I recently caught up with my highschool friend John Spiri, now a professor living near Lake Biwa in Japan. We reminisce about growing up in a small town, and discuss his path from accounting to teaching English in Japan, his embrace of Zen Buddhism, and his evolving perspective on politics, shaped by his moral compass and skepticism of increasingly deceptive mainstream narratives. John shares how he lives with intention in a chaotic world, navigating global issues like AI, surveillance, and cultural shifts while staying grounded in gratitude. This meandering chat with an old friend explores remaining grounded and staying human and connected in these uncertain times.

Find John:

John on X: https://x.com/spiridigliozzi

John’s work: https://www.globalstoriespress.com/ and HERE

Recommended books:

The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist

Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti

I recently spoke to Leslie Manookian, Founder and President of Health Freedom Defense Fund and producer of the 2011 documentary film The Greater Good. Leslie tells me what prompted her to leave a highly successful Wall Street career and instead use her considerable talent to fight for informed consent and medical freedom and to move people toward better health and nutrition.

Leslie is the force behind the recently passed Idaho Medical Freedom Act, which prohibits most businesses and institutions from requiring any medical intervention for employment, admission, services, attendance or participation. It is the gold standard for informed consent and bodily autonomy and provides a template for every other state in the union.

Leslie’s story is deeply inspiring and illustrates how one person can make a huge difference.

Find Leslie & her work:

Health Freedom Defense Fund

The Greater Good Documentary Movie

On X: https://x.com/LeslieManookian and https://x.com/theHFDF

The Idaho Medical Freedom Act

In her latest Brownstone Institute article, Dr. Carla Peeters reveals the alarming post-pandemic decline in female health, with women aged 25-44 facing rising excess deaths, disabilities, cancer, and mental health issues. Unlike men, whose health is rebounding, women’s health continues to worsen, undermining their quality of life, work, and income. Dr. Peeters explores causes including over-medicalization, stress, and inequities, and warns of risks to future generations, including rising infant mortality. She urges a global public health policy to restore female health, vital for society and economic stability.

Find Dr. Peeters:

On X: https://x.com/CarlaPeeters3

Website: COBALA - Good Care Feels Better

Articles: Dr. Peeter’s articles at the Brownstone Institute

Thomas Harrington - The Treason of the Experts

How do elites shape the stories we tell ourselves about reality?

Join me for an illuminating chat with Thomas Harrington, senior scholar at the Brownstone Institute and professor emeritus of Hispanic Studies at Trinity College. We explore his incisive book The Treason of the Experts: Covid and the Credentialed Class, a collection of essays written during the Covid lockdowns that offers a powerful framework for understanding our current moment.

As a cultural historian specializing in Iberian identity movements, Tom reveals the hidden mechanics of how cultural narratives are crafted and deployed to manipulate societal realities. He draws compelling connections between historical patterns of control and today's challenges, showing how the past illuminates our present predicament.

Key Topics Discussed:

How expert classes manufacture consent through narrative control

Why historical literacy is essential for resisting manipulation

The role of authentic community in countering spectacle-driven culture

Lessons from Spain's regional identity movements for modern resistance

The disconnect between institutional expertise and lived experience

Building genuine community in an age of digital spectacle

About the Guest:

Thomas Harrington is a senior scholar at the Brownstone Institute and professor emeritus of Hispanic Studies at Trinity College. His research focuses on Iberian Peninsula culture and the mechanics of cultural identity formation. He is the author of The Treason of the Experts and writes regularly about culture, power, and resistance.

This conversation offers both clarity and hope for anyone grappling with institutional distrust, seeking to understand media manipulation, or looking for ways to build genuine community.

