Decoding the Gurus Podcast Por Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne arte de portada

Decoding the Gurus

Decoding the Gurus

De: Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne
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An exiled Northern Irish anthropologist and a hitchhiking Australian psychologist take a close look at the contemporary crop of 'secular gurus', iconoclasts, and other exiles from the mainstream, offering their own brands of unique takes and special insights. Leveraging two of the most diverse accents in modern podcasting, Chris and Matt dig deep into the claims, peek behind the psychological curtains, and try to figure out once and for all... What's it all About? Join us, as we try to puzzle our way through and talk some smart-sounding smack about the intellectual giants of our age, from Jordan Peterson to Robin DiAngelo. Are they revolutionary thinkers or just grifters with delusions of grandeur? Join us and let's find out!Copyright 2025 Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne Ciencia Ciencias Sociales
Episodios
  • A Return to Gary World

    A Return to Gary World
    Jul 30 2025

    In this exhausting deep dive, Matt and Chris take a break from counting their billionaire stipends to devote (what some might call) an inordinate amount of time to Gary Stevenson’s recent appearance with a challenging interviewer: Tomás from Despolariza. They grapple with the indeterminacy of Schrödinger’s Gary, who oscillates between being an economic and mathematical genius revealing what THEY don’t want you to know on YouTube, and a pragmatic but selfless political activist who oversimplifies complex problems and sacrifices nuance (and himself) in the name of urgent reform.

    Despite insisting that he hates fame and has no desire to promote his best-selling book or be a popular YouTuber, Gary takes the time to remind us all of how often he’s recognised on the street and precisely how many millions of views his channel racks up each month. These are depressingly familiar guru tropes, as are his sweeping claims that you can’t trust politicians, economists, academics, journalists, the media, his old colleagues… or even graphs.

    Gary’s core message that growing inequality is economically and politically unsustainable is an important one. And his ability to communicate the stakes of that problem to a large audience could be beneficial. So the criticism lies not with his stated goals but with the guru-tastic packaging and unwillingness to deal with complexity.

    Luckily, there is a solution... Gary. Only he and his YouTube channel can save your grandchildren from abject poverty and Nigel Farage. And if you doubt him, just look at how many millions he made for himself and the bank with his uncanny predictions… or those monthly viewer stats. Oh, and did we mention he has an elite education from LSE?

    Links

    • #89 GARY STEVENSON - Economics, Trading, Inequality, Wealth, Populism, Tax, Depolarize.
    • Zucman, G. (2015). The hidden wealth of nations: The scourge of tax havens. In The hidden wealth of nations. University of Chicago Press.
    • Francis-Devine, B. (2025). Income inequality in the UK. House of Commons Library.
    • Francis-Devine, B. (2025). Wealth in Great Britain. House of Commons Library.
    Más Menos
    3 h y 41 m
  • Mini Decoding: Sabine's Contrarian Outrage- How Dare You Criticise Eric!

    Mini Decoding: Sabine's Contrarian Outrage- How Dare You Criticise Eric!
    Jul 25 2025

    In this mini-decoding, Matt and Chris examine Sabine Hossenfelder's recent fervent defence of Eric Weinstein and her sharp rebuke of his critics, including Sean Carroll. Sabine suggests that Eric poses a genuine threat to the physics establishment and that he is terrifying them by exposing their weak points. Moreover, according to Sabine, Geometric Unity, Eric's homegrown Theory of Everything, is on par with String Theory, if not better, since it wastes less money! This episode takes a critical look at those claims and Sabine's own heated rhetoric and performative outrage, examining how her defence of Eric aligns with a broader online anti-science contrarian ecosystem.

    So join us as we ponder whether Sabine is a brave, truth-telling rebel challenging a stagnant scientific orthodoxy and defending an honest man who is under attack for simply daring to question the powers that be... or whether she is just another contrarian YouTuber pandering to anti-science sentiment, defending fellow influencers, and playing the game of algorithm-driven clickbait outrage.

    Links

    - Sabine Hossenfelder: Physicists are afraid of Eric Weinstein -- and they should be

    - Sabine Hossenfelder: Do we need a Theory of Everything?

    - Decoding the Gurus: Sabine Hossenfelder: Science is a Liar ... Sometimes

    - Professor Dave Explains: Sabine Hossenfelder Joins the Eric Weinstein Damage Control Parade

    - Sabine cheers on Bryan Johnson on Twitter

    - Tim Nguyen discusses Sabine's response on Twitter

    - Dr. Brian Keating: What Is A Theory of Everything? Featuring Sabine Hossenfelder, Lee Smolin, & Eric Weinstein
    Más Menos
    59 m
  • Supplementary Material 33: Weinstein Enigmas, The Epstein Conspiracies, and Dwarves punching ducks

    Supplementary Material 33: Weinstein Enigmas, The Epstein Conspiracies, and Dwarves punching ducks
    Jul 18 2025

    In this packed supplementary episode, we tackle all of the urgent global issues, ranging from Epstein file conspiracies to Matt’s immense love of a fantasy game where dwarves punch ducks for fun. Along the way, we’re joined by a stellar cast of commentators, including some old favourites. Strap in… it’s a long one.

