Decoding the Gurus

Part Two of our Candace Owens decoding offers a generous case study in conspiratorial thinking. The necklace in the footage of Charlie Kirk’s murder may have moved before his jacket, a photograph of Tyler Robinson in front of a Man of Steel poster also raises questions about why Erika Kirk used the phrase about Charlie’s neck, not to mention that one of the early suspects also lived in New York during 9/11... all of it just makes you think... who is actually running things? One possibility could be Erika Kirk. Not that she is the mastermind (that, as always, is occult Jewish satanists), but rather that she might be a sociopath that dark energy is being temporarily channelled into. Candace asks why Erika returned to work so quickly, muses over how Candace's connection to Charlie was deeper and more spiritually potent, and ponders if she was the only person who really truly cared about Charlie. But don’t worry, Shawn Ryan is there with his trademark scepticism to offer pushback, like “wow” and “holy shit, that’s incredible”. Trump, meanwhile, has apparently sold his soul to Israel, though JD Vance may still be redeemable. Then Freud turns up, accused of inventing modern gaslighting and covering for satanic murders. Candace, as you might imagine, has her own place in the story. Charlie apparently knew she would inherit the fight after his death (which he had psychically foreseen), and Candace has indeed felt a spiritual awakening since. It’s a good thing then that she is so sensitive to others engaged in religious/spiritual grifting. As per Part One, this is ultimately a tour de force in conspiracy theorising and guru dynamics. And yet, remarkably, Candace still manages to come across as interpersonally likeable and even endearing. Which perhaps explains part of her popularity. Even still, with this episode we are (hopefully) done with four-hour Candace interviews. Also be forewarned that this episode contains an extended shoutout section; the Candace decoding ends at 1:41:02. We work through a backlog of listener shoutouts that we have neglected for long enough to turn them into a second podcast. If you would rather skip that entirely, jump to 2:25:56 for the brief sign-off. Complaints about the length/shoutouts will be referred to this paragraph. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Source material Shawn Ryan Show #318: Candace Owens, “I Don’t Believe Tyler Robinson Was Even There” Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, The Assault on Truth: Freud’s Suppression of the Seduction Theory (the book Candace invokes during the Freud segment) Rate the gurus yourself on the Gurometer

Candace Owens is just a Catholic, a mother, and a wife. She loves her husband, works hard, and tries not to let internet drama disturb her spiritual peace. She also has just a few questions about the international satanic conspiracy behind Charlie Kirk’s ritual murder. We join Candace during her appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, where an impressive amount of time is devoted to establishing how lovely they both find each other. There are the usual fond memories of dinner, a husband who is a James Bond lookalike, and a series of fascinating career adventures, including how Candace rose to be vice president of administration in just 4 years! She even got to experience the damaging effects of toxic mould before it was fashionable (and don't worry, it was cured with a restrictive diet!). Candace is like a one-woman crash course in conspiratorial ideation and how conspiracy theorists interact with other conspiracy theorists and conflicting evidence. But, to be fair, she is also very good at what she does! Coming across as a charismatic and composed speaker who makes very ugly claims sound like an entirely reasonable conversation. But then there are the questions... Why do witnesses remember different things? Why was ten inches of soil removed rather than eight? Did Charlie Kirk's necklace move before his jacket? But that's just the start; as is often the case we end up talking about Rothschilds, Freemasons, Denmons, and a public demonic ritual intended to channel spiritual energy into a surprising target. Shawn Ryan, who assures us repeatedly that he is an extremely sceptical person, is astonished at what he hears! And there's more to come too... in Part 2. Source material Shawn Ryan Show #318: Candace Owens, “I Don’t Believe Tyler Robinson Was Even There” Candace Owens vs Andrew Wilson: The Great Debate Shawn Ryan Show #254: Brian Harpole, Charlie Kirk’s head of security 60 Minutes: The Pager Plot DarkHorse: “Was Charlie Kirk Killed With a Drone?” with Viva Frei and Jimmy Dore Candace, episode 349: Corey Comperatore, Mark Liti, and the PETN claims Brian Harpole’s complaint against Candace Owens and others, filed 30 April 2026 (plaintiff’s allegations, not court findings) Clare Malone, The New Yorker: “The Gospel of Candace Owens” Jesse Singal, New York: reporting on Social Autopsy and Gamergate Mariel Padilla, The 19th, via Capital B: “Candace Owens Has Won the Trust These Women Refuse to Give Politicians” Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact: Charlie Kirk conspiracy claims, one year later

The rumours of the Gurometer's demise have been greatly exaggerated. We were simply collecting enough gurus to feed three into the sacred instrument at once. In this special Triple Threat edition, Professor Jiang brings angel-informed psychohistory, Jimmy Carr brings a head full of dubious historical factoids, and Mel Robbins just desperately wants to help you (for a price). Three potential gurus, eleven characteristics, and a brief disagreement over the nature of data. Let the highly rigorous scoring commence! Also... think you can do better? Rate Jiang, Mel, Jimmy, or any of the other gurus on our online Gurometer and compare your scores with ours. Ideally, do it before listening, lest Matt declare your numbers inadmissible. https://decoding-the-gurus-gurometer.netlify.app/

Two academic windbags attempt brief discussions of the controversy at Nature, Bret’s newest conspiracy theory, and the latest vibe sessions in Podcastistan. It goes about as well as expected. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1hr 18mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 55 00:00 Introduction: Science by Podcast 04:04 Nature Joins the Arday Discourse Wave 09:28 Activism and Science 14:40 Academic Prestige Bias 19:08 The Business of Academic Publishing 23:43 Sasha Gusev Being Sensible and Culture War Brainrot 29:04 Bret Weinstein and Jimmy Dore Investigate Charlie Kirk’s Death 36:13 Anomaly Hunting 42:27 Science Washing 45:00 Conspiracy Discrimination and Reasoning Ability 53:46 Academic Debate Norms 59:16 Chris Williamson Promotes Professor Jiang 01:01:01 Vibing Out in Podcast Panels: Hunter Biden x Nick Fuentes 01:05:49 Dave Rubin and Andrew Gold Discuss Political Tribalism 01:08:25 Heterodoxy in 2026: Zaid Jilani on Michael Tracey 01:12:52 Hitler Was a Human and Had Motivations 01:16:33 Outro Links Nature: The death of Jason Arday must prompt deep reflection Stuart Ritchie’s response to the Nature editorial Matthew Yglesias: Academia is cooked Sasha Gusev’s response to Matthew Yglesias Nature’s research and magazine editorial teams DarkHorse: Was Charlie Kirk Killed With a Drone? Viva Frei and Jimmy Dore Robson, S. G., Martire, K. A., Pearson, S., Cosgrove, T. J., Jetten, J., Faasse, K., & Hornsey, M. J. (2026). Rejecting conspiracies doesn't necessarily mean that you're smart: The relationship between conspiracy discrimination and reasoning ability. British Journal of Social Psychology, 65(4), e70117. Modern Wisdom: WW3 DEBATE: “We’re On the Brink of Global Collapse” Mostly Wise #2: Hunter Biden, Matt McCusker & Duncan Trussell Channel 5: Nick Fuentes Interview (Ft. Hunter Biden) I Think You Should Leave: Hot Dog Car Sketch The Rubin Report: If This Isn’t Stopped, UK’s Fall Is Irreversible | Andrew Gold Zaid Jilani on Michael Tracey’s contrarianism Zaid Jilani’s World War II follow-up Adam Tooze: The Wages of Destruction Darryl Cooper’s introduction and foreword to Thomas Cyr’s World War II revisionist book Next on Decoding Academia: Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside

