Special Episode: Calibrating the Gurometer

In this special quasi-crossover episode, we stare deeply into the abyss while enjoying a beverage with renowned psychologist and occasional podcast co-host, Mickey Inzlicht.P.S. The Decoding of Naomi Klein is coming next week!Two Psychologists, One Anthropologist, Three Beers00:27 Introduction05:57 Mickey's Sabbatical in Japan12:13 Sensemaking 3.025:25 Francis Foster's Bizarre Podcast Roast34:38 Sabine Hossenfelder thinks Academia is Communism36:11 The Irony of YouTube Incentives39:34 Proper Criticisms of Academia43:28 Is Academia Centrally Planned?46:24 Culture War Pandering53:53 Entering the Matt-rix55:00 In Bed with the Russians notices the Red Scare Wounded Bird Pose01:00:03 On the etiquette of Replications01:06:17 Academic Debates on the Effect of Culture on Visual Illusions: Joe Henrich vs. Amir & Firestone01:11:18 The Legend of Captain Cook: Sahlins vs Obeyesekere01:12:58 Ideas vs People: Sarah Haider, Colin Wright and an epidemic of hypocrisy 01:17:19 Admitting Mistakes and Research Integrity01:24:38 Interpersonal Relationships vs. Adversarial Systems01:33:24 Wastage in Academia01:39:49 Elon Musk, Pregnancy, and Modern Cults01:49:01 Signing OffThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 51 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSourcesMickey's Substack: Speak Now, Regret LaterInzlicht, M., Cameron, C. D., D’Cruz, J., & Bloom, P. (2024). In praise of empathic AI. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(2), 89-91.Chicago. And a summary article by Mickey!Bad Boys Done Good vs Triggernometry host Francis FosterSabine Hossenfelder - Should we defund academia?Alexander Beiner - From Rebel Wisdom to KainosJoe Henrich's thread responding to the Dorsa and Chaz paperChris' old blog on Captain Cook and the second partAmir, D., & Firestone, C. (2025, January 25). Is visual perception WEIRD? The Müller-Lyer illusion and the Cultural Byproduct Hypothesis. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/y7mtfIn Bed with the Russians - Red Scared

8 Mars 50min

Chris and Matt confront their inner demons, manifest their personal deities, and dive into the Onto-Logos.Supplementary Material 2400:00 Introduction02:32 Matt's Surprise Shaming06:39 Jordan Peterson's Inner Monologue Revealed10:04 Trump on Ukraine15:22 Sean Carroll explains US cuts to science funding16:47 Bleak Prospects for the US24:14 Aella vs. Arrogant Red Pill Man37:22 Be wary of Overcorrecting43:11 John Vervaeke meets Hermes52:59 False Dichotomies of the Spirit01:03:38 Entering into Dialogos with Matt's Inner Darwin01:07:39  Perspectival and participatory phenomenological identity transformation.01:09:20 Other ways of knowing spirits01:13:45 Materialists and their Monological Mindsets01:18:37 Welcome to the Onto-Logos01:24:06 Bad Faith Commenters01:29:35 Pageau and the Metaphysics of Pepe the Frog01:36:32 Next Book Review: Other MindsThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 41 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSourcesThird Eye Drops: Encountering Higher Consciousness, The Daimon & The Paradox of Reality | Dr. John VervaekeDave Rubin's video of Peterson's speech at the ARC conferenceWhatever podcast: She Did 100 Men In 1 DAY?! 1,000 NEXT?! Lily Phillips, Eva Lovia, Aella, Andrew! | Dating Talk#227Aella's SubstackSean Carroll: Bonus Episode | Cuts to Science Funding and Why They MatterSabine Hossenfelder: Trump and Musk Take On AcademiaHuberman tweeting excitedly about the funding cutsJonathan Pageau: Supplement to the Metaphysics of Pepe Interview with Jordan Peterson

