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Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States yesterday, proving the long-awaited QAnon prophecy false. It’s the perfect time to talk about where mystical or deceptive knowledge comes from, how it works, and what happens when it fails. We may never know who Q was, but we can take a close look at a core feature of conspirituality technique: the transmission of secret knowledge.  Welcome to our channeling episode. Today we discuss three Q-adjacent channellers: JZ Knight, Lorie Ladd, Elizabeth April, and also Paul Selig. What do they say they’re doing? What does it sound like? And where can we go to figure it out?  Derek looks at consciousness studies through the lens of Rodolfo Llinas, Stanislas Dehaene, Michael Gazzaniga, and other renowned researchers. Julian reviews the philosophical arguments of Daniel Dennett and Susan Blackmore. Matthew plays angel’s advocate and interviews Professor Susannah Crockford about her anthropological fieldwork amongst the New Agers and channelers of Sedona. TL;DR: “There’s never a single answer for anything.” In the Ticker we look at a tragic anti-vax related father-son murder-suicide in California, anti-vax groups grifting PPP money from the feds, and the Anons, exiled even from Parler, suffering from the collapse of their dream of a Great Awakening.  03:28 The Ticker 27:37 The Jab 32:58 Conscious Consideration 1:02:47: Seance Science 1:45:07: Interview with Susannah Crockford All music by EarthRise SoundSystem Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Father-son murder-suicide over anti-vax stress The Trump administration bailed out prominent anti-vaccine groups during a pandemic Scientists Investigate Spiritualist Mediums: Why Some People Report “Hearing the Dead” Hydroxy-pusher Simone Gold arrested for part in Capitol Siege QAnon will be scrutinized by National Intel Agencies Parler refugees prepped for Doomsday QAnon implodes online QAnon admins nuke then restore threads QAnauguration meltdown Argentino and Amarasingam on QAnon prophecies failing Kevin Roose’s excellent profile of QAnon “meme queen” More from QAnon Casualties JZ Knight channels Ramtha on Merv Griffin, 1985 Lorie Ladd on Inauguration Day Lorie Ladd is starting youth groups Elizabeth April Saves the Children April was abducted by aliens Paul Selig goes deep Selig explains why he repeats everything (he sounds like Jacob Two-Two) Christiane Northrup’s possible inspiration: Miss Nancy and the Magic Mirror on Romper Room Susannah Crockford’s take on the Q-Shaman

It’s been eight days since the Capitol was ransacked by a mob of MAGA supporters, Proud Boys, ex-military with tactical gear, and Nazis wearing disgustingly anti-Semitic t-shirts. The death count is six (for now), with a second police officer dying by duty-related suicide on Saturday. As more footage streams in—and the FBI says there’s still more to come—it will get uglier.  So what have our conspiritualists been up to? We’ll run it down this week. Quick story: not a single one has walked back any of their bullshit in the aftermath of the Capitol siege. Some have doubled down.  An unmasked Mikki Willis was involved in the siege as a “journalist,” giving an impassioned anti-vax, pro-liberty speech at a sideshow MAGA event in which he called the ransack that he had just taken part in “beautiful.” Christiane Northrup cheered on the alt-health berserkers during the end of her water fast. Zach Bush took to Instagram to sermonize, saying, “Just as viruses do not take down healthy humans, revolutions do not take down healthy governance.” Lori Ladd spoke in radiant non-sequiturs. Amber Sears announced she was “preparing for civil war” while her husband JP whined about free speech as his Parler account got nuked and Trump got booted off of Twitter. Meanwhile, Kelly Brogan said nothing publicly about the Capitol siege that we could find, but cashed in on the vibes with a bloated essay on “spiritual warfare.” We also learned a lot about Jacob Anthony Chansley nee Angeli, the Q-shaman, and his interdimensional conspirituality performance art—as well as his three-day jail fast that was resolved after a sympathetic judge guaranteed a Whole Foods delivery.  Derek interviews RP Eddy, CEO of strategy and geopolitical intelligence firm, Ergo. Eddy previously served as Director at the White House National Security Council under Bill Clinton, Chief of Staff to US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Senior Policy Officer to UN Secretary Kofi Annan. He shares his thoughts about the current state of national security. 03:15 Insurrectionist Influencers 1:17:15 The Jab 1:20:11 Interview with RP Eddy All music by EarthRise SoundSystem Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Susannah Crockford on the Q-Shaman’s spiritual potpourri Matthew’s Twitter thread on Q-Shaman fasting COVID and tribal elders Eugene Goodman’s fateful genius Christiane Northrup’s prosperity gospel affiliate Northrup as Auntie Good Death Lorie Ladd everything is all good but difficult something something Widely-circulated DM about ST cancelling JP Sears What looks to be an email to JP Sears’s list, disclosing threats of violence against his family. (FYI: link goes to a FB post by a right-wing “news” group.) Amber Sears preparing for civil war Mikki Willis’s excellent mob adventure Shavani Kumara holds space for the Capitol mob The legal threshold for incitement is very high Zach Bush compares the Capitol to a sick body Kelly Brogan compares fleas to molesters and refuses to molest her cats Some QAnon disillusionment poetry posted to 8kun on 1.10.2021