In Part Two of our decoding of Mel Robbins, things take a practical turn. But before we get to preoccupied with all that, why don't you pause, take a breath, and, in the context of your body, write down ten ways to make a bad situation worse. Your focus should then be on doing the exact opposite! For example, if one of your answers is to not listen to the podcast, then start listening, right now! Next, before hitting play, let's work on building a daily manifestation practice. Write down five things you want, then sit in your body, picture yourself doing all the annoying steps, and flood yourself with the feelings of future success. This needs to happen every day. One more thing: now imagine someone who is one million per cent behind you and ask them what is the best way for you to consume the podcast. They can be alive, dead, or fictional. Greek messenger Gods are permitted. You can even imagine your mother, if you like, but better. Alternatively, why not meet your future self at the front door and ask how listening to the podcast helped them to become so wise, slim, and successful? There are other options too. You can manifest a legion of ancestors, reconfigure a difficult afternoon by getting sushi, and even transcend the limits of possibility with an elephant murder themed visualization! You might think this sounds a bit like (too much) planning, mental rehearsal, and just trying to be a bit more positive. But it's much more than that. These mental activities are actually powered by very hard science. Ignore the tiny samples, one-tailed tests, and suspicious p-values... that all sounds like negative thinking. And now you are finally prepared so choose your technique, release the brake, and visualise the download button. Your future self is waiting. They have a cool scar and some bad news about your future children. Links The Mel Robbins Podcast: “World Leading Psychologist: How to Manifest Anything & Create the Life You Want” with Dr Cassandra Vieten Cassandra Vieten: Imagine That: Transform How You Think, Feel, and Live with the Science of Imagination Institute of Noetic Sciences: Origins Story Hershfield, H. E., Goldstein, D. G., Sharpe, W. F., Fox, J., Yeykelis, L., Carstensen, L. L., & Bailenson, J. N. (2011). Increasing saving behavior through age-progressed renderings of the future self. Journal of marketing research, 48(SPL), S23-S37. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3949005/ Robalino, J. D., Fishbane, A., Goldstein, D. G., & Hershfield, H. E. (2023). Saving for retirement: A real-world test of whether seeing photos of one’s future self encourages contributions. Behavioral Science & Policy, 9(1), 1-9. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23794607231190607

We return from our holidays with an indulgent episode that starts light and ends up very dark as we turn to the unavoidable Jason Arday discourse. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 40 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 54 00:00 Pecan Pie Introduction 04:10 Solar Punk Matt 08:17 Ireland Trip Report 15:24 Australian Burger Culture 17:32 Manga Cafe Experiments 24:10 Joe Rogan on AI Remote Viewing 29:14 Parapsychology as a Research Field 34:07 A One Man University Level Course in Bad Thinking 36:58 The Young Info Turks 40:53 More Credulity with Ryan Grim over Fauci 42:14 Richard Ebright, Warning Signs, and Radicalisation Spirals 48:28 Vinay Prasad jumping on the Anti-Fauci wagon for the Free Press 52:31 The Jason Arday Affair 54:28 The Surrounding Context 58:18 Polemical Discourse Waves 01:05:22 The Guru Factor 01:08:25 A Realistic View of Universities as Imperfect Institutions 01:12:17 Elite Prestige Bias 01:21:33 Culture War Distortions 01:25:04 The Ethics of Critical Journalism 01:29:50 Inconsistent Standards 01:38:36 Outro Links The Jack Nicholson Story from the Always Sunny Podcast The Manga Cafes in Question Deposition of InfoWars Host Owen Shroyer Alex Jones And Roger Stone Interrupt The Young Turks Republican National Convention Coverage Ken Klippenstein visits the War Room Ana Kasparian & Owen Shroyer: The UNEXPECTED Conversation on MAGA, DSA & the Uniparty! Bret Weinstein on InfoWars Richard Ebright on one of his many Twitter spirals Joe Rogan on AI Remote Viewing The Free Press: Vinay Prasad- Anthony Fauci’s Vaccine Deceptions Ryan Grim being credulous over Fauci and Vaccines The Guardian: Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor (Lanre Bakare) The Atlantic: The Jason Arday Truthers (Helen Lewis) Front Left: It sure looks like Jason Arday was horrifically wronged (based on citation data) (Jason Stanley) A Digital Lynching (Carol Cadwalladr) Tox Report: The Most Unfortunate Thing (Sarah Ditum) Byline Times: The Peter Thiel-Linked Race Science Network that Penetrated Cambridge University and Targeted Jason Arday (Nafeez Ahmed) The Good Law Project: Stand in Solidarity with Jason Arday Amnesty UK supporting “Arday’s Law” Simon Baron Cohen on BBC 4 Today talking about Jason Arday NYT: A Top Scholar’s Fall Shows That Universities Don’t Get It NYT: Professor’s Death Leaves Behind Hard Questions for Cambridge on Race and Hiring The Emancipator: The Media Lynched Kason Arday (Ibram X. Kendi) Gideon M.K.: The Jason Arday Saga Is Terrible And Everyone Involved Should Be Ashamed Of Themselves Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Cambridge’s youngest Black professor Jason Arday on Autism, racism, and learning to read at 18 Open (supporting) letter on the suspension of Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University Board Member of Ghent University (Dries Bostyn) discussing the disciplinary case on Twitter Numb at the Lodge: The Carrion-Eaters (Sam Kriss) The Chronicle of Higher Education: Jason Arday & Me (Musa al-Gharbi) US Ambassador applies pressure to Ghent University Nathan Cofnas thanks the US Ambassador for intervening Academia is Doing Fine, Actually (Nicholas Decker) Eric Turkheimer substack on Nathan Cofnas' views Sasha Gusev thread on Nathan Cofnas' views

Are you tired, stuck, or inconveniently constrained by reality? Good news: you may simply be imagining the wrong one. In Part One of our decoding of Mel Robbins, we explore the world of a self-help mogul who is also just a simple mother of three in Vermont hosting a little ol' podcast with a HUGE global impact. Together with Cassandra Vieten, a psychologist who is (apparently) one of the world's leading researchers on imagination and consciousness, Mel explains how to begin to stop reacting and start imagining, visualising, and manifesting the life you truly deserve. This will lead to self-actualised transcendence through a variety of simple-to-implement techniques. But don't worry, the universe has also put in safeguards: manifestation only works if you use it for good, such as empowering your authentic self. So please manifest enthusiastically without any concern. In the episode, you will learn about the delicate art of rebranding common sense into complex (proprietary) theories and be shocked to discover that mystical intuitions are a core component of any fully holistic scientific research. Mel's HUGE media business, meanwhile, manifests itself as an intimate personal friendship with each of her millions of listeners. Expect the usual decorative scholarship, a new Five Second Rule and insights into how to Let Them and Let You, reality tunnels, obstacle courses, a thousand supportive women, lighthouses, tapestries, and the therapeutic potential of fire-breathing dragons. All of it is very hard science, as they repeatedly remind us. Chris and Matt attempt throughout to give the self-help genre a fair-minded assessment. They even concede that wearing colourful socks and being a bit less miserable are probably harmless, but ultimately their dark reductionist souls are beyond salvation. Part Two is coming next week. In the meantime, try to visualise it clearly, align your energy, and not to put one foot on the brake as you hit the download button. Links The Mel Robbins Podcast: “World Leading Psychologist: How to Manifest Anything & Create the Life You Want” with Dr Cassandra Vieten A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein: “The Mel Robbins Griftpocalypse” with Princess Weekes and Kat Tenbarge CBS News: Extended Interview with Mel Robbins The Mel Robbins Podcast: “Try It for 1 Week: 6 Small Ways to Bring Back the Happiness, Energy, and Fun” The New York Times: “Mel Schneeberger and Chris Robbins” by Lois Smith Brady UC San Diego profile: Cassandra Vieten, PhD

