220: Swifties for Trump (and Other AI Lies)

The climate denialist who exposed the so-called “censorship industrial complex” returns, this time at another congressional hearing. Michael Shellenberger has come to blow the whistle on Big Government’s UFO cover-up.  Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Anna Paulina Luna alternate between showing off their knowledge of fantastical History Channel “documentaries” and playing bad cop interrogators. Reverse-engineered UFO’s! Recovered alien “biologics!” Interdimensional beings! Organic machines that defy the laws of physics!  Shellenberger and his fellow “witnesses” provide precisely zero evidence for any of these earth-shattering claims. Welcome to the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee circus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Nov 20246min

AG1 built a billion-dollar brand in large part by tapping into the fitness and wellness podcast and YouTube markets. Recently, AG1’s founder, Chris Ashenden, resigned after a decades-old real estate scam in his native New Zealand came to light. While Chris has mentioned it in passing, he’s always claimed to have paid full reparations for his crime—and it was a crime. Turns out that he hasn’t paid it all, as uncovered by New Zealand journalists Jonathan Milne and Mike Wesley-Smith. They join Derek to discuss their year-and-a-half long investigation that resulted in a billionaire founder leaving one of the most well-known supplements brands in the world. They also talk about why journalism still matters in a world seemingly run by billionaires.  Show Notes AG1 founder Chris Ashenden resigns amid scrutiny of NZ criminal history DELVE: Powder Keg podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Trump sues for billions from media he says is biased against him Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Nov 202438min

Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei, an ultra-conservative, high-demand, secretive Catholic organization in Madrid, Spain, after receiving a supposed vision from God in 1928. His small inner circle initially initiated university students into strict obedience, celibacy, medieval practices of self-flagellation, and deceptive recruitment techniques to convert their friends.  Operating outside of the mainstream church, Opus Dei rose to prominence under Spain's authoritarian dictator, Francisco Franco. Escriva was eventually canonized as a saint while the group amassed enormous wealth and influence around the world.  Today, their reactionary religious and political mission has established a foothold in Washington DC through the Catholic Information Center—the tabernacle closest to the White House.Bill Barr, Leonard Leo, and Project 2025 mastermind, Kevin Roberts, all visit for spiritual guidance. Meanwhile, scandals and lawsuits involving child sex abuse, money laundering, and human trafficking plague Opus Dei's reputation. Gareth Gore joins us to discuss his controversial new book on the past and present of this secretive organization, Opus. Show Notes Pew Research Center: America’s News Influencers How Opus Dei Converted DC Gareth Gore Author page for his book, Opus Opus Dei Paid $900K to Settle Sexual Misconduct Claim Argentine Prosecutors Accuse Opus Dei of Human Trafficking Maria del Carmen Tapia Book Summary on Opus Dei Financial Times on Opus  Biblical omen uncovered in aftermath of Hurricane Helene | Daily Mail Online Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Nov 20241h 14min

A personal journey through health describing what led Derek to focus on health, science, and healthcare as a career and, eventually, this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Nov 20245min

The post-election online chaos has a lot in common with what can go wrong in online survivor groups. Matthew tracks how opportunities for connection and solidarity can crater into gravity wells of recrimination, trauma-dumping, moral outrage porn, and the rise of new influence hierarchies. Not just because of differences in politics and values and temperament—but because of inequality and privilege.  A meditation on the difference between building a boat to sail in vs. a boat in a bottle, on considering the second arrow, and on when to log the fuck off.  Show Notes Mutual Aid Hub MORAL OUTRAGE PORN C. Thi Nguyen and Bekka Williams The Second Arrow — Sutta Central   Log the Fuck Off with Amber Frost, Matt Christman, & Ben Fong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Nov 202417min

Once upon a time, there was a golden age. A time when the news media was fair and balanced, unbiased and honest. But we've lost all that to the corrupting influence of big money, political correctness, and woke censorship. Blame the radical left. Not to worry: the online charisma of heterodox new media figures like Bari Weiss and her plucky, centrist, truth-telling little start-up, The Free Press, has come to Make Journalism Great Again. Yet their supposed heterodoxy is neither neutral nor journalistically rigorous. It's pure culture war contrarian sensationalism that wastes little ink critiquing the rise of right-wing authoritarianism. We trace these tangled threads by listening in to the supposedly non-partisan The Free Press election night livestream, which giddily praised Trump for being the consummate bullshitter that will take an ax to Democratic institutions. Show Notes The evolution of France’s left and right politics, from the 1789 French Revolution to this year's election  What to Know About the Origins of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ in Politics, From the French Revolution to the 2020 Presidential Race  Our American Zion  When a Terrorist Comes to Your Hometown Columbia's Own Middle East War Bari Weiss’s Unasked Questions TFP latest round of funding Thiel/Lonsdale and UATX funding UATX huge cash injection after pro-palestine protests Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Nov 20241h 7min

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 Nov 20245min

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 Nov 202428min