Welcome to another enlightening episode of Decoding Academia. In this bonus preview of our highly secretive Patreon content, we are discussing a controversial paper by Dorsa Amir and Chaz Firestone that challenges the established notion of the Müller-Lyer illusion being a product of cultural environments.

Prepare yourself for some high-level discussions of the visual processes of guppy fish and bearded lizards, as well as the remarkable lengths that psychologists will go to in order to get people to complete their tests. Will our seasoned scholars unravel the illusion, or is this debate another eye-catching mirage?

Sources

• (forthcoming) Amir, D., & Firestone, C. Is visual perception WEIRD? The Müller-Lyer illusion and the Cultural Byproduct Hypothesis. Psychological Review.
• Dorsa's summary thread on the paper
• Joe Henrich's critical thread on the paper
• Chaz's response to the Joe Henrich thread
• Paul Bloom's Substack articles on Nature vs. Nurture debates and clever experiments

We venture into the darker corners of the gurusphere and marvel at some very, very brave individuals, their valiant efforts to play devil's advocate, and some world-class discourse surfing skills. Join us, won't you?

Supplementary Material 31: Aquatic Nightmares, Strategic Obliviousness, & Race Realists

00:00 Introduction & Ol Squeaky Cameo

02:57 Matt's Aquarium Trauma & Stress Dreams

09:45 RFK Jr's war on science continues

11:17 Robert Malone & other 'Covid Contrarians' rewarded under Trump

14:35 The LA Protests, Riots, and Anti-Immigrant Narratives

20:12 Flint Dibble calls out Joe Rogan

25:24 Joe Rogan is a polemical ideologue and anti-vaccine advocate

27:34 Cassandra Kavanagh?

32:37 If Books Could Kill on Lab Leak

35:10 Popular Perceptions of the Covid Pandemic vs Reality

38:38 Debating COVID-19 Measures

38:59 Clarifying the Role of Sam's Manager

42:56 Discussing Trump, Musk, and DOGE's Political Impact

47:12 The Meaning Crisis and the Comfort of Religion

50:35 The Effects of Social Media

53:15 Matt and Chris Friendly Shadowboxing

56:19 The horror of directly stating your opinions

58:14 Sam Harris' Preparation for Conversations

01:05:02 Strategic Obliviousness

01:12:26 A little bit of TRT Discourse

01:16:17 Lex's Insufferable Tweet:  Celebrating Humanity and Responding to Critics

01:18:46 The Bravery of the All In Podcast Besties

01:20:33 Elon Musk and Donald Trump: A Complex Relationship

01:23:42 Mike from PA and Dunking Safely Online

01:26:10 Scientific Racism and Controversial Podcasts

01:34:02 Paul Bloom and Subjective Redlines

01:41:10 The Neo-Nazi Smoke in the Race Realism World

01:48:36 Daniël Lakens on Bryan Johnson on Mortality Salience

01:50:16 Matt's Foodie Corner

01:52:21 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 54 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Sources

• BBC- RFK Jr appoints new US vaccine advisers after sacking committee
• Flint Dibble’s New Video: Joe Rogan's Cult of Fake Archaeology
• Lex Fridman’s Insufferable Tweet
• Sam Harris EPISODE 419 "More From Sam": Elon vs. Trump, Religion, Jordan Peterson, & Rapid Fire Questions
• The All In Besties being cowards
• The Guardian: Harvard author Steven Pinker appears on podcast linked to scientific racism
• Steven Pinker on Aporia
• Hope Not Hate’s investigation into Aporia and related race science networks
• If Books Could Kill: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
• New Statesman: No, objecting to Cambridge’s appointment of a eugenicist is not about free speech
• Bo Winegard’s Tweet about Low IQ Parasites destroying the National Tree
• Arthur Jensen’s Bio on SPLC
• Jackson, J. P., Jr. (2023). Arthur Jensen, evolutionary biology, and racism. History of Psychology, 26(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/hop0000221
• Paul Bloom with Diana Fleischman
• The cost of South Africa’s misguided AIDS policies

The Decoders welcome back cognitive anthropologist Manvir Singh for a continued exploration into the social and cognitive dimensions of shamanism. Building upon their earlier conversation, this episode involves further discussion of the psychological mechanisms and cultural patterns that make shamanic practices a recurring feature across human societies. Drawing from Singh's latest book, Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (2025), the discussion addresses how these ancient practices persist and adapt in modern contexts.