Christiane Northrup addresses her followers as “angel warriors.” JP Sears counsels his supplement customers to never “outsource their own truth.” Mikki Willis says he was once a “hero of the left”, and now tells audiences that he’s willing to die for the truth of his message. It’s all very grand, and it doesn’t come from nowhere. Trendy spiritualities of the privileged and disconnected have always focused on the heroic triumph of the individual, which has made them easily co-optable by the right. But what is a real hero? Joseph Campbell contextualized their journey as a ritual of selfless wandering, undertaken on behalf of the community. The concept of the monomyth, which Campbell defined as the Hero’s Journey, has stages, and they have influenced popular culture in profound and, at times, troubling ways. In this episode, we’ll look at how certain influencers confuse heroism for megalomania and forget that heroes and their societies are interdependent. Derek and Julian measure some of the usual suspects against Campbell’s ruler while Matthew asks questions about what makes a theory vulnerable to distortion.  In The Jab, Julian looks at the three top questions vaccine-hesitant folks have about the mRNA vaccines currently approved for COVID. In a closing essay, Matthew reflects on a space where the painful splits of conspirituality might be calmed: how the home hospice can bring together public health and private spirituality. 02:34 The Conspirituality Ticker 37:09 The Jab 43:06 Manipulating the Hero’s Journey 1:51:10 Home is Where the Hospice Is All music by EarthRise SoundSystem Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Jake Angeli, “Q-Shaman”, describing his New-Age services CNN on Angeli, “Baked Alaska” and Barnett The Q shaman — conspirituality runs riot on Capitol Hill Barnett and “Save Our Children” event in AR in October JP Sears echoes a justification for ransacking Pelosi’s office Anti-maskers Storm California Mall, Harass Shoppers and Refuse to Leave Why Lisa Guerrero Abruptly Ended Interview With Anti-Mask Wearer Tommy John Sr. hospitalized for COVID Dr. Tommy John denies his father hospitalized with COVID has COVID (Tommy’s follow-up post shows his son (?) playing a video game in a COVID-denying t-shirt. Low engagement.) Trump spews Q garbage in call to Georgia Prosecutor: Wisconsin pharmacist thought vaccine was unsafe Blueprints for “vaccine microchip” will make your Fender wail Cherokee Nation Allocates Vaccines to Cherokee Speakers Modern folklorists dish on Joseph Campbell

A rough tally of our labor from the inception of this podcast in May puts us at over 1,100 hours of treading water in the content sea of JP Sears, Mikki Willis, Christiane Northrup, and the rest of the gang. Are we getting our bearings yet? Will we see land soon?  This episode is centered on Part 2 of Matthew’s discussion with Charles Eisenstein — a bellwether for the possibility that wellness and spirituality culture can communicate clearly about conspirituality. In the discussion and analysis that follows the interview, we look at who gets to say what and from which platform, what it means to be brave versus what it means to be evidence-based, and whether South Park really did predict the Trump-Biden choice. In the Ticker, we’ll peek into the bizarro world of Guru Jagat, run down what anti-vaxxers believe about ingredients, ogle at Michael Flynn’s QAnon merch shop, and dive into Lori Ladd’s recent video where she rallies the troops after a revelatory nap. In The Jab, Julian unravels the facts around the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Finally, in a New Year’s Eve closer, Matthew wonders, from the quietude of a recent home hospice experience, about how we might be able to slow down. Happy New Year, dear listeners! 2:39 The Conspirituality Ticker 56:26 The Jab 1:09:53 Interview with Charles Eisenstein 2:10:45 Post-interview discussion 2:35:04 If Conspirituality is mostly online, is there a way out? All music by EarthRise SoundSystem Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Guru Jagat camp grace talk Weaving Dharma Art: Guru Jagat x Mandev Mandev’s Yogi Bhajan propaganda film put out to counter abuse testimony Harper’s profile on Jagat (pre abuse scandal) Deslippe rocks the Kundalini backstory An Olive Branch’s independent investigation into KY and 3HO historical abuse (an initial effort) Harijiwan’s hagiography of Bhajan via Mandev’s video skillz (one example) Harijiwan, “toner bandit” @ramawrong’s excellent IG feed Phil Good Life discloses three mental health related hospitalizations Here’s How the Anti-Vaxxers’ Strongest Argument Falls Apart Why the Government Pays Billions to People Who Claim Injury by Vaccines Vaccine Court: The Law and Politics of Injury Majority of anti-vaccine ads on Facebook were funded by two groups Anti-vaccine leaders targeting minority becomes growing concern at NYC forum Kelly Brogan Gives Up Her Mobile Phone Lorie Ladd rallies the troops As Trump meets with QAnon influencers, the conspiracy’s adherents beg for dictatorship Yogi Bhajan Turned an L.A. Yoga Studio into a Juggernaut, and Left Two Generations of Followers Reeling from Alleged Abuse Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine May Cause Side Effects in People With Facial Fillers, Says FDA Michael Flynn Is Now Selling QAnon Merch Even If It’s ‘Bonkers,’ Poll Finds Many Believe QAnon And Other Conspiracy Theories

