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!
https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 10 days 13 hours 5 minutes
Special Episode: Sam Harris & Meditation is all you need
Sam Harris is a public intellectual who inspires strong reactions both positive and negative. Here, Matt and Chris dip their toes into Sam's introspective universe by analysing a recent 9 minute mini-episode of his Making Sense podcast titled 'Some Points of Confusion'. Sam intended to clear up some recurrent misunderstandings he has observed with maybe as much as 99% audience with this episode...
episode 14: Special Episode: Interview with Phrost on Bullshido
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 describes himself as "the world's most dangeous nerd" and is not only an expert in the fighting arts (like, actual real fighting) but is also no slouch when it comes to combatting bullshit.
He identifies as a soldier, a scientist, and as a shill for "Big Reality".
And his site bullshido...
Ibram X. Kendi: Gurometer Rating (Patreon Preview)
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.
You can find a summary of all our Gurometer scores thus far available here.
Our new subreddit can also be found here.
episode 13: Ibram X. Kendi: Inside you are two wolves. One of them is racist.
Ibram X. Kendi is a Professor of history, director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and a research fellow at Harvard University. He is also the author of several best-selling and highly influential books on race in America.
It seems like everybody has an opinion of Kendi, and when it comes to the online commentariat, those opinions can get pretty hostile...
episode 12: Special Episode: Interview with Matthew Remski on Conspirituality
Today we talk to Matthew Remski, co-host of the Conspirituality podcast, writer, yoga practitioner, and independent journalist.
Matthew is a font of information on the alternative spirituality and health and wellness spheres and he gives Matt and Chris a crash course on the dynamics of those spheres...
episode 11: Nassim N. Taleb: Everything these idiots, frauds, and assholes don't understand
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 him.
Our guru this week has surveyed the fields of statistics, economics, psychology, actually all of the social sciences, and finds them populated by a gaggle of pale, thin wristed, pocket-protector wearing wimps...
episode 10: Special Episode: Interview with Thi Nguyen, a Gurometer's Guru
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* like it gives us insight, that wonderful 'aha' moment. Basically, what happens when unscrupulous actors aim to optimise that feeling - putting aside concerns as to whether or not it's the real thing.
Thi has previously studied 'moral outrage porn', which is a bit like food porn, but for your emotions...
episode 9: Douglas Murray: Can indulgent dinner conversation save OUR civilisation?
Douglas Murray is a British conservative columnist, social pundit, and veteran culture warrior famed for his biting wit and eloquent intellectual speech. But just how much of that is actually down to him having a posh British accent and a tendency to rant about whatever 'bloody' topic he's took a fancy to?
Join Matt and Chris for their latest therapy session as they try to process what they've done to their brains by listening to an indulgent and meandering 4...
Special Episode: Calibrating the Gurometer
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.
The Gurometer is composed of 10 key characteristics of guruosity which the decoders will be using to score the Gurus in future episodes...
episode 8: Contrapoints: Making Philosophy Fabulous Again
Natalie Wynn is kind of a big deal. Her YouTube channel Contrapoints explores not only philosophy, but also politics and social issues. Praised by august publications such as the New Yorker and the Atlantic, there's little doubt that she has her finger on the pulse of contemporary internet culture (and its wars). The production values, costumes, and set dressings are all a sight to behold... and completely invisible on this podcast...