28 Feb 45min

Chris and Matt have their models exploded, the maps ripped up, and their minds blown as the Gurusphere expands into exciting new territory.Supplementary Material 2302:47 Chris Williamson blows our minds!08:57 Content Predator psychology and motivational posting12:28 Balancing the Scales14:07 Eric Weinstein the master of Rorschach Tweets20:26 Modern Sages Reunited: Bret Weinstein and Joe Rogan24:29 Open-Minded Joe Rogan34:26 Maybe prescriptions are actually bad!37:38 Andrew Gold expands into Race & IQ46:47 4 Warning Signs of Radicalism56:45 Monomaniacal Fixation vs. Pluralism01:05:26 Rejoinder: What if it is a diagnostic?01:09:43 Lex wants to join DOGE01:10:31 Lex's next world leader interview: Modi01:14:57 Matt's Final Thought: People contain multitudes01:16:57 OutroThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 19 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSourcesEric Weinstein's profound tweet on history as we know itThe Joe Rogan Experience#2269- Bret WeinsteinAndrew Gold Heretics: CONTROVERSIAL: Are Some Races DUMBER? - Nathan Cofnas (4K)Lex wistfully imagines joining DOGE and thinks deeply about his upcoming interview with ModiRecent investigation of 'Race Realist' networks and outletsKruglanski, A. W., & Moskalenko, S. (2025). Psychology of the Extreme. Taylor & Francis.

22 Feb 33min

In this episode, Matt finally gets his revenge on Chris by dragging him deep into the eccentric world of Chris Langan—the self-proclaimed possessor of a 200 IQ and creator of The Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe, yet another grand unifying theory of everything. Langan presents himself as an intellectual titan, offering mathematical, social, religious, and philosophical insights so profound that mere mortals can barely grasp them.Prepare to have the mysteries of the universe, God, anti-God, angels, and demons unveiled. Consciousness, determinism, and free will? All finally explained. But that’s not all—somehow, it all connects to globalist plots, election conspiracies, vaccines, UFOs, and, of course, the devil pulling the strings.Join us for conservative pundit Michael Knowles’ therapy session with one of his idols-a man who reassures him that he is a very smart boy and that his fundamentalist Christian beliefs are, in fact, completely correct.If you thought Eric Weinstein was something, imagine him cranked up to 12. That’s Chris Langan...Also... get ready for Matt's double down on his Aussie food takes.LinksCTMU Radio: Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To SeeMalcolm Gladwell interview discussing Chris LanganGood Reddit post on the problems of the MEGA IQ test

21 Feb 2h 58min

In this episode, Matt and Chris take a look at a recent developmental psychology paper on the social evaluation of young babies. Do they display a preference for agents who are nice to others or could they care less at the babbling age? This is a large-scale, multi-lab, preregistered replication effort of a rather influential paper so it ticks all of Chris' Open Science boxes, but how does Matt react? Is he stuck in his pre-replication crisis paradigms? Join us to find out and along the way find out about baby Matt's psychotic tendencies, how cats feel about cucumbers, and how Matt narrowly escaped being eaten by a big ol' crocodile.Paper Reference: Lucca, K., Yuen, F., Wang, Y., Alessandroni, N., Allison, O., Alvarez, M., ... & Hamlin, J. K. (2025). Infants’ Social Evaluation of Helpers and Hinderers: A Large‐Scale, Multi‐Lab, Coordinated Replication Study. Developmental Science, 28(1), e13581.Original Study: Hamlin, J. K., Wynn, K., & Bloom, P. (2007). Social evaluation by preverbal infants. Nature, 450(7169), 557-559.Decoding Academia 3200:00 Introduction00:59 Matt's Close Shave with a Crocodile03:15 Discussion on Crocodile Behavior05:13 Introduction to the Academic Paper06:18 Understanding Registered Reports07:49 Details of the Replication Study12:07 The Many Babies Study18:23 Challenges in Developmental Psychology20:35 Original Study and Replication Efforts26:27 HARKing and the QRP problem in psychology34:24 Discussing the Results36:58 Exploring the Red Ball Experiment39:38 Forest Plot Analysis41:19 Infant Preferences and Social Evaluation43:24 Failure to Replicate the Original Study47:06 Exploratory Analysis and Moderators50:03 Interpretations and Implications54:21 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Behavior58:34 Prosocial Evolutionary Speculation01:05:10 Psychopathic Baby Matt01:06:28 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections01:11:20 Comparative Psychology on Snake Hatred!The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 15 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

