Brief: Watching Andor with the Kids (Pt 1)

Rightwing activist Chris Rufo recently led the charge in helping oust Claudine Gay from the Harvard presidency. While the charge is plagiarism—a charge Gay herself acknowledged—the reason for Rufo’s intense focus on her has little to do with academic pedigree. Rufo, a former vegetarian yogi, is leading the right-wing charge against DEI trainings, LGBTQ+ rights, and any mention of critical race theory. Rolling off his "victory" of Gay's resignation, he's published a blog post that he hopes will become the guiding manifesto for the "New Right." As Derek breaks down, this means returning America back to 1776 in many ways. Show Notes  The New Right Activism How We Squeezed Harvard to Push Claudine Gay Out Claudine Gay: my part in her downfall Bill Ackman’s wife is accused of plagiarizing part of her dissertation Contracts Between Hungarian Nonprofit and Christopher Rufo, Others, Raise Foreign Agent Concerns The Plagiarism War Has Begun A lesson in persuasion — Loretta Ross Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Jan 20246min

On January 6, 2021 Del Bigtree took the stage at the MAGA Health Freedom Rally a few blocks away from where Donald Trump had just instigated a riot. He joked about how the former president was a hard act to follow.  But he dug deep and persevered by stringing together key dog whistles of Trumpian disinformation and resentment: public health officials are corrupt, COVID is a scam, and the election was probably stolen. Such performances have gotten Bigtree’s Highwire show nuked by YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. But they’ve also made him wealthy, and with his new appointment as RFK Jr’s new Director of Communications, his political star is now rising. Matthew runs down what we know about Bigtree, and what he thinks this appointment will bring.   Show Notes An Important Message To The Medical Freedom Community from Del Bigtree  RFK Jr. hires top anti-vaccine activist as campaign communications director  The Disinformation Dozen — Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH  Brief: RFK's Health Propaganda Roundtable — Conspirituality  Brief: RFK Jr Loses New Age Support Over Israel — Conspirituality  Pandemic Profiteers — Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH  Tracy Beanz - The HighWire  How three conspiracy theorists took 'Q' and sparked Qanon  Anti-Vaxxer Del Bigtree’s Unhinged Quest for Unvaccinated Blood Leads Him to Mexico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Jan 202426min

Last year, the Heritage Foundation published a 920-page document that lays out the conservative organization’s road map for the next Republican president’s first four months in office, which could very well be Donald Trump. Project 2025 rests on four pillars devoted to the implementation of the unitary executive theory—basically, all levers of the American government bowing down to the executive branch. If this sounds like a roadmap to authoritarianism, that’s because it is. With 54 conservative and religious organizations signing on and over 450 contributors, as well as untold millions in dark money, Heritage is leading the charge with this anti-abortion, anti-LBGTQ+, anti-DEI, anti-civil liberties game plan. To date, they’ve interviewed thousands of prospective candidates for the next administration, with the goal of hiring tens of thousands of subservient bureaucrats ready to implement this Christian Nationalistic plan. Today we break down what the document says and how it could rapidly erode American democracy. And if that sounds like hyperbole, it isn’t. Show Notes Project 2025 The Power Worshippers | Katherine Stewart Behind the Curtain — Scoop: The Trump job applications revealed The Conservative Plan to Take Over the Country (you need to know about this) The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world Dr. Kevin Roberts | Catholic Citizens Annual Banquet Living a Life of Catholic Integrity in a Hostile World | Roger Severino Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Jan 20241h 20min

Friend of the pod and Straight White American Jesus host Brad Onishi returns to pick up with Matthew where they left off in their discussion of post-religious spirituality. They discuss what happens after disenchantment, the spirituality of boredom, and why, as we hurtle into the coming chaos of 2024, it’s good to keep an eye out for new allies in unlikely places.  This is Part Two of two-part conversation. Look for Part One in your pod feeds, dated December 30.  Show Notes Brad Onishi  Straight White American Jesus  Axis Mundi Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Jan 20246min

Friend of the pod and Straight White American Jesus host Brad Onishi joins Matthew for a New Year’s discussion of post-religious spirituality. Onishi fills out the details on a nascent identity that many of you might resonate with: the “secular person of faith.” They talk about the false choice of Max Weber’s fork in the road: that either we commit to the sciences or languish in the churches. They discuss Jeffery Kosky’s idea of “disenchantment with disenchantment.” And they try to figure out what Thomas Altizer was going on about when he proposed a “Christian Atheism.” This is Part One of two-part conversation. Part Two drops Monday, New Year’s Day, on Patreon.  Show Notes Brad Onishi  Straight White American Jesus  Axis Mundi Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Dec 202341min

Life coaching is big business. The life coaching industry was worth $1.5 billion in 2022 and is considered one of the fastest growing industries in America. The International Coaching Federation reported more than 26,000 coaches in North America in 2020. Yet those numbers are hard to qualify given that you don’t need certifications or training to become a life coach or, as we explore today, coaching of most any sort. Life coaches, business coaches, fertility coaches, “quantum” coaches: every industry has an increasing number of people who want to tell you how to do your job effectively, magically, or quantumally. Who really benefits from this supposed gold rush of “MULTI 6 FIGURE BUSINESS COACH”, “Multi 8 fig biz mentor”, and “high ticket biz coach helping women scale to 20-30k months”? And has the dilution of the term "coach" damaged credentialed coaches with decades of experience? Mallory DeMille returns to talk about the coaches who coach coaches industry: marketing tactics, parallels to multilevel marketing, and the glut in the coaching industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Dec 20231h 7min

The joys of Xmas, the wonder of parenting, the complexities of family, the distinctions between religions and cults, and the compassionate dignity of locating the sacred in our mortal humanity. Julian offers an atheist reflection on the holidays that is equal parts heartwarming, thought-provoking, and (perhaps) inspiring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Dec 20238min

COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, recently took place in the UAE. The controversial conference included 2,500 fossil fuel industry lobbyists and featured billionaires flying into Dubai on private jet. Yet, as Maya Lilly—a film, television, and digital media producer who focuses on activist documentary storytelling—tells Derek, it's one of the few places that so many nations and world leaders meet to discuss climate change. And, she says, the financial incentives exist to make even the richest men salivate. Governments just need the political will, and citizens need to vote more climate-forward legislators into office. Show Notes Maya Lilly’s Curated Climate Reading List Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn Right-wing media use COP28 to dismiss climate-related deaths Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Dec 202330min