Joe Rogan, the Great Khan of podcasting, is once again receiving a travelling jester at court. This time it is Jimmy Carr who arrives bearing gifts: pop evolutionary psychology, dubious history factoids, conservative "common sense", and an apparently bottomless appetite for telling Joe just how important he is. After listening to their three-hour conversation(!), we conclude there is nothing much of note beyond serving as a nice demonstration of popular "alternative" podcasting in 2026. What you get is a medley of sycophantic praise; regurgitated pop science and historical factoids; right-wing political positions presented as basic common sense; and shocked reactions to pseudo profundity and mundane observations. Along the way, you will also thrill as you learn Rogan and Carr's takes on motherhood, feminism, work ethic, astrology, religion, taxation, vaccines, human evolution, the Black Death, and stand-up comedy. As for Jimmy Carr himself, well, according to us: he's a very much your standard middle-aged conservative British person who happens to be a comedian. Rogan's level of crankery makes Jimmy look moderate by comparison, but as we know that's a very low bar. Links Jimmy Carr on The Joe Rogan Experience (2326) Jimmy Carr on Modern Wisdom #953 Schulz, J. F., Bahrami-Rad, D., Beauchamp, J. P., & Henrich, J. (2019). The Church, intensive kinship, and global psychological variation. Science, 366(6466), eaau5141. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau5141 Robinson D. The Black Death and Clerical Prospects in England. In: Bothwell J, Hamilton JS, eds. Fourteenth Century England XII. Fourteenth Century England. Boydell & Brewer; 2022:129-150. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781800105904.008 Xu, X., & Barrett, P. M. (2025). The origin and early evolution of feathers: implications, uncertainties and future prospects. Biology Letters, 21(2), 20240517. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0517

With the Trump administration’s newest political persecution of Anthony Fauci and three years after our first lab-leak special, now seemed like a useful time to return to the topic. Fortunately, you do not have to rely on our knowledge of viruses, as we have somehow managed to convince the same three esteemed virologists, Eddie Holmes, Kristian Andersen and Michael Worobey, to come back for an update. Mike, Kristian and Eddie return and offer us their read on where the scientific evidence on COVID’s origins stands in 2026. They take us through the main lines of evidence and the often overlooked role of the wildlife trade, explaining why the lab-leak story remains so appealing, and how their own assessments have shifted as more evidence has emerged. We also discuss the standard claim that the media suppressed the lab-leak narrative while noting that coverage across both alternative and mainstream outlets remains heavily skewed towards it (and almost entirely detached from the research literature). Finally, we end on a characteristically positive note by discussing the Trump administration’s attacks on science and the ongoing campaigns against high-profile scientists and public health figures. Our guests describe their experience of committing the heinous offence of following the scientific evidence and arriving at conclusions that contradict the preferred views of polemical politicians and prominent media pundits. In short, this episode is our modest attempt to drag the topic back towards the science, while also focusing on the price paid by the people who actually conduct the research and care about the evidence. We are not neutral when it comes to the ongoing attacks on science and scientists and do not pretend to be. Links Our guests: Michael Worobey, Kristian Andersen, and Eddie Holmes Our previous interview with Worobey, Andersen and Holmes Lab Leak Fever with Philipp Markolin Our earlier interview with Stuart Neil on SARS-CoV-2 Sam Harris, Alina Chan and Matt Ridley: Did SARS-CoV-2 Escape from a Lab? Bad Boy of Science: Is the COVID Lab Leak Hypothesis Dead? Kristian Andersen on his early emails, released messages and changing assessment Kristian Andersen’s congressional testimony and document collection Kristian’s thread responding to the use of his Slack messages Michael Worobey on why his assessment changed WHO SAGO’s 2025 assessment of the origins evidence The July 2026 Senate release of the Slack messages Kevin Drum’s reading of the earlier Slack archive The current White House lab-leak page The July 2026 Fauci hearing Naomi Oreskes on scientific integrity and “ethical pessimism” Nature: Climate scientists report online attacks Alwine et al. on the harms to scientists, research and pandemic preparedness Relevant research papers and reviews Andersen, K. G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W. I., Holmes, E. C., & Garry, R. F. (2020). The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nature Medicine, 26(4), 450–452. Crits-Christoph, A., Levy, J. I., Pekar, J. E., et al. (2024). Genetic tracing of market wildlife and viruses at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cell, 187(19), 5468–5482. Holmes, E. C. (2024). The emergence and evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Annual Review of Virology, 11(1), 21–42. Liu, W. J., Liu, P., Lei, W., et al. (2023). Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan Seafood Market. Nature, 631(8020), 402–408. Pekar, J. E., Magee, A., Parker, E., et al. (2022). The molecular epidemiology of multiple zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2. Science, 377(6609), 960–966. Pekar, J. E., Moshiri, N., Lemey, P., et al. (2025). Recently reported SARS-CoV-2 genomes suggested to be intermediate between the two early main lineages are instead likely derived. Virus Evolution, 11(1). Pekar, J. E., Lytras, S., Ghafari, M., et al. (2025). The recency and geographical origins of the bat viruses ancestral to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Cell, 188(12), 3167–3183. Temmam, S., Vongphayloth, K., Baquero, E., et al. (2022). Bat coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 and infectious for human cells. Nature, 604

We endure the ravages of time to deliver you this exhausted Supplementary Material. Bowed but never broken, the decoders persist. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 2hr 20 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 53 00:23 Introduction: Matthew the Succulent's Post-Holiday Report 02:15 Pickle Ball Injuries & Bouldering Curses 07:40 They Won't Let You Talk about Middle-Aged Sports Injuries 08:37 New AI Models 09:31 Cory Doctorow, Trevor Noah, and Confirmation Bias 23:45 The Glorious Past and the Terrible Present 28:28 The Horror of Tinned Asparagus 30:26 The Collapse of Industries & Stores 36:16 Negativity Bias 37:11 AI Prompting 101 44:30 AI and Research Applications 50:28 Nigel Farage vs Count Binface 59:10 Nigel Farage Knighted on Russia Today 01:02:53 Hasan's Advice for Ukrainians 01:07:51 Russian Apologetics 01:13:32 Vlad Vexler and soft Anti-Vaxx rhetoric 01:19:35 Guru Red Flags 01:23:48 Bret Weinstein in 2020 on Vaccines 01:28:53 Gary vs Piers Morgan 01:30:58 Piers Morgan being a blustering idiot about Elon Musk 01:36:55 Gary's Pitch 01:41:55 Alternative Tax Proposals 01:46:18 Matt and Chris' Economics 01:47:22 Gary's Wealth 01:52:07 Piers the sleazy liar 01:55:25 Gary is the best inequality economist in the UK 01:57:08 Gary's Predictions 02:00:40 Gary is Very Tired 02:07:14 A message from anyone else to finish? 02:14:25 Final Takeaways 02:16:55 Matt attempts to wrangle another holiday Links The Verge: China delivers a one-two punch to America’s AI dominance What Now? with Trevor Noah: Why Google, Apple & Big Tech Keep Making Everything Worse — Cory Doctorow and Trevor Noah Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of general psychology, 5(4), 323-370. Count Binface on BBC Morning Live — full interview Count Binface on Newsnight Hasan offers Ukraine his advice to “give peace a try” Report on polling from Ukraine in 2025 that does not show what Hasan claims Report on more recent polling that still does not show what Hasan claims Vlad Vexler tweets about vaccines Bret’s Tweets in 2020 on Vaccines (and here) Chris noting Bret’s anti-vaccine rhetoric in 2020 (see the comments under the tweet) Kyiv International Institute of Sociology: Ukrainian views on exchanging Donbas for security guarantees Decoding Academia 34: Matt and Chris’ Economics Piers Morgan Uncensored: “I’m QUITTING!” Gary Stevenson vs Piers Morgan on Wealth, Economic Growth & Elon Musk