As two coronavirus vaccines roll out we’re being flooded with more disinformation than ever. Wellness gurus are cashing in on home-made “natural” remedies by spreading unjustified fears about this vaccine, and vaccines in general. This week, we look at Dr. Christiane Northrup’s “line in the sand,” Mikki Willis revealing that he recently helped out the kids of Covington High and Kyle Rittenhouse, JP Sears getting retweeted by Donald Trump, and the QAnon breeding ground that is the MMA. During The Jab, Julian looks at the newly emerged Covid mutation and investigates whether it nullifies the vaccines. For the main discussion, Julian and Derek sift through the piles of vaccine and health propaganda spread by Robert F Kennedy, Jr and Zach Bush on a recent Instagram Live. Derek interviews Jonathan Berman, author of Anti-Vaxxers: How to Challenge a Misinformed Movement, about trying to build a bridge. Finally, Matthew reports from a family hospice experience on the generosity, discipline, and grace of frontline health care workers. 3:15 The Conspirituality Ticker 51:10 The Jab 53:24 Bro Science and Anti-Vaxxing 1:38:19 Interview with Jonathan Berman 2:21:09 Notes from Hospice Care All music by EarthRise SoundSystem Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us? The Duesberg Phenomenon Mikki Willis at the Red Pill Expo My Polio Story is an Inconvenient Truth to Those Who Refuse Vaccines History of Polio The Denialist Playbook Pharmacies Partner With HHS to Provide COVID-19 Vaccines

This episode dropped for our Patreon supporters on the darkest day of the year. We’re unlocking it as a holiday gift to all of our listeners. In this meditation, Matthew reflects on the roots and implications of “blazes of light” that punctuate the speech of both spiritualists and conspiritualists, from the spaces of patriarchal religious ritual to the claustrophobia of the manosphere. One key question: How does the manosphere shape conspirituality and its emotional disorders? This is a tour through the trance states that charismatic men love and manipulate—how they carry streams of emotion that can never be transparently shared. Matthew investigates the means by which the podcast format squeezes entranced speech into a man-cave so that the speaker can be endlessly extroverted, but also self-protected, and mostly unaccountable. It is an ethereal and frictionless technology, imposing no limits on the impulse to hold court or to dominate. It allows Alex Jones, Jordan Peterson, Dr. Tommy John, JP Sears, and many others to create limitless self-centered content with almost no feedback. The lack of reality-checking makes their discourse aggressive, but it’s also tragic to watch men believe they are forming relationships while they talk into the void. No solstice bonus wouldn’t be complete without a nod to the light, however. Matthew climbs back out of this episode with some good man-news about his podcast colleagues, the Mandolorian, and the possibility that his own boys might grow up differently. Show Notes Jordan Peterson weeps over individualism. Instagram isolation curated by Dr. Tommy John JP Sears plays toady to Tim Kennedy’s alpha-fashy rant Kennedy implies he’s helping disappear protestors in Portland

