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

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(799)

Brief: My Neighbourhood Data Center Conspiracy

Matthew investigates the under-construction STACK data centre at 3650 Danforth Avenue in Scarborough, two miles from his home, tracing what he finds through concentric circles of capital, neglect, hyp...

30 Mai 38min

310: The Bait & Switch Complex

In the early 20th century, some retailers would advertise a product at an attractively low price to lure customers into the store, claim the item was out of stock or of poor quality then pressure cust...

28 Mai 1h 6min

Bonus Sample: Poetry As Resistance & Embodied Spirituality

Across continents and centuries outsider poets have made a bold stand for the life of the body, contemplative ecstasy, sexual liberation, and the sacredness of nature, often in the face of religious a...

25 Mai 5min

Brief: Living with Prediabetes

In February, Derek and his wife, Callan, were surprised to discover she was diagnosed with prediabetes. They didn't know that Asian American adults are at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than others ...

23 Mai 24min

309: Crybully Christians in the White House

The Trump DOJ's 565-page report from the Task Force for Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias is one of the strangest federal documents in American history. It’s a crybully tome, arguing that the most power...

21 Mai 56min

Bonus Sample: Liberals Punching Left

Listen to the full episode In this contribution to an ongoing co-host conversation, Matthew argues that the liberal centre's habit of punching left is a historically conditioned class strategy. From ...

18 Mai 5min

Brief: Spirituality After Atheism?

It’s normal to feel lost after leaving a cult, transitioning out of fundamentalist religion, or abandoning conspiracy theories. Whether you’ve left behind, you may be asking, "What now?" Britt Hartl...

16 Mai 43min

308: The AI Slop Machine is Worse Than You Think [feat Mallory DeMille]

Two months ago, we recorded Episode 291: My Chinese Buddhist Israeli AI Guru, surveying the growing field of AI slopfluencers churning out wellness supplements via Amazon affiliate links. At the time,...

14 Mai 58min