that we cover in this podcast dead-set certain that it came from a lab. Most recently, Sam Harris hosted on his Making Sense podcast the molecular biologist Alina Chan and. science writer Matt Ridley, spokespersons for the lab leak case, and authors of "Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19". To a layperson, and certainly to Sam, they put forward a rather watertight case. Intrinsic to the arguments advanced were the ideas that (a) experts in the area were refusing to engage with and unable to answer their arguments, and (b) a strong implication that there is a conspiracy of silence among virologists not just in China but internationally, to suppress the lab leak hypothesis. So, as a case study in the public understanding of science, it seems like a pretty pickle indeed. To help unravel the pickle(?) in this somewhat special episode, we are joined by three virologists who are amply qualified to address the topic; both in terms of the evidence and whether they are involved in a conspiracy of silence. Kristian Andersen is a Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research. He focuses on the relationship between host and pathogen, using sequencing, fieldwork, experimentation, and computational biology methods. He has spearheaded large international collaborations investigating the emergence, spread and evolution of deadly pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus, Ebola virus, West Nile virus, and Lassa virus. Prof Michael Worobey, is the head of the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. His work focuses on the genomes of viruses, using molecular and computational biology, to understand the origins, emergence and control of pandemics. Recently, his interdisciplinary work on SARS-CoV-2 has shed light on how and when the virus originated and ignited the COVID-19 pandemic in China and how SARS-CoV-2 emerged and took hold in North America and Europe. Prof Edward "Eddie" Holmes, is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow & Professor of Virology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health at Sydney University, a member of the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of The Royal Society. He is known for his work on the evolution and emergence of infectious diseases, particularly the mechanisms by which RNA viruses jump species boundaries to emerge in humans and other animals. He ha
Sat, March 11, 2023
The question of the SARS-CoV-2 origin: whether it was zoonotic spillover from a wet market, or an engineered virus that escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, is seemingly a debate that will never go away. Most interestingly, while scientists with specific domain expertise seem to be building towards a consensus towards the former, public opinion appears to be trending towards the latter. This delta between expert and popular opinion has been helped along by the frothy discourse in mainstream and social media, with most figures that we cover in this podcast dead-set certain that it came from a lab. Most recently, the Sam Harris podcast hosted molecular biologist Alina Chan and journalist Matt Ridley, spokespersons for the lab leak case, and authors of "Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19". To a lay person, and certainly to Sam, they seemed to put forward a watertight case. Intrinsic to the arguments put forward were the ideas that (a) experts in the area were refusing to engage with and unable to answer their arguments, and (b) the heavy implication that there is a conspiracy of silence among virologists not just in China but internationally, to suppress the lab leak hypothesis. So, as a case study in the public understanding of science, it seems like a pretty pickle indeed. In this somewhat special episode, we are joined by three virologists who are amply qualified to address these claims; of both the 'evidence-based' and conspiratorial flavours: Prof Kristian Anderson, Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research. He focuses on the relationship between host and pathogen, using sequencing, field work, experimentation, and computational biology methods. He has spearheaded large international collaborations investigating the emergence, spread and evolution of deadly pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus, Ebola virus, West Nile virus, and Lassa virus. Prof Michael Woroby, the head of the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. His work focuses on the genomes of viruses, using molecular and computational biology, to understand the origins, emergence and control of pandemics. Recently, his interdisciplinary work on SARS-CoV-2 has shed light on how and when the virus originated and ignited the COVID-19 pandemic in China and how SARS-CoV-2 emerged and took hold in North America and Europe. Prof Edward "Eddie" Holmes, an NHMRC Leadership Fellow & Professor of Virology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health at Sydney University, a member of the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of The Royal Society. He is known for his work on the evolution and emergence of infectious diseases, particularly the mechanisms by which RNA viruses jump species boundaries to emerge in humans and other animals. He has studied the emergence and spread of such pathogens as SARS-CoV-2, infl
Wed, March 08, 2023
Dave Rubin has always sought out a career in the spotlight, beginning with stand-up comedy and then becoming a pundit (of sorts) on shows like the Young Turks. From there he (in)famously came to present himself as one of those classical liberals forced to 'leave the left'. He was also one of the honorary members of the Intellectual Dark Web although it is fair to say he primarily served as a conduit rather than a primary contributor. So, where does he stand now? Is he the heterodox classical liberal and centrist he once claimed? Or is he a reactionary and conspiratorial hyper-partisan right-wing pundit? It's the second thing. It's obviously the second thing. Everyone knows. But could he be anything more than that? Does he fit the secular guru template beguiling us with pseudo-intellectual, polymathic and galaxy-brained takes? Or just a slightly more acceptable version of Alex Jones without the drinking problem? Well, in this episode we'll figure it out. To be honest, it's not very complicated. The riddle of Dave Rubin is not so much a deep rabbit hole as a minor depression in the ground. So... Enjoy? P.S. We also talk (probably for too long) about "discourse surfing" in relation to topics like the lab leak and why you shouldn't do it. Don't worry. There are bookmarks, so you can skip it if you want (though you shouldn't really, it's good). Links Critical Profile of Dave Rubin by Ross Anderson at Quillette Greta Thunberg Gets Caught by Rebel News & Her Response Is Bizarre | Direct Message | Rubin Report Dave Rubin | Club Random with Bill Maher For 'Discourse Surfing' see Stuart Ritchie's article at inews. Stop blindly believing or dismissing the Covid lab-leak theory – focus on the evidence The Wall Street Journal article that reignited the Lab Leak conversation Our previous episode 'Calibrating the Gurometer'
Fri, February 24, 2023
Bill Maher is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host from the tail end of the baby-boomer generation. He's principally a centrist liberal in terms of his political leanings, being well known for his anti-religious and pro-animal rights positions, as well as a supporter of things like cannabis legalisation. On the other hand, he's something of a contrarian and styles himself as anti-political correctness and anti-woke, identifying as a disenchanted liberal, like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Now, all of that is well and good, let a hundred flowers bloom! But... on the less-salubrious side, he's also a contrarian when it comes to his extreme scepticism of conventional medicine, and vaccines in particular. And as we'll see in the two interviews we cover, with Sam Harris ^ and Richard Dawkins, it never seems to take him very long before the conversation is steered back to vaccines. So, will Maher make the gurometer go 'DING'? Let's face it, probably not. But if not, why not? It is worth checking to tune up the old instrument. And it is indeed something to behold as a boozy, stoned Maher tries (and manifestly fails) to coax Richard Dawkins out of his prim and proper shell. Also features discussions of Chris' run-ins with the rationalists, a new 'Whinge of the Week' segment, and the rhetorical technique of 'pouncing'. Links Richard Dawkins on Club Random with Bill Maher Sam Harris on Club Random with Bill Maher Astral Codex Ten- Contra Kavanagh On Fideism Medium Article by Chris - Am I a Fideist? Astral Codex Ten - Trying Again on Fideism Making Sense with Sam Harris - Did SARS-COV-2 escape from a lab? Konstantin Kisin - Reflections on Dealing With Bad Faith Criticism Upcoming discussion with John Vervaeke & Chris Mastropietro at The Stoa
Thu, February 02, 2023
In this episode, we take a bit of a detour from current trends and examine a talk by the philosopher Daniel Dennett on evolution. Dennett rose to public prominence as one of the so-called four horsemen of the New Athiest movement but he always seemed slightly out of place with that cohort. Dennett's is most certainly a guru in the sense that he offers big picture 'what does it all mean' lectures linking together consciousness, intelligence, the emergence of complexity and evolution. But is there some substance there? Or does his appeal hinge on on intuitively-satisfying cosmic woo offered by less reputable figures. On a positive note, he seemed to be more interested in academic and philosophical debates than the latest culture war outrage. As such he doesn't share that much with our usual targets... and that's ok! Sometimes it is good to look at figures who fall closer to the standard public intellectual or academic motif than that of the secular guru. At the very least it helps to calibrate our gurometer! So join us for a slightly indulgent episode on a figure that we both broadly enjoy despite the inevitable nit-picking. An extended introduction section will also reveal our first DTG conspiracy hypothesis, the mating habits of orcs and dragons, and what Nazi AIs have in common with Robocop. And stick around at the end to hear about the future of education from the Petersons! Links Dennett's talk on Information, Evolution, and Intelligent Design at the Royal Institute Business Insider article on that historical figure AI chatbot Mikhaila Peterson: Q&A to end the Year Episode. 174 Thread from Lex's Subreddit removed by Moderators
Fri, January 20, 2023
Recently the Oxford Union (based in Oxford but distinct from the university) hosted a debate on "whether woke culture has gone too far". A very fresh question, and it's been good to see people finally discussing this important issue. Former guest, comedian, and host of the Triggernometry podcast Konstantin Kisin argued for the proposition, and his 10 minute speech has gone viral, garnering over 20 million views (and counting). Kisin has received lavish praise for his compelling talk from across the interwebs for what has been broadly described as a masterful demolition of woke culture, leading to broadcast television appearances with Piers Morgan and Tucker Carlson. Well, a video of the speech crossed our path on Twitter, and it seemed to us to be an interesting case-study on the effective use of rhetoric, so here is our decoding. As is our want, we are slightly more critical in our assessment than Piers Morgan Tucker Carlson, but we are able to identify points of concordance as well. Enjoy! Links The original speech Konstantin Kisin | This House Believes Woke Culture Has Gone Too Far - 7/8 | Oxford Union Coverage Konstantin Kisin’s Important Message LIVE on Tucker Carlson Konstantin Kisin and Piers Morgan Discuss The Problems With Woke Culture Background Global Concern about Climate Change, Broad Support for Limiting Emissions
Fri, January 13, 2023
In this episode we are joined by the irrepressible "Coffeezilla" (aka Stephen Findeisen), a man who is, it's fair to say, kind of a big deal on YouTube. And rightly so! His channel focuses on exposing "scams, fraudsters and fake gurus" and he has received a great deal of praise for the detail, depth, and quality of the research that he goes into for each episode. Coffeezilla has been particularly active in digging into cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other financial Ponzi and pump and dump schemes. Indeed, he has received praise from the MSM in relation to his coverage of the infamous Sam Bankman-Fried, and has most recently managed to arouse the ire of mega-influencer Logan Paul, after covering Paul's total NFT scam ‘problematic’ failed NFT offering. We share a lot of common interests with Coffeezilla and this interview as a result is pretty broad-ranging. To mention just a few, we discuss Elon Musk, the way unscrupulous individuals leverage capitalist financial systems, the death of expertise, modern online ecosystems, the differences and parallels between financial and secular gurus , and the psychological and technological tricks gurus use to seperate people from their hard-earned cash. Coffeezilla's hard work on financial scammer has made him extremely knowledgeable. He's also as sharp as a tack and really fun guy to chat with. So, we were super lucky to be able to snag him as a guest. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and we hope you enjoy the interview too. Oh, and Chris and Matt talk about Lex Fridman and that damn booklist in the introduction, and introduce a new segment the 'Weekly Wisdom of Mikhaila' at the end. Enjoy! Links Coffeezilla feed on YouTube Coffeezilla's Investigating Logan Paul's CryptoZoo series Logan Paul's attempts to address and redress CoffeeZilla on The Lex Fridman Podcast MIchaela's Q&A to end 2022 Lex being sad about people dunking on his reading list Nassim Taleb on Lex <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/01/the-guy-who-just-loves-ever
Thu, December 29, 2022
So here we are rounding off 2022 with a Guru of the moment, Elon Musk. Trust us, we want to stop hearing about him as much as you do but we have long had him scheduled as the finale for the tech season. Unfortunately, the Decoding the Gurus curse (most of the people we cover quickly become worse and spiral into conspiracism) seems to have become more potent. Now we don't even have to cover a Guru just announce that we will and the spiral occurs. And with Elon what a spiral it has been. But we *try* not to dwell much on his recent antics and instead focus on decoding our chosen material. In this specific case, it is a recent wide-ranging interview conducted by a fellow billionaire and large Tesla investor, Ron Baron. This proved to be one of the most sycophantic interviews we have ever examined, which is a real achievement given the competition. Musk himself is an interesting figure. Softly spoken, prone to mumbling, he can even seem self-effacing, and yet he is also a prolific hype man, prone to hyperbole, and self-mythologizing. Is he the master engineer and polymath he claims? The ultimate conman? And how has he become the guru for so many gurus? Join us as we try to disentangle the Elon puzzle box and see if there is actually anything interesting inside. Oh and also Happy New Year! Remember to keep an eye out for those pesky Distributed Idea Suppression Complexes. Links Ron Baron Interview Nov 2022 with Elon Musk: Source for the Decoding Thunderfoot Video: Why you should NEVER believe Elon Musk! Common Sense Skeptic: Debunking Elon Musk ( Part 1 & Part 2 ) Guardian Article on Musk's comments on the Diver involved in the Thai Cave Rescue Futurism Article on Elon Musk promising Full-Self-Driving Cars Every Year since 2014 Rolling Stone: Elon Musk Keeps Taking Twitter Advice From Right-Wing Trolls <a href="https://buildd.co/marketing/tesla-m
