Conspirituality

Bonus Sample: God Seemed Like A Dumb Reason to Break Up

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today in our Listeners’ Stories installment, Lynn Short joins her partner Justin to discuss how they met, grew up in, and grew out of a branch of “...

Brief: An Atheist's Guide to Spirituality

24 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“It’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong," wrote Richard Feynman. But does curiosity end where aw...

159: Cults & Cultures

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To celebrate book launch month, we started a little “takeaway” series two weeks ago. First, Derek led us through “Science and Sensibility,” in...

Bonus Sample: Devouring Dragons

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The exiled cult leader, the MAGA mastermind, the Chinese con-artist billionaire, and the CCP. Insatiable dragons, all. Each claims to be at war with e...

158: Spirituality Without the Con

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've spent three years tracking the slide from online wellness influencer to red-pilled conspiracy promoter, from yoga and breath work teacher to ant...

Bonus Sample: The Anti-Woke Industrial Complex

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Ron DeSantis's anti-woke presidential campaign to Bari Weiss's FAIR war on woke, the concept of "wokeness" has become an ideal devil in right-win...

Brief: Updates on Countering Hate

10 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How can we protect ourselves and our children from online hate and misinformation? Julian interviews Imran Ahmed about the latest work the Center for ...

157: Science & Sensibility

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did “following the science” get so confusing during the pandemic? As the publication of our book draws closer, Derek shares his best practices...

Bonus Sample: Conspirituality Marches on the White House (pt 2)

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After reviewing how Mother Marianne and Bobby Kennedy Jr are set to disrupt the race in Part 1, we turn now to  Mr. “Coronavirus is a Coronation fo...

Special Report: Taking Alberta Backwards (w/Jeremy Appel)

03 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, May 29, Danielle Smith, the leader of the UCP of Alberta, seized the reigns of majority government power with the help of a right-wing anti...

156: Medical Medium (w/Dan Adler)

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Medical Medium, aka Anthony William, gained many of his 4.4M IG followers thanks to his declaration that celery juice can heal you from many ailments ...

Bonus Sample: Conspirituality Marches on the White House (pt 1)

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Marianne Williamson—New Age matriarch and popularizer of A Course in Miracles—is polling at 9%. Muscular Catholic antivax entrepreneur Bobby Kenne...

Brief: RFK Jr., The Anti-Vax Candidate

27 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Another Kennedy is running for President. But discussion of his anti-vaccine activism often overlooks how it affects people with autism. Julian talks ...

155: We Want Them Infected (w/Jonathan Howard, M.D.)

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What "really" happened during the pandemic? Conspiracists have decided to take a victory lap. They were right, you see? The vaccines failed, and besid...

Bonus Sample: The Dangers of Slogans

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1970, farmer, writer, and environmental activist Wendell Berry published his essay, "Think Little." In it, he writes about the dangers of not makin...

154: The Truth Wars (w/Renée DiResta)

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the post-truth world, journalists who report facts are disparaged as perpetuating the narrative while candidates who hold the appropriate qualifica...

Bonus Sample: The Dalai Lama Spectacle

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What the hell happened between the Dalai Lama and that Indian boy? The internet served up a raft of painfully inflammatory takes, so I took a month to...

Brief: Why Does Every Conspiracy Theory Lead Back to Antisemitism? (w/Ben Cohen)

13 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've seen it over and over again: somehow, in some way, globalists are involved. George Soros is pulling the strings. Jews will replace us, with othe...

153: The Anti-Sunscreen Movement (w/Sara Aniano & Michelle Wong)

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that it’s not the sun that causes cancer, but sunscreen? Or that sunscreen is actually a Big Pharma creation to keep you from receiving...

Bonus Sample: Chris Rufo’s Fascist Long-Game

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Florida governor Ron DeSantis appointed right-wing propagandist, Christopher Rufo, along with other conservative Christian education-activists, to the...

Brief: Marianne Williamson’s Spiritual Therapy Schtick

06 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Marianne Williamson? Inexperienced? Not at all. In fact, she does have a ton of experience… in New Age, on-stage pseudotherapy, where she solves the...

152: Tulsi Gabbard’s Krishna Consciousness (w/Nitai Joseph)

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean for a prominent American politician to come into power as the sleeper cell of an eccentric Hindu-American cult? Does she act indepen...

Bonus Sample: Reimagining the Apocalypse

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Apocalyptic language is everywhere: in the marketing copy of wellness influencers and pseudo-documentary makers selling spike protein detoxes and vacc...

151: Satan Wants You Watch Party (Spoilers)

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How, in the name of the Holy Virgin Mary, did Michelle Remembers—the book that started the Satanic Panic—come to be written? Who was Lawrence Pazd...

