Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. ...
The murder of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson has set off shockwaves across America. This week we look at the story’s online impact, people mythologizing the alleged killer, its intersection with conspirituality, and the healthcare system in America writ large.
Show Notes
Jen Gunter on insurance denial for her premature babies' oxygen needs
Exclusive: Luigi's Manifesto - Ken Klippenstein
Savings: Quarter of Americans Have Few, One in 10 Have None | Statista
The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States
View of U.S. Healthcare Quality Declines to 24-Year Low
MDVIP/Ipsos poll shows Americans are struggling with the healthcare system
UnitedHealthcare CEO gunned down in Manhattan sold company stocks just before DOJ probe made public | The Independent
Conservatives Face Backlash From Followers Over UnitedHealthcare Murder - Newsweek
Before fatal subway chokehold, Jordan Neely was on NYC’s list of homeless individuals with dire needs | CNN
Kaiser Study on Health Insurance Satisfaction
NIH Debunks Myth that 60% of Bankruptcies are Medical in Nature
Luigi Mangione’s Anger Wasn’t Neatly Ideological
Gallup Poll on Health Care Satisfaction
Ipsos Poll on Health Care Satisfaction
Mental Illness is 13.5 times More Likely In Lone Wolf Shooters
Narcissism, Fame Seeking and Mass Shootings
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1:24:04
Relief Project #5: Annie Kelly
The fifth installment of Matthew's Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.
Dr. Annie Kelly joined us in Episode 61 to lay out her research on the manosphere-to-conspirituality pipeline. Today she joins me to discuss the trouble and joy of balancing extremism research with stories of hope and solidarity.
Show Notes
Annie Kelly
Vaccine: The Human Story - YouTube
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31:53
Bonus Sample: TheoBros, Political Religion, and Christmas
Extremely online, bearded, Millennial pastors in tailored suits want to repeal women’s suffrage, criminalize gays, and Make America Christian Again. These “TheoBros” even have a guy on the inside: JD Vance. Trump’s Dept of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, attends an affiliated church.
Julian tracks their genealogy and ugly ideas, as well as their parallel reactionary theocratic visions wreaking havoc elsewhere in the world today. Stay tuned for conversational reflections and wholesome holiday wishes at the end!
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5:24
Brief: The Unfreedom of Others (w/Talia Lavin)
Journalist Talia Lavin joins Derek to discuss her recent book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America.
Show Notes
Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America
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27:09
236: Damage Control
As we ride out the aftershocks of the election and prepare for Trump 2.0, it’s as if nothing is bolted down. Trump’s cabinet appointments signal a disregard for competence or temperament as he seems to prioritize fervent deep state conspiracism and anti-woke aggression in his choices. The chattering classes (both legacy and new media) are on the front lines of having to adapt in real time.
What to do? Double down on anti-fascist resistance, turn the disinformation detection devices up to 11, chart a course for sanguine neutrality, normalize the chaos as the world burns, or maybe give this rag-tag group of billionaire outsiders a chance to move fast and break things—in the hope that some of it was not working anyway?
We look at three different modes of damage control currently ripping through American discourse.
Show Notes
There’s a conspiracy theory that the CIA invented the term ‘conspiracy theory’ – here’s why
87: The Aubrey Marcus Spectacle
107: An Open Letter to Aubrey Marcus
214: Aubrey Marcus is Totally Not a Cult Leader
Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights in Mexico - Open Society Foundations
Madres de Plaza de Mayo | Learning for Justice
Adweek article on Rogan and MeidasTouch
Kash Patel QAnon Appearances
Kash Patel Seal Team 6 Endangerment
So Marianne Williamson Really is the Peace Candidate—Patreon
“You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza | Amnesty International USA
NLG and Other Legal Groups Send Letter to ICC Urging an Investigation into Potential War Crimes Committed by Israel and US in Gaza under “Operation Protective Edge”
Russell Tribunal on Palestine, 2014
Friday 17 November: Twenty thousand Palestinians believed to be killed in Israel’s genocide of Gaza
Campus Protests Led to More Than 3,100 Arrests, but Many Charges Have Been Dropped
Harris campaign rejects claim vice president thinks there is a genocide in Gaza
A Study Reveals CNN and MSNBC’s Glaring Gaza Double Standard | The Nation
Morning Joe: Dems’ Favorite Show, Blatant Pro-Israel Propaganda
The Intercept: Israel-Palestine Coverage
US MSM downplays Amnesty report
TIME on Iranian Foreign Influence Methods
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Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.
Australia