Bonus · Tue, December 27, 2022
Join us for this special festive episode in which we initiate the fledgling Gurologist (and occasional journalist and author) Helen Lewis into the deeper and more esoteric levels of Gurology. Helen may have produced an excellent new multi-part series on the New Gurus for the BBC but just how many nut or shark-based anecdotes can you fit into a 30-minute episode? And is the BBC really ready for truly hardcore sensemaking? In any case, we indulge our new padawan with an extended discussion about the new series (it's actually very, very good!) and what she has learned on her travels. Along the way we compare notes, discuss the ethics of covering narcissists and harmful gurus, and uncover Helen's personal role in creating one prominent modern guru. But that's not all! Befitting the season, Helen comes bearing a gift... or is it a test? Unveiling her inner Quizmaster persona she attempts to humble the masters with an End of Year Guru quiz. Can Matt & Chris survive? Who between them is the true Gurologist (& who conversely is winning at life)? Join us and find out! P.S. The Elon Decoding episode is on its way very soon! Links The New Gurus Series Helen's recent appearance on Embrace the Void Helen's Atlantic Article on Ron DeSantis' electoral strategy Russell Brand's infamous interview with Jeremey Paxman Russell Brand's interview with Ed Miliband Laurie Penny's piece on Milo & friends
Bonus · Fri, December 09, 2022
Today we are joined by Jamie Wheal, who comprised a full one-third of the subjects covered on our prior "Sensemaking Cubed" episode also featuring Daniel Schmachtenberger and Jordan Hall. Jamie has kindly taken advantage of our standing offer of a right to reply to all podcast subjects and here is our conversation in its entirety. As well as being a sometime interlocutor with Daniel and Jordan, Jamie is an author of books such as Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work and Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death In a World That's Lost Its Mind . He's the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an organisation that aspires to train ultimate human performance, and does leadership seminars and wilderness excursions with many famous organisations such as Deloitte, Red Bull, Google, Lululemon, Facebook, TD Ameritrade, Nike, and Goldman Sachs. So, the three of us get into it a bit about that sensemaking about sensemaking video, but pretty quickly move into the issue of making sense of things more broadly, as it's transpired with fraught issues such as COVID; both in the popular social media space, and within the 'blue church' of academia. From what we knew of Jamie, we expected to have a pleasant chat with him, and as you'll hear: it was a pleasant chat! Even if our worldview and understanding of things diverged a fair bit, there were a number of things we could agree on as well. A big thumbs-up to Jamie for taking our (relatively scathing) coverage of the infamous video with the best of grace and, in the best tradition of what the IDW purports to do, be willing to have a frank public chat with a couple of blokes who have been highly critical of some of the people and ideas he's (somewhat) aligned with. Our intros and outros are - as usual - quite indulgent, so be sure to take advantage of those bookmarks if you want to skip straight to the interview proper. Enjoy! Links Mike Duncan's Revolutions Podcast Beyond Synth Podcast (Chris is a guest on ep 342) Gizmodo fact-check on Elon's claims about Apple Jamie Wheal @ Linkedin Feature on Jamie Wheal in the Texas Monthly <a hr
Thu, November 17, 2022
We are back with another academic-themed interview with the evolutionary/cultural/cognitive anthropologist Manvir Singh . That's right two anthropologists from the same relatively obscure field on the same podcast but don't hold that against Manvir, we promise he's much more insightful than Chris! Indeed, Manvir joins us to share his expertise on Shamanism and to examine whether there are any significant parallels between Shamans and Gurus. Along the way, you will gain new esoteric knowledge into things such as the differences between prophets, gurus, and shamans; whether evolutionary anthropology is all bunk; and the importance of linguistic and kinetic performances for generating credibility and authority. Matt was absent during the interview so he could not keep Chris' tangents in check but he does participate in the ever-extending discussions in the intro and outro segments. Here you will discover the respective grievances that our hosts have been mongering, as well as how Matt deals with some critical feedback from disgruntled psychoanalysts! In short, there is something for everyone. So open your third eye and join us on an ecstatic spirit flight as we reveal the secret cosmic mysteries of the modern gurus (for those brave enough to listen). Links Manvir's (2018) BBS article on Shamanism Manvir's article in Wired (2022) The ‘Shamanification’ of the Tech CEO Follow up Twitter thread on the evidence for fasting benefits Manvir's Aeon article (2022): The idea of primitive communism is as seductive as it is wrong Manvir's Website Ben Shapiro: Politics, Kanye, Trump, Biden, Hitler, Extremism, and War | Lex Fridman Podcast #336 Matthew Remski's thread on the DiAngelo Episode and_furiouser's thread on the DiAngelo
Wed, November 02, 2022
Racism is all around. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds white people together. And if you try to deny it, it only makes it stronger. That's Robin DiAngelo's thesis, anyway, and she calls this dark force (and the book that made her famous) White Fragility . You know you've got white fragility if you refuse to accept the truth of white fragility. Also, all white people have it. So that's pretty straightforward at least. How do you fight the curse of whiteness? Well, it's a lifelong journey of 'Doing the Work', but one thing's for sure: it starts with reading books like White Fragility and attending seminars well... like hers. DiAngelo's been out of the discourse recently, as far as we can tell, busy beavering away on new books like Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm and dismantling white supremacy via corporate group therapy sessions. However, in our original show blurb, we promised to cover 'gurus from Jordan Peterson to Robin DiAngelo', so here we are. Now she's no longer this week's hot culture war topic that's getting people (...racists probably) all riled up, it's the perfect time to cross this particular Pokemon off our list. We listened to a lecture she gave in 2018, where she helpfully lays out the key aspects of her theory. There's so much in store for listeners this week. You'll be able to thrill to the anecdote of how DiAngelo herself was disgustingly racist to a colleague, be shocked as Chris once again references Northern Ireland's colourful history and tries to deflect his people's obvious guilt onto the English, be amazed as Matthew courageously confronts his settler-colonial privilege, and learn the real story of the first African American baseball player to cross the colour line (as told by DiAngelo). So join the intrepid duo as they embark on this neverending journey to interrogate their whiteness. And maybe - verrrry carefully - try to be just a little bit critical of DiAngelo's arguments without axiomatically proving themselves hopelessly racist. Listen in and judge for yourself! Links Robin DiAngelo's 2018 lecture on White Fragility at Seattle Central Library Liam Bright's recent 'White Psychodrama' paper Kanye 'Ye' West Interview | Lex Fridman Podcast #332 Sam Harris: The Politics of Unreality: Ukraine and Nuclear Risk: A Conversation with Timothy Snyder (#301)
Sat, October 15, 2022
An interesting one today with an extended interview/discussion with Konstantin Kisin co-host of the Triggernometry YouTube channel and Podcast and author of An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West . Topics covered include potential biases in the mainstream and heterodox spheres, media coverage in the covid era, debate within the heterodox sphere, the dangers of focusing on interpersonal relationships, and whether the WEF is really using wokism to make everyone eat bugs and live in pods. It's fair to say that we do not see eye to eye on various issues but Konstantin puts in a spirited defence for his positions and there are various positions where a two-person consensus is achieved. Matt was physically present but he preferred to occupy the spiritual position of The Third for this conversation, given Chris' greater familiarity with Konstantin's output. Prior to the interview, we have an extended, somewhat grievance-heavy, opening segment in which we discuss 1) the recent damages awarded in the 2nd Sandyhook court case against Alex Jones, 2) Russian apologetics and the heterodox sphere, and 3) Institutional Distrust and Conspiracy Spirals. Dare we say this is a thematically consistent episode? Maybe... in any case, there should be plenty for people to agree or disagree with, which is partly why our podcast exists. So join us in this voyage into institutional and heterodox biases and slowly come to the dreaded conclusion that philosophers might be right about something... epistemics might actually matter. Links Bloomberg article on Alex Jone's almost $1 Billion damages JRE: #1848 - Francis Foster & Konstantin Kisin Triggernometry episode with Sam Harris on Trump, Religion, and Wokeness (Featuring Epoch Times ad read) Triggernometry episode with Harry Miller on excessive policing Konstantin's appearance on the Dark Horse Podcast New Republic article on the Heterodox figures touring for Orban's government <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/inside-the-epoch-times-a-mysterious-pr
Fri, September 30, 2022
In this bitesize decoding, a conservative columnist, a religious icon carver, and a tortured ex-psychologist walk into a Daily Wire studio and try to hash out some solution of the meta-meaning-crisis. In an astounding twist it turns out it involves embracing traditional Christianity. Who could have guessed? Join us on Jordan’s religious powered rocket as we consider the esoteric mystery of tableware, how fiction is probably true, and try to uncover what’s the deal with atheist materialists anyway? In a nutshell, it's the same old drum that's being beaten: it only seems like science does better than religion at explaining things, because religion trumps science because God does causality in mysterious non-material ways. Maybe ways that have something to do with symbols and meaning or whatever. Ho hum - this is why it's a mini-decoding and not a full episode. It's more than OK to skip this one if you feel you've already got a handle on Jordan and Pageau's jam. But honestly, it's maybe all worth it to hear Pageau's explain 'vertical causation'. Try to follow the argument there, we dare you. Along the way Matt and Chris will also teach us valuable lessons like how to deal with road rage bullies or aggressive bull sharks and how if you really want to be a Christian it’s ok to go to mass. Links Douglas Murray and Jonathan Pageau | #290
Tue, September 27, 2022
Fellow decoders: a few weeks ago Chris and Matt were invited to virtually attend a lecture at Macquarie University that promised to be of interest for the podcast. And that lecture was presented by the philosophy professor Neil Levy on the intriguing topic of 'Intellectual Virtue Signalling'. That is the status-seeking advertising of what is commonly perceived as intellectual virtues. We found Neil's thesis extremely compelling, with clear applications to a lot of the stuff we observe week on and week out on DTG. So, naturally, we swallowed our pride and our eternal disdain for philosophy and begged Neil to grace our humble show with his presence. Neil kindly agreed and we proceeded to have an enjoyable conversation with our patented meandering waffle juxtaposed against Neil's careful philosophizing. Before the interview, we also spend a little bit of time spelling out our policy on being abusive to the gurus. Here it is in summary: Don't do it! Robust criticism, ok. Personal abuse/doxing, is not ok. Got it? Good! Prof. Levy holds a dual position at the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University. He publishes not only in practical ethics and moral philosophy but also across diverse topics in cognition, addiction, and pathology. Neil has also written a number of books, most recently: Bad Beliefs: Why they happen to good people (2021) Consciousness and Moral Responsibility (2014) 'Bad Beliefs' is directly related to the podcast, and is available freely online! We heartily recommend this interview, and might even go so far as to say Neil has helpfully provided us with a bit of conceptual framework that undergirds some high-level stuff that's happening within and across the quantum circuits of the Gurometer. Thanks for that Neil!
Wed, September 14, 2022
It's finally here! In what has to be our most meta episode to date, Matt and Chris tackle the meta-philosophy / meta-spirituality / meta-science that is Sensemaking. You might say sensemaking is sense to the power of 2. But what is sensemaking, really? Well, that's a tricky question because as Jordan Hall says; no one can simply be told what sensemaking is. It is the escape hatch out of The Matrix, it is the finger pointing at the moon, it is a possibility space in an nth dimensional cube.... whatever the hell it is, some people are pretty sure it's the solution to all of humanity's problems. Exciting! So, since defining sensemaking is like trying to staple a jellyfish to a wall, it is very understandable that Jordan Hall, Jamie Wheal, and Daniel Schmachtenberger would take 2 hours and 40 minutes out of their busy schedule, and have a meta-conversation about this meta-topic, where they try to decipher exactly what this strange beast is and do some sensemaking about sensemaking. And it's even MORE understandable that Chris Kavanagh and Matthew Browne would take even longer out of their own schedules to try to analyse THAT discourse: sensemaking about sensemaking about sensemaking. Shifting to power notation for brevity, this episode is sensemaking cubed, which equals sense to the power of 4. How did we go? Well, sensemaking is like an elephant and everybody's got a piece of it. Chris is tweaking the tail, Matt's busy fondling the trunk, Daniel's inspecting the ears, and Jordan Hall is riding that bad boy, trampling poor Jamie Wheal and scaring all the monkeys. But we get there, we get there... So join us as we operate in 75 simultaneous paradigms, make not just sense but anti-nonsense, and discover what the difference really is between a puzzle and a photograph. Links Rebel Wisdom: Making Sense of Sensemaking: Daniel Schmachtenberger, Jamie Wheal, Jordan Hall Alexandros Marinos & Eric's Twitter Brouhaha Jonathan Pageau's angry thread on the 'arrogant secularists' at DTG and how little we know about demonology Matt's epic tweet-a-long thread
Sat, September 03, 2022
