Conspirituality

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...

Bonus Sample: Methylene Blues

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Methylene blue will give you more energy! It’s neuroprotective! Your skin will never look better! Your bunghole will never be bluer!This week, Derek...

UNLOCKED: Swan Song Series 4 | Michelle Remembers: Context & History

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's no Teal Swan without the Satanic Panic. And there's no Satanic Panic without the 1980 publication of Michelle Remembers, by Lawrence Pazder an...

123: The Red-Pilled "Academic" Who Named Our Podcast

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mystery topic today. Emergency episode. Breaking story. Amazing if true! Totally transformative plot twist. You gotta listen through for the big revea...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 7 | Girl, Interrupted (pt 1)

03 Oct 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...

122: Timeline Retox: Biohacking and Fascism and Stuff

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The book is filed. Our mental health is in check. And, as it turns out, Matthew found a new guru. We return to trio work by investigating his fellow C...

Bonus Sample: A Course in Monstrosities

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you tune into your favorite Instagram wellness influencer or financial life coach, you’ll learn that money is really a state of mind—right? Thi...

UNLOCKED: Swan Song Series 3 | Listening to Teal Swan’s Mom and Dad

24 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the most valuable material that come to us from Paula Marino's Open Shadow film of 2017 is an extended interview with Swan's parent's, the Bos...

121: The Gospel of Wellness (w/Rina Raphael)

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are you ready to biohack your brain with buttered coffee? How about going “within” at the Drybar of acupuncture? What if we told you that cannabis...

Bonus Sample: Listener Stories: Christina (part 2)

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Christina Flinders returns for the second of a two-part tour through her experience with cultic dynamics, conspirituality, and the long road towards f...

120: Overripe Avocado (w/Jill Ettinger)

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that Joe Biden is a Satanic alien Nazi pedophile intent on bringing about the New World Order? Or that Donald Trump is the only thing tha...

Bonus Sample: Listener Stories: Christina (part 1)

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Christina Flinders is our honoured guest today for the first of a two-part tour through her  experience with cultic dynamics and conspirituality. Mat...

119: We Are Slenderman (w/Kathleen Hale)

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On May 31st, 2014, Morgan Geyser stabbed her onetime best friend Bella Leutner nineteen times, while her new best friend, Anissa Weier, looked on. All...

Bonus Sample: The Consciousness Instinct

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As we're all with family over the holiday weekend, here's a 2018 interview that Derek conducted with neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga after the public...

118: Detoxing From Wellness (w/Kerri Kelly)

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever stop to think about whether or not you can afford organic food—and then consider that many people don’t have such an option? Is Goop’...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 6 | Michelle Remembers: Literal Symbols

29 Aug 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. Archetypes, gor...

117: The Real Cost of Fitness in America (w/Natalia Petrzela)

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fitness is the beating heart of America. No, wait, that’s opportunistic capitalism. But opportunistic capitalism, as it turns out, is the beating he...

Bonus Sample: JP Sears is Definitely Binary

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

JP Sears constantly refers to himself as a freethinker. His increasing religiosity is counter to critical thinking, however. Derek responds to two rec...

UNLOCKED: Swan Song Series 2 | Teal Swan: Art & Artifice (w/Paola Marino)

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Swan Song Series, Matthew interviews Paola Marino about why she found Teal Swan a fascinating subject to film for 2018’s “O...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 5 | Michelle Remembers: Themes & Framing

15 Aug 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...

116: History is Not a Placebo: Chinese Medicine in America (w/Tamara Venit-Shelton)

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Traditional Chinese Medicine is an ancient medical system that has persisted in its homeland for countless generations before being exported to the re...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 4 | Michelle Remembers: Context & History

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's no Teal Swan without the Satanic Panic. And there's no Satanic Panic without the 1980 publication of Michelle Remembers, by Lawrence Pazder an...

UNLOCKED: Swan Song Series 1 | Close to Home

06 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We can't understand Teal Swan without understanding the Satanic Panic. And we can't really understand that historical disaster with out feeling our wa...

115: Controlling Women's Bodies "Naturally" (w/EJ Dickson)

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew sits down with ace journalist EJ Dickson to explore her deep archive of reporting on the policing of women's bodies, and how it reflects on he...

Bonus Sample: The Wellness Theory of Depression

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A recent review questioning the serotonin theory of depression has revived a generations-long debate over the very notion of "chemical imbalances." Wh...

114: Guns, Germs & Fear (w/Alan Levinovitz)

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Life is scary. Natural disasters, violent intruders, and deadly viruses threaten our survival and endanger our loved ones. When ordinary solutions and...

Bonus Sample: Listening to Teal Swan’s Mom and Dad

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the most valuable material that comes to us from Paula Marino's Open Shadow film of 2017 is an extended interview with Swan's parent's, the Bo...

113: A Course in Conspiracies (w/Sam Kestenbaum)

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We spend so much time on this podcast discussing the wellness industry’s paranoia around anything from the medical “establishment” or the Lucife...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series 2 | Teal Swan: Art and Artifice (w/Paola Marino)

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Swan Song Series, Matthew interviews Paola Marino about why she found Teal Swan a fascinating subject to film for 2018’s “O...

112: The Science Whisperer (w/Danielle Belardo)

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast was born in response to COVID and vaccine disinformation that, while bubbling up for some time, flooded the population with the release o...

Bonus Sample: The Music of the Conspirituality Podcast

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Derek steps back from conspiracies and wellness this week to discuss something very healing and personal to him: music. Specifically, how music has sh...

111: Who's Afraid of Teal Swan (pt 2) (w/Jennings Brown)

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today, Jennings Brown, is a bright light in an increasingly chaotic cult-content economy. His 2018 podcast on Teal Swan, The Gateway, produc...

Bonus Sample: Swan Song Series: Close to Home

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We can't understand Teal Swan without understanding the Satanic Panic. And we can't really understand that historical disaster with out feeling our wa...

110: Temple of the Gun

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rosaries made of shell casings. A breakaway Unification Church sect that holds rituals with gilded ARs. JP Sears on the gun range. The unholy American...

Bonus Sample: The Chapels in Our Brains

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew introduces Julian to the solipsism of an old Catholic catechism. Julian remembers meditating on non-duality. What spaces in our brains do thes...

109. Who’s Afraid of Teal Swan? (w/Jon Kasbe)

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If the world has become too much to bear—and the bots know it from your search history— you will likely find Teal Swan. She will appear, an angel ...

Bonus Sample: Giving Up the Gun

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After becoming global leaders in gun manufacturing in the 16th century, Japan banished all guns from their country for two centuries. How did this hap...