Two absolutely shattered academic heroes heroically drag themselves through yet another supplementary episode to bring you the important guru news in between their restorative breaks. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 32 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00 Introduction 02:13 Eliot Paisley's Anatomy of an Optimiser 08:52 Eric Weinstein wants a University Position and a Stipend 16:09 The Failure of the Anti-Woke Quasi Universities 19:19 Gary is Knackered Again 20:45 Gary is the best inequality economist in the world 24:36 How do I make a Documentary? 33:04 The End of the Year Approaches 37:44 Public Accountability 40:13 The Neurodivergent Trump Card 40:59 A clarification on bailiwicks 42:43 Tucker Carlson & Chris Cuomo discuss Russian Apologetics 48:53 Ukraine is selling weapons to Mexican Cartels 54:54 Civility Porn Judo 56:09 When Hasan met Prof. Jiang 01:01:37 Conspiracy Theory Buffet 01:07:24 Looking Good by Comparison 01:11:21 Comparing Epstein Conspiracies 01:24:03 Agreeable Conspiracism 01:27:13 Outro and Piers Morgan Invite Links Eric Weinstein appeals to billionaires on Twitter Elliot Paisley: Chris Williamson Is A Slave Gary’s Economics: My Documentary is Coming Out THIS WEEK!! – why you should watch it The Times: Gary Stevenson: I want a wealth tax on the super-rich — like me News Nation: Tucker & Chris Cuomo: The FULL Conversation Hasan Debates Professor Jiang On His Wild Predictions | HasanAbi Archive

In this Decoding Academia episode, we venture into comparative psychology, focusing on a fascinating line of work by Fumihiro Kano and colleagues on social intelligence and theory of mind in great apes. By showing apes short videos and tracking where they look, researchers examine whether they expect others to act based on what they have seen, what they know, or what they falsely believe. This approach offers a remarkable window into the evolutionary roots of human social cognition or, alternatively, the most elaborate way yet devised to explore what a chimp thinks of a man in a chimpanzee costume. We discuss what this kind of research might reveal about social intelligence across species: whether apes understand intentions, knowledge, and false beliefs; how their abilities compare with humans, dogs, and other animals; and why studying minds without language requires ingenuity, caution, and tolerance for participants who may simply decide the whole enterprise is beneath them. There is also some discussion of the usual complications: small samples, difficult data, flexible analyses, replication, and the gap between a beautifully designed experiment and a result we should treat as settled fact. But the main story is the genuinely intriguing attempt to study Theory of Mind beyond humans. Along the way, we discuss chimpanzee costumes, zoo life, dogs, and the disturbing possibility that crocodiles may be running more sophisticated cooperative hunting operations than most university committees. *The full episode is available on Patreon (57 mins)* 00:00 Introduction 03:57 Chimpanzee Theory of Mind & Eye Tracking 13:03 Attention, Grabbing and Orientation 24:03 The Role of Memory in Anticipation 26:10 Revenge of the Researcher 31:21 Statistical Concerns 43:44 Comparative Psychology Thoughts 49:13 Non-climbing Tigers and Cooperative Crocodiles 51:20 Matt's New Friends and Outro Relevant papers for the episode: Kano, F., & Hirata, S. (2015). Great apes make anticipatory looks based on long-term memory of single events. Current Biology, 25(19), 2513-2517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.004 Kano, F., & Call, J. (2017). Great ape social attention. In Evolution of the brain, cognition, and emotion in vertebrates (pp. 187-206). Tokyo: Springer Japan.

We return for Part 2 of our coverage of “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new geopolitical prophet, secondary-school sage, and proud owner of an ever-expanding box of educational props. Having already treated us to multiple maps, chess pieces, and a sealed metal case of predictions, Jiang is back with more predictions, more props, and even higher-level insights. This time, we get the dramatic unveiling of a fresh batch of forecasts, including the forthcoming U.S. civil war, AI surveillance states, a grand bargain with China, the Greater Israel project, and the coming East Asian conflict. During all of this, we pause to consider Jiang’s status as a Beijing-based geopolitical commentator who manages to be just critical enough of Chinese surveillance to sound daring, but yet is most reliably focused on predictions of imminent Western collapse, American hubris, and the doom of the U.S. empire. But the real journey begins when Jiang sets the geopolitics aside and invites us into Plato’s Allegorical Cave, updating it for the modern era by linking it to Korean television melodramas. Out come ominous black blocks, stacked into a metaphorical tower of global control: the military-industrial complex, the financiers, the World Bank, the WTO, the media, Hollywood, schools, universities, and culture itself. What started as “predictive history” devolves into an Alex Jones-style conspiratorial rant about international financiers, globalist bankers, controlled media, and brave alternative truth-tellers seeing through the mainstream lies. The alternative media occupies a Schrödinger-like position in Jiang’s system: corrupted and controlled when it suits his narrative but also brave and rebellious when it is giving a platform to people like Jiang. Stephen Bartlett, meanwhile, fulfils his podcasting duty as a perfectly crafted avatar of the Diary of a CEO audience: curious, credulous and very receptive to the message that the system is rigged, the shadows are fake, and you, dear listener, are one of the brave truth-seekers with the courage to listen and look behind the curtain. Finally, we also reach Cosmic Jiang. The bankers are at war with the tech bros. Reality is consciousness. Matter is vibration. We are all fragments of God returning to Source. Hermetic philosophy explains Plato. Kabbalah explains the Middle East. Israel is trying to force the hand of God. The world will end; paradise will return. It turns out all of that geopolitical analysis was actually just a sideshow... So join us for the conclusion of Professor Jiang: a masterclass in massive domino-based reasoning, geopolitical dressing on bog-standard conspiracy theory, and the enduring appeal of intellectual junk food. Sources Diary of a CEO: Professor Jiang: World War 3 Is About To Begin, Let Me Explain! Mehdi Hasan vs. “Professor” Jiang Professor Jiang talking about the Nephilim and Other Such Stuff: The World Is a Prison – The Secret Meaning of God And Creation | Prof. Jiang Xueqin Professor Jiang promoting creationism and denying evolution The National Security Strategy of the United States Document