Today Chris and Matt are visited by Helen Lewis, a journalist, editor, and writer with what could very fairly be described as a rather distinguished career in those fields. Helen has previously worked at the New Statesman and is currently with The Atlantic . She has also served as a Women in the Humanities Honorary Writing Fellow at Oxford University and also on the steering committee for the Reuters Institute for Journalism at Oxford University. Her books include Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights . Helen's work covers a broad array of topics including politics, feminist issues, and contemporary/online culture. She is also known for a particular long-form interview which became a 'viral moment' when she sat down for a challenging discussion with one, Jordan B. Peterson. Most recently Helen has produced "The Church of Social Justice" for BBC4, which asks whether political movements might be taking the place of traditional religions in Britain. A question which never generates any controversy whatsoever. She is also working on an upcoming project that looks at internet gurus and the ecosystems they spawn. So, we were glad to take the opportunity to catch up and talk about the intersections with our rather idiosyncratic collection of interests. Join us as we try to decipher whether everything is a religion, if social justice requires a pope, and how exactly can we resolve ALL of those thorny culture war debates. We might not ultimately reach any satisfying answers but Helen does offer her one rule for life at the end of the interview! Also featured on this episode: our most defensive response to a review to date, and a segment on the dangers of JAQing off! Links The Church of Social Justice (BBC4) How Social Justice became a New Religion (The Atlantic) Helen's Book: Difficult Women- A History of Feminism in 11 Fights Helen's interview with Jordan Peterson for British CQ Joe Rogan's Recent Vote Republican Clip Chris' appearance on Embrace The Void discussing definitions of religion
Sat, August 27, 2022
A special crossover episode (long anticipated- at least by us) with one-half of the Knowledge Fight podcast. Specifically, we have Dan Friesen on to enlighten us about all things Alex Jones, the recent trial with the Sandy Hook parents, and to compare notes regarding gurus and conspiracy theorists. Not to mention to give Chris the chance to demonstrate his inner fanboy! Dan is a guy with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Alex Jones and some very astute insights into conspiracy psychology. In fact, Matt and Chris think he might be most accurately considered as something of a rogue anthropologist doing deep ethnographic observation of the InfoWars ecosystem. Dan, meanwhile, maintains he's just a guy! Either way, Dan and the Knowledge Fight podcast are definitely our kind of bag. We hope you too enjoy the conversation and there is plenty of Knowledge Fight episodes (700+) if this leaves you wanting more. Also, in this episode, we discuss Sam Harris' recent online travails, Jordan Peterson's appearance on Lex, and at the end of the episode, Matt finally learns what the podcast is really about! Links Knowledge Fight podcast Jordan's live-tweeting of the trial Alex Jone's trial highlight Knowledge Fight's post-trial review episode (712) with the Sandy Hook parents' trial lawyers Article on Knowledge Fight in the New York Times Dan & Jordan on CNN Article on that Paul Joseph Watson audio recording Jordan Peterson: Life, Death, Power, Fame, and Meaning | Lex Fridman Podcast #313 Sam Harris' appearance on Triggernometry
Sun, August 21, 2022
Ahead of the forthcoming sense-making full course decoding of Jordan Hall, Daniel Schmactenberger, and Jamie Wheal (see here!), we offer a bite-sized morsel of sense-making to whet your episode. Here Matt and Chris engage in a 'short' session of gurunalysis, or guruology (if you prefer the original Latin). The subject of the gurunalysis is a conversation between the cognitive scientist & philosopher, John Vervaeke and the amateur theologian/icon carver, Jonathan Pageau. Specifically, we join these two as they apply sensemaking to delve deep into the spine-chilling world of demonology. Are demons real creatures, patterns of thought that resonant in collective cognition, or maybe both? And what about daemons, egregores, banshees, how do they fit in? Join us for this special mini decoding and find out! Links Rebel Wisdom: Demons & the Machine, John Vervaeke & Jonathan Pageau Rebel Wisdom: Making Sense of Sensemaking: Daniel Schmachtenberger, Jamie Wheal, Jordan Hall
Sat, August 20, 2022
This episode is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The main portion of the episode features an interview with returning guest, Elgen Strait, host of the Falling Out podcast. Previously we've had Elgen on to talk about his life growing up as a second-generation member of Reverend Moon's Unification Church (the Moonies) and also to help us decode some historical lectures of Moon. This time he is back to talk about the recent assassination of the former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and the role that the Unification church played in that event. Heavy stuff but it felt like an important topic to discuss given Elgen's expertise, Chris' location, and the theme of the podcast. But that's not all! Also in this episode, you get a slightly out-of-date update on Alex Jone's trial (which will be good preparation for a forthcoming interview with Knowledge Fight's Dan Friesen) and a mini-decoding of Lex Fridman and Joe Rogan's recent conversation. Consider this a coda to the techno monk episode, that perhaps gives a glimpse into the more sinister side of that somewhat endearing naivety. The next decoding episode we are back with the sensemakers and it's one you won't want to miss! Links Falling Out Podcast Elgen's YouTube video on the Unification Church & human trafficking Elgen's YouTube video discussing the motivations of Testuya Yamagami Joe Rogan: Comedy, Controversy, Aliens, UFOs, Putin, CIA, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #300 Our previous episode interviewing Elgen on DTG Our decoding episode with Elgen looking at Reverend Moon's speeches Alex Jone's trial highlight Knowledge Fight's post-trial review episode (712) with the parents' trial lawyers
Bonus · Sun, July 31, 2022
As per Section 7, paragraph 3, item 2 in the Gurometer Constitution and User Manual states, "All covered gurus shall have a Right to Reply" and Robert Wright has taken us up on this invitation! Now, this provision is generally intended to allow the poor dears we cover a rejoinder to all the insults, smears, and canards we routinely employ in our 'take-downs'. But our coverage of Bob was almost entirely positive. As Bob says in this episode, "You liked me, you really liked me!". So, this was actually more of an excuse to catch up and tie off a few bows. Bob clarifies a few points on the more speculative frontiers of his worldview, and exactly what he means when he talks about potential teleologies in evolution. But the warm fuzzies and mutual back-patting in this interview quickly devolve into yet another bitter intra-podcast internecine feud about consciousness and whether it's 'spooky' or not. Matt accuses Chris of being a p-zombie, which he's done before, but since it's an ad-hominem par excellence, we can all agree it deserves more than one shake of the sauce bottle. Bob does his best to walk ( Chris) Matt back from the precipice of madness but to no avail. Although we might possibly have failed, once again, to solve the ultimate mystery of the human condition, at least a good waffley time was had by all. In the original episode, we made only passing reference to our disagreements with Bob over international relations, and Syria in particular. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has happened in the interim, and this has been a big focus of Bob's output since then. So, we have at-it a bit on that, on the benefits and limits of deploying cognitive empathy, and we touch on Grayzone and Bellingcat and who's dis-informing whom. It's no secret we earnestly disagree with Bob on geopolitics. But it's most definitely one of those topics where decent people can disagree. Since he's a frood who Really Knows Where His Towel is, we always appreciate the chance to talk to him. And who knows, one day Matt and Chris might even be wrong about something!? If so, I'm sure the subreddit will let us know. Enjoy! Links The original DTG decoding episode on Robert Wright Bob's interview with us on his channel Our interview with Bob on DTG The Monocle 24 piece on the 'evolution' of Putin <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/doum
Sun, July 24, 2022
Matt and Chris are back in the headspace of the Alchemical Lemon, Jordan Peterson, with what was supposed to be a shorter format decoding episode. You can judge for yourself how well that worked out! Nevertheless, this is still a 'recoding' episode of a previously decoded guru. For those interested, Jordan was covered way back in Episode 3 and jointly with Bret Weinstein in Episode 18 . It seemed about time to dip back into the ineffable well of the undisputed master of metaphors given that he seems to have revived his old Agenda Insight persona ( minus the Fedora ). This time we find Jordan in a foul mood delivering some stern advice to the Christian Churches on how to attract and recruit young men. He's been on a bit of a roll recently (since joining the Daily Wire) and thus far has delivered unsolicited 'messages' to Christians, Muslims, and CEOs. The mind boggles at how much advice he will have provided and to how many groups before the year is out! So join the decoders for a (theoretically) condensed decoding of a paradigmatic modern guru on the rampage. Think we are kidding? Think again sunshine. Listen... NOW! Do it, before it is too late. Links Peterson's Message to Christian Churches Our original episodes on Peterson: Episode 3 & Episode 18 Take down of Peterson's apologetic video on the war in Ukraine by Ukrainian Toronto Television An ex-fan's perspective on Jordan's trajectory from Rebel Wisdom Lex Fridman with Tim Kennedy in Ukraine
Bonus · Sun, July 10, 2022
What's this? Another episode? Well, sort of... Providing both a tantalising peak behind the Patreon curtain and an apology for the delayed release, we decided to release this week's Gurometer episode to everyone. Witness the science (/art) of Gurometry in action, as we fire up the Gurometer(TM) to calculate the precise Guru-nature of a techno monk and a perturbed social scientist. If you want to play along you can add your own scores for Lex, Haidt, or any of our previous gurus here: Rate the Gurus website And if you want to check the collected results: Gurometer Results
Fri, July 08, 2022
First, we apologise sincerely for the delayed-release. Matt and Chris have been busy beavers splicing together this decoding which proved particular gruelling for all sorts of uninteresting (but on-theme) technical reasons. But finally, the wait is over and the long-anticipated episode on AI-aficionado and popular podcast host, Lex Fridman, is here. Although as the title indicates this accidentally turned into a joint decoding episode of his guest, the 'heterodox' social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt. Lex is an interesting character and as such, for the decoding, two rather different pieces of content were selected: 1) a day-in-the-life video dairy and 2) one of his characteristic long-form interviews (with Haidt discussing social media). The format of a day-in-the-life video is perhaps inescapably cringey but it did give some unique insight into Lex's techno-monk lifestyle and his ongoing fascination/discovery of just how bad the Nazis & Hitler were. His interview with Haidt on the other hand was more substantial and covers a lot of tech-related issues that are genuinely complex and subject to an ongoing debate. Jonathan Haidt is a famous and well-regarded academic but also something of a controversial figure online in part because of his involvement in the dreaded 'culture wars'. In particular, Haidt co-wrote the influential book 'The Codding of the American Mind', founded 'Heterodox Academy', and is a vocal critic of 'wokism' and certain aspects of social media. We take a look at his arguments and try to discern whether he is a nuanced social scientist offering prescient warnings or a boomer shaking his fist at the kids these days? Join us and find out! Links A Day in My Life - Lex Fridman Jonathan Haidt: The Case Against Social Media | Lex Fridman Podcast #291 Two Psychologists, Four Beers: Episode 89: What's Wrong with Social Media? Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid - The Atlantic Orben & Przybylski (2019): The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use Response from Twenge, Haidt, Joiner, & Campbell (2020) <a hr
Fri, June 10, 2022
In a way, we're all managing our personal brand in the infosphere aren't we? But Nathan Allebach, in a far more tangible way, really does manage brands - not just his own, but also for companies. And in managing the Steak-Umm brand on twitter, he drew attention by being one of the first to adopt a personal, authentic, and informative style - covering topics far beyond the world of frozen processed steak. Far from providing the typical zero-calorie bland corporate platitudes, Nathan quickly drew attention by delivering substantial threads on weighty topics like conspiracism and online disinformation. He played a delicate game of being edgy without being snarky or combative, providing informative and positive intellectual fare, nourishing both the hearts and minds of twitter users everywhere. As a hardened and savvy longtime twitter user, he's got a good understanding of the weirdness of Being Online, and the various ways to do so. So, we were glad to have a chance to meat Nathan (virtually of course, not in the flesh), to get his insights on navigating the online world, on what it means to See and Be Seen there, and his personal approach to Doing It Right. He didn't share any Convenient Meat Recipes For Busy Professionals though, weirdly enough... Maybe we'll have to get him back for that. Links Brand Twitter Grows Up: Nathan's Article at The Vulture Steak Umm's Mega thread on Twitter Chris' Tweet threads about Pageau: here and here Jonathan Pageau: Why Human's Sacrifice Richard Dawkins & Jordan Peterson's discussion that features the DNA segment Chris' Article on Ritual & Religion at Aeon Chris' co-authored article on Trump's inauguration as a ritual event Gurometer Want to help us rate the Gurus? You can enter your own scores for any Guru <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0TeQ4YrPSWSVSQbV6lrLe9v0
Mon, May 30, 2022
The season of tech is upon us! Hold on to your hats and press those non-fungible tokens tightly to your bosom, because we are getting into the thick of it. Matt and Chris kick things off with an exploration of tech pioneer Jaron Lanier. Sometimes referred to as the father of virtual reality, Jaron is a promising candidate for gurudom given his foreboding warnings of a bleak algorithmic future and a penchant for opening tech lectures barefoot with impromptu performances of exotic instruments. In short, he's a groovy guy and Matt digs that! Chris, being the sour lemon that he is, takes a little while to adjust to Jaron's particular style. Some Weinsteinian warning signs might be flashing but there really are eccentric and very clever people in the world... and Lanier might just be one of them? He certainly has a track record of critically commenting on techno-optimism and social media platforms for at least two decades. But some of his pronouncements seem a tad OTT and some recommendations a little hand-wavy... So how do the decoders square this particular dread-locked circle? Well, you're going to have to listen all the way to the end to find out. So, get yourself comfortable. Drink some coffee and pop some no-doze, and strap yourself in. Smash the Duck! Links Was the Internet a Horrible Mistake? Jaron Lanier on Honestly with Bari Weiss That VR boxing game Chris' mentioned Peterson being a smug judge on Twitter
Bonus · Tue, May 24, 2022
Ahead of the Jaron Lanier episode a special preview episode of our ongoing Decoding Academia series. This week Matt and Chris take a look at a classic comparative study of social learning processes in chimpanzees and infants (Horner & Whiten, 2005). They discover the correct method to break into a puzzle box, that chimpanzees are sometimes more logical than people, and that popular idioms do not always house universal truths. For anyone interested in reading the paper it is available for free here . We will be back later in the week with our normal decoding episode.
