Brief: Marianne Williamson’s Spiritual Therapy Schtick
Marianne Williamson? Inexperienced? Not at all. In fact, she does have a ton of experience… in New Age, on-stage pseudotherapy, where she solves the problems of the troubled with memorized lines from ...
6 Maj 202352min
152: Tulsi Gabbard’s Krishna Consciousness (w/Nitai Joseph)
What does it mean for a prominent American politician to come into power as the sleeper cell of an eccentric Hindu-American cult? Does she act independently, or has her God-man got her on speed-dial? ...
4 Maj 20231h 32min
Bonus Sample: Reimagining the Apocalypse
Apocalyptic language is everywhere: in the marketing copy of wellness influencers and pseudo-documentary makers selling spike protein detoxes and vaccine fear-mongering videos, and in the fervent anti...
1 Maj 202310min
151: Satan Wants You Watch Party (Spoilers)
How, in the name of the Holy Virgin Mary, did Michelle Remembers—the book that started the Satanic Panic—come to be written? Who was Lawrence Pazder really? Did he encourage and exaggerate Michelle Sm...
27 Apr 20231h 37min
Bonus Sample: Framing George Soros
FOX News says he wants to destroy America. Candace Owens is scared to speak his name out loud. Mikki Willis is making a film about his assault on the American family. Dr. Christiane Northrup claims he...
24 Apr 202312min
Brief: Unmasking Liana Shanti (w/Jennings Brown)
Jennings Brown is becoming the Dr. Who of cult journalism. Every few years he pops up on a very different planet in the cultiverse, and tries to repair the timeline. These days he’s deep into the sto...
22 Apr 202342min
150: Spiritual Influencer Theory
Julian and Matthew go big-picture in this tour through all the elements that construct and drive spiritual Influencers. At the center of the parasocial storm is charisma, which covers over the intelle...
20 Apr 20231h 14min
Bonus Sample: From Rabbit Hole to Research (w/Jaigris Hodson)
Our Listener Story this week comes from Dr. Jaigris Hodson, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair for Digital Communication for the Public Interest at Royal Roads University in Victoria, Briti...
17 Apr 202328min