Who gets to take up space in critical times? How do we orient ourselves toward expertise? In a culture dominated by “experts” on social media, do charismatics outperform fact-checkers?  This episode marks a milestone for our podcast, as Matthew interviews Charles Eisenstein, whose essay “The Coronation” has cast a long shadow on our ongoing critique of how New Age and spiritual spaces interact with public health. It’s a respectful but robust conversation about the limits of what laypeople can know about science and journalism, the intersection between conspiracy theory and myth, what the word “narrative” really means, and whether activism on the left and conspiracy theories on the right can be equally misguided. The conversation ran long: we dish up and comment on the first hour here. In the Ticker, we cover Gaiam TV—Netflix for the Q-adjacent—and JP Sears keeping it classy by using the birth announcement of his son to punch down at trans people. On The Jab, Julian reports on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s role in flooding social media with anti-vax ads, and targeting propaganda at minority and immigrant communities, to their detriment. 2:47 The Conspirituality Ticker 25:03 The Jab 31:05 Interview with Charles Eisenstein 1:24:32 Post-interview Discussion All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Suzanne Humphries on Rational Wiki Why Dr Suzanne Humphries, an anti-vaccine activist, is lying to you about measles JP Sears’s transphobic post JP Sears’s squat workout / Bill Gates post Overlap between conspirituality and anti-trans politics Invite from the “Awarehouse”, oh and this one too Why this mainstream yoga site is now a hub for QAnon influencers A Thrive interviewee regrets his participation Bell’s Palsy, Allergic Reactions, and Deaths in Covid Vaccine Trials Funding for anti-vax ads on Facebook RFK is very concerned The Coronation: Eisenstein The Conspiracy Myth: Eisenstein The Banquet of Whiteness: Eisenstein

Here’s an episode that’s been micro-brewing for a while: Bro Science: where conspirituality meets the manosphere.  We’ve even got a working definition! Here’s a taste. Bro Science is junk science spewed by men who believe their charisma is a substitute for training. It brags, mocks, overreaches. It’s self-serving and self-interested. It can carry hints of toxic masculinity: entitlement, unearned confidence, no qualms about taking up space, repressing emotion or hiding it behind humour or grandiosity. It preaches individualism and self-sufficiency from the lonely triumph of Bro. We’ll listen to some top “Bro scientists” to see how bro-ness reduces, minimizes, and mocks science. We’ll listen to pearls of bro-dom from JP Sears, Kyle Kingsbury, Aubrey Marcus, Sayer Ji, Toronto’s very own BBQAnon, Adam Skelly, and Zach Bush, doctor to the bros.  Dear listeners: you might feel at the end of our tour like you need a coffee colon cleanse or testosterone nootropic. But we’ve got something better: an interview with Dr. Dan Wilson, who does the opposite of Bro Science. He’s a molecular biologist who by day works in the lab at Carnegie Mellon University, but by night crushes out Dr. Wilson Debunks the Funk videos, cutting conspiritualists down to size.  2:20 The Conspirituality Ticker 18:02 Phase Angling 39:10 The Purge 54:59 You’re More Powerful Than the Universe 1:13:02 The Jab 1:15:02 Interview w/Dr. Dan Wilson 2:15:57 Bro Science: A Manifesto in Progress All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes The Lonely Descent into QAnon, Pt 1 Analysts create AI tool that can distinguish between conspiracy theories and real conspiracies Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready In 2020, Disinformation Broke the US BBQAnon thinks he knows something about PCR tests Public Health Ontario: false positivity rate is 0.01%, Sayer Ji geeks out with Michael Sandler Sayer Ji’s GreenMedInfo cherry-picks a vaccine study report Here’s the actual source that GMI distorted Dr. Maria Sundaram Twitter thread on how to talk with vaccine-hesitant people. Covid-19, Remote Work Make Austin a Magnet for New Jobs What is phase angle? Dr. Dan Wilson’s Debunk the Funk channel

