Conspirituality

You might have heard some revolutionary news: germs don’t exist. Ok, they exist, but they only make you sick after you ruin your relationship with your environment—the terrain. Actually, the idea isn’t new. Initially floated in the 19th century, terrain theory was never  proven in real-world experiments, and so fell dormant—until now. As with many terrible 19th-century science metaphysics, conspiritualists are feeling nostalgic. And do we have a group to introduce you to this week.

To help us debunk this funk, Dr Dan Wilson returns to the pod to offer his keen ear in breaking down the bullsh*t being shoveled by Tom Cowan and Andrew Kaufman during The Event 2021. First, Derek offers a brief history of the battle between germ theory and terrain theory—one that produced a clear winner in Louis Pasteur, which, as conspiritualists now spin it, is just further evidence of the Deep State conspiracy holding us all back.

Show Notes

Dan Wilson on YouTube | Instagram | Twitter

This pseudoscience movement wants to wipe germs from existence

Germ theory denialism is alive and well – and taking the nuance out of scientific debate

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The world's top life coach has a new book, Life Force. Seemingly bulletproof to criticism due to connections in high places (and a litigious legal team), Tony Robbins's new book is a perfect example of the conspiritualist grift: mix science with sciencey sentiment and package it in a shiny revolutionary marketing package that promises much and delivers little more than confusion. Derek reviews.

Show Notes

A single blood test claims to detect dozens of cancers. Skeptics wouldn’t bet your life on it.

The 700-calorie breakfast you should eat if you want to live forever, according to a futurist who spends $1 million a year on pills and eating right

What supplements does Ray Kurzweil take and why?

Instagram: Low testosterone is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in American men

Epigenetics: It doesn't mean what quacks think it means

Siddhartha Mukherjee: The Gene

Detox: What “They” Don’t Want You To Know

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The mystical politics of Aleksandr Dugin, the mercurial philosopher and geopolitical strategist hovering behind Vladimir Putin, is front and center this week.  Last week, we covered the phenomenon of Western conspiritualists folding the Russian invasion of Ukraine into their fact-free claims about what's really going on. It turns out that once you're all-in on the cabal, the Great Reset, mole children, and vaccine genocide, whatever happens in the world means you were right all along.

Conspiritualists are claiming that, just like Donald Trump, Putin is really a light worker fighting to save the children and destroy Anthony Fauci's secret bioweapons labs in Ukraine while heralding the true Great Awakening. But an entirely different prophecy, one promising a Soviet spiritual rebirth, appears to be inspiring Vladimir Putin's actions—as well as Russia's disruptive interference in American politics.

Julian unpacks the perennialist religious movement, Traditionalism, and how it speaks to fascist political actors around the world, including Steve Bannon. This is especially relevant in light of tragic events in Europe, a stark reminder of those of us who remember the Cold War. This time, Dugin and Putin dream of a new Russian Empire.

Show Notes

Aleksandr Dugin Ukraine Invasion Press Conference

Moscow Patriarch Stokes Religious Tensions with Ukraine Remarks

Dugin, Putin & The 2016 Election

The Rise of Traditionalism by Benjamin Teitelbaum

Steve Bannon’s Ideological Soulmate

Dugin Fired from University Post for Inciting Genocide

The London Dinner that Brought Europe’s Far-Right Together

Bannon Cites Julius Evola

Inside The Strange Origins of Bannon’s Nationalist Fantasia

Dugin’s Foundations of Geopolitics Reviewed

Dugin’s Eurasianism & The Am

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Matthew brushes off and polishes stories and analyses we’ve only had the time to glance at in various episodes. A second or even 3rd instalment may be forthcoming.

Presented in chronological order, dating from a year before the WHO declared the pandemic, up to just after they did. 

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After two years of being lied to about COVID, are you really going to believe the mainstream media about what’s happening in Ukraine? Didn’t you know that Ukraine is a child-trafficking hub? That it’s full of US-funded bioweapons labs? Do you really think Putin is evil, or do you just think what you’re told to think? Look at you, with your all-new, personalized, more terrifying feed to doom scroll. Only it’s not new, just more intense. If it wasn’t, how would the powers-that-be keep your attention while they instantly convert your money into social credit and make you pay $10 for a gallon of gas? Wake up! See through the green-screen battle scenes and crisis actors covered in stage blood. The explosions are revelations, the flashes of light are miracles waiting to be recognized.

Yes, dear listeners: Conspirituality influencers have gone to war, and they’ve dragged us kicking and screaming to the front lines. But now that we’re here, we’re committed to understanding and negotiating this liminal space. We are podcast peacekeepers. Our rations are non-GMO. We have our helmets of analysis securely fastened; our flak jackets will protect our vital organs. Most importantly, our hearts will stay intact.

To you at home: we urge you to plant your victory gardens now and keep the faith. Conspiritualists have launched a brutal, illegal attack on a humanitarian crisis. They’re monetizing a war in which starving 19-year-olds are killing civilians. Our influencers may well meet the reality of their empty souls on this battlefield. When they come home bandaged, they will need soup and real jobs—and that will be up to us.

Show Notes

Who is Gene Decode?

