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Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
  • 5.0 (1)
  • FILOSOFÍA
  • CADA SEMANA

Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.

  1. HACE 1 DÍA

    293: Trump and Fascist Dementia

    As Trump surges his Gestapo and threatens to annex new territory, his brain is collapsing. He’s sundowning on Truth Social, nodding off in meetings, slurring words, slurping at the saliva pooling in his mouth. His insults and aggressions are as constant and predictable as his arms are, reaching out for handholds. Up until this point, discourse on the mental health of this decrepit fascist leader has used the kid gloves of psychology, psychoanalysis, and psychiatry, in which even the most informed analyses were constrained by the fact that experts were interpreting his inner states. For our part, we’ve compared his fate to that of charismatic cult leaders at the end of the line—and we’ll do more of that today. Now a new posse of clinical commentators on IG and TikTok have made it all much more biological: we are witnessing, they say, the predictable signs of fast-progressing dementia. Show Notes Goldwater Rule vs Duty to Warn, American Academy of Psychiatry and Law World Health Organization: Dementia Signs and Symptoms of Dementia Alzheimer's disease: a comprehensive review of epidemiology, risk factors, symptoms diagnosis, management, caregiving, advanced treatments and associated challenges USC study finds new evidence linking dementia to problems with the brain’s waste clearance system A new drug could stop Alzheimer’s before memory loss begins A 2025 update on treatment strategies for the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission Broadening dementia risk models: building on the 2024 Lancet Commission report for a more inclusive global framework Study finds disparities in diagnosis and treatment of dementia Decomposing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Risk and Protective Factors of Dementia in the U.S. Mapping racial and ethnic healthcare disparities for persons living with dementia: A scoping review Dementia Diagnosis Disparities by Race and Ethnicity Racial disparities in dementia determined by social factors Straight-forward Explainer: What’s Going on With NIH Cuts to Alzheimer’s Research? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min

  2. HACE 4 DÍAS

    Bonus Sample: Simone Weil: We Have Obligations Before We Have Rights

    Listen to the full episode Simone Weil was skeptical about the project of “rights.” They argued that obligations come before rights, and that rights only become real when obligations are recognized and lived.  Weil believed the French Revolution made a foundational error by grounding society in rights rather than eternal obligations, creating a contradiction that still haunts liberal democracies today. Rights, Weil argues, carry a bargaining spirit and ultimately depend on force for enforcement, while obligations arise unconditionally from the mere fact of another person’s vulnerability. You owe something to others not because they’ve asserted a claim, but because they exist. Drawing from Weil’s posthumous The Need for Roots, Matthew unpacks their critique of liberal rights discourse: that modern societies undermine their own moral claims by prioritizing abstractions over duties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    6 min
  3. Simone Weil: We Have Obligations Before We Have Rights

    HACE 4 DÍAS • SÓLO PARA PERSONAS CON SUSCRIPCIÓN

    Simone Weil: We Have Obligations Before We Have Rights

    Simone Weil was skeptical about the project of “rights.” They argued that obligations come before rights, and that rights only become real when obligations are recognized and lived. Weil believed the French Revolution made a foundational error by grounding society in rights rather than eternal obligations, creating a contradiction that still haunts liberal democracies today. Rights, Weil argues, carry a bargaining spirit and ultimately depend on force for enforcement, while obligations arise unconditionally from the mere fact of another person’s vulnerability. You owe something to others not because they’ve asserted a claim, but because they exist. Drawing from Weil’s posthumous The Need for Roots, Matthew unpacks their critique of liberal rights discourse: that modern societies undermine their own moral claims by prioritizing abstractions over duties. Show Notes Coles, Robert. Simone Weil: A Modern Pilgrimage. Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2001. Fitzgerald, Michael. The Genesis of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome and the Arts. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006. Gilman-Opalsky, Richard. The Communism of Love: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Exchange Value. Chico, CA: AK Press, 2020. Lawson, Kathryn. Ecological Ethics and the Philosophy of Simone Weil. New York: Routledge, 2024. doi:10.4324/9781003449621. McCullough, Lissa. The Religious Philosophy of Simone Weil: An Introduction. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2014. Plant, Stephen. Simone Weil: A Brief Introduction. Revised and expanded edition. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008. Song, Youming, Tingting Nie, Wendian Shi, Xudong Zhao, and Yongyong Yang. "Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis." Frontiers in Psychology 10 (October 9, 2019): 01902. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01902. Wallace, Cynthia R. The Literary Afterlives of Simone Weil: Feminism, Justice, and the Challenge of Religion. New York: Columbia University Press, 2024. Weil, Simone. The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties towards Mankind. Translated by Arthur Wills. With a preface by T. S. Eliot. Routledge Classics. London and New York: Routledge, 2002. Weil, Simone. Modern Classics Simone Weil: An Anthology. Edited and Introduced by Siân Miles. London: Penguin Books, 2005.