Taking our standard meandering conversational journey with Manvir, we traverse topics such as whether Jesus and the Buddha were shamans, the parallels between the Siberian tundra and Silicon Valley, the potential emergence of AI-driven shamans within virtual reality environments, and whether dialogos with Hermes counts as a soul flight.

Something for all the family!

Links

• Shamanism: The Timeless Religion by Manvir Singh (2025)
• Prof or Hobo website
• New Yorker: The President Who Became a Prophet
• Our first interview with Manvir
• Buckner, William. 2022. "A Deceptive Curing Practice in Hunter–Gatherer Societies" Humans 2, no. 3: 95-103. https://doi.org/10.3390/humans2030007

There’s been a disturbance in the Gurusphere. Two of its central objects of worship are feuding. The guru’s guru, Elon Musk, and the MAGA God-King, Donald Trump, have finally turned on each other, trading blows on social media. In this mini supplementary episode, Matt and Chris survey the shockwaves rippling through the Gurusphere as these titanic egos collide.

It’s more slapfight than substance, but that hasn’t stopped gurus and sycophants from picking sides or admiring the sheer brass balls on display. Look out for Lex Fridman’s outside-the-box solution, Eric Weinstein’s cryptic mutterings, and some hilarious takes from the comedic genius Francis Foster. Strap in. It’s petty, it’s absurd, and it’s all happening.

Trump vs. Elon: The Gurusphere Reacts

00:00 Elon and Trump

00:26 Introduction: Elon and Trump are feuding

07:10 A little bit of context

13:11 The Gurusphere reacts

14:32 O'Fallon & Lindsay saw this coming

16:01 Eric's Trademark - Both Sidesing Obscurantism

20:38 The Big Dog's Take

24:01 Lex suggests we need a podcast!

27:10 Maculinity Hot Takes

29:50 Sensemakers Take Flight

31:17 Taleb's reasonable take!

32:14 Konstantin Climbs the Ladder of Chaos

36:37 The strategic Gaadfather & Scott Adams

37:28 Tech Bros praying for peace

39:25 The Red Scare MAGA Loyalist

40:36 Conspiratorial Narcissists and their Public Feuds

45:48 Sycophantic praise heals everything

47:07 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (49 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Prepare for a hearty mix of culinary tips, avoidance of hypothetical scenarios, and the usual guru grievances. Will Jordan Peterson ever admit he's a Christian? Is it ever truly possible to understand Sam Harris AND still disagree with him? And where does Joe Rogan's primal hate for owls come in? Tune in for at least some of the answers to these pressing questions in this bubbling broth of an episode.

Supplementary Material 30

00:00 Introduction and Culinary Corner

12:29 The Buddhism Book cometh

14:09 Joe Rogan on Astrology

25:22 Rogan's Christian Conversion?

32:18 Rogan on Owls...

43:09 Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists

48:55 Is JBP a Christian?

54:34 It depends what you mean by believe...

01:00:22 Jordan Peterson vs. hypotheticals

01:13:54 Hancock Orbiters continue to be terrible

01:19:58 Sam Harris' Business Manager is kinda bad

01:26:22 Sam is being misinterpreted again

01:35:11 The Fundamentalist Impulse

01:38:09 Post-Debate Weinstein Activity

01:40:32 Sam Harris is still mad with Ezra Klein

01:48:39 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 49 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Sources

- A good Irish Stew recipe

- The Buddhism Book!

- Joe Rogan Experience #2323 - Guy Fieri

- Jubilee: Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists | Surrounded

- Dan Richards' charming tweet to Flint

- Professor Dave: Dan Richards is a Pointless Troll

- "More From Sam": Religion, Deportations, Douglas Murray vs. Rogan, & Bill Maher's Dinner with Trump

- “More From Sam”: Trump & Israel, Corruption, Free Speech Violations, the Democrats, & Ezra Klein

- Sam Harris' Substack: What Whataboutery?

- Sam and Ezra's email exchange

- Vox: Charles Murray is once again peddling junk science about race and IQ. Podcaster and author Sam Harris is the latest to fall for it.

In this medium-decoding episode, Matt and Chris turn their attention to an unlikely venue for cutting-edge theoretical physics: Piers Morgan Uncensored. There, Eric Weinstein, renegade genius and uber guru, squares off with Sean Carroll, an actual physicist and popular science communicator, in what might generously be called a “debate.”

