Decoding the Gurus
Episodes
Decoding Academia: Matt on his ENTIRE research career *Patreon Sample*
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
So, what even IS the deal with Matt? Is he a proper psychologist or does his past conceal something darker, aside from his bronzed skin-tone? Until no...
Brené Brown: Matt and Chris courageously embrace their vulnerability
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brené Brown is an American professor, lecturer, author, storyteller researcher, and podcast host. She's made it her life's work to help peo...
Decoding Academia: Chris on Religion & Ritual *Patreon Sample*
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It had to happen eventually. As Matt and Chris listen week in and week out to the world's greatest gurus pontificating on the mysteries of the univers...
Interview with Annie Kelly on Vaccines, Conspiracies, & Misinformation
07 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Annie Kelly is a writer, researcher, and the British correspondent for the well and deservedly praised podcast QAnon Anonymous. Her PhD research wa...
Special: Interview with Sam Harris on Gurus, Tribalism & the Culture War
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris probably needs no introduction in our neck of the info-sphere as he is seemingly never far from the spotlight... or the occasional controve...
Mikhaila Peterson: The Marvelous World of Meat
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The hosts are certainly in no position to criticise someone for what they eat, with Matt unable to resist a Fosters and shrimps on a barbie, and Chris...
Interview with Stuart Neil on SARS CoV-2
09 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You might have noticed there's been a bit of talk recently about a certain virus. A virus that may or may not have a vaccine that is very safe and eff...
Special Episode: Interview with Stuart Ritchie on Hunter Gatherers in the 21st Century, covid skeptics, and bad science
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have an engaging interview with the scientist, author, and public science communicator Stuart Ritchie. Stuart wrote the excellent 'Scienc...
Jordan Hall: Sensemaking, or the superficial pitter-patter on the neocortex?
11 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about sense-making... if you are not sick of that term yet, trust us, you soon will be.To get things rolling, Matt and Chris launch th...
Special Episode: Welcome to Weinstein World with special guest David Pizarro
27 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Weinstein brothers have been busy bees over the past few weeks/months(!) and it left Matt and Chris with a conundrum. How do they cover them as pa...
Gad Saad: Oh my Gad, it's the Saadfather!
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gad Saad is a Professor of Marketing at Concordia University, author of The Consuming Instinct and, more recently, The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious ...
Special Episode: Interview with Robert Wright on crackpots, gurus, and modern media ecosystems
13 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we welcome the author, journalist, and podcaster Robert Wright. Robert wrote the popular (and provocative!) book 'Why Buddhism is True' and ...
Special Episode: Interview with Evan Thompson on Buddhist Exceptionalism
30 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We class up the podcast this week with another special interview with a philosopher specialising in Asian philosophical traditions, cognitive science,...
Carl Sagan: My God, it's full of stars
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the second instalment of the personal gurus season we take a look at Matt's childhood science guru: the famed astronomer and science communicator C...
Special Episode: Interview with Daniel Harper on the Far Right & IDW Criticism
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we have an engaging discussion with Daniel Harper host of the anti-fascist podcast 'I Don't Speak German' about his experience coverin...
Special Episode: Interview with Amanda Montell on Cultish Linguistics
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Montell is an author, linguist, and podcaster with a new book 'Cultish' on "how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and ...
Anthony DeMello: The Bob Ross of Spiritual Gurus?
26 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Well, the hosts have had a good long taste of the culture wars and friends, it is a bitter, bitter draught. As a palette cleanser, we return to a simp...
Special Episode: Interview with Jesse Singal on Quick Fix Psychology
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Another week and another extra special interview with journalist, podcaster, and Twitter outrage lightning rod, Jesse Singal.We discuss his new book o...
Special Episode: Interview with Tim Nguyen on Geometric Unity
12 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite promising to leave Weinstein world for an overdue holiday, Matt and Chris have been lured back by a world shattering theory with a cosmic visi...
Bret Weinstein & Jordan Peterson: Two gargantuan intellects stare into the abyss
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The big dog of the Intellectual Dark Web, Jordan Peterson, is back! And this hero, this mythical archetype, is welcomed back from his long hiatus by D...
Brett Weinstein & Heather Heying: Why are 'they' suppressing Ivermectin, the miracle cure?
22 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode wasn't meant to be about Ivermectin, or Bret and Heather's unique ability to apply an 'evolutionary lens' to understand everything, inclu...