Signposts On The Road To Ascension Trailer #1 — Witzeman

Ukraine Invasion & Putin’s Spiritual Advisor Alexandr Dugin

Teal Swan on The War Inside

Christiane Northrup Shares Patriot Underground on the Khazarian Mafia

JP Sears Hot Tub Hot Take

Pro-Publica on Fake Fact-Checks About Invasion

Maajid Nawaz on Facebook and Azov Battalion

NATO on National Women’s Day

BBC on Claims of  “crisis actors” in Ukraine

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Matthew takes a break from the news to expand on the possible origins of conspirituality—as being related to intergenerational trauma.

What is conspirituality, if not the mobilization of forced, fragile, and ultimately empty spiritual aspirations, made to temper hypervigilance?

It's also just a relief and a pleasure to spend time away from the feeds, and immersed in this brilliant film.

Show Notes

Dr. Nerurkar on the glorification of trauma

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A few weeks ago, you couldn’t turn to a social media platform without seeing that Joe Rogan was trending. The diversity of topics boggled the mind: COVID disinformation; misogyny, pseudoscience; transphobia; and, of course, racism, thanks to the infamous N-word mixtape. Then a parallel argument came through: fair pay for musicians on Spotify. Given that Rogan was given $100 million for his podcasting contract—a number we’d later find out was closer to $200 million—the economic discussion brought another dimension into the conversation. But given all of the topics being discussed, which dimension should we have focused on?

That thought led Derek to write a series of tweets on the topic, followed by a more in-depth Substack article contemplating the three main issues of concern: scientific misinformation, racism, and fair pay. The tweets led to a lot of pushback, which we’ll be looking at through the lens of conversation and debate, as well as a 2021 Pew Research poll on American political typologies. It also led to today’s guests—infectious disease epidemiologist and science communicator, Jessica Malaty Rivera, and civic product leader and community activist, Daniel Latorre—offering their own views on the topics, first on social media, then here on the podcast. But first, we’ll discuss the implications of intersectionality and progressive politics in a world in which social media can distort as much as it amplifies. Matthew will dish on how much he loathes everything Joe Rogan stands for, and why—but also wonders about how pragmatic his seething hatred is, or could be.

Just a note before we begin. Between our last episode—in which Julian caught up with Sara Aniano and dappergander on current events in the QAnon world—and today, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and all of the news is terrible and terrifying. Since the first rockets hit, we’ve been monitoring how conspirituality influencers are responding, and we’ll bring you that data next week, as it continues to show the adaptability of the movement and the willingness of its influencers to say literally anything to remain at the center of the attention and outrage economy.

Show Notes

Joe Rogan: We are in Kali Yuga

Joe Rogan shares Sadhguru: “It is fashionable to suffer”

Matthew Sheffield on Right-Left “balance” on Rogan.

McInnes appearance on Rogan “instrumental” to Proud Boys’ growth: Rolling Stone

Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

Race & Class at Spotify

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The Left-Right political spectrum doesn't really capture the breadth of political sentiment in America. Derek looks at a 2021 study by Pew Research on political typologies—as well as Jean-Pierre Faye's horseshoe theory—to better understand the multivariate dynamics at play, as well as its implications for democracy in America moving forward.

Show Notes

Pew Research: Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

Rational Wiki: Horseshoe Theory

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"Freedom Convoy" leader, Pat King, recently live-streamed his arrest on Facebook. His racist public incitements to violence belie claims that the convoy was non-partisan and peaceful. As with other conspiracy-based events, inner circle communications and public relations messaging prove to be contradictory.

From RFK Jr appearing at a Far Right rally in Berlin and militias storming the US Capitol on Jan 6 to anti-vaxxers gathering at the Lincoln memorial and the Ottawa truckers tying up traffic and trade for over a month, QAnon appears everywhere.

This week, Julian pilots solo to interview extremism experts Sara Aniano (who regularly reports on the alt-tech far-right cess-pool, Telegram) and dappergander about recent developments in the Q-adjacent conspiracy sphere, implications for the planned American convoy, and the coming midterm elections in America. They also discuss surviving the emotional toll of their research and offer advice for those trying to help themselves—or someone they love—escape.

Show Notes

dappergander on Twitter

Sara Aniano on Twitter

Grid.News Reporting on Planned American Trucker Convoy

Q-Adjacent Convoy Protestor Arrested in Ottawa Cries Out “I’m  Being “Stuck with a Vaccine” 

Convoy Leader Signs Off Her Speech at Occupation with WWG1WGA Rallying Cry

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They couldn’t be more different: the self-made, self-help guru to the stars, the antisemitic Black-separatist, the blue-blood anti-vax lawyer, and the founder of a science-fiction religion. But in the cult-conspiracy economy, strange bedfellows are often the norm.

Julian investigates how—underneath cultural, racial, political, and even religious differences—opportunistic grifters can always find common cause in the pursuit of wealth and influence. In the end, they’re all carpetbaggers dressed up as pharaohs.

Show Notes

The Lies of RFK Jr’s Medical Racism Documentary

Samoan Measles Outbreak

Somali Measles Outbreak

Measles Outbreak Amongst Brooklyn Orthodox Jews

RFK Jr. At Berlin protest with Neo-Nazis

Weaponizing Racism for Anti-Vax Activism

Werner Erhard: Father of Self-Help

Anti-Vax Infiltrates Nation of Islam 

Scientology Money Project

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