Eric brings his usual mix of personality-focused historical revisionism, intentional technobabble, and performative outrage, complete with a conspiratorial tale of how physics was hijacked in 1983 by a single lecture (that Eric was naturally present at) and how Eric is the unacknowledged creator of Seiberg-Witten equations. Sean Carroll, meanwhile, does his best to explain in simple terms how scientific research works, what is lacking in Eric's 'theory', and why appearing on podcasts is not a replacement for publishing papers and peer review.

Expect to hear one academic earnestly trying to summarise complex scientific topics, while one culture war celebrity / professional podcast guest decries how he has been constantly maligned, silenced, misunderstood, and generally ignored by the mainstream scientific establishment. And just when you think it is all over, prepare to be astounded by Piers Morgan's ultimate argument for God...

Sources

• Piers Morgan Uncensored: “Don’t Talk About Physics Fight Club” Eric Weinstein vs Sean Carroll Science SHOWDOWN
• Eric's Geometric Unity paper
• Tim Nguyen & Theo Polya's Response to Geometric Unity
• Curt Jaimungal: Eric Weinstein's Theory of Everything "Geometric Unity" Explained
• Decoding the Gurus: Mick West & Eric Weinstein: UFO Tango

We enter the ontological in-between to try and spin up our paradigms to understand the next stage in relationship technology, the horrific damage of modern medicine, how Lucifer connects with wokeness, and the joys of bonding over outgroup hate. This one is a doozy...

Supplementary Material 28

00:00 Introduction - On Dogs and Dough

04:37 Next Required Reading: The Buddhism Book!

07:50 Jordan Peterson, James Lindsay & Woke Lucifer

15:06 Aubrey Marcus' Sensual Sensemaking

34:10 Jordan Hall's Sensemaking Origin Story

39:09 Bret and Heather discuss cancer cures

44:10 The Miracle Cure of Ivermectin

46:07 Bret denounces ALL of modern medicine

49:26 Community Notes has Fallen to Goliath!

50:11 Theo Von, GSP, and the conspiratorial hell world

58:04 Dan Bongino gets what he deserves

01:05:57 Scott Adams has prostate cancer

01:07:20 Joe Biden's Cancer and Taylor Lorenz's Edgy Responses

01:09:13 Does Joe Biden hate affordable health care?

01:13:31 Hasan joins the fray

01:19:36 Genetically Modified Skeptic denouncing outrage mongering and radicalisation

01:22:38 The totally hinged Zei Squirrel

01:24:25 Owen Jones vs Zei Squirrel

01:27:15 Unmasked by the Subreddit

01:31:42 The Heterodox Social Science Conference 2025

01:33:16 Stephen Pinker making bad choices

01:37:03 Jordan Peterson gets OUTRAGED over Harvard

01:41:13 The Anti-Establishment Two-Step

01:47:13 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 47 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Sources

- Next Required Reading- Buddhism: A Journey through History

- Jordan Peterson: When the Right Goes Too Far | Dr. James Lindsay | EP 544

- Jordan Peterson: A Dialogue So Dangerous, It Just Might Bring You Wisdom | John Vervaeke and Jordan Hall | EP 532

- Bret and Heather discussing cancer treatments

- Bret denounces all of modern medicine and conspiracy hypothesises about community notes

- Aubrey Marcus: A New Pattern Of Sacred Relationship Emerges | Vylana, Alana Beale, Dr. Marc Gafni

- The Hill: Patel, Bongino dismiss Epstein conspiracy theories: ‘He killed himself’

- Genetically Modified Skeptic: The Alt-Right Pipeline Almost Got Me. Here’s Why It Failed

- Taylor Lorenz's Biden cancer tweet

- Vice: Joe Biden: It Would Be an Insult to My Dead Son for Everyone to Have Healthcare

- The Biden campaign ad

- The Heterodox Social Science Conference 2025

- Jordan Peterson: Reaction to Harvard: Scam? | Dr. Jordan B. Peterson | EP 545

Fresh from unbuckling their seatbelts on the Gliding Guru luxury jet and mooring the show’s mega-yacht, our decoders are feeling an unexpected surge of empathy for their last decoding subject, Gary Stevenson. It turns out that a bit of jet-lagged decadence really hones one's sensitivity to wealth inequality. Or maybe it’s just the natural response to voluntarily subjecting yourself to the truly insufferable world of the All-In podcast.

That's right, this week you can vibe to the philosophical musings of a couple of Silicon Valley moguls, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg or as they call themselves: the Dictator, the Rainman, the Moderator, and the Sultan (yes, really).