This week we inaugurate “The Conspirituality Ticker,” a weekly bullet-point rundown on the ongoing pandemic of influencers who spread medical misinformation to sell disaster spirituality. We’ll also continue with “The Jab”, our segment on conspirituality-driven vaccine hesitancy. The big news this week is the resurrection of Jordan Peterson. After surviving a medically-induced coma in a Russian rehab facility, and then COVID on top of that, Peterson has re-emerged, weakened but resolute, as both hero and provocateur. The announcement from Penguin Canada that his new book of another dozen self-help rules prompted Penguin employees to protest their involvement in an emotional town hall. In this episode, we’ll dive into Peterson’s imaginarium. We won’t totally discount his button-down commonsensical advice, but we will explore how it has lent intellectual support to the alt-right. Is he a conspiritualist pioneer as he wars against the Neo-Marxist Cabal and dreams of a Jungian promised land? Matthew will add a view from Peterson’s hometown of Toronto, where the messianic prof has been open about his ambitions in right-wing Ontario politics. Julian interviews dissociation debunker Jeff Brown, who champions “enrealment,” and has a heartfelt critique of what he calls the “new cage” movement. 02:21 Conspirituality Ticker 27:22 The Jab 36:35 Jordan Peterson Reborn 1:16:18 Interview with Jeff Brown All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes JZ Knight Called for ‘Military Coup’ After Biden Took Lead in Presidential Bid Defiant Night: Hundreds Gather at Pier Bowl for Mask-Burning Rally Toronto public health shuts down Etobicoke restaurant for allowing indoor dining in defiance of COVID-19 measures Adam Skelly’s GoFundMe Skelly hauled off by the po-po Skelly hauled off by the po-po $15,000 Fine After Secret Hasidic Wedding Draws Thousands of Guests Splitting 5 to 4, Supreme Court Backs Religious Challenge to Cuomo’s Virus Shutdown Order Supremes’ opinions Canadian Bar Association on c16, which Peterson didn’t understand Peterson co-presents with Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes Peterson boosting Tanya Granic Allen. (Matthew neglected to report that Peterson raising Allen’s profile helped make her kingmaker in the ON Conservative leadership race. She threw her votes to Ford, promising Catholic support. He then rewards that support by reinstituting a sex-ed curriculum for public schools that was written before the internet.) BBQAnon tweet from Tanya Granic Allen. Bernard Schiff mourns his depressive and paranoid friend Jordan Jordan Peterson’s 10-step process for stronger writing Jordan Peterson on why you need to clean your room Is Jordan Peterson’s carnivore diet really healthy? Nathan Robinson on “the intellectual we deserve“ A Field Guide to JP’s Political Arguments Peterson tells Camille Paglia why one can’t control crazy women

Do famous people become famous for staying in their lane? Do some find fame by carving out a lane that never existed before? What is the disruptive promise of charisma in this wellness space, which draws consumers burdened by a double disillusionment? They arrive, disillusioned by conventional medicine and conventional religion. What can the charismatic influencer offer them, and how do they do it? In this last free bonus episode, Matthew explores the charismatic logic of wellness, in which yoga teachers can become famous by playing at being doctors,  and doctors can become famous by playing at being priests. Starting with the strange tale of BKS Iyengar (and how he stretched his way into all three roles through sheer will), this journey will lay out how the basic schtick of the 20th-century the wellness personality has primed the ground for our current explosion in conspirituality. Matthew will look at how MDs like Tom Cowan, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, and Zach Bush all run the “Iyengar Arc” in reverse. Where the yoga master was unschooled in medicine, these doctors are unschooled in spirituality. But that doesn’t stop them from pretending to be experts in a weird cocktail that fails both. In their aspirations to spiritual leadership, they each screw the pooch. Cowan ends up shilling for Rudolf Steiner, who knew nothing about viruses, and even less about how not to be a racist. Brogan thinks that Kundalini Yoga is “thousands of years old” even though it was invented by a sociopath in the 1970s. Northrup seems to think that angel channelers are qualified to tell people how to live. And Zach Bush recounts a mystical experience to a group of retreatants in Italy, in which he became a sardine, and realized he wasn’t afraid to die—partly why he uses Reiki instead of pain medication when he’s on the hospice shift. Ultimately, the “charismatic collapse” between doctor and priest distorts medicine and makes spirituality banal. Perhaps if we see this clearly, we’ll look for better leaders. For future Bonus Episodes, please become a patron. Show Notes Iyengar’s Light on Yoga wiki Foucault’s Les Mots et Les Choses wiki Brogan’s Vital Life Project Anne Cushman interviews BKS Iyengar for Yoga Journal, 1997  About Siddha Yoga  Tom Cowan’s disciplinary rap sheet Cowan’s disinfo vid CBC debunks Cowan Dr. Wilson Debunks the Funk out of Tom Cowan Brogan hypes Cowan’s banned book Rudolf Steiner: “The Mission of Folk-Souls,” 1910 Brogan pitching Own Your Self while “reviewing” another book Brogan’s “A Message to Help Dispel Fear” (by suggesting COVID isn’t necessarily real) Brogan’s “Vital Mind Reset” program, only $997 US Philip Deslippe breaks down Kundalini Yoga’s thin history Yogi Bhajan, the criminal Zach Bush would love for you to become a sardine

