Social media has been filled with clips of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee for mayor of NYC. He's been proving quite the foil for Andrew Cuomo's attempt to upset Zohran Mamdani. But who is this man, exactly? Derek and Julian discuss.
Show Notes
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/nyregion/curtis-sliwa-mayor-cats.html">16 Cats, 320 Square Feet and One Long-Shot Candidate for Mayor</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/nyregion/nyc-mayor-debate-takeaways.html">7 Takeaways From the Final N.Y.C. Mayoral Debate</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Social media has been filled with clips of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee for mayor of NYC. He's been proving quite the foil for Andrew Cuomo's attempt to upset Zohran Mamdani. But who is this man, exactly? Derek and Julian discuss. Show Notes 16 Cats, 320 Square Feet and One Long-Shot Candidate for Mayor 7 Takeaways From the Final N.Y.C. Mayoral Debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media has been filled with clips of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee for mayor of NYC. He's been proving quite the foil for Andrew Cuomo's attempt to upset Zohran Mamdani. But who is this man, exactly? Derek and Julian discuss.
Show Notes
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/nyregion/curtis-sliwa-mayor-cats.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">16 Cats, 320 Square Feet and One Long-Shot Candidate for Mayor</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/nyregion/nyc-mayor-debate-takeaways.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">7 Takeaways From the Final N.Y.C. Mayoral Debate</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Brief: The Man Who Lives With 16 Cats

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.

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