Michael O"Fallon: The Jacobins are Back..... To Reset..... Everything.... Dun Dun Daah!
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just as the Terror was used by Robespierre and the Jacobins during the French Revolution two centuries ago, fear and draconian control is being used t...
Gwyneth Paltrow: Crawling with parasites and in need of a cleanse
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Who would have thought it, the Hollywood A-lister and founder of the luxury lifestyle brand 'Goop', Gwyneth Paltrow also finds time to host a podcast....
Special Episode: Sam Harris & Meditation is all you need
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris is a public intellectual who inspires strong reactions both positive and negative. Here, Matt and Chris dip their toes into Sam's introspec...
Special Episode: Interview with Phrost on Bullshido
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and Chris are helped again by a guest in their endless quest to get the bottom of what the Hell is Going On and What It's All About.Phrost descri...
Ibram X. Kendi: Gurometer Rating (Patreon Preview)
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we provide a special preview of our usual Patreon content with the follow up discussion and our Gurometer™ scores for Ibram X. Kendi...
Ibram X. Kendi: Inside you are two wolves. One of them is racist.
06 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ibram X. Kendi is a Professor of history, director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and a research fellow at Harvard Universit...
Special Episode: Interview with Matthew Remski on Conspirituality
20 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we talk to Matthew Remski, co-host of the Conspirituality podcast, writer, yoga practitioner, and independent journalist. Matthew is a font of i...
Nassim N. Taleb: Everything these idiots, frauds, and assholes don't understand
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nassim Taleb, what a mensch. He's got the confidence of a bull in a china shop that has just bought a lycra muscle-shirt and knows it looks great on h...
Special Episode: Interview with Thi Nguyen, a Gurometer's Guru
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we talk to C. Thi Nguyen, a philosophy professor at University of Utah. He has some excellent insights into the kind of discourse that *feels* ...
Douglas Murray: Can indulgent dinner conversation save OUR civilisation?
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Douglas Murray is a British conservative columnist, social pundit, and veteran culture warrior famed for his biting wit and eloquent intellectual spee...
Special Episode: Calibrating the Gurometer
09 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Matt take a break from examining the endless stream of Guru galaxy brain takes to offer their own and calibrate their newly minted Gurometer...
Contrapoints: Making Philosophy Fabulous Again
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Natalie Wynn is kind of a big deal. Her YouTube channel Contrapoints explores not only philosophy, but also politics and social issues. Praised by aug...
Special Episode: Entering the Portal
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Matt take a peak behind the curtain at Guru Community dynamics in the Web 2.0 era in an extended interview with Dan Gilbert, a self describe...
Scott Adams: Chris and Matt Go to Hell
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has since written self-help books like 'Win Bigly' & 'Loserthink' and now hosts his own podcast "Coffee with Scot...
Russell Brand: Spiritual Transcendence and Anarchic Revolution is Praxis
21 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Russell Brand is a hip bohemian Englishman on the path to enlightenment. And he likes the ineffable. Like, a lot. The decoders kinda like him too, des...
Rutger Bregman: Piglets vs. Toddlers
07 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rutger Bregman is a Dutch Historian who wants to tell the world that humans are actually fundamentally kind, hunter gatherer societies contain importa...
Special Episode: Is Eric Weinstein Feynman-Negative?
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Weinstein has a habit of inserting mini conspiracy laden "audio-essays" at the beginning of his podcast The Portal. The one released this week wa...
JP Sears: Get Ultra Spiritual, Resist the Government, and Promote Coronavirus Conspiracies
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
JP Sears is quite the contradictory figure. He's well known for his YouTube videos mocking alternative health and spirituality, but he also sells natu...
Jordan Peterson: The Alchemical Lemon explains the Crystalline Structure of Logos
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Matt finally discuss the big kahuna Jordan Peterson by taking a deep dive into his extended 2017 interview on the Transliminal YouTube chann...
James Lindsay: The monkey is out of the box and it HATES liberalism
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Matt discuss James Lindsay's talk at the Speaking Truth to Social Justice conference held at the ostentatious National Liberal Club, in an e...
Eric and Bret Weinstein: A Dark Horse Gallops through the Portal
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and Chris introduce themselves and the overall concept for the podcast then take a deep dive into an infamous episode of Eric Weinstein's podcast...