On Decoding the Gurus, we regularly get to hear a lot of truly “high-level” ideas, but the much-requested subject of this episode’s decoding is up there with the best of them. We are talking, of course, about “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new overly confident online guru, now that Jordan Peterson is indisposed. Jiang Xueqin is a secondary school teacher who has found an online audience thirsty for his particular style of confident bullshit, and he is more than ready to roll out his “predictive history” analyses on command. Be prepared for some serious professorial cosplay as Stephen Bartlett, from Diary of a CEO, spares no expense in his endless quest to indulge every modern online crank, offering a grab bag of props as well as his usual thoughtful pauses and awe-inspiring requests for definitions. Thrill as the honorary professor performs as a grand seer and geopolitical strategist, complete with a tabletop world map, wargame prop pieces, whiteboard flowcharts, coloured chess sets, and a dramatic metal briefcase full of sealed predictions. So get ready to experience his hit-parade of forecasts (Trump's 3rd term, endless war with Iran, eventual U.S. “loss”) along with his trademark conspiratorial mélange of real-ish facts, misstatements, and domino-chain inevitabilities. The end of Part 1 is a sign of things to come, featuring Jiang's post-apocalyptic advice on how the good people can rebuild society with the help of prophets and visionaries (AKA gurus) and soothe yourself with the knowledge that we are all ultimately just a God-derived fractal consciousness anyway. <And if you can't wait, Part 2 is already available on the Patreon!> Sources Diary of a CEO: Professor Jiang: World War 3 Is About To Begin, Let Me Explain! Mehdi Hasan vs. ‘Professor’ Jiang Professor Jiang talking about the Nephilim and Other Such Stuff: The World Is a Prison– The Secret Meaning of God And Creation | Prof. Jiang Xueqin Professor Jiang promoting creationism and denying evolution The National Security Strategy of the United States Document

We exercise good faith and grapple with the ever-versatile context window in this unintentionally thematic episode. Supplementary Material 51 The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 18 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Jordan Hall's Suspicious Semiotic Parasites 08:52 A New Covenant for the American Republic 14:33 Dave Rubin's support group after Jubilee 14:52 Dr. K vs 20 Depressed People 20:05 The Fifth Column Welcomes Batya Ungar Sargon (Again) 21:18 Anti-Semitism isn't really an issue on the Right 25:39 Moynihan agrees that Tucker Carlson is a Leftist 30:40 I don't really know what he has said... 37:38 When Taylor Lorenz met Brad Palumbo 41:24 Taylor is a Good Faith Person who is often misrepresented 44:32 Was Taylor cheering on the killing of healthcare CEOs? 51:16 Suggesting Targets or Providing "Context" 57:48 The Victimhood Pose 01:01:01 Selective "Understanding" 01:06:41 The Moral Grandstanding Escape Hatch 01:12:10 Strategic Ambiguity across the Spectrum 01:15:22 The Connecting Theme! Links Jordan Hall discussing his neo-Nazi interview with David Fuller: Sensemaking, Gatekeeping & the Propertarians, Jordan Hall Sensemaking & Gatekeeping: Talking with Fascists Jordan Hall’s Markdown Tweet Dave Rubin Clip of him coping over his Jubilee Performance Batya Ungar-Sargon and the Status Revolution (Members Only #328) Brad CONFRONTS left-wing star journalist Taylor Lorenz!! DTG- Jordan Hall: Sensemaking, or the superficial pitter-patter on the neocortex? Taylor Lorenz: 'Somebody needs to do it'

In this Gurometer edition, Matt and Chris feed Iain McGilchrist into the sacred instrument to see where exactly refined country-parish-minister vibes land when combined with galaxy-brained hemispheres, civilisational decline narratives, decorative scholarship, and the other features of guruosity. Iain McGilchrist Gurometer 00:27 Introduction 01:00 Iain McGilchrist Reactions 04:40 Galaxy Brain-ness 06:39 Cultishness 08:28 Anti-Establishmentarianism 11:39 Grievance Mongering 14:30 Self-Aggrandizement and Narcissism 17:21 Cassandra Complex 19:54 Revolutionary Theories 20:48 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit 24:10 Conspiracy Mongering 25:08 Excessive Profiteering 26:10 Moral Grandstanding 27:15 Overall Score 28:47 Bonus Round 33:04 Guru Binary Scores 37:18 Outro

We become highly effective at exploiting the gap between salience and relevance as we universalise semiotic capability and listen to more brave renegades talking about how amazing they are. Join us, won't you? Supplementary Material 50 (Full Episode: 2hrs 23 mins) 00:24 Introduction 02:07 British People Struggling with Compliments 04:53 Matt loves SOME episode titles 08:42 Nachos Pronunciation 10:13 Brett Weinstein vs Michael Tracey 29:08 Brett pivots to his Anti-Vaxx Hits 42:32 The Hug Box World of Podcasting 45:55 When Eric met Joe (again) 47:29 Eric and Rogan re-litigate Sean Carroll's criticisms 55:55 Eric's insatiable desire to be linked with Epstein 01:14:36 Eric Weinstein is a Construct 01:16:36 When Ana met Candace 01:18:18 Useful Idiots and Shameless Propagandists 01:19:59 Ryan Grim's reaction to being in Iranian Propaganda Videos 01:26:22 Zeteo gets to the bottom of the Iranian Casualty Figures 01:30:24 Ana and Candace's Hug Session 01:36:31 A horse named shoe? 01:47:26 The Holocaust Media Industry 01:53:48 Jimmy Dore makes the Religious Pivot 02:01:39 The Brave Renegade Narrative that Never Gets Old 02:12:57 Horseshoe Populism 02:16:23 Jordan Hall x AI Instructions 02:21:46 Agent Hall infecting your Mattrix Links The Romesh Ranganathan Show: Tom Davis On Success, Setbacks & Being a Dad FULL PANEL: Should we abolish all podcasts? Michael Tracey, Bret Weinstein, Lauren Southern Joe Rogan Experience #2503 - Eric Weinstein https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/candace-owens-tate-brothers-visit-russia-kremlin-touts-thaw-rcna348311 Candace Owens x Ana Kasparian Financial Times - How China is breaking apart a people and its culture Zeteo: Where Did the 40,000 Iran Protests Death Toll Number Come From? Ana Kasparian repeating anti-semitic conspiracies about 9/11 More fun tweets from Ana The Young Turks: Tucker’s 9/11 Documentary Raises Some HUGE Questions Jimmy Dore has tapped into God after stopping smoking Pot Jordan Hall Decodes AI

The Decoders wrap up cult season by dissecting a titan of the cult scene, the founder of Scientology, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard or L. Ron for short. A prolific science fiction author, L. Ron founded an alternative self-help movement and then developed it into his cosmic self-help 'religion' of Scientology. Scientology has now been the subject of multiple documentaries and even a fairly detailed South Park parody episode, so it feels like many are aware of the general 'deal' of Scientology. But how about L. Rob Hubbard as a guru... how many people have actually taken the time to sit down and just hear the guy out? Here at DTG HQ, we are all about the good-faith deep dives, so we decided to devote some time to analysing a 1966 Rhodesian TV interview with L. Ron Hubbard, in which a friendly Scientologist interviewer (not identified as such) politely tees up Hubbard to explain Scientology. So join us to find out how L. Ron invented a “workable science,” a “religion of religions,” and a self-help machine that raises IQ, fixes life problems, and proves life after death. By modern standards L. Ron can seem a bit quaint, but because of that, he serves as a useful primer in the core techniques of Guru manipulation, including narcissistic invented biographies, disdain for materialism, a persecution complex, flattery of followers, and anti-establishment disparagement. All of the classics are on display! So get ready to wake up to your true potential, process your engrams, and so forth. Links Source Material Interview: Interview with L. Ron Hubbard in Zimbabwe Behind the Bastards: L. Ron Hubbard Series Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (Documentary) My Scientology Movie: Louie Theroux

