104: Leaving Ramtha's Ranch (w/Cortney & Shana)
Conspirituality19 Touko 2022

104: Leaving Ramtha's Ranch (w/Cortney & Shana)

Cortney and Shana can’t remember exactly how they first became aware of the New Age promises and anxieties that would come to dominate every aspect of their lives. Their mom brought it into the house and their daily rhythms bit by bit.As kids in the early 1980s, they would fall asleep to visualizations by the self-help guru Wayne Dyer, on audiocassette. Or mom would read passages from Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda, after tucking them into bed. Cortney remembers an eerie photograph of the yogi’s corpse in a glass coffin in the mortuary. The lore was that he just wouldn’t decay. “Mom had a real fascination with beating death,” she told us. When the girls were still in elementary school, mom took them to an “attunement”, which must have made them the youngest Reiki Masters in Green Bay, Wisconsin—if not the whole midwest. “She was on a search,” Shana told us. And at some point the local massage training, the flyers in the health food stores, and the mail-order books weren’t enough. Mom started going to events, a long way from home—all the way out in Washington State. One time she came home with a VHS tape and played it for the girls. It showed a woman named J.Z. Knight transform into someone she called “Ramtha,” who she said was 35,000 years old, and carried the wisdom of the ages. She also brought audiocassettes of Ramtha, which they played in the car. This was their introduction to “channeling.” They were young teens, and didn’t know what to think. Was it magic? Was it funny? Ramtha sounded like the Great Gazoo, after all. When mom wasn’t home they’d show the VHS tape to their friends and giggle. But they also felt strange about it. Embarrassed. “I remember yelling at my mom, ‘Why can't you be normal?’” Shana said. What they understand now is how much she desperately needed to find something that was meaningful. “She was really struggling in the Catholic religion,” Shana said, “And her marriage,” Cortney added. “And midlife. It was the perfect storm.” Matthew sits down with Cortney and Shana as they share their story publicly for the first time. -- -- --Support us on PatreonPre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | JulianOriginal music by EarthRise SoundSystem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

11 Marras 20245min

Brief: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

Brief: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

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

9 Marras 202428min

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

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

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

7 Marras 20241h 5min

Bonus Sample: Elections on 3 Continents

Bonus Sample: Elections on 3 Continents

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

4 Marras 20246min

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

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

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

2 Marras 202425min

230: How Did We Get Here?

230: How Did We Get Here?

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

31 Loka 20241h 28min

Relief Project #3: Michelle Cassandra Johnson

Relief Project #3: Michelle Cassandra Johnson

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

29 Loka 202431min

Bonus Sample: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

Bonus Sample: Tucker Carlson's Daddy Issues

Derek discusses Tucker Carlson advocating for corporal punishment as a way to discipline children in his appearance at the Turning Points USA MAGA rally. Show Notes Stephen Colbert: Tucker Carlson’s Weird Daddy Issues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Loka 20246min

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