    16 min

  4. HACE 6 DÍAS

    Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026

    If conspirituality names the ways religion and spirituality are weaponized to justify power, prospirituality points to religious traditions doing the opposite: grounding resistance, ethical clarity, and solidarity in moments of crisis.  So: is there a growing prospirituality response to fascism, genocide, climate collapse, and AI-driven labor precarity? Matthew argues that yeah, there’s some good news.  In Israel, scripture has been mobilized by political and religious leaders to sacralize violence in Gaza. But there’s also a surge of Jewish religious resistance among U.S. rabbis and Peter Beinart’s On Being Jewish After Gaza sets a new landmark of reckoning. Mona Haydar’s rapping and chaplaincy models a form of Muslim spirituality that is feminist, anti-genocide, and rooted in mutual aid, while resisting both Islamophobia and liberal domestication.  Then there’s Pope Leo’s escalating critiques of U.S. immigration policy and his renewed emphasis on liberation theology. Show Notes Dark Mirror: A Torah View of Revenge, and its Reflection in Israeli Media During Operation Iron Swords Peter Beinart, “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State,” The New York Times Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza by Peter Beinart: 9780593803899 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Even if you hate it- I still wrap my hijab — Haydar Mona Haydar: Ask a Muslim Program Fights Prejudice Conservative Muslims and Islamophobes Have One Thing in Common: Hating Mona Haydar  Pope Leo replaces New York's Cardinal Dolan in shake-up of US Church | Reuters  New archbishop ‘committed’ to immigration issues, accountability on abuse — and staying a Cubs fan  Pope’s naming of New York archbishop signals continued challenge to Trump on immigration Pope Leo's new US bishops are critics of Trump's migrant crackdown | Reuters   Pope Leo calls for Venezuela to remain an independent country | Reuters  Pope Leo says Trump administration 'extremely disrespectful' to migrants | Reuters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    29 min

  5. 22 ENE

    292: Women of Jan 6 (w/ Noelle Cook)

    Noelle Cook’s The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging is the first ethnography of conspirituality, and it comes via someone who was able to really embed themselves in a volatile culture and find its emotional logic. She’s our guest today. Cook focuses on the travails of two middle-aged women following the January 6 Capitol riot. By spending years befriending and talking with Tammy Butry and Yvonne St. Cyr, Cook is able to document the impacts of childhood trauma and systemic neglect—as well as diverse personality quirks—that can drive folks toward QAnon.  They are starseeds. They are mama bears. They are on a divine mission to destroy the matrix and usher in the Great Awakening. For them, the algorithms were oracles, reinforcing isolation and radicalization by providing a sense of purpose to the purposeless, and visibility to the invisible. Cook has not written a book for answers, but a book filled with the next questions worth grappling with as we realize how deeply wounded some recruits to fascism are. Show Notes The Hottest Spot for Sunday Church Is a MAGA Dive Bar The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 h y 8 min

  6. 19 ENE

    Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

    In 1953 the CIA and MI6 participated in a coup d’etat in Iran. That true sentence (and what usually follows) can create an oversimplified distortion of history—and present. But Iran is in the news again with the biggest protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution bringing millions to the streets. The regime unsurprisingly cracked down hard: at least 2,700 protesters have been killed and 18,000 arrested. Though the initial impetus was economic, these are the latest in a wave of growing uprisings in Iran against the far-right theocratic authoritarian government—especially its treatment of women. How did we get here? What happened in 1953? Isn’t this all just about oil anyway? Was the 1979 revolution really about religion? Weren’t there Communists involved? Does all the turmoil in this region trace back to Western colonial imperialism? Julian explores the tangled threads of oil, empire, and religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    7 min
  7. Oil, Power, and Theocracy

    19 ENE • SÓLO PARA PERSONAS CON SUSCRIPCIÓN

    Oil, Power, and Theocracy

    In 1953 the CIA and MI6 participated in a coup d’etat in Iran. That true sentence (and what usually follows) can create an oversimplified distortion of history—and present. But Iran is in the news again with the biggest protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution bringing millions to the streets. The regime unsurprisingly cracked down hard: at least 2,700 protesters have been killed and 18,000 arrested. Though the initial impetus was economic, these are the latest in a wave of growing uprisings in Iran against the far-right theocratic authoritarian government—especially its treatment of women. How did we get here? What happened in 1953? Isn’t this all just about oil anyway? Was the 1979 revolution really about religion? Weren’t there Communists involved? Does all the turmoil in this region trace back to Western colonial imperialism? Julian explores the tangled threads of oil, empire, and religion.

    44 min

  8. 17 ENE

    MAHA’s Selective Skepticism

    Whole milk is back! The war on protein is over! Mainline meat! Derek investigates the new inverted pyramid and everything lacking in the new dietary guidelines. Show Notes The New Dietary Guidelines and the “Flipped Pyramid” Several of Kennedy’s Dietary Advisers Have Ties to Meat and Dairy Interests Carotenoid bioavailability is higher from salads ingested with full-fat than with fat-reduced salad dressings as measured with electrochemical detection Human health effects of conjugated linoleic acid from milk and supplements Enhancing the fatty acid profile of milk through forage-based rations, with nutrition modeling of diet outcomes Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease Effect of Interventions Aimed at Reducing or Modifying Saturated Fat Intake on Cholesterol, Mortality, and Major Cardiovascular Events : A Risk Stratified Systematic Review of Randomized Trials Omega-6 fats for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 min
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Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.

Información

  • Creador
    Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
  • Años de actividad
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodios
    916
  • Clasificación
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © 2023 Conspirituality
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Conspirituality
  • Proveedor
    Derek Beres

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