233: DC’s Catholic Power Center (w/Gareth Gore)
Conspirituality21 Nov 2024

233: DC’s Catholic Power Center (w/Gareth Gore)

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

Episoder(777)

303: When Men Gather

303: When Men Gather

New Yorker writer Charles Bethea recently decided to attend men’s retreats—well, at least those who would admit him. His expose on the modern men’s movement got us thinking about what’s happening over...

9 Apr 1h 8min

Bonus Sample: A Course in Miracles Reconsidered (w/Joseph Baker)

Bonus Sample: A Course in Miracles Reconsidered (w/Joseph Baker)

Listen to the full episode If you heard Matthew’s Brief from March 28, you’ll know longtime Conspirituality listener Joseph Baker died on Feb 4 at the age of 51. Matthew recorded this conversation w...

6 Apr 4min

Brief: Mikki Willis and Russell Brand Rewrite History

Brief: Mikki Willis and Russell Brand Rewrite History

Mikki Willis recently joined Russell Brand to discuss a whole host of issues, including rather suspect rewritings of the histories of AIDS and Covid-19. Derek and Julian discuss. Learn more about you...

4 Apr 23min

302: The Disinformation Dozen: Wuhan Drift

302: The Disinformation Dozen: Wuhan Drift

Early in this podcast we covered the Disinformation Dozen, 12 wellness influencers and contrarian health figures responsible for spreading the lion’s share of vaccine misinformation on major social me...

2 Apr 1h 6min

Bonus Sample: Peptides: Wellness’s Experimental Jab

Bonus Sample: Peptides: Wellness’s Experimental Jab

Listen to the full episode The wellness industry has been repeating marketing strategies used by the fashion and diet book industries for decades. Influencers are just exploiting novelty-seeking cogn...

30 Mar 7min

Brief: Eulogy for Joseph Baker, Faithful Listener

Brief: Eulogy for Joseph Baker, Faithful Listener

Matthew eulogizes longtime Conspirituality listener Joseph Baker, who died on February 4 at the age of 51. They became online friends when Joseph reached out to say that maybe Matthew was being too ha...

28 Mar 31min

301: Gen X Meets the Manosphere

301: Gen X Meets the Manosphere

Did we all need a streaming manosphere documentary? Many did. Did we need one made in the GenX stop-and-mug slacker analysis-avoiding style of Louis Theroux? Debatable. Today we review Theroux’s Insid...

26 Mar 1h 12min

Bonus Sample: The New Age Muslim Apocalyptic Prophet

Bonus Sample: The New Age Muslim Apocalyptic Prophet

From a repurposed orphanage in the North of England, Abdullah Hashem tells his audience in five languages, across two satellite TV companies, and multiple social media channels that he is the successo...

23 Mar 8min

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