Matthew Browne, a high-profile advocate for pan-psychism, compels his reluctant co-host to endure a public struggle session on the topic of consciousness, hopefully for the last time. Supplementary Material 49 00:00 Introduction 02:47 Returning to the Emerald Isle 03:44 Irish History Segment: The Titanic & Potato Famines 10:45 McGilchrist Reflections 12:51 Knowledge Fight has ended 26:23 Podcasting Motivations 34:37 Calibrated Expectations 41:03 The Problem with the Patreon Members 42:51 Shermer's Activist Skeptic Research 47:24 Research on Support for Political Violence in the US 54:35 Rob Henderson and Decorative Scholarship 58:11 Ryan Holiday Stoically Flames MAGA 01:04:41 Zuby and Motivated Reasoning 01:07:15 Monocausal Explanations for Declining Birth Rates 01:08:51 More credulity from Shermer 01:10:25 Bryan Johnson and Testicular Optimisation 01:14:41 Testicle Fixation Gurus 01:15:24 Professor Jiang thinks Trump is Immortal 01:19:57 When Dawkins Met Claude 01:30:00 The Great Consciousness Debate of 2026 01:42:47 When Cladius met Claudia 01:52:39 Chris's Concession 01:54:23 Animal Minds and AI Consciousness 01:56:31 Russell Brand vs Piers Morgan 02:10:13 Thirsty Christian dunks on Dawkins 02:13:18 Brand's Family's Response 02:22:39 Hasan Piker is the one who knocks! 02:27:44 Outro 02:28:36 A final message of hope! Links Knowledge Fight's Last Episode – The End of the Road Jordan's video on the Onion Dan's blog on his next plans Rob Henderson’s thread promoting the Shermer Skeptic Study Polarization Research Lab- Low levels of support for partisan violence Polarization Research Lab - Did the 2024 Election Change American Attitudes About Democracy? Ryan Holiday’s response to the Shellenberger video Ryan Holiday responding to article that he is ‘fuming’ at Ivanka Zuby’s insights on Birth Rate Decline Vice article on the history of testicle transplants "Massive GRIFTER!" Piers Morgan Grills Russell Brand On Allegations, Prison, 'Truth' & Religion UnHerd: When Claudia met Claudius- So are they really conscious? UnHerd: When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious? ‘Professor’ Jiang on Trump’s Immortality Mehdi Hasan dunking on Dawkins

In this episode, we return to Iain McGilchrist as he spirals upwards from his binary hemispheric model into full cosmic spirituality. The rule is simple: everything McGilchrist likes is due to the subtle, nuanced, and deeply sophisticated right brain, while the left brain (pffft) is responsible for reductionism, modernity, and most of the problems in your life. From this neuroscientific foundation, the theory expands with admirable ambition. Civilisations rise and fall depending on which hemisphere they inhabit. Ancient societies were properly attuned to the right brain, while the modern world has gone mechanical and spiritually bankrupt. The details are, of course, very complex, but the moral is clear. Scientific evidence features occasionally, mostly in a decorative capacity or as parables of scientists being baffled by mystical forces. Hence, we learn that decapitated worms retain perfect memories, Nobel Prizes have been awarded for demonstrating a mystical direction powering evolution, and near-death experiences establish that memories form when the brain isn't functioning. Alongside this hard science, McGilchrist also ventures into more spiritual realms, where we learn that artificial intelligence is likely to be channelling demons, schizophrenia might be caused by malign spiritual forces treating our brains as a luxury resort, and recently exorcised demons prefer to communicate via text message. No really... Ultimately, what matters is that McGilchrist's bespoke theology, bespoke metaphysics, bespoke biological teleology, and bespoke panentheist philosophy are really very impressive. And if you don't find any of it compelling, well, we are sad to inform you that this itself proves you are stuck in the wrong mode of thinking and failing to recognise true profundity. And if that doesn't work, then let's just say it was all a metaphor anyway! Links Alex O' Connor: Why Evolution Gave You Two Brains - Iain McGilchrist Jonathan Pageau: Artificial Intelligence, Possession, and Mental Illness - Dr. Iain McGilchrist Think Faith: Philosopher Iain McGilchrist DEBATES neuroscientist Anil Seth on God & minds | Uncommon Ground Spezio, M. (2019). McGilchrist and hemisphere lateralization: a neuroscientific and metaanalytic assessment. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.1604416 Corballis, M. C. (2014). Left brain, right brain: facts and fantasies. PLoS biology, 12(1), e1001767. Carson, A. (2010). The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. By Iain McGilchrist. Yale University Press. 2009. US $38.00 (hb). 608 pp. ISBN: 9780300148787. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 196(6), 498-498. De Haan, D. (2019). McGilchrist’s hemispheric homunculi. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 368-379. Shomrat, T., & Levin, M. (2013). An automated training paradigm reveals long-term memory in planarians and its persistence through head regeneration. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(20), 3799-3810.

The hour grows late, and Matt the Grey-Haired rides once more from his quiet study, summoned by whispers from the ever-churning gurusphere. And so he goes, to seek counsel with Chris the Grey-Bearded, keeper of receipts, watcher of long-form content, and wielder of the sacred Gurometer. For the gurus stir again… and their nonsense must be decoded. Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates 00:00 Greetings Old Friend 02:22 Decoding the Gamers 04:16 A Reckoning with Old Grey Hair 06:19 Joe Rogan determining US Medical Approvals 12:15 The Fall of Orban and the Silence of the Heterodox World 17:09 The Hypocrisy of Peter Boghossian 19:52 Dave Rubin and other Tenet Media Stooges 21:43 The Dugin, Jiang and Sneako Brain Trust discuss the ultra-hyper-globalists. 28:58 Trump attacks Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, & Megyn Kelly 32:39 A Return to Weinstein World 33:00 Bret's Moon Landing Conspiracies 39:03 Eric and his Silicon Friend are still having problems 42:47 Hasan Piker Discourse 54:33 The Radicalisation Funnel? 01:00:14 Hasan on Ukraine 01:03:21 Hasan doing China apologetics 01:14:03 More Apologetics 01:16:37 Hasan on the Vietnamese MAGA supporter 01:23:41 What about Destiny? 01:26:58 Yale is full of Snakes and Badgers 01:33:17 Micro Looting from the Corporations 01:41:36 Cenk Uyghur's Rent Gouging Credentials 01:44:47 Social Murder and Selective "Understanding" 01:54:26 Late-Stage Capitalist Anti-Capitalism 01:56:22 Tucker Carlson is Selling Russell Brand's Guide to Becoming a Christian 02:00:33 Sean Hannity chooses Trump over his Catholicism 02:04:18 Russell Brand and the spiritual marketplace 02:05:48 Postmodern Conservatism 02:07:28 Taking a Long View 02:10:14 AI Bouldering Gym Cages 02:11:30 Taylor Lorenz is making good points on Twitter! 02:19:52 Taylor's controversial take: AI is useful 02:21:36 Adam Conover engages in revisionist history on tech 02:24:14 Rotary Telephones and Typewriter Experiences 02:26:41 The Onion takeover of Infowars? 02:31:28 Knowledge Fight's Concerns 02:35:56 Jordan Peterson Health Update 02:40:07 Endlessly Misdiagnosed by "Experts" 02:44:32 The Dietary Cures 02:47:20 Experimental Stem Cell Treatments 02:50:04 Pageau blames Peterson's lack of faith 03:00:14 Letting the Pressure Out 03:01:07 Outro 03:02:01 We Must Join with the Mould The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (3 hours, 3 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Joe Rogan crowing about his role in the White House executive order on Ibogaine Fact Check of Rogan's claims on PolitiFact Pancreatic cancer mRNA trial update: NBC report on six-year follow-up Article on NIH grant cancellations/funding cuts at Washington Post APHA release on lawsuit over politically driven grant terminations Ban on DEI words, including "polarization" by DOGE BBC Article on Orbán's loss Boghossian dodges criticism of Hungary in HardTalk interview Boghossian avoids dealing with protests in Hungary Dugin / Sneako / Professor Jiang interview Trump attacks Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly Bret Weinstein's moon landing / Artemis clip highlighted by Bad Stats Eric Weinstein's tweets on commercial AI and theoretical physics Tucker Carlson's promotion for Russell Brand's new Christian-themed book Ezra Klein on Hasan Piker: RealClearPolitics mirror of the New York Times column Conduit: I Spent ONE WEEK Watching Hasan Piker ‪, And This Is What I Learned A generational divide over Trump among Vietnamese-Americans – BBC News Hasan reacts to the Vietnamese-American documentary Twitter Thread with most of the viral Hasan clips Noahpinion: Hasan Piker is bad for the Democrats Hasan's Yale Debate on YouTube Yair Rosenberg's article on the Atlantic: The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein Story NYT: ‘The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?' Why petty theft might be the new political protest’ LA Times article on the Onion's Infowars Takeover Bid Alex Jones clip of him roaming shirtless and complaining about the Onion Mikhaila Peterson: Jordan Peterson Health Update and Psych Med Injury Discussion Jonathan Pageau explains Jordan's illness is due to his refusal to submit to God Taylor Lorenz being correct about the past promotion of technology products Tech Dirt article on the recent court decisions against Meta and YouTube Sean Hannity endorses Trump over his Catholicism Taylor Lorenz: The Truth About the Social Media Addiction Trial

