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PODCAST

Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

65:52

240: Bryan Johnson’s Impossible Blueprint

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/16

In January, 2023, Bloomberg published an article about how tech entrepreneur turned longevity stan, Bryan Johnson, spends $2 million a year in an attempt to live forever—or at least until age 200, as the goalposts shift. Then a Netflix documentary, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, dropped on January 1, taking a deep dive into Johnson’s quest and complex personal life. A strange thing happened along the way: Johnson felt much more personable and relatable than ever before to many

en

35:53

Clarity Lab: Fighting Cancer Misinformation

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/14

A one-time drop of Derek's new podcast, Clarity Lab, the official podcast of Siris Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building a free educational platform and curating social media channels that feature experts presenting health and science in a clear, compelling manner.Celery juice. Coffee enemas. Ozone therapy. The list of pseudoscientific cancer "treatments" is endless. Yet they all risk pushing people in vulnerable positions toward untenable "cures." Dr Andrea Love joins Derek Beres to discuss the

en

5:51

Bonus Sample: Kelly Brogan’s Divine Dungeon: Pt 1...

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/13

Matthew sits down with sex-work veteran and social justice advocate Esme Providence Brown for the first of two chinwags about our famous New Age / wellness antifeminist, Kelly Brogan, and how her craven politics bolster the permission structure for Trumpian misogyny. They track her political and aesthetic journey from labcoat-wearer to wellness pole dancer to BDSM cosplayer—a spiral through deepening layers of appropriation, disavowal of responsibility, and cringe-tastic ideas. This is only Part

en

36:15

Brief: Vinay Prasad’s Pick-me Campaign

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/11

UCSF epidemiology and biostatistics professor Vinay Prasad's star rose when he compared the US response to Covid-19 to the beginnings of the Third Reich in October, 2021. Though a less famous contrarian than others in the MAHA sphere, the hematologist-oncologist has honed his social media trolling over the past few years, always ready for a fight, evidence be damned.Derek and Julian look at two recent videos that signal Prasad might be angling for a position in a potential RFK Jr-run HHS—and all

en

58:17

239: Conspiracy Of Dunces

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/09

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

en

6:07

Bonus Sample: The Giant Rock Interplanetary...

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/06

George van Tassel was the original UFO contactee. He claimed to have been visited by aliens from Venus in 1953, which led to him hosting thousands of people at the annual Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention for almost 20 years. He channeled “Ashtar, ”a figure still popular in “Galactic Federation” conspiritualist circles today, and spent 25 years building a time machine based on telepathic communications with aliens. Julian unpacks the wild story of van Tassel’s airstrip, the Mojave Desert’s Giant

en

46:08

Brief: Trump the Babyface, Trump the Heel (w/Abraham...

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/04

Journalist and author Josie Reisman says we can’t understand the Trump era without understanding his life-long pro-wrestling fandom, and his bonds with one of his closest friends, WWE tycoon Vince McMahon. Reisman argues that McMahon’s invention of “neokayfabe,” in which storylines and real life are purposefully and artfully confused, blurs the distinction between fact and fiction. It makes consumers, followers, and voters complicit in creating a spectacle of cruelty. It’s the kind of argument

en

78:28

238: Diary of a CEO Bro

Conspirituality ·

2025/01/02

British entrepreneur and investor Steven Bartlett launched his podcast, Diary of a CEO, in 2017. He quickly found an audience in the tech world, which gave him access to a wide range of celebrities and businesspeople from various domains. By 2024, the podcast became one of the top 5 in the world, netting Bartlett and his team a reported $25M this year alone. Yet as Bartlett’s star rose, his guest list began becoming more and more suspect. Pertinent to our beat, contrarian wellness influencers and

en

28:10

Relief Project #6: Rebecca Solnit

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/31

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

en

5:34

Bonus Sample: Why Big Wellness Hates Ozempic

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/30

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

en

39:28

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

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/28

We've been highly critical of The Free Press in the past, but a recent memoir-article about grappling with a familial history of polio by Jana Kozlowski stood out. Derek and Julian take no issue with the piece, which was an emotional plea to understand the ravages of polio and the efficacy of vaccines. The comment section is another thing. Show Notes Polio Ravaged My Family. Forget Its Horror at Your Peril. The First Five Errors in the Moth in the Iron Lung Book The First Five Errors in Dissolving

en

30:08

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

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/26

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

en

6:09

Bonus Sample: Blessed NeoKayfabe of Santa Claus

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/23

“If you grow up with it, religion is real until you realize it is also imagined. And after a period of disenchantment or even depression that associates imagination with lies, you might then sense that the imagined part was also real, but because it’s imagined, you know you can change it.”Matthew reflects on how Santa becomes more real in the home after the kids know he’s just a story, but a story of unbridled love and causeless generosity they can now participate in telling. Happy holidays,

en

38:48

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

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/21

Jeffery Tucker is the founder of the MAGA thinktank Brownstone Institute. In 2020, Brownstone published The Great Barrington Declaration, with lead author Jay Bhattacharya—now the nominee for head of the NIH. Jeffrey’s daughter, Julia, joins Matthew to discuss her dad’s rise through the punditocracy, through decades of fringe libertarian publishing, working for Ron Paul, boosting anarcho-capitalism and crypto, writing for the Epoch Times, and asking such daring questions as: “What’s so wrong about

en

84:04

237: Your Revolution is Out of Network

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/19

The murder of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has set off shockwaves across America. This week we look at the story’s online impact, people mythologizing the alleged killer, its intersection with conspirituality, and the healthcare system in America writ large. Show Notes Jen Gunter on insurance denial for her premature babies' oxygen needs Exclusive: Luigi's Manifesto - Ken Klippenstein Savings: Quarter of Americans Have Few, One in 10 Have None | Statista The Burden of Medical Debt in the

en

31:53

Relief Project #5: Annie Kelly

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/17

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

en

5:24

Bonus Sample: TheoBros, Political Religion, and...

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/16

Extremely online, bearded, Millennial pastors in tailored suits want to repeal women’s suffrage, criminalize gays, and Make America Christian Again. These “TheoBros” even have a guy on the inside: JD Vance. Trump’s Dept of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, attends an affiliated church. Julian tracks their genealogy and ugly ideas, as well as their parallel reactionary theocratic visions wreaking havoc elsewhere in the world today. Stay tuned for conversational reflections and wholesome holiday wishes

en

27:09

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

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/14

Journalist Talia Lavin joins Derek to discuss her recent book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America. Show Notes Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

80:30

236: Damage Control

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/12

As we ride out the aftershocks of the election and prepare for Trump 2.0, it’s as if nothing is bolted down. Trump’s cabinet appointments signal a disregard for competence or temperament as he seems to prioritize fervent deep state conspiracism and anti-woke aggression in his choices. The chattering classes (both legacy and new media) are on the front lines of having to adapt in real time. What to do? Double down on anti-fascist resistance, turn the disinformation detection devices up to 11, chart

en

4:36

Bonus Sample: The Raw Truth About Health

Conspirituality ·

2024/12/09

Researchers in California recently warned that just one mutation in H5N1, the bird flu virus, could make the disease transmissible between humans. While the virus was first identified in 1959 (and became globally significant in 1996), they’re also concerned that increasingly damaging effects of climate change could make us more susceptible to such viruses. The same week, California-based raw milk manufacturer, Raw Farm, was forced to recall its products due to third-party testers discovering it

en

744 results

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