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
  • Keith Raniere: The Serpent and the Cognitive Fog

    Keith Raniere: The Serpent and the Cognitive Fog
    Oct 26 2025

    Kicking off cult season, Chris and Matt take a dip into the manipulative world of NXIVM founder and self-proclaimed 200-IQ “Vanguard,” Keith Raniere, as he talks with his then-disciple and ex-Hollywood actress, Allison Mack. Through a haze of pseudo-profound musings and decorative scholarship, Raniere sermonises on creativity, authenticity, and the human spirit, all while orchestrating a coercive sex cult built on obedience, sleep deprivation, and... volleyball.

    Matt and Chris lament how his wordy self-help cosmology mirrors the rhetorical habits of secular gurus: the cultivation of parasocial intimacy, the disdain for anything mainstream, and the promise of “revolutionary” insights that will reveal your true self (for a fee). From the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle to “authentic soulfulness”, it’s a masterclass in generating pseudo-profound semantic fog, where love and pain blur into one transcendent teaching.

    By the end, you may find yourself sharing Raniere’s final revelation about what it truly means to feel… nauseated.

    Sources

    • YouTube: Keith Raniere, Ringleader of NXIVM Sex Slave Cult, Interviewed by Allison Mack, Top Cult Member
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    3 h y 9 m
  • Lab Leak Fever with Philipp Markolin

    Lab Leak Fever with Philipp Markolin
    Oct 18 2025

    Join Matt and Chris as they dive into the controversy-ridden world of the lab leak theory, accompanied by biochemist-turned-author Philipp Markolin. Philipp details his journey into the abyss of lab leak lore and sensationalist media, documenting how thorough research was pushed aside in favour of conspiratorial discourse. For those who dream of a world where science triumphs over sensationalism, this episode is your bittersweet symphony.

    Links

    • Philipp's Substack
    • Lab Leak Fever Book Site
    • New Documentary Movie about the Lab Leak
    • Our previous episode on the Lab Leak
    • Bad Boy of Science: Sam Gregson's channel that includes many interviews with Philipp and relevant scientists
    Más Menos
    1 h y 14 m
  • Supplementary Material 38: Toxic Mould Symbiosis, Mild Phrenology, and the Best People in the World

    Supplementary Material 38: Toxic Mould Symbiosis, Mild Phrenology, and the Best People in the World
    Oct 14 2025

    We end the futile struggle, embrace the toxins, and become one with our mould brethren.

    The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 38 minutes).

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

    Supplementary Material 38

    00:00 Intro

    02:54 Boomer Matt reacts to Twitter videos

    07:31 Shellenberger and Tucker discuss the 9/11 Files

    12:42 Eric's Google Ngram Investigations

    17:08 Vindication on the Elephant Graveyard

    22:00 Eric's ARC lecture goes viral

    25:24 Andrew Huberman is NOT a phrenologist...

    29:06 Eric Weinstein vs. Piers Morgan

    33:44 Everyone knows Eric is a serious thinker

    46:09 Peterson is taken out of the Gurusphere by Demons and Toxic Mould

    52:09 Gurus and Bespoke Alternative Health

    57:00 Social Contagion Hypocrisy

    01:02:55 Toxic Mould Symbiosis?

    01:04:46 Pewdiepie, Diogenes, and the Seeker Mindset

    01:16:14 The Wisdom of the Ancients

    01:21:01 The Meaning Crisis and Christian Pivots

    01:22:29 Konstantin Kisin's surprising Christian pivot

    01:25:17 The best person Konstantin ever met (not Francis)

    01:30:22 The Fifth Column Agrees with Megyn Kelly 88% of the time

    01:33:07 Megyn Kelly explains how the Democrats crossed the line and must pay

    01:41:35 Intellectual Clerics for MAGA

    01:43:16 Slightly Adversarial libertarians for hire

    01:47:00 Drew Pavlou and Fluid Populism

    01:50:17 Two Varieties of Online Derangement: Noah Smith's Hot Takes

    01:53:57 Need for Attention = Desire for Virality

    01:57:23 Status Seeking Networkers vs Paul Bloom

    02:01:27 Reflecting on the Al Murray Interview

    02:02:22 The struggle of podcasters

    02:04:52 Paul Bloom: The best person in the world?

    02:06:00 Mike Israetel's Thesis Controversy

    02:10:30 What does a PhD mean?

    02:16:55 David Deutsch visits Curt Jaimungal

    02:22:32 The Dangers of Doubling Down: Pirate Software

    02:23:32 Hasan Piker and Shock Collar-gate

    02:27:15 Matt's Take on Shock Collars

    02:33:51 Dystopia Update: Putin wants Trump to win the Nobel Prize

    02:37:11 Outro

    Sources

    • Shellenberger and Tucker discuss the CIA’s role in 9/11
    • Grok pressing Eric to get specific
    • The Elephant Graveyard
    • Viral post about Eric’s ARC speech on science
    • Huberman’s phrenology endorsement
    • Jordan Peterson’s Health Update from Mikhaila
    • Chris Williamson: It’s time to talk about my health.
    • Chang, C., & Gershwin, M. E. (2019). The myth of mycotoxins and mold injury. Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, 57(3), 449–455.
    • Borchers, A. T., Chang, C., & Eric Gershwin, M. (2017). Mold and human health: A reality check. Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, 52(3), 305–322.
    Más Menos
    50 m
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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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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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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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