Derek interviewed journalist and researcher, Arthur Holland Michel, after the publication of Michel's 2019 book, Eyes in the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How It Will Watch Us All. When reading Naomi Klein's book, Doppelganger, Derek was struck by Klein's insight that the Right has picked up issues the Left has abandoned—such as surveillance technology.

Julian and Matthew discuss Gadzhi's seemingly plagiarized rhetoric that invites preteen boys from Boston to Belarus to drop out of school. Manosphere types are drawn to fascist values like moths to the flame, yet when they get too close, they have to reckon with authoritarianism, and try to rebel against it.

Matthew reports on the developments in RFK Jr's campaign and poses the questions: What is it about Gaza that suddenly makes the mainstream media reports credible to conspiritualists—as opposed to the news from Ukraine, or about COVID? And if RFK Jr. loses the support of the natural health pacifist who first backed him, who is he left to stand with?

Iman Gadzhi is aggressively reaching into the brains of pre-teen boys around the world with a morbid fantasy about the origins of public education, and how it dooms them all into woke slavery. But it’s not just a conspiracy theory. It’s a highly-structured marketing campaign pitching his online sales coaching scheme as a substitute for high school.

What happens when psychedelic therapy is introduced into a society in which both the set and setting is capitalism? Derek navigates the hope and hype of psychedelics in a for-profit healthcare system with two leading researchers, Neşe Devenot, PhD and Brian Pace, PhD.

Derek is joined by “The War on Cars” co-host, Doug Gordon, to discuss how this conspiracy started and why smart urban planning is a boon for society. First, we discuss Jane Jacobs, the journalist and theorist who brought her civic activism to Toronto in 1968, with Matthew coloring in how her legacy has fared during the rise of the Ford family.

Matthew talks to Julian Brave NoiseCat, a writer and film doc maker, and a member of the Canim Lake Band, Tsq'escen.

We dissect Marc Andreessen’s anarcho-capitalist attempt at a Silicon Valley religious doctrine, The Techno-Optimist Manifesto.

Bari Weiss recently held a "debate" about the failure of the sexual revolution. Derek gets the lowdown from journalist Michelle Lhooq, who wonders how the New Right captured the cool factor of the American counterculture—and how the Left gets it back.

Arizona’s recent increase in “sovereign citizen filings” connects to a New Age spiritual center called the Ultimate Light Mission. Julian talks to investigative reporter Isaac Stone Simonelli.

We look at choice man-stan statements from Charles Eisenstein (RFK Jr’s Director of Messaging), and psychonaut Daniel Pinchbeck. We also look at a pre-allegations interview Brand did with meditation guru Jack Kornfield to learn more about how Brand has ingratiated himself to wellness entrepreneurs flattered by his attention. 

On October 9, RFK Jr. brought his three-podcast-bros-in-a-trench-coat campaign to Philadelphia. On a dias across from Independence Hall, he announced his anticipated departure from the Democratic party and his new status as an independent candidate. Matthew and Julian profile his conspirituality credentials, his diagonalist politics, and his incoherent positions.

There no clear left-right polarity in conspirituality. And Horseshoe Theory won’t cut it. We’re in the age of Diagonalism, and things are very, very weird. 

Professor Tyson Yunkaporta of Apalech clan joins Matthew to discuss the complexities of Australian history—including how some vulnerable Indigenous folks have been lured into supporting the “No” vote and providing cover for libertarian and white supremacist agendas.

Drs Andrea Love and Jessica Steier from the “Unbiased Science” podcast tell Derek why the new COVID boosters are important, discuss the challenges of science communication in an age of misinformation, and confirm that colloidal silver and essential oils are not, in fact, immune boosters.

What the hell happened between the Dalai Lama and that Indian boy? The internet served up a raft of painfully inflammatory takes, so I took a month to talk with Tibetologists and review the literature on sexual abuse in Tibetan Buddhist contexts.

Derek is joined by Psymposia co-founder, editor, and producer, Brian Normand; medicine, society, and culture research fellow, Neşe Devenot, PhD; and managing editor and harm reduction advocate, David Nickles. This far-reaching discussion about the history and future of psychedelics touches upon numerous aspects of this burgeoning industry.

In light of the recent allegations, Matthew offers a backgrounder on what we’ve learned about Brand through conspirituality and cultic studies and from his opportunistic relationships to wellness, self-help, and Kundalini Yoga. Ending with a focus on how his yoga world LARPing became a launch pad for his success as a spirituality-coded conspiracy theorist in the age of COVID.

Author and friend of the pod Mike Rothschild is no relation to the banking family that has lived rent-free in the minds of antisemites and conspiracy theorists for over two centuries now. His new book is ​​Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories. Mike joins us to discuss.

Tommy Diacono is a five-time Burner. He also helped organize the climate protest at Burning Man 2023. He joins two-time Burner Derek for a discussion about why his crew blocked the roads, the importance of rituals, and the importance of knowing when rituals need to end.