Bonus Sample: Framing George Soros

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

FOX News says he wants to destroy America. Candace Owens is scared to speak his name out loud. Mikki Willis is making a film about his assault on the ...

Brief: Unmasking Liana Shanti (w/Jennings Brown)

22 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jennings Brown is becoming the Dr. Who of cult journalism. Every few years he pops up on a very different planet in the cultiverse, and tries to repai...

150: Spiritual Influencer Theory

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Julian and Matthew go big-picture in this tour through all the elements that construct and drive spiritual Influencers. At the center of the parasocia...

Bonus Sample: From Rabbit Hole to Research (w/Jaigris Hodson)

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our Listener Story this week comes from Dr. Jaigris Hodson, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair for Digital Communication for the Public Int...

Brief: The Promises & (Mostly) Perils of Ketamine Therapy

15 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Though not specifically a psychedelic — ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic — ketamine therapy is being touted as a depression treatment and, fo...

149: Spiritual Heartbreak

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“I would pursue transcendence and live with its inevitable close cousins, disappointment and heartbreak, for most of my life.” So writes “Steven...

Bonus Sample: JP Sears’s Woke CBD Grift

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

JP Sears is selling CBD. His new company, Awaken, recently sent out a marketing email extolling the benefits of CBD. Derek looks at the science behind...

Brief: The Spirituality of Vaccine & Mask Panics

08 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why do so many inflammatory culture war issues crystallize around vaccines and masks? What is so compelling about these forms of public health and mut...

148: Marianne Williamson and Asshole Jesus

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Marianne Williamson’s promotion of A Course in Miracles any more relevant to her political persona than Biden’s Catholicism? If it demonstrably...

Bonus Sample: The Final Battle

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why did Trump kick-off his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco, Texas? Who were the Branch Davidians, anyway? Julian unpacks the incendiary streams of...

147: The Censorship Megaphone

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Listen… Can you hear it? All across the propagandist right and the free speech center, there's a new rallying cry: it's time to fight the “censors...

Bonus Sample: Losing My Charisma

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recording the audiobook at a swanky Toronto studio sends Matthew down a memory hole to wonder about performance, self-awareness, and anxiety, and thei...

146: The Reality of Online Child Abuse (w/Håkon Høydal)

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Conspiritualists are not wrong that Jeffery Epstein’s downline has so far evaded justice. Or that the highest levels of the Catholic Church aided an...

Special Report: Nostalgia for the Superego (w/Sam Binkley)

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew sits down with Sam Binkley, Professor of Sociology at Emerson College in Boston to discuss his 2007 book Getting Loose: Lifestyle Consumption ...

Bonus Sample: The Privilege of Wellness

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are a number of philosophies presented in yoga spaces as "universal truths" that turn out to be little more than directives in an echo chamber. ...

145: Fever Dream Goes Mainstream in Florida

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Disneyworld becomes DeSantisland, Eric Weinstein will be in charge of the Epcot Planetarium, JP Sears will headline the Family Values comedy stag...

Brief: Roku-Q, The Sequel (w/Alex Kaplan)

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

QAnon ain't over—it's on your television. It's been mainstreamed, networked, and remixed. Senior online extremism and disinformation researcher, Ale...

Bonus Sample: Hydroxychloroquine Emergency

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this listener story, Julian talks to disabled rights activist and journalist Abby Mahler about how the fake COVID-cure grift endangers people who r...

144: The Magic Spells of Wellness (w/Colleen Derkatch)

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"Cleansing is no longer an option, it's a necessity.” From wellness influencers obsessed about the meat-body, to Christofascists obsessed about the...

Bonus Sample: Marianne Williamson for Prez. New Age Jesus for VP.

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can Marianne Williamson maintain street cred as a progressive while promoting New Age Jesus? Can she hammer out functional policy while preaching out ...

Brief: Flood the Zone (w/Dr Dan Wilson)

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Answering the current wave of confusing vaccine misinformation. Julian is joined by molecular biologist Dr. Dan Wilson. "Died Suddenly," correlation v...

Bonus Sample: Romancing the Stoned

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

So much suffering occurs because we romanticize a past that never actually existed in the belief that it's destined to become the future. In the middl...

Brief: Reggae Muzak

25 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing a conversation from EP142, Derek looks at the cultural damage done when musicians co-opt musical styles to promote their own propaganda, wh...

142: Destination Rabbit Hole (w/Anna Merlan)

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do visiting inter-dimensional spirits and stowaway UFO passengers use the LAX Airport to touch down among us? Well they do if they're in town for the ...