    Supplementary Material 33

    00:00 Introductory Banter: Old Squeaky and Matt's Wall

    04:40 Mecha Hitler's rampage

    07:46 Grok's Controversial Behavior

    11:12 Linda Yaccarino's grinning departure from X

    13:05 Elmo's anti-semitic conspiracy tirade

    14:11 Connor McGregor taints the timeline

    15:03 Eric joins Diary of a CEO to give some advice

    23:07 The Weinstein enigma

    28:11 Eric Weinstein on Jeffrey Epstein

    33:02 Eric vs. Mick West Round 2

    35:15 Plastic Bag Wearing Philosophers, Pornographic AI Companions, and Neo-Liberalism

    41:45 Weinstein vs Sean Carrol: Further Developments

    43:57 Professor Dave's New Video on Eric with Christian Ferko

    50:44 A Physicist's view of Geometric Unity

    54:06 Debating Prof. Dave on Eric's Motivations

    59:04 Peter Thiel and Ross Douhat on the Antichrist

    01:08:31 Professor Dave Summarises Eric

    01:20:49 Mockery and Different Styles of Criticism

    01:25:18 Jeffrey Epstein Scandal Introduction

    01:28:09 Trump's Response and Conspiracy Theories

    01:31:18 Andrew Schulz' Cognitive Dissonance

    01:38:32 Trump's Deep State Assassination Attempt

    01:40:01 Megyn Kelly has another explanation

    01:46:15 The Court Intrigues of MAGA

    01:50:02 The Epstein Online Economy

    01:57:54 Tim Pool's spin: It's the Democrats!

    02:00:26 Destiny and Contrapoints get Conspiracy Theories

    02:01:53 The Weinstein takes on Epstein: Welcome to the Infinite Truman Show

    02:03:33 Scott Adams' Take: A Commander In Chief Issue

    02:04:42 Epstein: The Foreign Agent?

    02:07:20 Coffeezilla's Anomaly Hunting

    02:11:47 Destiny Reacting to Coffeezilla and the Fluidity of Conspiracies

    02:18:06 Doing Your Own Research on the Acosta Quote

    02:20:29 Epstein Takes From QAnon Anonymous to Red Scare

    02:25:18 Critical Evaluation of Claims: Consulting Reports on Epstein's Suicide

    02:35:55 Hasan demonstrates responsible Conspiracy Hypothesising

    02:39:34 New Conspiracy Lore

    02:42:19 Tribal Matters

    02:43:31 Matt's Gaming Grotto: Baldurs Gates, Dwarf Fortresses, and Rogue Traders

    02:53:40 Matt's Sick Mind

    02:54:57 Outro

    The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hrs 57 mins).

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

    Sources

    • Jeremy Howard’s Tweet
    • Mecha Hitler Twitter (The Guardian)
    • Elmo Hacked (The Guardian)
    • Conor McGregor Shares Unsolicited Pics (Daily Mail)
    • Stephen Bartlett Reprimanded by ASA (Marketing Week)
    • Eric Being Mysterious with Mick West (Twitter)
    Más Menos
    40 m
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Wonderfully entertaining and insightful, as well as excessively verbose!
I adore the conversations.
I also appreciate not having to do my own research.

Thurough assessments

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Chris and Matt are carrying hammers trying to Whack-A-Mole all the gurus coming out of their misinformed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing, conspiratorial podcast holes. The hosts are approaching the topics in good faith. If you are interested in understanding how gurus build their cult-like following, and the techniques they use to manipulate their listeners, then the boys have you covered. The main critique I have for the podcast is that it's a tad bit too long at times. If you don't find the topics interesting, they have funny accents.

A much needed podcast in the age of gurus.

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Two ignorant rambling researchers think its hilarious to treat serious issues like gender dysphoria with toxic and immature mockery. What right do they have to causually cissplain (with a known transphobic Helen Lewis) anything to anyone? Do they realise what it's like to grow up confused about identity. Do they talk about the mental and physical abuse perpetrated by others on the LGBTQIA+ community or the unacceptable suicide rates? No. They just compare fighting for human decency and rights of every individual to the despicable orthodoxy of churches that believe in superbeings who created the earth and let all their disciples get away with pedophilia! They just pretend they are objective because their whole life has revolved around an insecure, fragile, colonial biased paradigm. Brainwashed and self-delusional. They think they are objective because they mock those hate crime mongers from the IDW. That childish sarcasm and laughter when talking about Peterson and the ilk, and then that vomit inducing feeling sorry/not sorry for being 'meanies' is nothing more than acting as apologists for those criminal misogynists and supporting hate speech. Barely able to listen to an older one on Ibram X Kendi but it is obvious they have a major issue with critical race theory, anti-racism and the BLM movement. I will issue a formal complaint about this podcast and hope you will do the same.

Toxic bigotted juveniles must be muted

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