Bonus Sample: The '80s Zen Master Con Man
Conspirituality4 Aug 2025

Bonus Sample: The '80s Zen Master Con Man

Everything about Zen Master Rama was fake—except for the piles of money he made. His black belt in paranormal martial arts, three past lives as a Buddhist teacher, 31 meditation albums he claimed to compose in other dimensions, multiple computer software companies, and a bestseller based on being a “world-class snowboarder” were all smoke and mirrors. He had no training or talent in any of these areas. He was an expert con man, however. The man wore Versace suits and Rolex watches, bought mansions, and owned a collection of pricey cars. His headshots were by the top Hollywood photographer of the day; he made many TV appearances. His students believed he could fill rooms with golden light, skate on light-beams, and protect them from the demons he claimed wanted to steal their enlightened energy. He instructed them to be celibate but then manipulated and coerced the prettiest into joining him for tantric sex rituals he claimed would accelerate their enlightenment. It didn’t end well for anyone—including him. In the latest installment of the Roots of Conspirituality series, Julian tells the tale of Frederick Lenz, a quintessential 80's synthesizer of phoney Buddhism, New Age delusions, cultic abuse, and wealth as a signifier of spiritual progress. Show Notes The Code Cult of the CPU Guru Mentor to Some, Cult Leader to Others The Guru’s Latest Incarnation Atrocity Guide The Enlightenment Fraud of Zen Master Rama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Brief: MAHA is a Supplements Grift

Brief: MAHA is a Supplements Grift

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294: ICE Resistance

294: ICE Resistance

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Bonus Sample: An Ode to Curiosity

Bonus Sample: An Ode to Curiosity

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Brief: Did MAHA Put MAGA In Power?

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293: Trump and Fascist Dementia

293: Trump and Fascist Dementia

As Trump surges his Gestapo and threatens to annex new territory, his brain is collapsing. He’s sundowning on Truth Social, nodding off in meetings, slurring words, slurping at the saliva pooling in h...

29 Jan 58min

Bonus Sample: Simone Weil: We Have Obligations Before We Have Rights

Bonus Sample: Simone Weil: We Have Obligations Before We Have Rights

Listen to the full episode Simone Weil was skeptical about the project of “rights.” They argued that obligations come before rights, and that rights only become real when obligations are recognized a...

26 Jan 5min

Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026

Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026

If conspirituality names the ways religion and spirituality are weaponized to justify power, prospirituality points to religious traditions doing the opposite: grounding resistance, ethical clarity, a...

24 Jan 28min

292: Women of Jan 6 (w/ Noelle Cook)

292: Women of Jan 6 (w/ Noelle Cook)

Noelle Cook’s The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging is the first ethnography of conspirituality, and it comes via someone who was able to really embed themselves in a volatile...

22 Jan 1h 8min

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