In this episode, we take a journey into the mind, traversing both the left and right hemispheres, but mostly the left, as we engage with the truly mind-bending insights of British psychiatrist-philosopher-neuroscientist-theologian-author Iain McGilchrist. Best known for his 2009 book "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World" but also a much lauded academic and sensemaker. We outline McGilchrist’s extremely complicated thesis that the two hemispheres of the brain reflect fundamentally different “ways of being” and that this is reflected in individuals and civilisations that rely more on one side than the other. This is, of course, not merely a crude binary. As McGilchrist repeatedly emphasises, it would be quite wrong to suggest he is simply valorising everything he likes (religion, poetry, classic literature, wood-panelled interiors, sense-making chats) and attributing them to the products of a profound and integrative right hemisphere. Similarly, he does not simply want to denigrate materialists as reductive left-brain thinkers who cannot appreciate art, beauty, or love because they are too busy thinking about atoms. There is definitely none of that in his chat with Alex O'Connor (AKA CosmicSkeptic). Expect neuroanatomy, metaphysics, and extended reflections on the nature of love. In other words, a completely standard Decoding the Gurus episode. Links Alex O' Connor: Why Evolution Gave You Two Brains - Iain McGilchrist Iain McGilchrist's website. Spezio, M. (2019). McGilchrist and hemisphere lateralization: a neuroscientific and metaanalytic assessment. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.1604416 Lamm, C., Decety, J., & Singer, T. (2011). Meta-analytic evidence for common and distinct neural networks associated with directly experienced pain and empathy for pain. Neuroimage, 54(3), 2492-2502. Stavrova, O., & Ehlebracht, D. (2019). The cynical genius illusion: Exploring and debunking lay beliefs about cynicism and competence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(2), 254-269. Lindquist, K. A., Wager, T. D., Kober, H., Bliss-Moreau, E., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review. Behavioral and brain sciences, 35(3), 121-143.

On this episode, we’re joined by Stevie Baskin, a skeptic and YouTuber who released a five-hour detailed critique of the “meta-deception” of Oz Pearlman. He argues that mentalism differs from traditional magic by introducing an additional meta-deception because, unlike magicians, mentalists often leave their audiences with inaccurate beliefs about body language reading, subliminal influence, NLP, and general psychology. In Stevie’s framework, this places mentalists closer to psychics and mediums than to magicians, because the deceptive element is not clearly acknowledged. We examine this position, unpack common mentalist techniques, consider the role of strategic disclaimers and TED-style “epistemic theatre,” and explore possible parallels with contemporary secular gurus. Sources Metadeception: the truth about Oz Pearlman The Disagreement: Debating a mentalist professor of psychology (Scott Barry Kaufman) about Oz Pearlman Chris' old blog covering the ethics of Derren Brown's claims in 2009 The Power Of Subliminal Messages | Trick Of The Mind | Derren Brown

Our cover is blown. Our secret funders unmasked. Code Red: Abort! Abort! This is not a drill. Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies 00:00 Glowing Introduction 03:14 The Secret Conspiracy at the Heart of the Podcast 08:17 The Israel Connection 19:09 Cenk Uygur's Pickleball Conspiracy 23:25 Comment Section Conspiracies 30:20 Pizzagate Conspiracies Revisited 37:55 The Value of debating with ChadBigCum 42:26 AI discourse reflections 43:43 Ben Burgis's hyperbolic reaction to AI use 44:53 The AI revolution and its potential impacts 47:53 Social and Economic Disruption and Job Replacement 51:33 The Dangers of Slopified Work and AI economies 55:47 Statistical Analysis Software and the value of Friction 57:36 The Perils of AI Usage outside of your Skillset 58:59 The Solution is within yourself! 01:04:22 The Hundred Schools of AI discourse 01:05:58 Double Slit and Quantum Physics Insights from Warren Smith 01:12:39 Schrodinger's poor, misinterpreted cat 01:13:48 The Wonderful Benjamin Boyce 01:14:41 Quantum Woo and Arrogant Sensemakers 01:18:29 Young Matt and Aged Chris 01:20:13 The Triggernometry Prophecy 01:23:54 Quid Pro Quo in the Discourse Circuit 01:28:25 The Anti-Institutional Horseshoe Theory of MEHDI HASAN 01:37:18 So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 40 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Reddit post unmasking our Israeli backers Mother Jones article on whether 'pizza' is a codeword in the Epstein files (Spoiler: No it is not) Mickey's Opinion Piece in The Canadian Jewish News about "quiet anti-semitism" Ben Burgis is suggesting a journalist should be fired for using AI Cenk Uygur’s Pickleball Conspiracy Vigeland & Citarella on Epstein: The One Conspiracy to Rule Them All (YouTube) Benjamin Boyce and Warren Smith discuss Quantum Physics Triggernometry: Mehdi Hasan Debate on the Iran War, Immigration and the Israel Lobby Creator of Horseshoe Theory Dies aged 100