Bonus Sample: Maggie the Good Conspiritualist

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How does it feel to grow up in a back-to-the-land house that vibrates with the anxious passion of conspiracy theories? What would happen when the worl...

141: Does Canada Want Suffering Citizens to Die? (w/Taslim Alani-Verjee)

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Canada trying to euthanize the mentally ill? Self-professed "theocratic fascist" Matt Walsh says so. So does the OG anti-woke agitator, James Lin...

Brief: Bikram Convoy Stopped by His Survivors

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hot yoga tycoon and sex offender Bikram Choudhury was set to teach his sweaty pseudoscience in Vancouver starting on February 20th. But a team of yoga...

Bonus Sample: Bad News Berenson on Brand

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Twitter Files are the grift that keeps on giving. This week, Derek and Julian look at Alex Berenson's recent appearance on Russell Brand's Rumble ...

140: Surviving Larry (w/Daniel Levin & Zach Heinzerling)

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, Hulu releases a 3-episode doc series called “Stolen Youth,” directed by Zach Heinzerling. The pole star for this low-dopamine, low-cortiso...

Bonus Sample: What Are We Doing Here?

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, a big question: one Derek explores in the context of this nearly three-year-old Conspirituality project. Criticism and awareness are essential t...

UNLOCKED: Leaving S-Factor (w/Jessica Hopper)

04 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Those who fly high, fall hard. Pole dance company S-Factor crashed and burned in 2021 amidst a stack of complaints. Detractors said the company was co...

139: Comedy in the MAGAverse (w/Jordan Klepper)

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can you believe that Nancy Pelosi paid people to attack the Capitol on Jan 6 in order to make Republicans look bad? Actually, I mean, Jan 6 was the mo...

Brief: Long Live Guru Jagat (w/Emily Guerin)

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Griggs. Katie Day. Kundalini Katie. Guru Jagat. We hardly knew you. The late "Queen of Conspiracy Theories" is now memorialized on NPR through E...

Bonus Sample: Psychotherapy in the Age of TikTok Conspirituality (w/Alessia Caputo)

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do  when your psychotherapy clients suffer from conspiracy theory anxiety? What do you do when the conspirituality-based therapy advice t...

138: The Magical Quantum Healy Machine (feat/Mallory DeMille)

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Using a combination of Alexa, Siri, and your extensive search history, we've been able to scan your bio energetic field, and are sending personalized ...

Brief: Tate Crime

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did the Matrix kidnap Top G? Or is Andrew Tate the Matrix himself, now unplugged and shorting out in a Romanian jail? While his self-confessed crimes ...

Bonus Sample: RUSSELL BRAND: RUSSIAN PSY-OP OR MISINFORMED RESEARCHER?

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ok, the title is a bit outlandish, but for a reason: many of Russell Brand's Rumble videos feature titles like "HERE WE GO" and "THE FALL OF FAUCI." W...

137: Addiction & The Wounded Influencer (w/Chris Boutte)

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Perhaps you’ve seen the Rumi quote repeated on social media memes: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” The wounded healer is a ...

Bonus Sample: Matt Taibbi's Brand Building

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of Derek and Julian's deconstruction of the Russell Brand/Matt Taibbi Twitter Files Rumble Session, Matt and Russell swoon over their inte...

Brief: Teal Swan’s Satanic Panic to Anti-Woke Pipeline

14 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do the screams of the Satanic Panic echo in anti-woke politics? This past week, New Age Satanic Panic influencer Teal Swan released a new video to...

136: Virtual Strongmen (w/Ruth Ben-Ghiat)

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Where have all the strongmen gone, long time scrolling? Where have all the strongmen gone, long time ago? Where have all the strongmen gone? Gone to p...

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

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In November, the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO)—through which Jordan Peterson must be licensed in order to treat private clients—opened...

Bonus Sample: A Little Birdie Told Me

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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, w...

UNLOCKED: The Courage to Heal Pt. 2

07 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 epi...

135: The Persuaders (w/Anand Giridharadas)

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year, Conspirituality listeners! As with the much anticipated midterm elections, the holiday season is now officially behind us. Which mean...

Bonus Sample: Punching Down & Male Fragility

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Hodgetwins’ brand of comedy relies on punching down, not nuance or storytelling—or being based in reality in any meaningful way. They’ll tak...

Brief: Libs Of TikTok Cries Cult

30 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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'...

UNLOCKED: The Courage to Heal Pt. 1

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 playe...

Bonus Sample: Growing Up in Scientology pt 2 (w/Sarah)

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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...

UNLOCKED: Girl, Interrupted (pt 2)

24 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 freewheeli...

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

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 bil...

Bonus Sample: Growing Up in Scientology (w/Sarah)

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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. Exploit...

