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Conspirituality — Philosophy
Conspirituality

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.

Copyright: © 2023 Conspirituality

Latest Episodes:

Brief: Is Jordan Peterson Really a Licensed Psychologist? (w/Dr. Taslim Alani-Verjee) Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

In November, the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO)—through which Jordan Peterson must be licensed in order to treat private clients—opened an investigation into complaints over his Twitter behavior. A few days ago, he publishing the disciplinary paper trail to Twitter, but failed to properly redact the names of complainants.

Mystery questions:

Can you shitpost at public servants, dox complainants, misgender people, call doctors who provide gender-affirming care “monsters,” cavort with fascists, and fat shame random swimsuit models to millions of people on Twitter and continue to be a licensed psychologist in the province of Ontario?

Dr. Taslim Alani-Verjee joins me to do some 101 work on JP’s commitments to the profession that gives him clout and credibility. She is a clinical psychologist and the Director and Founder of Silm Centre for Mental Health. She teaches psychology and ethics at Adler Graduate Professional School, and is adjunct professor at Lakehead. Some of her concentration areas include intimate partner violence, stigma, social justice, and cultural competence.

Show Notes

CPOntario vs J B Peterson

Howard Levitt: What's happening to Jordan Peterson could happen to anyone now

When Your Psychologist Goes Viral: How Jordan Peterson's Fame Affected His Private Practice

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Bonus Sample: A Little Birdie Told Me Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

While the Twitter Files revealed...not much at all...the right continues to push Elon Musk's "revelations" as hard as Hunter Biden's magical laptop, which seems to absorb every ill in society like Pandora's infamous box. And then there's Russell Brand, who can't turn away from a good conspiracy, or a bad one. He talks about Hunter's laptop and more with Matt Taibbi in a recent hour-long Rumble session.

This week is part one of Derek and Julian's deconstruction of what went down, why it ultimately doesn't matter, and why it matters very much to both Brand's and Taibbi's brand building.
Show Notes

Will the Real Tesla Founder Please Stand Up?

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UNLOCKED: The Courage to Heal Pt. 2 Jan 07, 2023

Show notes

Matthew and Julian sit down for the second of a two-part examination of the 1988 bestseller at the heart of the recovered memory movement. This is episode 10 of the Swan Song Series.
Show Notes
Controversy Behind the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Truth and reconciliation
Cases That Have Resulted in Convictions
Why The Courage to Heal Isn't on My Recommended Reading List
Creating Hysteria
25 Years of Trauma Treatment Networker 2014

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135: The Persuaders (w/Anand Giridharadas) Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Happy New Year, Conspirituality listeners!

As with the much anticipated midterm elections, the holiday season is now officially behind us. Which means that in addition to any of the colds, flu, and COVID strains circulating, many of our listeners may still be in recovery mode from family time.

We're specifically referring to political tensions over the holiday dinner table. You know, the vegan sister insisting on a land acknowledgment before the QAnon uncle says grace, while the anti-vax aunt rants at her to take off her mask. Can somebody pass the apple pie?

Our guest today is journalist, author, and political analyst, Anand Giridharadas. Julian spoke with him about his new book, The Persuaders, in which he profiles people on the ground working to change minds, bridge divisions and fight for democracy. The Persuaders offers inspiration to those who refuse to accept that a rigid polarization in which no one ever changes their mind, is the new normal.

Show Notes

How to Become a Better Persuader

Understanding Your Circle of Influence: Calling In with Loretta Ross

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Bonus Sample: Punching Down & Male Fragility Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

The Hodgetwins’ brand of comedy relies on punching down, not nuance or storytelling—or being based in reality in any meaningful way. They’ll take a subject, make fun of it, then sometimes moralize about why they’re right on a topic—especially when it comes to their version of masculinity.
Derek looks at these twins' vitriolic humor and places it in the context of competition. Whether they're preaching transphobia, fat-shaming, or other forms of bigotry, what they're revealing is really male fragility, not the all-important masculinity they profess.
Show Notes
The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity
The Bizarre and Racist History of the BMI
Breaking Down the ‘Wellness-Industrial Complex,’ an Episode at a Time
Frans de Waal: The surprising science of alpha males

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Support us on Patreon
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Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem

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Brief: Libs Of TikTok Cries Cult Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok calls the LGBTQ+ community a cult. Does this mean the term has lost all meaning?

Searching for the roots of Raichik's abuse of cult discourse leads Matthew back through a cursed gender critical message board to an ill-conceived Twitter thread by cult expert Steve Hassan.

A Conspirituality Brief on what happens when fascists seize control of highly-charged explanatory tools.

