136: Virtual Strongmen (w/Ruth Ben-Ghiat)
Conspirituality12 Tammi 2023

136: Virtual Strongmen (w/Ruth Ben-Ghiat)

Where have all the strongmen gone, long time scrolling? Where have all the strongmen gone, long time ago? Where have all the strongmen gone? Gone to posting, everyone. Oh when will they ever turn off their phones? Not anytime soon. Trump on Truth Social, Modi on Instagram, Bolsonaro tweeting from a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Miami. Today we’re looking at the new strongmen at the top of our political circuses. According to our guest, strongman-whisperer historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, they’re of new breed. They’re not the steampunk fascists of 100 years ago. They’re not Cold War autocrats, installed by the CIA. These guys are posters. They do not need to seize the means of production. Their goal is to disrupt the production of meaning. Julian’s interview with Ben-Ghiat gives us a great opportunity to look at the strongman fetish in conspirituality, and to rate the top male influencers in our book on a scale of 10 Gaddafis. Show Notes Twitter’s moderation system is in tatters Who is the 'Trump of the Tropics?': Brazil's divisive new president, Jair Bolsonaro— in his own words -- -- -- Support us on Patreon Pre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | Julian Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

In 1953 the CIA and MI6 participated in a coup d’etat in Iran. That true sentence (and what usually follows) can create an oversimplified distortion of history—and present. But Iran is in the news aga...

19 Tammi 7min

MAHA’s Selective Skepticism

MAHA’s Selective Skepticism

Whole milk is back! The war on protein is over! Mainline meat! Derek investigates the new inverted pyramid and everything lacking in the new dietary guidelines. Show Notes The New Dietary Guidelin...

17 Tammi 23min

291: My Chinese Buddhist Israeli AI Guru

291: My Chinese Buddhist Israeli AI Guru

“Train your mind gently, not to deny what is hard, but to see what is still good” implores the monk sharing spiritual messages to his 2.5 million Instagram followers. Clad in an orange robe—well, some...

15 Tammi 1h 6min

Bonus Sample: Overwelled

Bonus Sample: Overwelled

From Andrew Huberman's Goop collab and Mel Robbins' protein shots to MAHA flipping the long-defunct food pyramid and making meningitis great again, the first full week of 2026 was off to quite a start...

12 Tammi 4min

Brief: Censorship Industrial Complex

Brief: Censorship Industrial Complex

Marco Rubio’s office published an official press release last month titled “Announcement of Actions to Combat the Global Censorship Industrial Complex.” The memo discusses the decision to impose visa ...

10 Tammi 22min

290: Trump Derangement Science

290: Trump Derangement Science

What do fascists need to do to convince their rank and file that they’re the smartest in the room? They invent new science to trash the old science they didn’t like. First, we look into how RFK Jr is ...

8 Tammi 1h 6min

Bonus Sample: What My Late Mom Would Have Thought About Jordan Peterson

Bonus Sample: What My Late Mom Would Have Thought About Jordan Peterson

Matthew reflects on the fifth anniversary of his mother’s death and revisits how her life, trauma, and values helped him understand the appeal—and fatal flaw—of Jordan Peterson’s worldview. Toughness ...

5 Tammi 5min

Brief: Class Wars on Christmas

Brief: Class Wars on Christmas

Have you seen the “Grinch prank” video trend? Bad parenting, yes. But also a nod to the conflicts, ancient and modern, embedded in Christmas.  Contrary to what Bill O’Reilly would tell you, there has...

3 Tammi 35min

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