Though we’re all staying put this holiday season, we continue to super-spread our conspirituality vibes. This week we’re fielding listener questions for our first-ever non-Patreon AMA. During this episode, we’ll be talking about our own spiritual beliefs, finding meaning in crisis, Matthew being canceled, and more. For a holiday treat, Matthew interviews friend of the pod, the fabulous Alex Auder, about what it means to satirize free-birth influencer @bauhauswife, who’s putting the fash back into fashion. 02:50 Up For Belief 22:25 Hey House 44:55 Eulogy for an Elegy 57:02 Interview with Alex Auder All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Four Quartets — TS Eliot Is Stephen Mitchell a translator? He “translates” so many languages! Then there’s Jan Van Buitenen, the unknown Matthew’s elegy for Michael Stone

Diversity has lost some of its strength as a term in our bifurcated world, and yet in nature diversity has always mattered. Our apprehension of using the word points to our further alienation of nature—and ourselves. Derek discusses the power of diversity in three realms he has spent decades studying: international music, fitness, and psychedelics. He also contemplates why diversity matters when considering the growing influence of conspiritualists. Theme music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon

Trump’s personal pastor Paula White seizes the podium to speak in tongues and prophesize that angels from Africa will certify her master’s electoral victory. Evangelical Kenneth Copeland laughs maniacally at the devilish proposition that Biden has won. They both yearn to squeeze some drop of ecstasy from the husk of conservative politics. How much of the emotional terrorism rolling through these times is the return of the repressed? In our weekly reporting, Derek looks at Australian chef Pete Evans and his nostalgia for fascist mysticism, hidden beneath green shakes and doTerra downlines. Julian covers Dr. Northrup’s latest viral science fictions, as well as the bizarre Nazi comparisons trending on conspiritualist pages. Matthew looks at nested repressions returning with a vengeance: QAnon resurrecting the Satanic Panic, Bill Gates as the return of the vampire, and the strange new phenomenon of the Aggro-Spiritual Boss Babe Rage Witch, whose coin seems to be on the rise just as the Mark Walsh Spiritual Pick-Up Artist currency tanks. He also considers distinctions between canceling and punching sideways, picking up from last week’s episode. Then, in a rich interview with author of The Immortality Key, Brian Muraresku, Derek explores the ancient psychedelia of Christianity, both forgotten and repressed, and hopes for its return, as it would probably make Paula White and Kenneth Copeland chill TF out. 03:32 Confessions of a Nazi chef 36:37 The Jab: Northrup returns 52:56 Speaking in tongues 1:14:43 Interview with Brian Muraresku All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Pete Evans says COVID-19 isn’t contagious Pete Evans fined $25,000 by Therapeutic Goods Administration over coronavirus claims relating to BioCharger Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans canned by Seven Network Healing hubs, a ‘sacred geometry hub’ and solar-powered cabins: Inside the new hippy commune promoted by Pete Evans where people pay to live off the grid in ‘earth ships’ Pete Evans, Truthseeker Pete Evans shares the Nazi symbol, Black Sun Christiane Northrup’s Nazi tweet Northrup’s COVID vaccine interview COVID-19 Vaccine To Alter DNA? 5 False Claims By Christiane Northrup Nazi comparison misusing Shulman’s quote Friday takeaway: Flu shots No Time To Be Nice: Now Is Not The Moment To Remain Silent Paula White / Eminem mashup Kenneth Copeland forcing it a little here

As more of the world has gained access to mobile internet, populism, and the perception (rightly or wrongly) of government, corruption has steadily increased. But what is “populism?” How do populist ideas on both the Right and Left identify “the people” and their enemies? With the size of the online megaphone and Balkanized social media audiences, what role does the word magic of emotionally-manipulative language play in perpetuating division, even when claiming to do otherwise? Theme music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Vox Eu on mobile internet, populism and government confidence. Steve Bannon’s far right “school of gladiators“ for young populists in Italy. Populism is Morphing in Insidious Ways via The Atlantic. Coleman Hughes review of “How To Be An Anti-Racist” and open letter To Ibrahim X. Kendi. John McWhorter’s review of White Fragility. In Defense of Looting —one author’s controversial opinion via NPR.

