217: Childless Cat Lady

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 One! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Jan 5min

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 the misinformation he continues to spread. Show Notes BMJ's Systematic Review on Quarantine Measures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Jan 36min

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

9 Jan 54min

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 Rock, and how the FBI may have been involved in his mysterious death and subsequent disappearance of his cellular rejuvenation equipment. This is part of a series of free-standing episodes that excavates the history of pseudoscience and conspiracism beneath contemporary New Age spirituality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Jan 6min

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 that once seen, can’t be unseen. It helps explain the contradictory and performative politics of Trump—and how, under his leadership, the administrative state may not be destroyed by fascism directly, but by a theatre of cynicism and catharsis that will allow the latent fascism of the American Empire to explode.  Show Notes Welcome to Neokayfabe  Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America — Abraham Josephine Riesman // Writer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Jan 46min

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 philosophers appeared, spreading Covid conspiracies and health misinformation. In his role as curious everyman, Bartlett rarely challenged their narratives, sometimes playing along with their conspiratorial hot takes to an audience in the millions. We look at a few conspiritualist crossovers this week, and discuss what it really takes to become a top 5 podcaster—and the information and integrity that’s sacrificed along the way. Show Notes The Canonization of St. Luigi Sacred Heart of Luigi hanging up at Vito's Pizza  Extremist “Saints Culture” Catholic ethicists condemn ‘indifference to suffering’ shown by those celebrating Luigi Mangione 41% of young voters say UnitedHealthcare CEO killing "acceptable"  69% Blame CEO Murder on US Healthcare System  Mainstreaming of Violent Accelerationism December Wave 2 2024 AmeriSpeak Omnibus | NORC at the University of Chicago   Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation in Diary of CEO podcast What the Most Famous Book About Trauma Gets Wrong Teal Swan Collection—Patreon Bessel van der Kolk: Role in the Satanic Panic He Built a Wellness Empire While Adventuring With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Only 7% of American Adults Have Good Cardiometabolic Health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Jan 1h 14min

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

31 Des 202428min

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

30 Des 20245min