Fri, May 20, 2022
It's been a while but don't worry the DtG elves have been hard at work and a veritable bounty of content is on its way. The long-promised Jaron Lanier decoding is on its way next week, but this week the cross-overs continue as we are joined by Mickey Inzlicht, esteemed Psychologist, Research Excellence Faculty Scholar at the University of Toronto, and long term (retired) co-host of the Two Psychologists, Four Beers podcast. Mickey has now hung up his podcasting headphones but like an old prizefighter, we were able to lure him back into the limelight one last time with promises of unlimited booze and global fame. To keep Mickey from realising we could provide neither, we then subjected him to an unrelenting barrage of questions for almost two hours. Under our relentless questioning, Mickey gave up the goods on some precious long-buried information, including what it's like to work with Jordan Peterson, the details on his campaign to destroy introspection, and what he really thinks of the Gurus. We also manage to discuss some serious stuff like the state of contemporary psychology, the impact of the replication crisis, whether preregistration is always beneficial (it is, don't listen to Matt!), and to resolve the fundamental nature of the Self! Mickey is a wise egg, a funny guy, and a veteran podcaster and we really enjoyed this conversation so we hope you will too! Stick around at the end for some Tamler themed feedback and more pronunciation errors than you can shake a stick at. Back next week with Jaron Lanier! Links Mickey's Homepage Two Psychologists Four Beers 27: Against Mindfulness Bernard Schiff's Article on Jordan Peterson for the Toronto Star: I was Jordan Peterson’s strongest supporter. Now I think he’s dangerous. Inzlicht, M., & Friese, M. (2019). The past, present, and future of ego depletion. Social Psychology. Friese, M., Loschelder, D. D., Gieseler, K., Frankenbach, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2019). Is ego depletion real? An analysis of arguments. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 23(2), 107-131. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/30/facebook-emotion-study-breached-ethical-guidelines-researchers-say" rel
Fri, April 29, 2022
In the most ambitious crossover since the Fraggles met the Muppets, this week we have a special joint episode with moral psychologist David Pizzaro and famed philosopher and ghost detective, Tamler Sommers . Also known as the hosts of a small academic podcast Very Bad Wizards . Stealing the format of their show we have a culture war heavy intro section featuring discussion of Joe Rogan censorship, covid debates, Japanese maid cafes, and the great ghost debate of 2022. Following that we move on to an in-depth round-table discussion of the 2012 Paul Thomas Anderson movie 'The Master'. The movie explores the relationship between a wastrel and a cult leader and features performances by Joacquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. There is no denying it's an acting masterclass (and thematically relevant for the show!) but is it any good? Join us and help us as we attempt to decode with the wizards. Links Very Bad Wizards podcast Embrace the Void 237: Defining "religion" with Chris Kavanagh 'Here We Are Podcast' Ep. 381 Internet Gurus w/ Dr. Chris Kavanagh The Stoa: Truth, Trust, and Culture War w/ Zubin Damania, Christopher Kavanagh, Ben Burgis, and David Fuller
Sat, April 23, 2022
This week's episode we have an extended interview with an independent decoder, the YouTube documentary maker, Timbah-on-Toast. A kindred spirit in many respects Timbah is perhaps the ultimate form of the 'I can't come to bed, someone is wrong on the internet' meme. He makes detailed videos analysing the content of a variety of internet pundits, especially those who are posing as something they are not. If you have not experienced one of Timbah's documentaries you should go do so now. He has an excellent 3-part series on Dave Rubin's interview techniques and another 4-part series breaking down the career of the propagandist founder of the Veritas Project, James O'Keefe. His most recent series, however, is looking at self-proclaimed milquetoast centrist fence-sitter, the eternal beanie wearing Tim Pool. We compare notes, delve into what makes Timbah motivated to do what he does, and discuss his Scooby Doo narrative arc. So join us as Chris meets a kindred consumer of irritating content and Matt continues to ponder if it's all just cloud castles and narcissism. Also featuring... a Weinstein World update, the standard banter quotient, and an abusive Patreon shoutout segment. Links Jordan Peterson's 'Smug Judge' Tweet Bret Weinstein & Jonathan Pageau: Ancient Wisdom, Modern World Timbah's Series on Dave Rubin: Battle of Ideas Timbah's Series on James O'Keefe: 10 Years of Truth Tim Pool: Chaotic News Analyst Tim Pool: Fence Sitter
Fri, April 08, 2022
This week we return one more time to the disturbing world of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, also known as the 'Moonies', this time with a historical decoding episode. We are joined again this week by Elgen Strait, from Falling Out podcast, who helps us with a historical decoding of Reverend Moon's speeches and Moonie promotional material. Due to the subject matter we cannot promise a barrel of laughs but we hope this episode offers some useful insights into the approach of a genuine cult leader. It's also a useful comparison episode to see where there are parallels with the modern secular gurus we usually examine and where they diverge. So join us as we return to an imagined glory era of America in the 1950s (or was it 70s) when Absolute Sex & a God centred ideology was all anyone needed for a perfect society... at least according to Moon. Links Falling Out Podcast Sun Myung Moon: God Bless America Festival (1976) Rare Complete Bicentennial Documentary & We will Stand. Rev. Sun Myung Moon QAnon Anonymous 160: The Moonies Conquer DC feat Elgen Strait Article on Trump's appearance at Unification Church linked event Jordan Peterson speaking with Andy Ngo about Antifa
Thu, March 31, 2022
This episode is the first of two linked episodes in which we delve into the disturbing world of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church also known as the 'Moonies'. Here in an interview episode we introduce Elgen Strait , host of the Falling Out Podcast which is "a podcast about leaving the Moonies and other cults, as told by the kids who grew up within them." The topic matter is serious and Elgen deftly introduces us to the manipulative cult dynamics he experienced first hand, as well as offering some broader information about how the Moonies craft their public image and raise funds. However, Elgen is a man after our own hearts and his dark sense of humour means that he can also enjoy a laugh at Moon's expense & enlighten us about Absolute Sex(!), a term that might mean something slightly different than you imagine. Our next episode will be guest co-hosted by Elgen as we take an excursion from the contemporary secular gurus and attempt to decode some historical recordings from a bonafide religious cult leader. This episode hopefully provides the foundations to better understand that decoding and we hope you 'enjoy' the discussion with Elgen as much as we did, despite the subject matter! Links Falling Out Podcast Sun Myung Moon: God Bless America Festival (1976) Rare Complete Bicentennial Documentary & We will Stand. Rev. Sun Myung Moon(content for the decoding episode) QAnon Anonymous 160: The Moonies Conquer DC feat Elgen Strait Article on Trump's appearance at Unification Church linked event Podcast Recommendations When Diplomacy Fails Monocle 24: Foreign Desk War on the Rocks
Sat, March 26, 2022
Another interview episode - we've had a flurry recently but don't worry, we'll be returning to a good ol' fashioned decoding episode very soon. This week we just couldn't resist the opportunity to have a chinwag with our podcasting compadre Julian Walker , an eloquent writer on evidence-based & conspiracy matters and co-host of the Conspirituality podcast. Julian's a yoga instructor and (maybe even) a spiritual kinda guy, but has long opposed the conspiratorial, anti-science, and exploitative guru side of the yoga & 'health & wellness' communities. In short, he's a science-minded guy moving in spiritual and yoga circles, who is now directly involved in countering the endless proliferation of pseudoscientific & conspiratorial nonsense. So, Matt and Chris take this opportunity to pick Julian's brain about what's been going on over on the crunchy side of the aisle, how it relates (and even overlaps) with the secular gurus, and the cultural moment we're in more generally. Due to the backlog caused by lazy elves in the DTG editing bay, some of the references to the trucker convoy and whatnot are a bit outdated, nor will you hear any mention of Ukraine. But don't mind that! Julian's got a lot of insight to offer and we hope you enjoy listening to him as much as we did! Links Conspirituality 90: The Convoy is an Occupation (w/ Elizabeth Simons). More detailed analysis of the Trucker Convoy Conspirituality 95: Aleksandr Dugin: Kali Yuga Chess. A recent episode by Julian doing a deep dive on Putin's alleged guru.
Thu, March 17, 2022
Hot on the heels of our Joe Rogan Trilogy, the big red phone at Decoder HQ rang with an intriguing proposal. Well, it was more of a DM, and it said, "Hi, love your show, would love to come on talk about Joe. Josh Szeps". "Josh Szeps?" we thought. "Who's that?" 5 mins of internet research later we found out it was none other than the voice of Olly the Kookaburra at the 2000 Sydney games! Well, we have to have him on, we thought. And as a bonus, he's also been on the Joe Rogan Experience where he famously gave him some real talk about COVID, vaccines, and the relative threat of myocarditis. In so doing Josh become, for a while at least, something of a reluctant hero to Joe Rogan cancel mobs everywhere. "Book him!" intoned Matt, decisively. "Right you are sir!" chirped Chris, obsequiously. Recollections of the specific events differ, but essentially just like that, podcast interview history was made. Josh Szepps has been an ABC journalist, panelist, TV and radio host, raconteur, and general opinionated and interviewer in Australia for donkey's years. He also has his own podcast, ( Impossible ) sorry Uncomfortable Conversations , which some say is pretty, pretty OK. Matt's been listening to him for years on the radio, so he tried not to be star-struck. While Josh managed (some would say too easily) to conceal his awe of Matt's towering intellect and impressive academic achievements. Chris meanwhile, knowing nothing of Australian culture and etiquette waffled on with his usual wild abandon. The conversation does include chat about the shiny-headed, supplement-infused, muscle master himself, but (fortunately) soon turns to broader discussion of disinformation, censorship, responsible heterodoxy, the general health of the info-sphere, and many, many more topics crucial to Saving our Civilisation! We argue constructively debate many topics including the impact of deplatforming and whether there is a need for greater editorial oversight (or if we are taking the first step to the Gulags). We don't see eye to eye on everything, but Josh is a super cool guy so enjoy some civility porn as we engage in the kind of debate that would make even the IDW superstars proud. Check it out! Links Uncomfortable Conversation with Josh Szeps 'The Facts about Myocarditis' On Afternoons with Josh Szeps Jos
Sun, March 06, 2022
This is an important episode. 2022 you needs to realise what 2020 you could not and what 2030 you is ready to tell you. Confused? You will be. On this episode we tackle two gurus that we have treated separately: James Lindsay of New Discourses (episode 2) and Michael O'Fallon of Sovereign Nations (episode 13). O'Fallon hasn't changed much from our episode analysing him, aside from starting a conspiracy laden daily news show. But James... well... judge for yourself. On this episode you will learn many amazing facts, including how feminist glaciology is at the core of the Great Reset, that the NFL is now the Critical Race Football league, and how what 'it' is really all about is making people into pets who are driven by AI cars and eat bugs. For this excursion, Chris and Matt are joined for the second time by Aaron Rabinowtiz, host of Embrace the Void (@ETVPod) and Philosophers in Space podcasts, PhD student, and lecturer at Rutgers University. This means we have now had two back to back episodes with philosophers... and we really can't apologise enough. Links Ben Garrison's cartoon featuring Scott Adams Sovereign Nations' Public Occurrences | Episode 7 | Woke NFL Sovereign Nations' Public Occurrences | Episode 10 | Obedience Training Climate Justice | James Lindsay & Michael O'Fallon | Changing Tides Ep. 1 A Critical Reset | James Lindsay & Michael O'Fallon | Changing Tides Ep. 2 New Discourses | Groomer Schools 2: Queer Futurity and the Sexual Abuse of Your Children New Discourses | Groomer Schools 3: The Creation of an American Red Guard That Immune book by Philipp Dettmer from Gurzgesagt
Thu, March 03, 2022
Today we have a little mid-week treat, ahead of our next decoding episode, a discussion with the philosopher and Leverhulme Prize Winning Twitter sensation, Liam Kofi Bright. Liam is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method at a little known degree-mill called the London School of Economics. On this episode we have a wide ranging discussion revolving around the state of the Orthodoxy in modern scientific research, the viability of proposed reforms, and finally Liam decodes whether we are mindless defenders of the status quo or the true heirs of the Logical Positivists tradition. Along the way we also learn the three rules to master Twitter, what Open Science is all about, whether philosophers of science are good or bad, and what exactly 26+6 equals. Links Chris' appearance on The Stoa discussing the Gurometer Liam Bright's website Liam's (2016) paper 'On Fraud' Liam's (2021) paper 'Why do Scientists Lie' Remco Hessen & Liam's (2021) paper 'Is peer review a good idea' Liam on Twitter This Week's Sponsor Check out the sponsor of this week's episode, Ground News, and get the app at ground.news/gurus .
Sat, February 26, 2022
On this week's show we have a broad ranging discussion with the well known journalist and author Virginia Heffernan. Virginia has written a bunch on the topic of technology, social media, scientism, and especially the Edge organisation. We discuss her research into Edge and related figures but also range further afield to cover debates in academia, the culture war and gurus, anthropology debates in the 90s, race & IQ rationalists, and other such topics. One short service note is that Matt is incognito for part of the conversation as he had a prior appointment so you will have to endure Chris functioning on his own but do not fear our intrepid psychologist re-emerges to offer some words of wisdom at the end. Also, the conversation with Virginia was recorded in advance of the events in Ukraine so no recent events are discussed (which is probably for the best). For those who want to do a bit more digging on the topics discussed, below are a bunch of related articles and you can also follow Virginia on Twitter (@page88) and check out her new podcast ' This is Critical ' which encourages people to look critically at a wide array of topics, which is quite on brand for us! Links Virginia's piece on Edge & John Brockman Virginia's essays on Wired Virginia's Substack piece on Jordan Peterson Virginia's Substack piece on Peter Thiel Virginia's Website Virginia's book: Magic & Loss- The Internet as Art Insider article on the sordid tale of Chris chan Two articles Chris wrote on his ancient blog about the Captain Cook debate ( part 1 and <a href="https://god-knows-what.com/2009/09/16/the-battle-over-captain-cooks-corpse-part-2/amp/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_bla
Sat, February 19, 2022
Matt and Chris finally leave the Rogan-verse behind, activate their Infinite Improbability Drive, and blast off for the Bob-o-verse. In an off-again / on-again, will they / won't they battle of wits, we outmanoeuvre Bob by covering an episode that he planned to record for our benefit, which we then explained we wouldn't cover because that would violate our rules, which he decided to record anyway, and we then decided it would be alright to cover because he thought we weren't going to cover it. Which one of us is playing 4-dimensional chess and who's playing Hungry Hippo? We're not sure. Robert Wright is a journalist, author, independent commentator, and podcaster. A stalwart of the public intellectual scene, he never joined the Intellectual Dark Web. How's that for a recommendation!? He's written and thought, or thought and then written about so many topics it's impossible to mention them all, but they span evolution, Buddhism, geopolitics, philosophy, and everything in between. But is he a guru? (Spoiler) Of course he is. Yes, definitely. But is he a good guru? Well, we're not going to tell you. You're going to have to tune in to find out. Chris and Matt are simple folk, but they do their best to wrap their heads around Bob's cosmic philosophy, which spans the fundamental algorithms of evolution, black holes, alternative universes, and how we should probably all be nice to one another if we want to create a global brain. You might think grokking those ideas would be like watching Koyaanisqatsi while tripping on ayahuasca, but actually it all makes sense. We think. But is it true? Is it real? Is Wright right? That my friends, is up to you to decide. But in this episode we will open the door.... (and possibly resolve the mystery of consciousness at the same time, turns out there was no problem all along). Links Timbah on Toast's new video on Tim Pool: Fence Sitter Knowledge Fight: Formulaic Objections Part 4 The Dharma of Bob 8: A Cosmic View of Our Situation | Robert Wright & Josh Summers | The Wright Show What is Tribalism? Non-Zero Newsletter Sponsor Check out the sponsor of this week's episode, Ground News to compare news coverage. Spot media bias. And be better informed. Download the free Ground News app at ground.news/gurus</
Thu, February 10, 2022
This week we speak to fellow traveller, kindred spirit, and vaccine misinformation debunker, Dr Dan Wilson. Yes, we know we've talked SO much about anti-vax rhetoric recently, and we hope the day will soon come when we can leave it all behind us, but friends, today is not that day. For more than a year, Dan's YouTube channel DebunkTheFunk has focused on rebutting COVID and vaccine misinformation from characters such as Geert Vanden-Bossche, Joseph Mercola and RFK Jnr. His recent episodes on Robert Malone and Peter Mc Collough have been an invaluable source for the decoders for our recent episodes. So of course we were delighted that Dan could come speak to us about what he does, what they do, and what kind of rhetorical tropes and tricks he sees from these characters. Dan seems to suffer from the same masochistic malaise we do, in feeling compelled to listen to some of the worst material available on the internet, so as to point out what's wrong with it. And he accomplishes that mission effectively, and most mysteriously for Chris and Matt, concisely as well. It's not all negative, because as well as talking about anti-vaxxers specifically, we all bask in our shared admiration for This Week in Virology, the kind of critical yet open-minded science communication show we'd all love to see a lot more of. We also talk about the kind of everyday epistemics that we can all practice to separate fact from fiction, and the kind of public engagement that genuine experts, researchers and scientists need to practice in order to take back the infosphere from snake-oil salesmen and attention-seekers of all kinds. It was an absolute pleasure to talk to Dan. We love what he does, and we hope he goes on doing it for a long time to come. We hope you enjoy it too, and we heartily recommend sharing DebunkTheFunk with friends, family and colleagues who have slipped down the conspiratorial rabbit-hole on COVID and vaccines.