Show Notes

Libs of TikTok has become central to right wing politics - The Washington Post

Twitter account Libs of TikTok blamed for harassment of children's hospitals

The artificial growth of hate speech

The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin - POLITICO Magazine

Cross-Dressing - Parshat Ki Teitzei - Chabad.org

Secret LGBTQ Chabad Group Fills Void - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

'Social contagion' isn’t causing more youths to be transgender, study finds

Meet Chris Elston, the BC Man Taking Anti-Trans Hate On Tour Across Canada

Chris Elston: Woman followed by man demanding trans health 'education'

Study finds 2.5% of transgender kids go through detransition

Detransition Facts and Statistics 2022: Exploding the Myths Around

Hassan's main detrans Twitter thread

Hassan's other detrans Twitter thread

The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control: Undue Influence, Thought Reform, Brainwashing, Mind Control, Trafficking and the Law - ProQuest

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UNLOCKED: The Courage to Heal Pt. 1 Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

Matthew and Julian sit down for the first of a two-part examination of the 1988 bestseller at the heart of the recovered memory movement—which played a central role in validating Satanic Panic testimonials. This is episode 9 of the Swan Song Series 9.
The basic premise of The Courage to Heal, by creative writing instructors Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, is that memories of childhood abuse, especially child sexual abuse, can be recovered and articulated by survivors who are given the proper space, tools, and validation. The book explores how this be facilitated within the context of journaling, writing poetry, and writing memoir, and what the therapeutic benefits of full confessional articulation can be.
While countless people affirm that this book was a lifeline during a time in which recovery resources for child abuse survivors were rare, there are substantial problems with the book's method, claims about memory, dodgy sources, and endorsement of outright Satanic Panic propaganda.

Show Notes
Controversy Behind the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Truth and reconciliation
Cases That Have Resulted in Convictions
Why The Courage to Heal Isn't on My Recommended Reading List
Creating Hysteria
25 Years of Trauma Treatment Networker 2014

-- -- --
Support us on Patreon
Pre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada
Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | Julian
Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem

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Bonus Sample: Growing Up in Scientology pt 2 (w/Sarah) Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

Part 2 of Matthew's conversation with Sarah.
Sarah grew up in the Church of Scientology. But she also grew up in a small town. And, in a neurodiverse family.
We come from so many places. Exploitative, hierarchical, hypocritical. Generous, tender, and odd.
It is an honor to present this installment of Listeners' Stories. We're tickled to learn that Sarah's awakening from Scientology was quickened by that South Park episode. And we're humbled to learn about how her mother, despite being deeply enmeshed in a coercive cult, still managed to kindle both compassion and common sense in her children.

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UNLOCKED: Girl, Interrupted (pt 2) Dec 24, 2022

Show notes

The second part of Julian and Matthew's long look at the 1999 film Teal Swan was reportedly obsessed with as a teen. Girl, Interrupted is a freewheeling adaptation of a 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen about the 18 months she spent undergoing treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder in a Massachusetts psychiatric facility in the late 1960s. This episode 8 of the Swan Song Series.
This study is provoked by a memory recounted by Swan's childhood friend, Diana Hansen Ribera, that Swan identified with the character of Lisa Rowe in the film. Angelina Jolie won an Oscar for her searing performance of Rowe, a sociopath.
In this second episode, we explore several characters that Swan may have (and may yet) identify with, discuss the awkwardness of portraying mental health narratives on the big screen, and what it would really take for such an intense film to be digestible for typical teenagers. Matthew ends with a meditation on immersive/claustrophobic media—which Swan goes on to master—compared with the relief of developing a meta-view capable of inhabiting many stories, as opposed to imitating one.
Show Notes
SENECA THE YOUNGER, HERCULES FURENS - Theoi Classical Texts Library
Hercules (Seneca)
Girl, Interrupted — Susanna Kaysen
1607: Growing up with Teal Swan - Diana Hansen Ribera
Mad, Bad, and Sad: Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi
Brittany Murphy: Inside Her Sudden Death at 32 That Still Confounds Hollywood

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Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem

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134: Elon Musk, Buddhabro? (w/Ann Gleig and Brenna Artinger) Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

Elon, Elon, who are you? Where is your essential self? Where are you as you soar through your space fantasies, as you track and hedge and bet your billions, wondering if all those emeralds gave you an unfair advantage in life?
What is the weather like on Mars? Have you found yourself yet, hiding in millions of lines of self-driving code? Have you found your own face as you surveil your quivering workforce, bunking in the San Francisco headquarters you stopped paying rent on?
Is the real you playing endless video games, getting stoned with Joe Rogan, making an eleventh baby with a fourth partner? Do you feel you’re connected to everything when you post at the speed of light?
As Musk teeters on the brink of ego death and financial annihilation, Matthew wonders about his inner life, especially after he dropped a Buddhist-type Easter Egg in a tweeted photo of his bedside table.
Is Elon Musk a Buddha-bro? No surprise if he was. After all, a big chunk of American Buddhism lines up perfectly with Musk's reactionary centrism, performative transcendence, bog-standard conspiracism, and culture war shitposting.
Here to help us understand this strange world—and what kind of Buddhism could make Elon Musk a better human, if he gave a shit—are Dr. Ann Gleig, Aassociate Professor of religion and cultural studies at University of Central Florida, and independent scholar Brenna Artinger. We’ll be focusing on their awesome paper, “#BuddhistCultureWars: BuddhaBros, Alt-Right Dharma, and Snowflake Sanghas,”

Show Notes
Adam Jensen | Deus Ex Wiki

THE CALIFORNIAN IDEOLOGY

Mindfulness in Silicon Valley | Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School

#BuddhistCultureWars: BuddhaBros, Alt-Right Dharma, and Snowflake Sanghas

Reactionary White Buddhists Have Joined The Fight Against Critical Race Theory

Why Are White Buddhists So Angry?

A Murky Scandal Involving a Powerful Punk Rock Dharma Teacher Is Dividing a Major Buddhist Community

Leaked Internal Report: Famous Buddhist Leader Noah Levine Was Accused of Rape and Assault

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Support us on Patreon
Pre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada
Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | Julian
Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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