On Election night, Mikki Willis, JP Sears, Del Bigtree, and the conspirituality glitterati gathered in Austin for a prayer meeting for Donald Trump. Willis pitched his new documentary and complained about Marxist professors pied-pipering children towards BLM before a new-age preacher sold allotments in a new alt-health ranch community in Texas. Derek covers this ultimate reveal of the conspirituality grift: predict the apocalypse, then sell off-grid cribs on a five-acre manmade lagoon. Fill the swamp, indeed. Meanwhile, Julian covers the election of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn, QAnon arrests in Philly, and the shitstorm of irate comments against YogaGirl as she stands up for decency. The election over, our critical work continues. How do we keep it on target? How do we make sure that we don’t become so cynical—or so attached to the process of criticism itself—that we can’t find solidarity? And how do we look for solutions while enthralled by social media, as opposed to being invested in society? Last week, our guest Tada Hozumi spoke about “clean blows” in politics and justice work, arguing that dignity and nobility in conflict depend on good faith and better will. As we survey the bloody post-election landscape (especially in progressive and wellness spaces), we have to dig in, especially if we’re going to enter the conversation over situations like The Embodiment Conference. Our guests this week are Clementine Morrigan and Jay from Fucking Cancelled. Matthew will be asking them about the work that the digital Left can do to foster solidarity, loyalty, and freedom. It’s an important conversation because we have to assume that some of the redpilled were already being pushed out the door. Why? Because among the woke-ish, it can be easier to fight each other than to punch up and get things done. 04:30 Black girls are welcome to be president 17:25 Satanic poetry 50:36 F*cking cancelled culture 1:16:11 Interview with Clementine Morgan & Jay All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Audio from Mikki Willis and Joyous Heart speaking on Election Day in Austin (original video was taken down from Facebook): Yoga Girl boosts Black girls as President on Instagram My Dark Journey Into the Soul of a Model Young Republican Candidate QAnon goes to Washington: two supporters win seats in Congress Armed QAnon follower arrested in alleged Philly convention center threat linked to far-right Va. senator Karl Marx: The Fiddler Why Silicon Valley billionaires are prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand Clementine Morrigan on Instagram and her website and Patreon Fucking Cancelled on Patreon ContraPoints on Cancel Culture Log the Fuck Off Website of Austin election night preacher “Joyous Heart” Yoga Trolling and Yoga Cults The elegy that almost cancelled me Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder

Mark Walsh, the proprietor of The Embodiment Conference, was recently challenged by cultural somaticist Tada Hozumi in an Open Letter, penned by Hozumi in lieu of accepting the invitation to speak at the Conference. Hozumi proposed that Walsh look more closely at the exclusionary economy of his ambitious project — specifically, at how it centers white men as the heroes of the somatic techniques that colonialism handed them. The letter, dignified and sincere, offered a concise and workable framing of a fraught issue. Walsh did not respond directly, but on his personal Facebook shitposted about being oppressed by “c*ntery” of social justice “twats.”  Those familiar with this aspect of Walsh’s online persona were not surprised. He has openly risen to market dominance in the online somatasphere as a kind of Black Belt culture warrior, a Jordan Peterson in a jock-strap. In this bonus episode, Matthew reviews some of Walsh’s past online hits as a case study of how the wellness world can confuse acting out for freedom, somatic dominance for discipline, and allow charismatic men to weaponize unhealed wounds in the name of authenticity. Theme music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Open Letter to Mark Walsh and The Embodiment Conference The Embodiment Conference and “somafascism”: commentary from Ben Spatz Mark Walsh to 2020 TEC invited presenter (the audio is from 2019) Statement: We need to divest from Mark Walsh and The Embodiment Conference Yes, Mr. Walsh, there are Black people in Hungary. One of them was born there, in 1980, and is now an MP. Mark Walsh documentation

This week could have been worse; what comes now must get better. If we’ve learned anything over these six months, it’s that QAnon is to conspirituality as Trump is to the political status quo. We can debunk or vote out the fever dream, but the virus will remain.  In our first post-election episode we take stock of work yet to do. Derek checks in on QAnon mysticism. Julian speaks on the populism and language games that horseshoe right and left together, and how strong communities cannot afford horizontal violence anymore. We review a new podcast out of Montreal that studies “The Nexus” — the toxic intersection between identitarian activism, social media, and cancel culture. Matthew crystal-balls the precarious future of post-COVID yoga, and interviews cultural somaticist Tada Hozumi on why Andrew Yang offered attachment politics, decolonizing wellness, and WTF is going on at The Embodiment Conference. “The future of global embodiment,” Hozumi says, “is also the future of global politics. Because the mind always follows the body.” 03:07 Numbers are hard 20:02 How did we get here? 38:21 Walk in the park 1:01:10 Interview with Tada Hozumi All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Sapolsky: Religious Ritual is OCD Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst — Robert Sapolsky Most Yoga Teachers are Not Online Producers. They Have a Deeper Gift, and Now Is the Time to Trust It. Dr. Northrup continues: now the conspiracy is electoral fraud Fucking Cancelled podcast Molly Meehan’s  5-part “zine”. Molly’s podcast: “Out of the Woods”.  Exiting the Vampire Castle by Mark Fisher (who tragically died by suicide after a lifelong struggle with depression). Open Letter to Mark Walsh and The Embodiment Conference Why I, as a therapist, support Andrew Yang The Ritual As Justice School Whiteness as trauma in the body