Bonus · Fri, February 04, 2022
To cap off our impromptu mini-series focusing on the Rogan-verse we take a critical look at Joe's short (non) apology video responding to the Spotify controversy surrounding his recent episodes with Robert Malone & Peter McCullough. In it we get to see a charming Joe Rogan being humble and compromising, while standing firm to explain why his critics have got him all wrong. He's not some hardline anti-vaccine advocate with an agenda to spread covid misinformation, he's just a normal guy who likes to have interesting conversations and hear from both sides(tm) on controversial topics. Joe's certainly on the charm offensive and he's already won plaudits from the heterodox for doing the right thing but are these really deserved? And how well does what Joe says hold up when you look at it critically? We do what few will bother and compare & contrast how Joe describes what he does vs. what he actually does and says in his content. And we find a few discrepancies that seem worth mentioning. This will be our last dip into the Rogan-verse for the next while but we would encourage anyone who wants more to go back to our episodes on Rogan & Jocko Willink or the combined episode on Robert Malone & Peter McCullough. Whether you are a fan of Rogan or a critic, we hope you can find something useful in our critical evaluation and we will back soon with a full length decoding. Links Joe Rogan's apology video DTG: Episode on Robert Malone & Peter McCullough DTG: Episode on Joe Rogan & Jocko Willink Timbah on Toast: Tim Pool - Fence Sitter Article by Tristan Flock on what Malone & McCullough have actually said and promoted Spotify's new platform rules on Misinformation
Bonus · Fri, January 28, 2022
This week a bonus Gurometer episode has sneaked out from behind the golden curtain of the DTG Patreon pay wall. We aren't out of the Rogan-verse yet. Our last task is to try and scientifically quantify the precise guru nature of the two good doctors using our patented Gurometer instrument. Are they guru wannabes, mid-tier, or high level? Join us to find out. Next week, we will be back with a full length guru episode! ...and for those who would like to see all the ratings of previous gurus, you can find those here .
Thu, January 13, 2022
Matt and Chris return to the Joe Rogan-verse much quicker than they would have liked to take a critical eye to two recent episodes (6 more hours!!!) offering controversial takes on Covid 19 and the dangers of vaccines. Yes, that's right more fear mongering, more global conspiracies, and more unrecognised heroes of science that Joe needs to promote to his large audience. In this case, we have Dr. Robert Malone, the *self-proclaimed* inventor of mRNA vaccines, and Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who was recently sued by his old hospital for using its name when promoting his covid theories. Both figures are well documented promoters of covid misinformation, including in various appearances on extreme right wing conspiracy sites like Alex Jones' InfoWars. Matt and Chris are no medical experts nor do they play them on podcasts (if you are looking for a point by point technical/medical debunking, we would recommend following the links at the bottom of these show notes). But what they are very familiar with are modern gurus and conspiracy theorists. So in this episode, after twenty plus episodes of calibrating the Gurometer(TM) with known gurus, they take it for a new test with these two maverick doctors. Applying the well-developed science of Gurometry(TM) to a novel dataset. How do they fare? Guess... Honestly, this is probably the darkest and most depressing episode we've done. It was not fun and we would really prefer to be talking about something else but here we are. Hopefully we will not be back soon... Links The JRE 1757: Robert Malone The JRE 1747: Peter McCullough The Atlantic: The Vaccine Scientist Spreading Vaccine Misinformation For Better Science: How Dr Robert Malone invented Antivaxxery Respectful Insolence: Is “mRNA vaccine inventor” Robert Malone “being erased from Wikipedia” for his claims about COVID-19? Respectful Insolence:
Bonus · Thu, December 30, 2021
The New Year is upon us and the gurologists thought they should contribute to the holiday cheer in the only way they can... releasing a rambling podcast about academic minutiae! This is not a new guru episode, instead it is a preview of our Patreon bonus series 'Decoding Academia' in which we discuss research that has influenced us & we think is relevant for understanding the gurus (or in this case approaching research critically). The paper in question is a classic social psychology paper that slightly pre-empted the Replication Crisis with very timely warnings about lax methodological standards. The paper is titled 'False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant' and is by Simmons, Nelson, & Simonsohn (2011). If you want to read the paper yourself it can be freely accessed here . It introduces the concept of 'Researcher Degrees of Freedom' and also statistically *proves* that listening to certain music can make you physically younger. How? Join us and find out! Finally... just a quick note to say Happy New Year from Chris & Matt! We will be back early next year with our Robert Wright episode and many gurus thereafter.
Sat, December 18, 2021
Joe Rogan is a world famous podcaster, a martial artist, a stand-up comedian, a MMA commentator, co-founder of the Onnit supplement company, the ex-host of Fear Factor, a long term friend of Alex Jones, and recently a major outlet for promoting 'alternative' Covid facts. And yet despite all these 'achievements' and his recent multi million dollar deal with Spotify many argue that a large part of Joe's appeal is that he is just a 'regular Joe'. Joe himself has said he's just a 'f**king moron' and that people should not take his opinion seriously... but does he mean it? Join Matt & Chris as they break out their dusty gym bags and enter the house of pain that is long form podcasting to try and imbibe the full Joe Rogan Experience. To aid in this glorious quest, the guys sought out the most testosterone laced JRE episode they could find and inevitable landed on a recent episode with ex-navy seal & motivational author, Jocko Willink. This is a man who everyday posts black and white photographs of his wristwatch at 4.30am with captions like 'Ready. Set. GET SOME' & 'Default: AGGRESSIVE'. If you think this means the episode will be covering the sexually arousing nature of armoured cars, the beauty of handcrafted knives, and how to revive the American manufacturing industry... you would be right. But that's not all. You will also discover surprising non-partisan 'facts' like how Tulsi Gabbad is the centrist messiah, George Soros is responsible for recent US crime waves, Nancy Pelosi is an assassin, and the Hunter Biden laptop story is the biggest story of the modern era. Oh and, of course, that Covid vaccines are dangerous and effective alternative treatments are being hushed up. Wait... what? So rev your engines, sharpen your handcrafted knives, and get ready to smash headfirst through brick walls of ignorance and faux expertise in this testosterone soaked episode as Matt & Chris refuse to acquiesce to the 'burden of civility'. P.S. Did Matt mention that he had to listen to 6hrs this week?!? Links The JRE 1740: Jocko Willink The JRE 1492: Jocko Willink The JRE 1742: Peter McCullough Andrea With The Bangs Interview with Chris & Matt Kurzgesagt- We Lied to You... And We'll Do it Again! TIm Nguen's 'A Response to Economi
Bonus · Fri, December 10, 2021
Listeners might remember Chris Williamson from our episode on Gad Saad. He was the former love island contestant who interviewed Gad and appeared to have taken an IDW turn. So while Matt & Chris focused their critical attention primarily on the master of irony, Gad Saad, they also raised a rather skeptical eye towards Chris Williamson as well. And listeners, they were not kind. Not at all... Nevertheless, Chris W. reached out and accepted our standing offer for any guru covered to come on to the show and respond to the criticisms we made. The result was an interesting and wide ranging exchange that covered issues such as what it's like for a non-specialist to interview famous academics, the incentives and pressures at play in the modern social media ecosystem, and how DTG commentary feels when you are on the receiving side! For fans of cringe comedy this episode might be particularly enjoyable as off-hand comments and cutting remarks are discussed and dissected for their fairness. But (spoiler!) everyone survives to the end. Chris (Kavanagh) also took a degree of pleasure in watching the alleged 'nice guy' of the podcast squirm over his cheeky remarks. All in all there is some nice symmetry, in that everybody had something to cringe about. But perhaps this dialogue will alchemically transform that cringe into spiritual gold, and we can all learn something and grow a little as people or podcasters? Or maybe not? Time will tell, ay? Have a listen and see what you think! P.S. Sincere apologies for the audio quality, especially on Matt's end. We recorded this at an ungodly hour of the morning and Matt was too zombified to select the good microphone. Or the DISC could have interfered with it... Something like that. Links The original DTG episode on Gad Saad with Chris Williamson
Bonus · Fri, December 03, 2021
So, what even IS the deal with Matt? Is he a proper psychologist or does his past conceal something darker, aside from his bronzed skin-tone? Until now, he's been a mystery hidden in a enigma and wrapped within a svelte Australian shell. Well, enquiring minds need to know, so that's all about to change! Here it is - The Story of Matt. The ins, the outs, and the 'what-have-yous'. The false starts, the missed opportunities for fame, the many entry roles as a research 'shit-kicker', and his final glorious ascension to his ultimate form as a white haired tenured Professor. You'll learn why being an English language teacher is not a real job, how Matt could have been a contender in the massively lucrative and prestigious field of artificial intelligence, where all the fish live (under the sea, mostly), the powers and ideologies at play in gambling research, why Matt isn't impressed by Taleb's claims about fat tails, and so much more. You'll be left wondering, "How can one man, even if he is very ancient, do so much? Is he a polymath? Or does he just have a short attention span, and trouble holding down a job?" And finally, as an exercise for the listener, like Chris, you will be left to wonder "is convolve a real word?" Here it is: the backstory of Matt. Links Matt's prolific research output Inside Gambling article on Matt's research 'Two for Tea' podcast episode with Matt on his research
Fri, November 26, 2021
Brené Brown is an American professor, lecturer, author, storyteller researcher, and podcast host. She's made it her life's work to help people rise strong, brave the wilderness, and dare to lead - all through overcoming shame and embracing their own vulnerability. So naturally Chris and Matt - being the emotionally unavailable, culturally stunted and cynical gits that they are - bemoan all this positivity and do their level best to try and drag her down to their bitter and petty level. Can you get the secret to self-actualisation in a TED talk? Or is it more a sequence of inspirational quote memes strung together? Or are these things one and the same? Perhaps Professor Brown is honing in on universal psychological truths. Or alternatively, she might be an unwitting expression of American hyper-individualism and self-obsessed culture. Well, you're gonna get the Irish and Australian take on that. Thanksgiving is obviously the perfect time for the hosts to tell their US listeners that American culture sucks and that kids shouldn't follow their dreams but prepare to be cogs in the machine. No, no, they don't do that. Well... not entirely. Well, what do they say? What is there take? You'll have to tune in to find out! Links The power of vulnerability (TED talk) Listening to shame (TED talk) ' If you want to heal yourself, WATCH THIS!' Brené Brown & Lewis Howes on 'The School of Greatness' Eric Weinstein: How Not to Formulate a Theory of Everything (Tim Nguyen) Live-tweet of Eric's Chicago Lecture by Sandro Sharashenidze Bret and Heather Darkhorse 105: State Lies Coming Across
Bonus · Tue, November 23, 2021
It had to happen eventually. As Matt and Chris listen week in and week out to the world's greatest gurus pontificating on the mysteries of the universe, it's only natural that the siren call of Galaxy Brain takes and revolutionary theories would prove too great. And so seeking to take advantage of the parasocial bonds they have scrupulously cultivated (and signal their value to the University of Austin) they are launching a new Patreon bonus series on 'Decoding Academia'. The first two instalments covering Matt & Chris' work & main research interests will be freely available to all. But for the deeper arcane knowledge that only true free thinkers would dare behold, you will need to smash through our Patreon 'Strategic Economic Barrier' or SEB. In this episode, Chris discusses the cognitive and evolutionary relevance of religion (what is it?, why is it?, and what is it good for?), rituals (what are they? why do we do them? and why are there painful ones?!?), & Gods (why do we care about them? Do we need them for religion). So take a breather from the culture war and enjoy some light academic waffle! We will be back on Friday this week with a full guru episode on Brene Brown! Links Chris' article on 'Religion Without Belief' at Aeon Chris' article on Hazing Rituals at Aeon Preprint version of Academic Article by Chris on 'Is Japan Religious'
Sat, November 06, 2021
Dr Annie Kelly is a writer, researcher, and the British correspondent for the well and deservedly praised podcast QAnon Anonymous. Her PhD research was on digital anti-feminism and the kinds of ideas that float around certain 'tradcon', biological essentialist, or religiously motivated groups. She does research on antifeminism, new digital cultures, conspiracy theories and right wing extremism. Prompted by the resurgence in anti-vax sentiment, Annie's been looking into the history and sociology of vaccinations, and sees lots of interesting roots and themes for understanding what's going on right now. Her new podcast, "Vaccine - The Human Story" has been digging into precisely these issues, and so we had questions for Annie, lots of questions! The history of the germ theory of disease, the early use (and abuse) of vaccinations, and the panics, xenophobia and quack therapies - it's quite simply fascinating stuff, and we get a wonderful overview from Annie in this episode. Annie's work at QAA and elsewhere naturally focuses more on the extreme end of the spectrum, and while pulling no punches, she approaches what can be quite disturbing and confronting topics with a humour and empathy that is incredibly authoritative and reassuring. We talk about COVID and vaccines, but so much more, like the anti-feminist ideas that float around in the hinterland between athiesm and religiosity, pick up artists converting to Orthodox Christianity, and other weirdness. One of our most enjoyable and informative interviews - do check it out! Links Vaccine: The Human Story (on Youtube) Vaccine: The Human Story (podcast) QAnon Anonymous 161: The Northern Irish Satanic Panic (Part 1) Joe Rogan's instagram rant about Australia Joe Rogan double standards in defending Trump Jnr. The 'hardcore' metal Matt was referring to in the intro
Sat, October 30, 2021