Find Thomas Harrington's work:

* Tom’s latest book: The Treason of the Experts: Covid and the Credentialed Class

* Essays published at Brownstone Institute: brownstone.org

* Personal Website: Words in the Pursuit of Light

* Academic Writing: https://trincoll.academia.edu/tharrington

Not every podcast needs to serve up urgent, breaking news . Sometimes, the most nourishing conversations are the ones that unfold without an agenda, offering insight and perspective. In this episode, Joni McGary invites her friend Adam Quirk, a Bloomington, Indiana entrepreneur, writer, and dedicated family man, to share his approach to living a grounded, meaningful life. Adam’s journey from his Hoosier roots to hipster Brooklyn and back to Indiana—reflects a commitment to liberty and community. He shares how disillusionment with media narratives, the 2016 election, and the Covid lockdowns reshaped his worldview. Adam offers practical insights on living authentically in an increasingly digital age.

Adam on X: https://x.com/AdamCQuirk

Website: https://adamcquirk.com/

Adam’s first YouTube Video (He was one of the first ten people on the platform): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMRNmaTOEGE

In this episode, Joni McGary sits down with Courtenay Turner, host of the Courtenay Turner Podcast and a dynamic researcher of societal forces. Born with congenital rubella, Courtney overcame blindness, hearing impairment, and physical challenges to become an aerial acrobat, philosopher, and truth-seeker. She shares her inspiring journey and dives into her research on social engineering, technocracy, and the occult worldview, revealing how these forces shape our world. Tune in to hear how Courtney’s resilience and curiosity drive her mission to preserve free will and empower others.

Find Courtenay:

Website: https://courtenayturner.com/

Substack: courtenayturner.substack.com

X: https://x.com/CourtenayTurner

Global Health Physician Dr. David Bell joins Joni McGary to expose the shaky data behind the “existential crisis” pandemic narrative. Through the REPPARE project, Bell unpacks how fear and profit sideline malaria and TB, reshaping public health. A critical look at centralized health agendas and their global impact.

Shownotes:

Find Dr. Bell:

On X: https://x.com/bell00david

At the Brownstone Institute: https://brownstone.org/author/david-bell/

The REPPARE Project: https://brownstone.org/reppare/

Acclaimed novelist and essayist Ann Bauer joins me to discuss why she’s leaving Minnesota, and what she’s gained by speaking the truth. Ann shares the costs and unexpected rewards of refusing to stay silent during Covid, and reveals what she’s discovered about the depth of Minnesota’s corruption. A candid, timely conversation about integrity, courage, and calling it like you see it.

I sit down with Debbie Lehrman to discuss her revealing book The Deep State Goes Viral. Debbie’s curiosity about nonsensical, harmful pandemic policies became a deep investigation into who really orchestrated the COVID-19 response and why it looked nothing like traditional public health measures.

We explore how the response was driven by the national security apparatus, with the National Security Council installing Deborah Birx as coordinator. Debbie unpacks the "lockdown until countermeasure" strategy taken from biodefense planning, redefinition of key terms associated with past pandemics, and how mRNA technology became central despite past safety failures.

Using her brilliant "Happy Birthday Town" metaphor, Debbie explains how institutions get co-opted by individuals and industries profiting from perpetual crisis and how this leads to false narratives about “pandemic preparedness”.

Essential listening for understanding what happened over the last five years and recognizing such agendas going forward.

Find Debbie Lerman:

Substack: https://debbielerman.substack.com

The Deep State Goes Viral - available on Amazon and Lulu

Brownstone Institute Articles: https://brownstone.org/author/debbie-lerman/

REPPARE (REevaluating the Pandemic Preparedness And REsponse agenda): https://brownstone.org/reppare/

What does it mean to live well in an age of institutions in decline, screens, surveillance, and shrinking attention spans? In this episode, I talk with Indiana University media professor Ted Castronova about the state of higher education, the addictive pull of immersive technology, and how AI is shaping a future that may leave our humanity behind. We talk about the changes afoot at Indiana University, how he thinks higher education is failing students and his ideas on what education should be. We also discuss his novel-in-progress Dewey, set in a post-digital world where one unplugged village—and a wise, immortal donkey—hold the line against the digital hive.

Find Ted:

Website: https://edwardcastronova.com

on X: https://x.com/nuthatch9s

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Castronova