Derek talks with Dr. Ali Haider about being on the frontlines of COVID-19. Dr. Haider is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University Medical School. He received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Dr. Haider is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and vascular ultrasound. He is well versed in all aspects of cardiology, and his areas of interest include coronary angioplasty and interventions, and the treatment of peripheral vascular disease as well as structural heart disease. Theme music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Doctor Responds to COVID Over-Diagnosis Claims by White House Ali Haider on YouTube and Instagram

When we started this project six months ago, we could feel the cliff-edge of the election on the horizon. We could sense that our footholds of community, reasonable conversation, and consensus reality were eroding. As veterans of spirituality and wellness spaces, we’ve always known that the reality has never lived up to the hype. But the intensification of conspirituality themes, incubating during lockdown into the peak fever-state of QAnon, has made this period especially demoralizing. What do we need now, on the eve of uncertainty? What will we need going forward?  This week, we take some time to explore thoughts and feelings about this menacing week, and how we’re contemplating and committing to the long haul through our work, relationships, and self-care. We’re joined by special guests Hala Khouri, Tara Stiles, and Lissa Rankin, who all offer their wisdom. 02:25 Growing up under apartheid 19:15 “Spiritual” self-care 35:20 The weight of the moment 58:13 Interview with Hala Khouri 1:19:31 Interview with Tara Stiles 1:35:46 Interview with Lissa Rankin All music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Lissa Rankin takes a stand with Rebekah Borucki Heal at Last: the nonprofit aimed at democratizing healing Alchemizing Uncertain Times Through Writing 10 New Age Beliefs We Need To Debunk If We Want To Be Social Justice Allies The Psychology Of People Who Believe Conspiracy Theories Mind Over Medicine — Lissa’s book QAnon’s Predictions Haven’t Come True; So How Does the Movement Survive the Failure of Prophecy? The Republican strategy for every Supreme Court nominee: Hide what you believe

Coming off of Conspirituality 22 with Rebekah Borucki, Matthew casts a wider net over Hay House’s cultural influence in two parts: a brief survey of some of their top authors, and then an examination of a root text in the Hay House world: A Course in Miracles. ACIM’s corrupt and emotionally manipulative philosophy is the basis for the work of authors Marianne Williamson and Gabby Bernstein, overlapping almost perfectly onto “The Work” of Byron Katie. Louise Hay, for one, was fond of quoting it. Matthew proposes that A Course in Miracles is the unacknowledged in-house bible for Hay House. He has a lot to say about it as a former member of a cult called Endeavor Academy in Wisconsin Dells, which used A Course in Miracles as its core text, and primary tool of psychological abuse. Theme music by EarthRise SoundSystem (Duke Schommer + Derek Beres) Support Conspirituality on Patreon Show Notes Louise Hay quotes A Course in Miracles Wayne Dyer quotes A Course in Miracles How Byron Katie emotionally dominates Bryon Katie on feeling God as babies die and how Hitler maybe brought people to enlightenment (pp. 37-39) Julian’s open letter to Northrup Jivana Heyman on Louise Hay (and more) Louise Hay and AIDS Applying “The Work” of Byron Katie to the Pandemic At the heart of ACIM’s influence on New Age wellness is the absurd contempt for the process of becoming sick expressed by “Jesus” in Lesson 136 Letter from Centre for Science in the Public Interest to the FDA detailing Joseph Mercola’s fraudulent COVID cures An early marked version of A Course in Miracles A history of A Course in Miracles editing Music Lobo Loco: Red Hills Solstice Borrtex: The Bright Morning Star Rod Hamilton & Tiffany Seal: Orange Sunshine Aymeric de Tapol: Hache De Fer Pete Kuzma: The Introspecting Livio Amato: Suspended Animation