Sam Harris probably needs no introduction in our neck of the info-sphere as he is seemingly never far from the spotlight... or the occasional controversy. We’ve had some nice things to say about Sam, but we’ve also made some harsh criticisms, particularly regarding a short episode he released which seemed to suggest it was necessary to practice introspective meditation in order to fully understand why his political and culture war views were correct. Although we’ve never done a ‘proper’ episode on Sam, we have always stated that anyone we discuss is welcome to come on the show and discuss (or dispute) our charges – which is exactly what Sam is doing here! This interview is split into two sections. In the first, we discuss Sam’s app and whether it might encourage guru dynamics and the role of meditation and (non) self-awareness in forming an accurate political outlook. We put some of our criticisms to Sam especially regarding guru dynamics, issues of introspective verification of truth claims, and the potential for abusive practices and manipulation by gurus. In the second section, we turn to some of the more controversial topics that have sprung up around Sam over the years. Sam responds to proposals that he might be as tribal as the rest of us suckers, and he defends himself against accusations that he might have selective empathy and blind spots towards the rightish side of the political spectrum. We talk about tribalism and the potential distorting effects of personal relationships, as well as anthropologists, Islamism, wokism, right-wing extremism, and how political biases manifest themselves on the left and right. Although the format is an interview, it does get quite ‘debate-y’ at times. And it’s probably true that we don’t come to a grand reconciliation of views at the end. However, nobody storms off, so what you get is a frank and friendly but robust exchange of views. We hope you enjoy it. Links Embrace the Void 170: State of the IDW with Chris Kavanagh Article by Stuart Hayashi on Stefan Molyneux's views about the Holocaust Stefan Molyneux profile on the Daily Beast Our episode on Douglas Murray <a href="https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/18-gad-saad-oh-my-gad-its-the-saadfather" rel="noopener nore
Tue, October 26, 2021
The hosts are certainly in no position to criticise someone for what they eat, with Matt unable to resist a Fosters and shrimps on a barbie, and Chris subsisting entirely on potatoes and Guinness. But... neither host have yet attempted to live on an all meat diet. Which is a shame, because according to Mikhaila Peterson and many others, meat and only meat is what you need. Sure, it's on the edgier part of the fad diet spectrum. But according to proponents: inflammation, depression, chronic Lyme disease - you name it, meat cures it. In this episode you'll learn about the surprising diversity of customised, bespoke, and finely-tuned all-meat diets that are out there. You'll also learn more about Chris' two mortal enemies, the British and the Fish, and how Matt's snacking proclivities mean he is in perilous danger of becoming a fungus zombie. More substantively, Mikhaila provides an interesting entry point to dig a little deeper into the psychological, psychosomatic, and physical problems that lead people into adopting this kind of restrictive practice. Just as Jordan Peterson discussed the truly horrific and destructive powers unleashed by sipping apple cider, there seems to be a common theme of attributing HUGE and dramatic powers to dietary choices. All of which is connected to existential concerns about what we put into our body, magical thinking about health and wellness, heuristics about purity, and anxieties about personal control. Get ready for lots of anecdotal reasoning and emotional testimonies of those with meat based lived experience. Could an all meat diet be for you? Tune in, and find out! Links Top Carnivore Diet Doctor Tips | Ken Berry - MP Podcast #117 Carnivore Anecdotes | Mikhaila Peterson Podcast #69 Mikhaila Peterson Q and A 100th Podcast Episode Recent Times Article on Peterson that is highly critical of Mikhaila Nolan Investigates... Stonewall Podcast Unofficial Discord Thread on the Subreddit Medium Article by Matthew Remski on The New Age / Medieva
Sat, October 09, 2021
You might have noticed there's been a bit of talk recently about a certain virus. A virus that may or may not have a vaccine that is very safe and effective, that may or may not be curable via hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D and ivermectin. That may or may not have escaped from a certain Chinese lab.... Yes folks, we're talking about SARS CoV-2. And although it's technically not directly guru-related, these are topics that have sucked so many of our gurus in like a conceptual black hole. So, we were particularly happy that Dr. Stuart Neil was willing to talk to us and sort this stuff out. Stuart is a Professor of Virology at King's College London. He's a specialist in virus cell biology and immunology, antiviral restriction, and has studied HIV, Ebola, and most recently COVID. Stuart is passionate about helping to inform the public about the state of scientific knowledge on COVID, and is known for his many excellent twitter threads helping to provide summaries and combat the misinformation and conspiracy theories that surround these topics. In this episode, Stuart gives a nuanced and crystal clear summary of where the evidence is pointing on these COVID-related topics. Stuart's frank about what we do and we do not know on these topics. And with Matt and Chris, there's interesting discussions about the controversies surrounding THAT letter to the Lancet, how scientific publishing works, and how the 'scientific consensus' develops in a politically charged and highly dynamic situation. If you have friends or colleagues who are uncertain about what positions the evidence supports on COVID, then THIS is the guy and THIS is the episode you want them to listen to. Links Stuart's article on Fake Science and Judy Mikovits Stuart's Twitter profile D.R.A.S.T.I.C.'s Website This Week's Sponsor Check out the sponsor of this week's episode, Ground News, and get the app at ground.news/gurus .
Fri, September 24, 2021
This week we have an engaging interview with the scientist, author, and public science communicator Stuart Ritchie. Stuart wrote the excellent 'Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype in Science' and is a prolific advocate fr better science and more nuanced public discourse. In this episode we start of by discussing Stuart's recently published review of Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying's new book 'A Hunter Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century'. Was Stuart a fan and is now an acolyte of Weinsteinian lineage theory? Tune in to find out. Also, for those who enjoy 'challenging conversations', robust discourse, and regularly shop in the marketplace of ideas, there is an extended discussion on whether we have been a little bit too kind on the government and public health institutions. Stuart uses facts and logic and attempts to DESTROY us, so come and get your well earned vicarious catharsis but be prepared for plenty of postmodern deflection. We've learned from the best. Links Stuart's Review of Bret & Heather's new book at the Guardian Website for Stuart's (Excellent) Book: Science Fictions Anti-Virus: The Covid 19 FAQ Website 'How the Experts Messed up on Covid' at Unherd by Stuart & Michael Story 'How Covid Skeptics were duped by the Wonderdrug Ivermectin' at New Statesman by Stuart Chris' Tweet-thread Chapter by Chapter review of Stuart's Book (use the hashtags to find the rest) Kevin Bird's Tweet with an extract from B&H's book This Week's Sponsor Check out the sponsor of this week's episode, Ground News, and get the app at ground.news/gurus .
Sat, September 11, 2021
This episode is about sense-making... if you are not sick of that term yet, trust us, you soon will be. To get things rolling, Matt and Chris launch the podcast with a pair of rants. Chris vents about the lab-leak theorists who plague his mentions and Matt gets triggered by US libertarian takes on the military dictatorship apparently taking over Australia. He needs to get his thoughts out there before the secret police come and drag him away. Then we get the point (relatively quickly this time - see, we're getting better!) and leap into a truly indulgent level of sense making meta dialogue. Matt and Chris talk about a conversation between David Fuller and Jordan Hall, who are themselves discussing another conversation that Jordan Hall had with someone called Brandon Hayes. Yes, in this episode, you'll be listening to a conversation about a conversation about a conversation . It's like a podcast version of Inception, including a large amount of ponderous and ambiguous dialogue - you'll have to dig deeper, engage your sense making muscles, and it'll maybe make sense once it's all over. Anyway, so Brandon Hayes is a 'Propertarian', which appears to be an anti-semitic, ethnonationalist 'philosophy' with fascist and eugenic elements created by an odd American man called Curt Doolittle, . Cool, cool... David Fuller is raising some very legitimate concerns, and pulling Jordan Hall up on what seemed to be a rather generous and pally interview he conducted with Brandon. But it's Jordan's responses that really sparked the interest of the duo. He responds and explains. Or does he? There's a lot of reflections on the co-participatory seeking of Truth, the importance of the conversational process, the transformative nature of challenging relationships, but no real interest in the actual content of what people believe and promote. In this framing, a conversation with an anti-semite who promotes a neo-fascistic ideology becomes primarily just a stepping stone on a spiritual journey of transformative self-growth. As Jordan says, the literal content is just the superficial pitter-patter on the neocortex. But he's interested in something deeper, ineffable. The language Jordan uses is a tour-de-force in guru-esque 'sensemaking'. In a linguistic sense, he's like the bastard lovechild of Jordan Peterson and Eric Weinstein. Anyway if that sounds good to you then tune in, check it out, and if you manage to stick it out all the way to the end you are rewarded by Chris and Matt mulling over the validity of a harsh one-star review. Links Interview featured on the Episode on Rebel Wisdom: 'Sensemaking, Gatekeeping & the Propertarians, Jordan Hall' <a href="https://medium.com/rebel-wisdom/sensemaking-gatekeeping-talking-with-fascists-fda652608f0e" rel="noopener noreferrer"
Bonus · Fri, August 27, 2021
The Weinstein brothers have been busy bees over the past few weeks/months(!) and it left Matt and Chris with a conundrum. How do they cover them as part of an intro segment without it turning into a five hour podcast? The solution was to make a two hour stand alone special episode purely dedicated to exploring the wonders (and shivering at the occasional horrors) as we try to map the terrain of Weinstein World. To help us navigate the alien geography and provide a 'relatively normal person' sanity check we have enlisted the help of the famed psychologist, David Pizarro, also known for co-hosting Very Bad Wizards ( a small, upcoming ghost-hunting/philosophy podcast). Together with David we decode ancient mysteries, like why does Eric always wear a jacket?, we solve deep existential puzzles, like whether vodka can cure all conflicts, and we ponder heretofore unimagined possibilities, like how successful an audiobook of Fifty Shades of Grey read by Sam Harris and Heather Heying would be. So we hope you will join us on this exploration and remember our core message: *You do not have to promote anti-vaccine rhetoric & unproven miracle cures during a global pandemic* Links Very Bad Wizards(!): David's excellent podcast hosted with philosopher Tammler Sommers Very Bad Wizards Episode 191: All the Rage Rebel Wisdom interview with Eric Weinstein: Vaccines, Ivermectin & Dark Horse Rebel Wisdom: Better Skeptics for the Dark Horse Rebel Wisdom: Yuri Deigin Responds to Bret Weinstein on Vaccines, Ivermectin & Quillette Bret and Heather 92nd DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: The Blankest Slate Claire Berlinski & Yuri Deigin's Article on Quillette: Looking for COVID-19 ‘Miracle Drugs’? We Already Have Them. They’re Called Vaccines Article on Medium by David Fuller: On Vaccine Safety, Ivermectin and the Dark Horse Podcast: An Investigation
Fri, August 20, 2021
Gad Saad is a Professor of Marketing at Concordia University, author of The Consuming Instinct and, more recently, The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense . Self described as the 'Gadfather' with a podcast called the Saad Truth, he's certainly well versed in puns on his name. But is Prof. Saad the true Godfather of evolutionary consumption as he claims? or is he more of a Fredo, perpetually getting passed over for other Gurufathers? Gad is worried about parasitic brain worms that are influencing people's politics, though this affliction seems to correlate pretty strongly with all the liberal political views that Gad dislikes. Indeed, you won't find any discussion of MAGA or QAnon in his extensive bestiary of the pernicious brain-worms that can parasitise your mind. Rather it is 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' that has Gad fretting. But it isn't all partisan politics, we also get to see Gad draws on his knowledge of evolutionary psychology and unparalleled 'surgical' satirical skills to 'castrate' his opponents. Get ready for a string of anecdotes in which Gad destroys postmodern ideologues with facts and logic, embarrasses pigeon brained academics, and teaches his soccer coach the true meaning of freedom... and then everyone stood up and called! Links Vaccine: The Human Story (Recommended Podcast!) Great thread on conspiracy theories and Gurus on Twitter Timbah on Toast's YouTube Documentary on Tim Pool Gad Saad: The Death of Truth and How to Revive it: Modern Wisdom Podcast Ep. 217
Fri, August 13, 2021
This week we welcome the author, journalist, and podcaster Robert Wright. Robert wrote the popular (and provocative!) book 'Why Buddhism is True' and has hosted many interesting discussions and debates at bloggingheads.tv, which he co-founded. We had a wide ranging discussion that touched on a vast array of topics including: the Weinsteins & their relative crackpot ratings, alternative & Mainstream media ecosystems and how they feed into guruism, what are gurus anyway (and are they all bad), Sam Harris and cognitive biases, whether Bob is a Buddhist Modernist, the extent to which meditation is a form of cultural conditioning, if wokism is really taking over America, and whether Matt & Chris' actually hate evolutionary psychology or not. Robert offers a unique perspective, displays a lot of good humour and patience, and indulges our ongoing fetishism of self deprecation culture. So join us for a suitably meandering Irish-Aussie-Americo conversation that involves only the prescribed amount of mutual backpatting! P.S. We promise the Gad Saad episode is coming soon! Links Bob's Book 'Why Buddhism is True' 'Is Eric Weinstein a Crackpot' on Bob's Non-zero Substack Bob's Interview with Tim Nguyen for The Wright Show Bob's article for Wired on Sam Harris & Tribalism (the one that got him cut off!) The Crackpot Index by John Baez
Fri, July 30, 2021
We class up the podcast this week with another special interview with a philosopher specialising in Asian philosophical traditions, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. In our discussion with Evan we address the reception and presentation of Buddhism in the West, whether it is accurate to describe it as a mind science, and how 'Buddhist modernism' is related to Buddhist exceptionalism. We also get into debates of the nature of Self and whether Sam Harris is correct to claim that modern cognitive science has confirmed the insights from Buddhism. This is not an episode targeting the tradition of Buddhism but rather an examination of a specific (modern) manifestation of Buddhism that is particularly popular in the West (and has long been a topic of fascination for Chris!). So join us to distill the real teachings of the Buddha and hear how our ramblings are confirmed by 2,500 years of introspective mind science! Links Evan's (excellent) book: 'Why I am not a Buddhist' An engaging debate between Robert Wright & Evan Thompson American Philosophical Association Newsletter with a Book Symposium on 'Why I am not a Buddhist' Interesting debate betwen Sam Harris and Evan Thompson on whether Sam is promoting Buddhist Modernism (paywalled)
Fri, July 23, 2021