20 Feb 35min

We immerse ourselves in the Dark Side of the Gurusphere and come out forever altered by what we've seen and praying for an escape from this demon-haunted world.00:00 Introduction01:38 Reverse Culture Shock in Australia11:01 Tim Tams and Food Progress12:14 Russia Today endorses Lex's statements on Zelensky19:20 Elon Musk's Controversial Gesture38:31 Destiny's (Most Recent) Controversy01:02:12 Bryan Johnson vs. Andrew Huberman: Civility Insights01:14:21 Sacriligeous Sycophancy: Bill Ackman and Sam Altman01:15:55 Jonathan Pageau's Stargate Theories01:26:52 Escaping the Demon-Haunted WorldThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hrs 30 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSourcesRussia Today tweeting about Lex and announcing his upcoming interview with PutinJoe Rogan Experience #2260 - Lex FridmanVideo comparing Musk's gesture with other politicians' gesturesPxie's statement about the lawsuit on her substack and Destiny's response on his subredditBryan Johnson and Huberman's Twitter ExchangeBill Ackman suggesting Trump's achievements are greater than God'sJonathan Pageau's thread on Stargates

12 Feb 1h 4min

'Tis a New Year (sort of), and amidst all the chaos in the world, we thought we'd offer a small glimmer of light by making this Patreon episode available to everyone! If you enjoy it, consider joining us on Patreon—or not, it's your call!In this episode, Matt and Chris scry through the portents and ponder the apocalyptic insights of the tech and finance titan Peter Thiel. We all know that Thiel is an urbane gentleman of great refinement with a collection of revolutionary ideas but does he make the Gurometer sing? Tune in to find out—and, as a bonus, learn more than you ever wanted to know about the intricacies of academic grading systems.

11 Feb 51min

In this episode, Matt and Chris tackle the big ideas—or at least the ones rattling around in Peter Thiel’s mind. Tech billionaire, venture capitalist, and political kingmaker, Thiel has long been a looming figure in Silicon Valley, known for his deep pockets, contrarian takes, and peculiar philosophical musings. But beneath the surface-level libertarian posturing, what does Thiel actually believe? And does it hold up to scrutiny?The decoders dig into Thiel’s recent interview on Uncommon Knowledge, where he waxes biblical about end times, interprets the katechon with all the confidence of a medieval theologian, and seamlessly blends venture capitalism with prophecies of the Antichrist.Along the way, they explore Thiel’s method of connecting historical dots with pure vibes, and his Jetsons Fallacy, the deep disappointment that the world looks more like The Office than a 1960s vision of the future. They dissect the Sensemaker Aristocracy surrounding him—with its reverent back-patting and strange mix of deference and obfuscation that turns tech moguls into prophets. They also highlight Thiel’s bizarre leaps in logic, from citing biblical prophecies to warning about one-world free-trade Communist government conspiracies and his confusing stance on technological progress—simultaneously lamenting stagnation while fearing we’re racing too fast toward Armageddon.Of course, no billionaire worldview would be complete without some COVID conspiracies, and Thiel delivers, crafting an elaborate Fauci Bioweapon Paradox in which the pandemic response was simultaneously overblown and also secretly justified because the virus was (obviously) engineered.So is Peter Thiel a visionary? A libertarian Cassandra? Or just a very wealthy man with a lot of half-formed ideas and a habit of mumbling them into microphones? Matt and Chris wade through the mess so you don’t have to. Stay till the end for the Revolutionary Leprechaun Theory of Western Civilization… if you dare.LinksHoover Institute: Apocalypse Now? Peter Thiel on Ancient Prophecies and Modern Tech (Part 1)Hoover Institute: Apocalypse Now? Peter Thiel on Ancient Prophecies and Modern Tech (Part 2)WIRED article on the Thiel, Hogan, & Gawker business

4 Feb 3h 8min