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PODCAST

Decoding the Gurus

Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne

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

society & culture social sciences

All Episodes

26:00

Supplementary Material 56: 10% for AI Doom, Bespoke...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/10/04

Chris and Matt grapple with Face Huggers, ponder the mysteries of algebra, and have a heated exchange over the term "bespoke".*Sorry about some of Chris' audio: the microphone settings will be fixed next episode!The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hrs 12 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 5600:00 Introduction01:58 The Hugging Face incident08:46 AI risks and AI discourse22:29 OpenAI’s presentation and the incentives around AI

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02:27:38

Candace Owens, Part 2: The Woman Who Noticed Everything

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/09/26

Part Two of our Candace Owens decoding offers a generous case study in conspiratorial thinking. The necklace in the footage of Charlie Kirk’s murder may have moved before his jacket, a photograph of Tyler Robinson in front of a Man of Steel poster also raises questions about why Erika Kirk used the phrase about Charlie’s neck, not to mention that one of the early suspects also lived in New York during 9/11... all of it just makes you think... who is actually running things?One possibility could be

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01:42:36

Candace Owens, Part 1: Charlie Kirk and the Cosmic...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/09/21

Candace Owens is just a Catholic, a mother, and a wife. She loves her husband, works hard, and tries not to let internet drama disturb her spiritual peace. She also has just a few questions about the international satanic conspiracy behind Charlie Kirk’s ritual murder.We join Candace during her appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, where an impressive amount of time is devoted to establishing how lovely they both find each other. There are the usual fond memories of dinner, a husband who is a James

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59:54

Gurometer Triple Threat: Professor Jiang, Mel Robbins...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/09/14

The rumours of the Gurometer's demise have been greatly exaggerated. We were simply collecting enough gurus to feed three into the sacred instrument at once. In this special Triple Threat edition, Professor Jiang brings angel-informed psychohistory, Jimmy Carr brings a head full of dubious historical factoids, and Mel Robbins just desperately wants to help you (for a price). Three potential gurus, eleven characteristics, and a brief disagreement over the nature of data. Let the highly rigorous

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34:57

Supplementary Material 55: Nature Debates, Murder...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/09/08

Two academic windbags attempt brief discussions of the controversy at Nature, Bret’s newest conspiracy theory, and the latest vibe sessions in Podcastistan. It goes about as well as expected.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1hr 18mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 5500:00 Introduction: Science by Podcast04:04 Nature Joins the Arday Discourse Wave09:28 Activism and Science14:40 Academic Prestige Bias19:08 The Business of Academic

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01:42:34

Mel Robbins, Part 2: Matt & Chris manifest their...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/08/30

In Part Two of our decoding of Mel Robbins, things take a practical turn. But before we get to preoccupied with all that, why don't you pause, take a breath, and, in the context of your body, write down ten ways to make a bad situation worse. Your focus should then be on doing the exact opposite! For example, if one of your answers is to not listen to the podcast, then start listening, right now!Next, before hitting play, let's work on building a daily manifestation practice. Write down five things

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41:22

Supplementary Material 54: Solarpunk Pecan Pie,...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/08/28

We return from our holidays with an indulgent episode that starts light and ends up very dark as we turn to the unavoidable Jason Arday discourse.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 40 mins)Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 5400:00 Pecan Pie Introduction04:10 Solar Punk Matt08:17 Ireland Trip Report15:24 Australian Burger Culture17:32 Manga Cafe Experiments24:10 Joe Rogan on AI Remote Viewing29:14 Parapsychology as a

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02:04:41

Mel Robbins, Part 1: The Hard Science of Manifestation

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/08/25

Are you tired, stuck, or inconveniently constrained by reality? Good news: you may simply be imagining the wrong one.In Part One of our decoding of Mel Robbins, we explore the world of a self-help mogul who is also just a simple mother of three in Vermont hosting a little ol' podcast with a HUGE global impact. Together with Cassandra Vieten, a psychologist who is (apparently) one of the world's leading researchers on imagination and consciousness, Mel explains how to begin to stop reacting and start

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02:54:29

Jimmy Carr & Joe Rogan: The Jester & the Khan

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/08/17

Joe Rogan, the Great Khan of podcasting, is once again receiving a travelling jester at court. This time it is Jimmy Carr who arrives bearing gifts: pop evolutionary psychology, dubious history factoids, conservative "common sense", and an apparently bottomless appetite for telling Joe just how important he is.After listening to their three-hour conversation(!), we conclude there is nothing much of note beyond serving as a nice demonstration of popular "alternative" podcasting in 2026. What you get

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01:44:32

Lab Leak Groundhog Day: COVID Origins in 2026 with...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/08/10

With the Trump administration’s newest political persecution of Anthony Fauci and three years after our first lab-leak special, now seemed like a useful time to return to the topic. Fortunately, you do not have to rely on our knowledge of viruses, as we have somehow managed to convince the same three esteemed virologists, Eddie Holmes, Kristian Andersen and Michael Worobey, to come back for an update.Mike, Kristian and Eddie return and offer us their read on where the scientific evidence on COVID’s

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31:01

Supplementary Material 53: Matthew the Succulent,...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/07/21