In the second instalment of the personal gurus season we take a look at Matt's childhood science guru: the famed astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan. Sagan's regarded as an intellectual hero amongst skeptics and supporters of science but is the admiration warranted or is this a halo effect enhanced by youthful innocence and the distorting mists of time? Was Matt's first science crush justified? Is Carl as 'right on' as popular sentiment suggests? Join us as we struggle to peer into the vast abyss, stare deep into the heart of the guru constellation, and uncover the truth. It's time to take a long hard look at a small sliver of our demon haunted, pale blue dot. Along the way we address the burning issues including: whether Carl Sagan is actually a woke cuck, how Chris feels about chimpanzees in lipstick, if humility might actually be a good thing, and whether the universe was actually created for rocks. So join us as we return to a simpler time, when scientists wore turtleneck sweaters, ill advised tweets were not yet possible, and gurus were REAL gurus. Also featured in this week's episode: Weinstein Watch, Viewer Feedback, the Next Guru Announcement, and an illustration of how to provide an even tempered & measured response to critical feedback. Links Carl Sagan's 1994 'lost' lecture: The Age of Exploration Sagan's Final Interview with Charlie Rose
Bonus · Wed, July 14, 2021
In this episode we have an engaging discussion with Daniel Harper host of the anti-fascist podcast 'I Don't Speak German' about his experience covering the Far Right and what constitutes responsible engagement/coverage of various online figures. We cover the role of political perspectives when examining online figures, the use of social media by far right figures, and the use and abuse of political categories. We also cover some potential criticisms with the DTG approach and in so doing answer an eternal question of the ages: 'Are we the baddies?' Join us for a fun discussion while accepting our apologies for the self-indulgence of an episode that, to some extent, involves us talking about... ourselves. We will be back with a full Guru episode very soon! Links I Don't Speak German Podcast Episode 88 of IDSG Podcast: The Long Shadow of New Atheism, with Eiynah Mohammed-Smith
Fri, July 02, 2021
Amanda Montell is an author, linguist, and podcaster with a new book 'Cultish' on "how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language" to manipulate followers and cultivate power. In the interview she offers fantastic insights that cover not only guru linguistics but also the social dynamics of modern cults and 'cultish' phenomenon. We learnt a lot from Amanda and hope you will too! Links Amanda's Website Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Sounds like a Cult Podcast
Fri, June 25, 2021
Well, the hosts have had a good long taste of the culture wars and friends, it is a bitter, bitter draught. As a palette cleanser, we return to a simpler time, a better(?) time... The 1980's! When Chris Kavanagh was young and innocent, running about in short pants with a twinkle in his eye and (I assume) lobbing bricks at RUC armoured vehicles for the craic. At nights he would curl up and listen to CASSETTE tapes of a fellow called Anthony De Mello, while the eyes of Pope Ratzinger would stare at him disapprovingly from the poster (I assume) that was on the wall of his room. Yes, we're returning to the gurus our decoders were fans of during their young and impressionable years. And Chris rather liked Fr. Anthony De Mello. Who is he? A Jesuit priest who sounds more like a Buddhist monk with a message of peace, detachment, and the recipe for happiness. He says that society trains us to act like robots, encouraging us to go through life in a depressed haze. After you apply his recipe, you'll still be depressed, but you'll realise the depression is like the clouds, but you are the sky. He's got the good vibes of Bob Ross, but does that conceal something darker? Was spiritual self-help better or worse in the 1980s compared today? Listen, and you shall know all! Links One of DeMello's Waking Up Talks on Daily Motion DeMello's Spirituallity Center Matt and Chris' 'You're Probably Not Galileo' article for Skeptic UK Tim Nguyen's appearance on Eigen Bros
Fri, June 18, 2021
Another week and another extra special interview with journalist, podcaster, and Twitter outrage lightning rod, Jesse Singal. We discuss his new book on Quick Fix psychology, the fallout of the replication crisis, and why we should be skeptical of anyone peddling simple 'one size fits all' solutions to complex social & psychological problems. We have a fun wide ranging discussion covering social media dynamics, the dangers of audience capture, and the goddamn lab leak hypothesis! We also discover the dictionary definition pedantism and abuse Jesse with unending uncomfortable questions about culture war controversies. Jesse provides keen insight and is a good sport when it comes to critical topics, we really enjoyed having him on and hope you guys enjoy the result! Links Jesse's new Book: The Quick Fix Blocked and Reported Podcast Jesse's Singal-Minded Substack
Bonus · Fri, June 11, 2021
Despite promising to leave Weinstein world for an overdue holiday, Matt and Chris have been lured back by a world shattering theory with a cosmic vision of ultimate unity! We are speaking, of course, about Eric Weinstein's revolutionary theory of everything: 'Geometric Unity'. To help uncover the mysteries embedded deep within this scientific Rosetta stone, Matt and Chris are joined by a special guest Tim Nguyen. Tim is a mathematician and the co-author of a recent paper that tried to mathematically construct and critically assess the theory of Geometric Unity as laid out in Eric's content. Eric has not exactly welcomed the critical feedback and has accused Tim and his co-author, Theo, of having nefarious motives and being very bad guys. So we thought it was worth talking to Tim about their real motivations for the paper, their criticisms of Geometric Unity, and whether they are official DISC agents. Join us as we leap one more time into Weinstein world! Notes provided by Tim Response to Geometric Unity paper by Timothy Nguyen and Theo Polya and corresponding blog post . The paper provides 25 clickable timestamps to Weinstein video segments to let the reader confirm directly the veracity the criticisms. Clubhouse recording with Eric evading questions about Geometric Unity and implying his critics are bad actors. Technical notes on Weinstein’s limited responses: 1) Weinstein confesses on Joe Rogan Episode #1628 that “one of the criticisms is valid but is something that I would have brought up anyways” (see time near 73:30). Correspondingly, in Section 8.2 of Weinstein’s Geometric Unity, he admits that “unfortunately, the author is no longer conversant … and has been unable to locate the notes from decades ago that originally picked out the [Shiab] operator”. The inability to construct the Shiab operator remains a fundamental objection to Geometric Unity. 2) Weinstein says here , the authors misunderstand GU as being chiral . But the objection is that the theory has a chiral anomaly , which is not contingent on the theory being chiral. 3) Weinstein suggests here (and on Joe Rogan) that there is incorrect inference that he is using supersymmetry in 14 dimensions. The <a href="https://youtu.
Fri, June 04, 2021
The big dog of the Intellectual Dark Web, Jordan Peterson, is back! And this hero, this mythical archetype, is welcomed back from his long hiatus by DTG regular, Bret Weinstein . To his credit, Bret does the impossible and makes Jordan seem surprisingly humble and reflexive simply by virtue of comparison. The duo cover a lot of territory, ranging from hot takes about how hospitals probably kill more people than they save (Peterson), the evolutionary modules controlling rape and genocide (Weinstein), how religion contains the ultimate evolutionary cheatsheet to ascend the hierarchy (Peterson), and how they are both absolutely crucial for understanding everything wrong with what's going on these days (BOTH). So yes... Chris and Matt couldn't resist returning to this epic crossover of two guru favourites one last(?) time for a bit of decoding. There's a heaping of the usual trademark guru dynamics on display, as well as the obligatory ersatz academ-ese, mutual back-patting, and huge leaps of speculative reasoning. These guys ping-pong back and forth to build up a pretty impressive synthesis of latent religious symbols and Bret's bespoke alternative evolutionary theory of 'lineage selection'. You will come away with your brain a smouldering ruin after dealing with so many high level ideas... you have been warned! P.S. If you make it all the way to the end you'll get to hear Matt DESTROY a so-called philosopher's Low Quality Criticism with REASON and SCIENCE. Links Darkhorse Podcast: Jordan Peterson is Back! Jordan B. Peterson Podcast S4E10: Minefields and the New Political Landscape | Bret Weinstein Critical Article on Peterson that appeared in the Times that he complains about TWiV 760: SARS-CoV-2 origins with Peter Daszak, Thea Kølsen Fischer, Marion Koopmans TWiV 762: SARS-CoV-2 origins with Robert Garry Nice blog debunking the claims made in Wade's Medium piece on the Lab Leak Detailed Twitter thread by virologist Kristian Andersen discussing lab leak investigations P.P.S. The Alternative Title: 'Lineage selection hierarchy heroes
Sat, May 22, 2021
This episode wasn't meant to be about Ivermectin, or Bret and Heather's unique ability to apply an 'evolutionary lens' to understand everything, including virology, epidemiology, immunology and the culture war... but it is..... We meant to make a few topical comments prior to the main episode, but the comments led into some rants, and then with the clips, those rants metastasised into a full-sized episode. So the duo had to travel back in time to record a new introduction, and back again, forward this time, in time, to record the outro and it all got very complicated. Anyway, it is what it is! Bret and Heather are 95% sure that the COVID vaccines are like playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun, and that the scientific and public health authorities are lying to everyone, and we would be better off avoiding these risky vaccines and taking Ivermectin instead. Bret even demonstrates how to swallow a pill live on air. But they are not anti-vax! No not at all. They're not conspiracy theorists either! Of course they're not. Conspiracy hypothesisers, maybe... but there is a crucial distinction there. Either way they have concerns, and Matt and Chris have concerns with their concerns. So enjoy this very special 'meta' episode. Also, stay tuned after the music ends for one of Matt's rare rants. Live mic situation, and Chris snuck it in there. Links DarkHorse Podcast Episode 80: What Covid Reveals About our Leaders DarkHorse Podcast Episode 79: #NotAllMice DarkHorse Podcast with Geert Vanden Bossche & Bret Weinstein ScienceBasedMedicine article examining the new hype over Ivermectin New Discourses Podcast Episode 35 (James Lindsay): How to End Vaccine Hesitancy Good article on Politifact covering the lab leak 'controversy'
Thu, May 06, 2021
Just as the Terror was used by Robespierre and the Jacobins during the French Revolution two centuries ago, fear and draconian control is being used today to usher in... The Great Reset. Or so Michael O'Fallon would have you believe. O'Fallon is the founder of Sovereign Nations, a Christian nationalist organisation that aims to "prepare warriors for the battleground of ideas". He's recently been collaborating with James Lindsay, renowned culture warrior and online troll, to teach us all how critical theory and social justice are hell bent on destroying Our (or at least Western) Civilisation. Chris and Matt are joined by Aaron Rabinowtiz, host of Embrace the Void (@ETVPod) and Philosophers in Space podcasts, PhD student and lecturer at Rutgers University. Aaron has Done the Work, he has the Documents, he's been privy to the secret conversations, and he's here to help the boys decode just WTF is going on here. So, what's the deal with O'Fallon? Is he a sorely-needed, breathy and bombastic prophet bearing a critical message of our impending doom? Why does he take such long pauses? Where did he get such a laughably inaccurate understanding of the French Revolution? We can't promise all the answers in this episode, but we're going to give it a shot. The Future of our Civilisation.... Depends Upon It..... .... Dun Dun Daaaaah! Links Sovereign Nations' The Causes of Things Podcast Episode 25: The Great Reset Embrace The Void Episode 150: Sovereign Nations and the Grievance Hoaxers Philosophers in Space Facebook Group Sovereign Nations Website
Tue, April 13, 2021
Who would have thought it, the Hollywood A-lister and founder of the luxury lifestyle brand 'Goop', Gwyneth Paltrow also finds time to host a podcast. Making her a prime target for Matt and Chris, who simply cannot stomach the competition! Fans have the option to join Paltrow in questing for the eternal and well-guarded secrets of health and wellness. But unless you're only after some lip-balm, this total holistic and integrative lifestyle is not going to come cheap! As we learn from her special guest Kristine Gedroic you are also going to need some precision medical diagnostics to balance with your biome, cleanse your cell membranes, and undo the horrors of 5G. And that isn't even addressing the panoply of parasites that we are all (apparently) infested with. So this is why Matt and Chris haven't been actualising their spiritual selves recently. In some ways, this health and wellness space is familiar stomping ground for Matt and Chris (and maybe for many listeners too). However, the duo reckon that Paltrow, Goop, and the whole industry is very 'Now' and might even hint at some exciting new directions elite culture is taking. Check it out! And get yourself checked for bespoke parasites while you're at it. Seriously... we are all riddled with them. Links How do we deal with- and prevent- chronic illness? Goop Podcast with Kristine Gedroic Gwyneth Paltrow: Ask Me Anything Hard Talk interview with Gwyneth Paltrow
Bonus · Fri, April 02, 2021
Sam Harris is a public intellectual who inspires strong reactions both positive and negative. Here, Matt and Chris dip their toes into Sam's introspective universe by analysing a recent 9 minute mini-episode of his Making Sense podcast titled 'Some Points of Confusion'. Sam intended to clear up some recurrent misunderstandings he has observed with maybe as much as 99% audience with this episode. What could be causing such a fundamental error and does he succeed in resolving the confusion? Join us to find out. In the episode you will learn about the true teachings of Jesus, how incredibly niche Chris' undergraduate degree was, the introspective case for social welfare, and why all meditators inevitably deny the existence of free will. This is an interesting one. And whether you love or hate Sam, we hope you find some value in our non-enlightened ejected introspections. Links Making Sense Episode 243: Some Points of Confusion
Fri, March 19, 2021
Matt and Chris are helped again by a guest in their endless quest to get the bottom of what the Hell is Going On and What It's All About. Phrost describes himself as "the world's most dangeous nerd" and is not only an expert in the fighting arts (like, actual real fighting) but is also no slouch when it comes to combatting bullshit. He identifies as a soldier, a scientist, and as a shill for "Big Reality". And his site bullshido.net as well as his podcast The Art of Fighting BS comes up with the reality-based goods. Not only in debunking bullshit in martial arts but also with regard to miracle health cures, supplements, pop psychology, COVID and many other honey traps for the curious and the unwary. Tune in as Matt and Chris compares notes with Phrost on how and why people delude themselves. Marvel at Phrost's offers to fight Alex Jones, Steven Seagal, and (gasp) Gwenyth Paltrow (for Science!). Matt himself accepts the the offer to fight Phrost, conditional on him being ensconced comfortably within a properly equipped Armoured Fighting Vehincle.
Bonus · Thu, March 11, 2021
In this episode we provide a special preview of our usual Patreon content with the follow up discussion and our Gurometer™ scores for Ibram X. Kendi. You can find a summary of all our Gurometer scores thus far available here . Our new subreddit can also be found here .
