Author and publisher Rebekah Borucki joins the Conspirituality team as our first co-host for this episode. She’s got a story to tell: the culture of her publisher, Hay House, was so resistant to taking a position on the racist attitudes of some of their leading cash-cow authors that she ditched her contract and her job with the company as a diversity mentor.

Derek reviews Japan’s AUM cult as a prelude to Julian’s riveting interview with AUM expert Sarah Hightower. Julian reports on the Northrupian intersection between militia movements and alt-health ideas of “sovereignty.” Matthew discusses violence in ISKCON as the Hare Krishnas parade mask-free through Glastonbury.

Derek explores the importance of creativity in the time of quarantine, leading into his interview with musician and former cult member, Ben Lee. The entire crew also discusses Yoga Journal following the lead of the NY Times and Rolling Stone by reporting (and then bearing the backlash) on yoga community leaders taking a stand against QAnon—and getting trolled by Q devotees in the process.

We interview Mike Rains, one of the brave moderators of the 25K member subreddit QAnonCasualties, who has a lot to say about what the Q-hole feels like when it rips up hearts and homes.

Matthew discusses his recent feature investigation on conspirituality power couple, Dr. Kelly Brogan and Sayer Ji. Then Derek digs into the podcast origin story with an interview of Jules Evans, who helped “conspirituality” become an almost-household term.

Seane Corn joins us to discuss what to do when QAnon rhetoric and hashtags co-opts lurches through yoga communities. Our second guest, cult researcher and historian Jared Yates Sexton joins us to talk about his new book, American Rule.

Farming activist John Roulac is incensed at how conspirituality is ripping up progressive foodie movements. In a recent article, he called out his old friends and associates (like Mikki Willis and Christiane Northrup) for what he calls their “body-snatching” beliefs.

A modern wellness industry marketed with Shiva-Shakti figurines is yet another example of capitalist yoga in a privileged society.

Lorna Liana, publisher of Entheonation, talks about the insurgence of conspirituality in the plant medicine and ceremony world. Some neo-shamans, she says, are redpilling plant worshippers during vulnerable states.

Dr. Theodora Wildcroft joins us again to discuss how the field of religious studies approaches issues of ritual, value, meaning, charisma, and role-playing, while also leading us through the process by which objects, places, and people become sacred.

Last week, we started to explore how the real issue of child trafficking is being weaponized by bad-faith actors. This week we’re joined by two experts that explain the overt and subtle impacts involved.

We discuss cultic organizations being ideally positioned to sell “Disaster Spirituality” (props to Naomi Klein) in times of crisis.

Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joins to discuss how anti-vax leaders and groups are using social media to target and recruit followers.

Matthew interviews Jivana Heyman, founder of Accessible Yoga and longtime AIDS activist, about walking the anti-conspirituality line between yoga and public health.

As Christiane Northrup’s social media feed descends even further into the delusional zone — this week she retweeted explicitly identified QAnon content — we ask Professor Jacqueline Antonovich of Nursing Clio about the history of charisma, magic, and entrepreneurship in women’s wellness.

After three years of naturopathic practice, Britt Hermes left the profession to became its most vocal public critic. We asked her to weigh in on women’s wellness in the pandemic and the appeal of Dr. Northrup.

Pre-eminent cult researcher Steve Hassan joins to talk about his new book, The Cult of Trump, and explore the overlaps between the cults of personality that destroy political, wellness, and spiritual cultures.

Derek (cancer survivor), Matthew (pulmonary embolism survivor), and Julian (Lyme disease in remission) discuss the function of the beautiful and delusional metaphors of illness and transcendence in conspiritual-ese, applying the discoveries of Susan Sontag and Eula Biss.

We’re joined by New School historian of American fitness, Dr. Natalia Petrzela, who sheds light on the historical links between physical culture and racism, and Dax-Devlon Ross, an anti-racism and civil rights educator, on what white wellness ideology does to Black people.

Tragically, so-called spiritual leaders are trafficking in propaganda while advocating for individual sovereignty. We cover their beat.