133: Grifts That Keep on Taking (w/Kevin Klatt)

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Remember way back to the beginning of this podcast, shortly after “Plandemic” dropped, when wellness influencers immediately began selling suppose...

Brief: The Right-Wing Machinery of Stochastic Terror

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this special report, Julian examines how the machinery of right-wing propaganda engineers the necessary conditions for stochastic terror. The rece...

Bonus Sample: Leaving S-Factor pt. 2 (w/Jessica Hopper)

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Those who fly high, fall hard. Pole dance company S-Factor crashed and burned in 2021 amidst a stack of complaints. Detractors said the company was co...

UNLOCKED: Girl, Interrupted (pt 1)

10 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Julian and Matthew take a long look at the 1999 film Teal Swan was reportedly obsessed with as a teen. Girl, Interrupted is a bold adaptation of a 199...

132: Ye, Balenciaga, & Twilight Zone Propaganda (w/Francesca Tripodi)

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We didn't have tracking BDSM Easter eggs in fashion shoots or Ye’s Jew-hating Christofascism on our bingo card. But here we are, covering a cluster ...

Bonus Sample: Leaving S-Factor pt. 1 (w/Jessica Hopper)

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Those who fly high, fall hard. Pole dance company S-Factor crashed and burned in 2021 amidst a stack of complaints. Detractors said the company was co...

Brief: Digging up the Hampstead Hoax (w/Alexi Mostrous)

03 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew checks in with investigative journalist Alexi Mostrous on his fantastic work digging up the Hampstead Hoax. Show Notes Hoaxed — Tortoise M...

131: Parasite Cleanses are Full of Sh*t (feat Mallory DeMille)

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know, right now, as you sit there listening to this, your body is filled with parasites that need to be cleansed? Of course, that’s if you l...

Bonus Sample: The Super Best Most Pure Immune-Boosting Supplement Ever (Until Next Week)

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are you ready for the bestest, purest immunity-boosting supplement in the history of the world? No, not that one. Only I have discovered what really w...

130: Can We Stop Abusing Fat People? (w/Aubrey Gordon)

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Well jeez. What can we say? We're totally honored to host and learn from Aubrey Gordon, author and co-host of Maintenance Phase. She gives us the rund...

Bonus Sample: The Courage to Heal Pt. 2

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 e...

UNLOCKED: Michelle Remembers: Literal Symbols

19 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The homestretch of our study of Michelle Remembers zeroes in on the literal symbols—and symbols gone literal—of the Satanic Panic. (This is episod...

129: White Christian Nationalism (w/Philip Gorski & Samuel Perry)

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

American-style white Christian Nationalism tells of a promised land given by God to the Puritan settlers. Their divine mandate for political dominance...

Bonus Sample: Kanye, Candace & The Christian Billionaires

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Antisemitism is in the news again, as Candace Owens defends Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, while her boss, Ben Shapiro shakes his head in dismay. In thi...

128: The Trauma of Caste (w/Thenmozhi Soundararajan)

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An ancient text at the root of the culture that gave birth to the yoga tradition says that if an outcaste person—a Dalit—dares to learn the holy l...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 9 | Courage to Heal Pt. 1

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 playe...

UNLOCKED: Swan Song Series 5 | Michelle Remembers: Themes & Framing

05 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of three episodes on Michelle Remembers, we recap its Catholic contexts, and Lawrence Pazder's quest to transcend the limitations of psy...

127: Doing Good in Impossibly Bad Times (w/Rebecca Carter-Chand, Mark Roseman & Peter Staudenmaier)

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Roseman opens Lives Reclaimed, his compelling history of the “Bund”—a leftist communitarian group that resisted fascism and protected Jews ...

Bonus Sample: Shurka Tank

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a technology so powerful it's been directly downloaded from spirit during a Scorpio eclipse. This revolutionary tool can cure burn victims, re...

126: Light Language TikTok (feat Mallory DeMille)

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Listeners: today’s episode marks a turning point for us all here at Conspirituality HQ. Humbled by a recent quantum download, we realize that we hav...

Bonus Sample: Luciano's Good Death

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A departure today, as Matthew eulogizes his teacher and friend Luciano Iacobelli.From the opening:This story may be a little personal and indulgent, b...

125: Deliver Us From “Evil” (w/Amy Berg)

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is the state  of the documentary film in the age of manipulative online propaganda? In the hands and eyes of a documentarian like Amy Berg we fi...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 8 | Girl, Interrupted (pt 2)

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 freewheeli...

124: No Bad Idea Ever Dies (w/Thomas Lecaque)

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the prophet and the revolutionary alike, the time is always now. Gird up your loins brave heroes, and show your true faith! The signs portend that...