Fri, March 05, 2021
Ibram X. Kendi is a Professor of history, director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and a research fellow at Harvard University. He is also the author of several best-selling and highly influential books on race in America. It seems like everybody has an opinion of Kendi, and when it comes to the online commentariat, those opinions can get pretty hostile. Even among activists and anti-racists, he seems to spark division, with some grouping Kendi together with other controversial writers like Robin Di Angelo. Kendi is often accused of peddling a pop 'anti-racism' which is at best devoid of substance and at worst toying with totalitalitarianism. With his infamous proposal for a 'Department of Antiracism' that would have power over all aspects of governance, and recent illustrated children's book titled 'Anti-racist Baby', these criticisms are perhaps understandable. But what about the man himself, who in his lectures and interviews, comes across as something of a calm and reasonable voice amongst the culture war maelstrom? In this episode, Matt and Chris, until now famed for being not racist (honestly), courageously hurl themselves onto the pyre of American racial politics. Will they reveal their total lack of understanding of critical race theory and are they racist or anti-racist according to Kendi? Listen and find out. Links Short interview with Kendi from 'The One You Feed' Podcast Interview of Kendi by Ezra Klein for Vox Conversations Kendi's article advocating for an Anti-Racist constitutional amendment 'A Response to (Eric Weinstein's) Geometric Unity' Paper
Sat, February 20, 2021
Today we talk to Matthew Remski, co-host of the Conspirituality podcast, writer, yoga practitioner, and independent journalist. Matthew is a font of information on the alternative spirituality and health and wellness spheres and he gives Matt and Chris a crash course on the dynamics of those spheres. We discuss a range of topics including the growing overlap between spirituality and right wing politics, the enlightened locker room dynamics of male influencers, the role of invented traditions and the spirituality sphere and why Matt should grovel at the feet of his muscle master. Matthew provides a wealth of insight into the gurus we've examined as well as an entire host of new characters. As ever, we greatly enjoyed the chat and hope you do too! -------------------------------- More from Matthew Remski: Matthew's Personal Website The Conspirituality Podcast Matthew's work on Medium His investigative book on Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga community Another great interview with Matthew by Stephen Kesting
Tue, February 09, 2021
Nassim Taleb, what a mensch. He's got the confidence of a bull in a china shop that has just bought a lycra muscle-shirt and knows it looks great on him. Our guru this week has surveyed the fields of statistics, economics, psychology, actually all of the social sciences, and finds them populated by a gaggle of pale, thin wristed, pocket-protector wearing wimps. Although, he's equally scathing towards COVID-sceptical libertarians, and Matt and Chris (in a totally unbiased manner) find him pretty funny and accurate there. More seriously, Taleb is a smart guy and quite fun to read and listen to. But he's also an infinite singularity of arrogance and hyperbole. Matt and Chris can't help but notice how convenient this pose is, when confronted with difficult-to-handle rebuttals. Taleb is a fun mixed bag of solid and dubious claims. But it's worth thinking about the degree to which those solid ideas were already well... solid. Many seem to have been known for decades even by all the 'morons, frauds and assholes' that Taleb hates. To what degree does Taleb's reputation rest on hyperbole and intuitive-sounding hot-takes? Will he ever un-block the co-hosts on twitter? Should Matt, a statistician and psychologist, re-train in a field where he can actually contribute something useful to the world? All of these questions, and more, will remain unanswered in this fresh new DTG episode! Links The Antidote to Chaos interview discussed in the episode The original Bloomberg interview that was deemed too reasonable for the episode Sam Harris' amusing take on Taleb
Fri, January 29, 2021
Today we talk to C. Thi Nguyen, a philosophy professor at University of Utah. He has some excellent insights into the kind of discourse that *feels* like it gives us insight, that wonderful 'aha' moment. Basically, what happens when unscrupulous actors aim to optimise that feeling - putting aside concerns as to whether or not it's the real thing. Thi has previously studied 'moral outrage porn', which is a bit like food porn, but for your emotions. You might say "X-porn" is any material that gives us the fascimile of the thing, without having to put in the hard yards of actually doing the thing. You might also say there's such a thing as 'insight porn' and maybe that's what Gurus deliver! Matt and Chris feel like they got some real insights (touch wood) from their chat with Thi and they hope you do too! -------------------------------- More from Thi Nguyen: Thi writes about many things, including echo chambers, epistemic bubbles and the seductive feeling of clarity. A free preview of the first chapter of Thi's Games book Moral outrage porn The op-ed version of moral outrage porn The echo chambers paper How Twitter Gamifies Communication Recommendation from Thi: The best book on Echo Chambers Another recommendation: A great recent book arguing for the large-scale misinformation thesis: and it’s open access. Thi's appearance on ETV pod discussing Cheap Talk .
Fri, January 22, 2021
Douglas Murray is a British conservative columnist, social pundit, and veteran culture warrior famed for his biting wit and eloquent intellectual speech. But just how much of that is actually down to him having a posh British accent and a tendency to rant about whatever 'bloody' topic he's took a fancy to? Join Matt and Chris for their latest therapy session as they try to process what they've done to their brains by listening to an indulgent and meandering 4.5 hour conversation between Douglas and the IDW's über guru Eric Weinstein. Along the way you will learn the *real* truth about the coronavirus, the value of memorising Shakespearian sonnets, how embarrassing it is to eat bats, and just how sacred dinner tables actually are. ...GUFFAW... Links The Portal Episode 41: Douglas Murray- Heroism 2020: Defence of Our Civilization
Bonus · Fri, January 08, 2021
Chris and Matt take a break from examining the endless stream of Guru galaxy brain takes to offer their own and calibrate their newly minted Gurometer . The Gurometer is composed of 10 key characteristics of guruosity which the decoders will be using to score the Gurus in future episodes. Listeners will learn about important concepts, like science hipsterism and pseudo-profound bullshit, and discover just how bad both Chris and Matt are at segways! Links The Gurometer 'current draft' Google Doc Gretchen's Blog Review
Mon, December 28, 2020
Natalie Wynn is kind of a big deal. Her YouTube channel Contrapoints explores not only philosophy, but also politics and social issues. Praised by august publications such as the New Yorker and the Atlantic, there's little doubt that she has her finger on the pulse of contemporary internet culture (and its wars). The production values, costumes, and set dressings are all a sight to behold... and completely invisible on this podcast. Nevertheless, armed with a menagerie of alter-egos, Contrapoints does delve into some pretty deep waters and has garnered quite a cult following, despite (or perhaps because of) her self-deprecating humour and refusal to take herself too seriously. So, what is going on here, behind the cat eye contact lenses and elaborate costumes? Does she actually back up the insights she purports to provide with careful arguments? Will the duo decide that Contrapoints is just like Russell Brand: all style and no substance? Is her deprecating humour merely cover for a rampaging and performative ego? Will Matt ever find out where he can get his hands on that fabulous wallpaper? All these questions, and more, will be answered in this exciting new episode! Links Justice (Part 1) Video New Yorker article on Contrapoints
Bonus · Fri, December 18, 2020
Chris and Matt take a peak behind the curtain at Guru Community dynamics in the Web 2.0 era in an extended interview with Dan Gilbert, a self described 'Discord creature'. Dan provides insights from his long term participation in Eric Weinstein's 'Unofficial Portal' Discord and reveals the mystery behind the 'mentally unstable' community member! If you ever wanted to learn about the intricate distinctions between Geometric Unity, and Geometric Marginalism or the ill fated outcome of Eric's 'Experts only' forum... now is your chance. We will be back next week with our regular episode on Contrapoints. Dan's apology song to Eric Follow Dan on Twitter (@thebadstats) Episode Art used with permission of Michael M. AKA Pineapplemikel
Thu, December 10, 2020
Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has since written self-help books like 'Win Bigly' & 'Loserthink' and now hosts his own podcast "Coffee with Scott Adams". In mild-mannered, folksy, and avuncular style, he has a 'simultaneous sip' of coffee, a little chuckle with his listeners, and then they chat about the events of the day and how democracy is a farce and maybe a benevolent dictatorship would be preferable. Scott's fatherly advice is geared towards one thing: undermining your belief that there is any truth or justice in world - or that these things are even possible. You can trust literally nobody. All systems are corrupt, and the world works through the exercise of naked power and the manipulation of gullible rubes like you. It doesn't even matter if the libs stole the election. Trump should just go ahead and take it, if he can. Scott Adams considers himself a Master Persuader and he uses every rhetorical trick in the book to persuade you that America is so corrupt to try and get you to agree that a benevolent dictator would probably be preferable at this point. Think of the kind of 'helpful advice' that Wormtongue used to demoralise Théoden in Lord of the Rings. It's really horrible... So, if this sounds like fun to you, join Chris and Matt as they go to hell and become increasingly depressed throughout the episode! Links Coffee with Scott Adams Episode 1197: Odds of rigging an election and getting away with it ( Part 1 & Part 2 ) Coffee with Scott Adams Episode 1206: Watch Me Monetize My Dumbest Critics While Discussing the Election Allegations. Thank You, Critics! ( Part 1 & Part 2 )
Sat, November 21, 2020
Russell Brand is a hip bohemian Englishman on the path to enlightenment. And he likes the ineffable. Like, a lot. The decoders kinda like him too, despite the fact they really struggle to eff him at all. Really, Matt has no effing idea what he is babbling about most of the time, but Chris, being 'English-adjacent', seems to make a better job of it. Imagine smoking pot and talking big ideas with your precocious college room-mate at 2am in the morning. Now give him some methamphetamine, and you've got some idea of the fast-talking stream of consciousness that is Russell Brand. A pair of milquetoast moderates like Chris and Matt just aren't the right audience to properly appreciate the mystical anarchism that Brand advocates. It's probably got something to do with the limits of the bandwidth of their instruments of perception given that knowledge and wisdom are infinite and being-ness itself is.... Well, you get the idea. The lads also reveal some of the exciting progress of the podcast! In exciting news... DTG has broken into the top 100 podcasts! In the Culture and Society category... in Iceland. Regardless, come ride this unstoppable and frenetic juggernaut of mind-expanding concepts with us, and get these cosmic ideas downloaded directly into your squishy little brain! Links Jeremy Paxman and Russell Brand interview from 2013 The main 'Awakening of Russell Brand' interview with Rich Roll Short Video Update from Brand on 'What I think about This UK Election and Politics Today'
Sat, November 07, 2020
Rutger Bregman is a Dutch Historian who wants to tell the world that humans are actually fundamentally kind, hunter gatherer societies contain important wisdom about how to live well, and that collectively we need to cooperate to do something about climate change and economic inequality. So, obviously there was no way Chris and Matt could let these dangerous ideas go unchallenged! Join them this week as they delve into one of Rutger's talks and address Noble Savage myths and other age old debates including whether human nature is fundamentally brutish & cruel or compassionate & kind, whether war is ancient or a recent product of societies, whether civilisation was a good idea or the worst one ever, and perhaps most importantly whether Matt could defeat a chimpanzee in one on one combat when armed with two swords. Links The Futures interview with Rutger examined in the episode (with transcript) Research Article that raises doubt about the domestication hypothesis especially in regards to silver foxes An old blog post by Chris that discusses the debates over the topic of ancient war
Bonus · Fri, October 30, 2020
Eric Weinstein has a habit of inserting mini conspiracy laden "audio-essays" at the beginning of his podcast The Portal. The one released this week was impressive even by Eric's standards. So, the duo took took a break from preparing for their next episode on Rutger Bregman to release a Special Bonus Episode, Hot off the press! In the episode you will learn about Seberging, Milgram-negative people, and obscure Russian Penal Codes. You will also learn that the concept of Fake News is actually FAKE NEWS, invented by a shadowy cabal of media and political elites to control you sheeple. Astoundingly, there is actually a conspiracy afoot to suppress Eric and his friends in the IDW! Chris and Matt set themselves the task of deciding whether this is serious analysis, or... something else.... Links The Portal episode 41 with the 'audio essay' New critical article on the Weinsteins at Arc Digital
Fri, October 23, 2020
JP Sears is quite the contradictory figure. He's well known for his YouTube videos mocking alternative health and spirituality, but he also sells natural supplements, and is a life coach / spiritual mentor. He's all about positive thinking and natural supplements, but he's spending most of his time now railing against the mainstream media, the Deep State, and COVID restrictions. As Chris and Matt dig deeper, it becomes clear that JP occupies an interesting place, at the nexus of trenchant libertarianism and spiritual self-actualisation. Think Californian surfer dude meets hardcore tech-bro with a healthy dose of conspiracies. Yes, it's confusing. But just take a listen to this episode, and the doors of perception will open for you too! Links JP Sears' Podcast Feed (we cover episodes 104, 103, 101, & 96) Chris' old Medium article on 'The Problem with JP Sears ' Good article on the surprising overlap between right wing conspiracies & new age health & wellness
Fri, October 09, 2020
Chris and Matt finally discuss the big kahuna Jordan Peterson by taking a deep dive into his extended 2017 interview on the Transliminal YouTube channel titled 'Ideology, Logos & Belief'. They learn about the alchemical nature of lemons, whether a professional footballer is playing a game or living life, and Jordan Peterson's crystal clear views on the nature of Jesus & his resurrection. Some people will say this episode is too cynical, but it's like... 'No. It isn't, man!' And furthermore, it's not at all obvious that we actually know... on a fundamental level... what cynicism is! It's mysterious and there is a lot we do not know. Links Jordan Peterson's 2017 interview on Transliminal A Transcript of the Interview A Good (but very critical) article on JBP by Nathan Robinson at Current Affairs An article by JBP's old mentor suggesting his long term goal was to become a religious guru
Wed, September 23, 2020
Chris and Matt discuss James Lindsay's talk at the Speaking Truth to Social Justice conference held at the ostentatious National Liberal Club, in an episode that will disappoint Lindsay fanboys and haters alike. Blindingly hot takes include, "He's a bit hyperbolic" and "Critical Theory is complicated". They discuss some pretty strong metaphors (or are they analogies?) of Critical Social Justice involving monkeys, viruses, and boxes. Most importantly, the duo establish definitively that, despite James' assertions, Jeff Goldblum did NOT die on a toilet in Jurassic Park (which, let's face it, would have ruined the entire movie). Links James' talk on YouTube Embrace The Void episode on Sovereign Nations Two Psychologists Four Beers episode on Diversity Statements Not Jeff Goldblum being eaten on a Toilet in Jurassic Park
Wed, September 09, 2020
Matt and Chris introduce themselves and the overall concept for the podcast then take a deep dive into an infamous episode of Eric Weinstein's podcast 'The Portal', featuring his brother Bret Weinstein (Episode 19). They cast a critical eye over Eric and Bret's claims that they are fighting back against the 'Distributed Idea Suppression Complex' and alerting the world to one of the greatest untold scientific scandals of the modern era.
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