Bonus Sample: Greta Thunberg’s “Super Power” Vs. Fascists and Liberals (Pt 2)

QAnon’s “Great Awakening,” influencers claiming to channel spirits or aliens, prophecies of a glorious Christian apocalypse—all aspects of the modern phenomenon that we call “conspirituality.” A sign of our crazy times?! Not quite. The roots of this passionate delusion can be traced to an eventful time in American history: the mid-1800’s. In this episode of his pseudoscience series, Julian covers the relationship between famous Spiritualists who talked to the dead on stage, the emerging science of parapsychology, early formulations of New Age beliefs, and the passionate Christian revivalism centered in New York State’s “burned-over district.”  Show Notes Doomsday Prophecy and Spiritual Porn (earlier episode on 19th century Great Awakening) Hearing Voices, Seeing Colors, & Fighting Phantoms (earlier episode on temporal lobe epilepsy) New Yorker: Why Did So Many Victorians Try To Talk To The Dead  PBS: William Miller and The Second Great Awakening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Kesä 20245min

It’s all just a show, and sometimes that makes it all the more real. Playwright and theater scholar Hank Willenbrink joins Matthew to look at the spectacle of Trump through the lens of performance studies.  From his childhood listening to Norman Vincent Peale, to his lifelong fascination with Broadway, to his TV celebrity, to the tableau vivants of evangelicals gathered round him to sanctify his holy mission, Trump hits his marks so well he doesn’t even need to remember his lines. Now he has a new role to play: the framed felon.  Show Notes Performing for the Don: Theaters of Faith in the Trump Era About Me – Hank Willenbrink  Bread and Puppet Theater — Glover, VT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Kesä 202443min

We talked to Renee Diresta, when she in the middle of a life-changing crisis. Elon Musk’s hand-picked "journalists" were testifying in front of Congress as part of the “Twitter Files.” Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger sounded the alarm about a supposedly vast conspiracy between think tanks, big tech companies, and government intelligence agencies to censor the free speech of conservative Americans. They referred to that conspiracy as the “Censorship Industry Complex," identifying its leader as a shadowy former CIA intern named Renee Diresta. The reality is that Diresta was involved in a 2020 academic project called the Election Integrity Partnership, which studied then gave reports on viral social media content steeped in misinformation. She joins us to discuss her new book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Kesä 20241h 25min

Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr's VP pick, has recently started her own podcast. Dilbert creator Scott Adams joined. The conversation quickly turned into a conspiracy free-for-all, starting with DEI, then swerving into fertility, vaccines, transgender people, EMFs, and much more. Derek responds. Show Notes Inside the fringe worldview of RFK Jr.’s VP pick A Running Mate’s History: $1 Billion, Cocaine, a Fling With Elon Musk Back to the People: Reframing Our Brains on Food, Debt, and DEI (full episode) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Kesä 20246min

When young TikTok dance stars joined 7M Films, they got access to big production budgets, luxurious locations, and exciting career opportunities. There was a problem, however. Their boss, Robert Shinn, was a self-styled Christian pastor who placed increasing pressure on their time and finances, demanded unquestioning devotion, and isolated them from the outside world. (Julian covered the story of a family trying to regain contact with their daughter, Miranda Derrick, who had disappeared into Shinn’s Shekinah Church for Conspirituality 105: TikTok, Cults & Conspiracies.) A new Netflix docuseries picks up where we left off. Julian talks to the series director, Derek Doneen, to discuss “Dancing for the Devil.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Kesä 202425min

Every year, the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, DC-based lobbying group, publishes its “Dirty Dozen” report, which supposedly informs consumers about the 12 “dirtiest” fruits and vegetables. The report is repeated verbatim by major media outlets, which routinely demonize strawberries, blueberries, and other conventionally-grown produce. But does their science hold up? Not according to the majority of scientists and researchers. Over the decades, the EWG has slammed some pesticides but not others, ignored data on dosages, and even wondered out loud if all that mercury in vaccines might just be causing autism. They also routinely ignore potentially hazardous organic chemicals, while selling “verified” labels for skin care products and sunscreens. Today Derek is going to walk me, the non-science journalist, through the work of the EWG before he talks to biomedical scientist Dr Andrea Love and cosmetic chemist Dr Michelle Wong about the group’s questionable methodologies and fear-mongering tactics. Show Notes Environmental Working Group and the Dirty Dozen The Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list is a danger to public health put out by an organic industry funded activist group Influence Watch: Environmental Working Group Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues from Commodities Alleged to Contain the Highest Contamination Levels Ken Cook: The Story of The Environmental Working Group  What Biden’s oil record means for the industry’s future Alleged ‘deal’ offer from Trump to big oil could save industry $110bn, study finds 10 years after Flint's lead water crisis began, a lack of urgency stalls 'proper justice' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Touko 20241h 5min

In this Listener Stories episode, Matthew sits down with Jude Mills, an old friend from the yoga world, to hear her story about growing up in an anti-theist home in hyper-sectarian Scotland, but feeling the inexorable call of religion. So started a long journey toward her vocation as a hospice chaplain at the height of COVID.  They discuss the needs of the dying, regardless of beliefs, and how losing dignity to institutional abuse does not necessarily mean losing faith. In discussing how some former believers feel excluded from community life, Jude says something remarkable: “Everyone has a right to a sacramental life.” Jude has a Master’s degree in Public Theology and research interests which include: podcasting as a medium for theological reflection and enquiry; narratives of spiritual and religious abuse and harm and issues of disabled, neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ inclusivity in church contexts. Her podcast 'Fkd Up By Faith' will be the research subject for her PhD.  Show Notes Jude's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Touko 20246min

There’s been a growing acceptance of religious belief from the previously religious-averse, especially in the Covid contrarian space. This comes in the wake of a number of recent high-profile conversions, most notably Russell Brand getting baptized. Why are the skeptical suddenly finding faith?  Derek and Julian discuss their atheism in the context of these recent changes of heart—including Brand’s recent appearance on Bret Weinstein’s Dark Horse podcast. They share how their own skepticism has evolved and informs their work, debating on what value religion and, specifically, a belief in a god, holds for spiritual practices today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Touko 202447min