We endure the ravages of time to deliver you this exhausted Supplementary Material. Bowed but never broken, the decoders persist.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 2hr 20 mins)Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 5300:23 Introduction: Matthew the Succulent's Post-Holiday Report02:15 Pickle Ball Injuries & Bouldering Curses07:40 They Won't Let You Talk about Middle-Aged Sports Injuries08:37 New AI Models09:31 Cory Doctorow,

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22:34

Supplementary Material 52: Under-Optimized Academics,...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/07/09

Two absolutely shattered academic heroes heroically drag themselves through yet another supplementary episode to bring you the important guru news in between their restorative breaks.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 32 mins)Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus00:00 Introduction02:13 Eliot Paisley's Anatomy of an Optimiser08:52 Eric Weinstein wants a University Position and a Stipend16:09 The Failure of the Anti-Woke Quasi Universities19:19 Gary

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27:58

Decoding Academia 36: Revenge of the Chimpanzees...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/07/08

In this Decoding Academia episode, we venture into comparative psychology, focusing on a fascinating line of work by Fumihiro Kano and colleagues on social intelligence and theory of mind in great apes. By showing apes short videos and tracking where they look, researchers examine whether they expect others to act based on what they have seen, what they know, or what they falsely believe. This approach offers a remarkable window into the evolutionary roots of human social cognition or,

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01:31:30

Professor Jiang, Part 2: Cosmic Jiang's Jenga Tower...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/07/03

We return for Part 2 of our coverage of “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new geopolitical prophet, secondary-school sage, and proud owner of an ever-expanding box of educational props. Having already treated us to multiple maps, chess pieces, and a sealed metal case of predictions, Jiang is back with more predictions, more props, and even higher-level insights.This time, we get the dramatic unveiling of a fresh batch of forecasts, including the forthcoming U.S. civil war, AI surveillance

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02:32:34

Professor Jiang, Part 1: Geopolitical Pantomime

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/06/30

On Decoding the Gurus, we regularly get to hear a lot of truly “high-level” ideas, but the much-requested subject of this episode’s decoding is up there with the best of them. We are talking, of course, about “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new overly confident online guru, now that Jordan Peterson is indisposed. Jiang Xueqin is a secondary school teacher who has found an online audience thirsty for his particular style of confident bullshit, and he is more than ready to roll out his

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31:59

Supplementary Material 51: Parasitic Palate...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/06/20

We exercise good faith and grapple with the ever-versatile context window in this unintentionally thematic episode.Supplementary Material 51 The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 18 mins)Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus00:00 Introduction01:40 Jordan Hall's Suspicious Semiotic Parasites08:52 A New Covenant for the American Republic14:33 Dave Rubin's support group after Jubilee14:52 Dr. K vs 20 Depressed People20:05 The Fifth Column Welcomes Batya

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39:50

Gurometer: Iain McGilchrist *Patreon Preview*

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/06/12

In this Gurometer edition, Matt and Chris feed Iain McGilchrist into the sacred instrument to see where exactly refined country-parish-minister vibes land when combined with galaxy-brained hemispheres, civilisational decline narratives, decorative scholarship, and the other features of guruosity.Iain McGilchrist Gurometer00:27 Introduction01:00 Iain McGilchrist Reactions04:40 Galaxy Brain-ness06:39 Cultishness08:28 Anti-Establishmentarianism11:39 Grievance Mongering14:30 Self-Aggrandizement and

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48:10

Supplementary Material 50: The String Theory Mafia,...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/06/10

We become highly effective at exploiting the gap between salience and relevance as we universalise semiotic capability and listen to more brave renegades talking about how amazing they are. Join us, won't you?Supplementary Material 50 (Full Episode: 2hrs 23 mins)00:24 Introduction02:07 British People Struggling with Compliments04:53 Matt loves SOME episode titles08:42 Nachos Pronunciation10:13 Brett Weinstein vs Michael Tracey29:08 Brett pivots to his Anti-Vaxx Hits42:32 The Hug Box World of

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02:24:31

L. Ron Hubbard: Sleeping with Bandits, Hunting with...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/05/31

The Decoders wrap up cult season by dissecting a titan of the cult scene, the founder of Scientology, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard or L. Ron for short. A prolific science fiction author, L. Ron founded an alternative self-help movement and then developed it into his cosmic self-help 'religion' of Scientology.Scientology has now been the subject of multiple documentaries and even a fairly detailed South Park parody episode, so it feels like many are aware of the general 'deal' of Scientology. But how

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44:33

Supplementary Material 49: Calibrated Podcast...

Decoding the Gurus ·

2026/05/12

Matthew Browne, a high-profile advocate for pan-psychism, compels his reluctant co-host to endure a public struggle session on the topic of consciousness, hopefully for the last time.Supplementary Material 4900:00 Introduction02:47 Returning to the Emerald Isle03:44 Irish History Segment: The Titanic & Potato Famines10:45 McGilchrist Reflections12:51 Knowledge Fight has ended26:23 Podcasting Motivations34:37 Calibrated Expectations41:03 The Problem with the Patreon Members42:51 Shermer's

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