247: The Deeper State

Body image is a phenomenon that has long simmered below the surface of the wellness industry. We’ve spent years covering the hard and soft eugenics that inform so many physical and spiritual practices, and how the notion of an ideal self persists and, as we get into today, grown in the online world.  Just as shaming and skewed body perceptions proliferate in the comments sections and fitfluencer podcast world, so have opportunities for meaningful conversations. One such venue is the wildly popular debate and discussion shows hosted by Jubilee Media. They’ve somehow managed to tow the line between heartfelt sharing and outright clickbait, for better and worse. We look at a few recent episodes that deal directly with body image issues, from being jacked and bro’d up to the challenges of obesity and eating disorders, and discuss how Jubilee is walking such a precarious tightrope. Show Notes Anorexia vs Obese | Middle Ground Is Being Fat A Choice? Fit Men vs Fat Men | Middle Ground Is Being Fat A Choice? Fit Women vs Fat Women | Middle Ground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Juli 1h 15min

Protest slogans are designed to pack a punch. They communicate potent emotions and persuasive ideas to the public while galvanizing activist allies. At 5 '11, wearing an elegant hijab over jet-black hair, Nerdeen Kiswani cuts an elegant figure. “From the river to the sea,” she cries, and the loyal group around her repeats it back, loudly. “Palestine will be free!” Again the repeated phrase comes back. “You are my amplifier,” she tells them.  Even while delivering her speech, the crowd loudly shouts each phrase after she says it. “We need allies who are gonna help us to reach a victory, not allies who are gonna tell us to be non-violent!” Those at the front are holding up a long banner spread out in front of them that reads, “Globalize the Intifada.” Kiswani is the founder and chair of a Brooklyn-based group called Within Our Lifetime—which split off from other anti-Zionist groups she felt were not radical enough. “We don't want no two-state, we want '48!”  She's performed this activist role many times on New York streets: in front of a memorial installation for the Nova music festival; at the campus protests in 2024, where she told the students, “we must escalate!” She's taken credit for popularizing the slogan “globalize the intifada” since 2021. When NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was asked how he felt about it, he first struggled to answer, then said “it's not language I use.” His fellow candidate and ally, Brad Lander, said it was hard not to hear it as meaning “open season on Jews.” Mamdani has been pictured on social media alongside Kiswani and her inner circle.  At least six men affiliated with Within Our Lifetime have ended up with jail sentences for hospitalizing Jews after planning and then bragging about violence in exposed private chats—even in public posts. The group was booted from Instagram (180k+ followers) when they posted New York City maps showing the locations of specific corporate, government, and Jewish organizations. The phrases, "Blood on their Hands," "Know your Enemy" and "Globalize the Intifada" were emblazoned above and below the maps. "Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada," Kiswani chanted close to Wall Street, outside the Nova music festival memorial, dedicated to the 378 civilians killed and 40 abducted. Dancing and drumming, protestors in the crowd chanted back, set off flares, and unfurled Hamas and Hezbollah flags. Julian takes a deep dive into this controversial group in the context of an unfolding genocide in Gaza, and the long history of conflict, conquest, and religious extremism in the region. He asks fervent supporters of Israel, "How much do you know about the Nakba?" and pro-Palestine loyalists, "How much do you know about Hamas?" Show Notes NYT Profile on Nerdeen Kiswani Kiswani Tweets About Using "globalize the intifada" since 2021 Kiswani Speaks At Columbia Encampment on Wedding Day Columbia Group Influenced by WOL To Support Armed Resistance Kiswani Wears Button Showing Hamas Spokesman Hamas and Hezbollah Flags At NYC Nova Memorial Protest  Within Our Lifetime Posts Maps To IG 6 Charged in Antisemitic Mob Beating In Times Square Sadaah Masoud Sentenced to 18 Months for 3 Antisemitic Assaults Hamas Leaders Live in Luxury Hamas Financial Network Hamas Gunmen Hunt Down Fatah Rivals Zohran Mamdani with WOL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Juli 6min

In 1898, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace published a pamphlet entitled, "Vaccination a Delusion; Its Penal Enforcement a Crime." This work became the foundation of the modern anti-vax movement. Derek discusses how even though vaccination science is constantly evolving, the rhetoric of people like RFK Jr is just rehashing old and outdated ideas. Show Notes Vaccination a Delusion; Its Penal Enforcement a Crime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juli 22min