Revel in their tales of private jets, $500K club memberships, and their noble quest to cut food stamps while engaging in hyper-elitist MAGA cheerleading. Plug in for a first-class tour through cognitive dissonance, private-jet populism, and your regular prescription of alternative media grievance mongering and conspiracy hypothesising.

Perfect for anyone who enjoys listening to the top 0.01% share their insights and deep connection with the common man's struggles. Enjoy... because we certainly did not!

Sources

• All-In Podcast: Trump's First 100 Days, Tariffs Impact Trade, AI Agents, Amazon Backs Down
• All-In Podcast: Trump wins! How it happened and what's next
• All-In Podcast: The Great Tariff Debate with David Sacks, Larry Summers, and Ezra Klein
• All-In Podcast Website

We exercise our ethnographic muscles as we revel in the esoteric dynamics of Australian Pool Culture, the mysteries of Eric Weinstein's theories as revealed by Curt Jaimungal, and the contradictions of MAGA cultists.

Supplementary Material 28

00:00 Matt's Ethnography of Australian Swimming Culture

06:19 Pool Etiquette and Social Dynamics

08:46 Mutual Humiliation and Blackmail

08:51 Reciprocal Humiliation

12:01 Patreon Question of the Week

13:37 Curt Jaimungal explores Geometric Unity

19:12 The Weinsteinian Iceberg

26:38 Eric's Response to Curt

28:40 A potential doomsday device?

29:55 The wisdom of genuine seekers

35:00 The Pseudo Profundity Mask

38:19 Pandering to anti-'mainstream' science audiences

40:37 Earnest Fans

43:54 Passive consumption at YouTube University

46:21 Independent Learning and  the Pitfalls of Self-Taught Knowledge

49:53 The Illusion of Easy Learning

56:00 Credentials vs. Actual Knowledge

59:46 Media Criticism & the Fifth Column

01:02:47 Priorities in the Media Business

01:04:29 Why is strong criticism so taboo?

01:08:25 Brand Building in the Alternative Media

01:12:02 Batya joins the Fifth Column

01:16:37 Debating Tariffs

01:22:46 A rare instance of REAL disagreement in alternative media!

01:25:58 Sensitive MAGA Cultist Sycophancy

01:32:10 The Working Class don't want iPhones

01:41:06 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (1hr 43 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Sources

- The Fifth Column #502 - The Second Battle of Batya (w/ Batya Ungar-Sargon)

- The Fifth Column #503 - Mea Minima Culpa

- The Fifth Column Members Only #258 - We Don't Talk About Fight Club (Mostly)

- Curt Jaimungal - Eric Weinstein's Theory of Everything "Geometric Unity" Explained

- Curt Jaimungal - Chris Langan: The Most In-Depth Interview with the World's Smartest Man

- Eric's Twitter response to Curt

- Josh Rogin's (mild) criticism of Bill Maher

The podcast arrives at 'late stage' Gary discourse as Matt and Chris attempt to enter the man, the myth, and the legend, Gary Stevenson, into a reductive classification system (that once again includes no mention of inequality). The gurometer was not built to handle this level of elite education and trading acumen, and has often been dismissed by arrogant elites due to its scrappy nature and lack of fancy credentials... but it persists. Just remember, an attack on the Gurometer is ultimately an attack on you, your family, and all you hold dear.

Sources

• Reddit thread asking us to do better
• Jacobin: Portrait of the Trader as a Young Rebel
• Richard Murphy's analysis of Gary's Economics
• Tax Policy Associates' analysis of some tax reform proposals
• Gary on Twitter explaining that traders understand the economy a lot better than economists like Piketty and Stiglitz

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (47 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Gurometer of Gary

01:02 Gary Stevenson: Other Opinions

07:31 Gary's Wealth Tax Proposal

12:21 Guru Features and Scoring

13:11 Galaxy Brainness

15:34 Cultishness

18:04 Anti-Establishmentarianism

20:04 Grievance Mongering

23:15 Self Aggrandisement and Narcissism

24:25 Cassandra Complex

25:40 Revolutionary Theories

28:12 Pseudo Profound Bullshit

30:07 Conspiracy Mongering

32:21 Excessive Profiteering

34:24 Moral Grandstanding

36:14 Guru Scoring and Analysis

37:34 Quick Fire Guru Bonus Points

40:37 Matt's confusing Binary Measure