Brief: RFK Jr Flirts with Body Fascism (w/Natalia Petrzela)
Friend of the pod and historian of American fitness culture, Natalia Petrzela, joins Matthew to shed light on a new development in RFK Jr’s campaign to disrupt the Democratic Party: his recent workout...
1 Jul 202337min
160: Empire of Lies (w/Sofia Cherici & Jan Zabka)
Chaos in Russia! Wagner’s pagan neo-Nazis. Is conspirituality unique to a failing American empire in the internet age? Does it require Californian New Age spirituality, with conspiracy theories that w...
29 Jun 20231h 23min
Bonus Sample: God Seemed Like A Dumb Reason to Break Up
Today in our Listeners’ Stories installment, Lynn Short joins her partner Justin to discuss how they met, grew up in, and grew out of a branch of “Gnosis,” a theosophical cult founded in the 1950s by ...
26 Jun 20237min
Brief: An Atheist's Guide to Spirituality
“It’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong," wrote Richard Feynman. But does curiosity end where awareness cuts off? Derek explores the positive and nega...
24 Jun 202322min
159: Cults & Cultures
To celebrate book launch month, we started a little “takeaway” series two weeks ago. First, Derek led us through “Science and Sensibility,” in which he shared some really good practices for science li...
22 Jun 20231h 28min
Bonus Sample: Devouring Dragons
The exiled cult leader, the MAGA mastermind, the Chinese con-artist billionaire, and the CCP. Insatiable dragons, all. Each claims to be at war with evil, as their fiery propaganda melts the minds of ...
19 Jun 20235min
158: Spirituality Without the Con
We've spent three years tracking the slide from online wellness influencer to red-pilled conspiracy promoter, from yoga and breath work teacher to anti-vax ivermectin slinger, from vegan raw chocolate...
15 Jun 20231h 10min
Bonus Sample: The Anti-Woke Industrial Complex
From Ron DeSantis's anti-woke presidential campaign to Bari Weiss's FAIR war on woke, the concept of "wokeness" has become an ideal devil in right-wing and right-leaning politics—even if (or especiall...
12 Jun 20236min