We return to the ongoing saga of Aubrey Marcus. As a wealthy, anti-vax New Ager who campaigned for RFK Jr (before going MAGA), he’s a pole star for the conspirituality moment and its political manias. He’s also a ceaseless innovator of guru narrative tech, with his latest trick being the attempt to turn his own implosion into top-tier content by enlisting an ex-fiance to prove his spiritual bona fides. , As we look at his rehab schtick in the context of the great guru death-spirals of the past, we’ll learn that he has a lot of the old 1970s vibe going on, but the digital age brings new humiliations and opportunities. At the end, we'll update you on another guru rehab in motion: the Liver King. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Juli 1h 11min

Zohran Mamdani's win in the NYC democratic mayoral primary has been filled with deflections and pivots so that politicians and pundits don't have to focus on the core issues he's talking about. The left has a path worth considering. The democratic establishment is, for the most part, refusing to endorse him. Derek wonders if the rest of the left can avoid similar traps. Show Notes Globesonic On the Pier: 8 Years in NYC Globesonic Sound System 5 Years On The Hudson River The Cause That Turned Idealists Into Authoritarian Zealots Why I Just Quit DSA Ocasio-Cortez Loses the Democratic Socialists’ Endorsement Over Israel Status of DSA National Endorsement for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Juli 7min

On June 24, Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King, was arrested in Austin for threatening Joe Rogan. The infamous raw organ "primal" influencer has since published dozens of videos detailing what appears to be a downward spiral—though the problems date back years. Derek and Julian detail the crash. Show Notes 'Liver King' arrested in Austin after allegedly threatening Joe Rogan 'Liver King' says he 'will never stop' after arrest over alleged threat against Joe Rogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Juli 35min

"Tonight we made history," grinned Zohran Mamdani as his supporters cheered with delight, "I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City. His victory over disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo in this primary election has made Mamdani, the 33-year-old fresh-faced Indian Muslim assemblyman from Queens, into a national sensation—and one of the biggest news stories in the week when Trump bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. He's used his eloquent, telegenic charisma to make a principled stand for Democratic socialist policies, call for Palestinian human rights, and propose a radical re-envisioning of policing in his city. Which of course makes him the target of conspiracy-mongers and right-wing propagandists, as well establishment Democrats and supporters of Israel. As masked ICE thugs, cynical SCOTUS enablers, movie-villain oligarchs, and MAGA cult ghouls steadily dismantle democracy we'll discuss the Mamdani Effect. Is he the hero we've been hoping for, or are his hard-left positions corrosive to a broader anti-Trump coalition? Show Notes NYC Councilman Brad Lander Is ‘Glad’ To Belong To A Shul That Promotes Toeiva; Adds That Israel Is ‘Occupying’ West Bank Defund the Police? Turning a Slogan into Policy - Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)  Reimagining a More Equitable Policing and Public Safety System in New York City  Seven Facts About the NYPD Budget After Winning NYC's Democratic Mayoral Primary, Zohran Mamdani Reaffirms Support For Reparations  NYC mayoral candidate Zahron Mamdani vows to 'expand and protect' trans healthcare  Democratic NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Is Pledging $65 Million for Trans Health Care Divine Shawarma: NYPD Officer's Halal Lunch Break Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Juli 1h 10min

Greta Thunberg is a burr in the ass of the powerful throughout the world—and not only for rightwing sociopaths. Increasingly, as she grows up, learns more, and networks with other activists around the world, she’s become a scourge for liberals as well. Many of them would prefer she remain a child, providing a theatre of emotional catharsis for a climate crisis industry more interested in raising money from green economy donors than forcing change.  Now, as Thunberg broadens her target to capitalism and colonialism writ large, it’s more and more clear that she’s confronting what autistic philosopher Robert Chapman calls “the empire of normality,” from her lived experience of autism, about which so many of the conspiracy theories we cover here swirl.  Seizure of the Madleen Why do Fascists Hate Greta Why are Liberals Backing Away from Greta? Neurodiversity and activism   Masking, Burnout, Contemplation Hamster Wheel of Capitalism Parenting in Humility ChaptersPart one (Saturday on Main Feed):Part two: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Juni 5min