Mickey is BACK with two new papers he has co-authored, a bunch of opinions, and a very unwelcome idea: maybe the problem with AI isn't that it doesn't work but that it works too well! The first paper, Against Frictionless AI, argues that AI assistance and its ability to take away the effort from thinking, writing, and smooth out social(like) interactions could be robbing those activities of the very thing that makes them worthwhile. The second paper is a more empirical investigation that presents a bunch of studies examining the topic of the (alleged) moralisation of AI. Some findings suggest that opposition to AI among some people isn't really about risks or trade-offs but rather about non-negotiable sacred moral values. Who knew? We also discuss effort justification, reproducible research, robosexual allyship, and just how much humanity remains within the cyborg Matthew Browne. And remember... It's just like our opinion, man! Links Decoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? (Patreon Series) Ovsyannikova, D., Oldemburgo de Mello, V., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3, Article 4. Zohar, E., Bloom, P., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). Against frictionless AI. Communications Psychology, 4, Article 39. Oldemburgo de Mello, V., Côté, É., Ayad, R., Inbar, Y., Plaks, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). The moralization of artificial intelligence (Manuscript under review). Paul Bloom's Small Potatoes Substack - My friend thinks it's a good idea for us to spend most of our time with AI companions - Is it irresponsible for academics to refuse to use AI? Mickey's Speak Now Regret Later Substack - AI Alarmism Trades on Fear, Not Facts Mickey's provocative tweet on his recent paper DTG Previous Interview with Mickey on the Replication Crisis, Mindfulness, and Responsible Heterodoxy Andy Masley Substack debunking the AI water usage claims Andy Masley Substack: Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheet Pataranutaporn, P., Karny, S., Archiwaranguprok, C., Albrecht, C., Liu, A. R., & Maes, P. (2025). “My Boyfriend is AI”: A computational analysis of human–AI companionship in Reddit’s AI community. arXiv. Critical response to Mickey's paper from Roy Schulam on Substack

Ken Wilber, the grand architect of Integral Theory, enters the Decoding chamber (wearing a striking but slightly unconvincing wig) as we explore a worldview that confidently absorbs every religion, philosophy, and half-remembered psychology paper into one majestic, Borg-like synthesis. Resistance, as it turns out, is not just futile... it is probably “first-tier thinking". This is a world of elaborate, baroque cosmologies. Layers within layers, quadrants within stages, spirals within states, with each offering a map of reality that grows more intricate the closer it gets to its own centre. Traditions are not debated so much as absorbed, their distinctiveness dissolved into a higher synthesis that always leads to the ultimate insight: integral theory. Get ready to experience high-level political analysis where Kamala Harris becomes a “fractured green" and Donald Trump the embodiment of a "rational orange". You will also learn how Ken is working with AI companies to help them incorporate integral thinking into their algorithms. The implications this has for human evolution are hard to fathom. Finally, in true Columbo fashion, we circle back to Matt's core philosophical system … panpsychism. Just a small detail, and also take some time to conduct a brief spiritual inquisition into Matt’s alleged Christian upbringing. Fortunately, nothing is rejected. Everything is integrated, including all possible critiques. Sources Suma Gowda: Ken Wilber on Future of Consciousness, AI, Trump's Election: A Deep Dive into Spiral Dynamics The Rise and Fall of Ken Wilber – Mark Manson Rebel Wisdom: Interview with Ken Wilber- What Happened to Jordan Peterson DS Wilson finds wisdom in Ken's approach Ken Wilber's website

In this Gurometer double bill, Matt and Chris break out the much-sought-after Gurometer™ to score Teal Swan and Scott Galloway across the 11 recurring guru traits. In one efficient episode, we compare cosmic-certified spirituality with secular man-talk (and a surprising amount of puffer-jacket merchandising). As a bonus, get ready to thrill at Matt's eternal puzzlement at his own simple binary question of 'guru-osity'. Links Gurometer scores to date The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Gurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway 00:00 Back to the Gurometer: Teal and Scott 02:33 Galaxy Brain-ness 04:18 Cultishness 05:25 Anti-Establishmentarianism 08:31 Grievance Mongering 10:55 Self Aggrandisement and Narcissism 14:30 Cassandra Complex 18:03 Revolutionary Theories 21:49 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit 26:07 Conspiracy Mongering 28:50 Excessive Profiteering 36:25 Moral Grandstanding 40:33 Overall Gurometer Score 41:27 Rapid Fire Bonus Guru Points

In our never-ending quest to alienate all potential online audiences, we finger-wag about rampant Epstein conspiracism and explain why we are, on balance, anti-murder. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 42 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus In our never-ending quest to alienate all potential online audiences, we finger-wag about rampant Epstein conspiracism and explain why we are, on balance, anti-murder. 00:00 Intro 03:39 Flooding Adventures 06:54 Eric's Troubles with his Silicon Friend 13:09 Peter Boghossian's Hardcore for Grok 17:16 A Promising Paper on reducing AI Hallucinations 22:17 Statistical Consults 23:12 Epstein Discourse Lollapalooza 27:24 Eric Weinstein thinks Epstein is connected to UFOs 29:09 Rogan Plays Apologist for Trump on Epstein 32:21 Emma Vigeland and Joshua Citarella engage in Conspiracy Hypothesising 35:07 Reasonable Conspiracy Theorising 42:24 The Real Conspiracy 44:26 Epstein and Ghislaine puppeting the culture wars 48:18 The Joy of Conspiracy Theories 53:29 Epstein and Bannon created QAnon as a Psyop 01:01:37 What about ritual child abuse, dissolving bodies and cannibalism? 01:09:05 Lurid Cannibal Fantasies 01:15:56 Emma's UFO theory 01:20:08 The Joe Roganification of Podcasts and some strategic disclaimers 01:24:14 A dichotomy in contemporary American attitudes to Wealth? 01:28:32 The Mainstream Media won't focus on Epstein's connections with Israel and Mossad 01:32:08 The REAL Epstein scandal that no one wants to talk about 01:34:36 Behind the Bastards coverage of Epstein 01:36:01 Epstein's alleged role in creating microtransactions in games 01:40:46 Epstein's cringey Edutainment ideas 01:50:53 What Robert Evans Got Wrong 01:54:08 There are No Coincidences 02:00:57 The Danger of Appealing Narratives and also... Michael Tracey 02:06:00 The Anti-Murder Podcast 02:07:47 Warren Smith highlights Violent Rhetoric aimed at Konstantin 02:14:12 Justifying Murder is Bad... M'Kay? 02:17:55 Experiences of Violence and Naivety 02:21:16 Levels of Political Violence 02:23:49 Destiny's Community and Edgy Political Violence Takes 02:27:56 Alienating online audiences 101 02:30:14 Eric talks wormholes with a UFO maniac 02:35:28 Lord of the Idiots 02:36:18 Does Matt know Snorlax? 02:39:43 A failed disclaimer outro Links Erik arguing with Grok Boghossian’s hardcore rules for Grok H-Neurons: On the Existence, Impact, and Origin of Hallucination-Associated Neurons in LLMs (Gao et al., 2025) YouTube comment under our NXIVM video about Epstein People article claiming Epstein was Putin’s Wealth Manager Taylor Lorenz – Panic World: How Epstein Warped the Entire Internet Garbage Day: “Here’s How Epstein Broke the Internet” Eric Weinstein on Piers Morgan connecting Epstein to UFOs and his “research” Triggernometry’s 7th appearance on Rogan American Alchemy: Eric Weinstein & Eric Davis on Wormholes BBC: Ex-police chief said Trump told him in 2006 “everyone” knew about Epstein’s behaviour Joshua Citarella & Emma Vigeland – Epstein, Conspiracy & Right-wing Media | Doomscroll Pew Research: Demographics of the Progressive Left in the United States Debunking claims about Ghislaine Maxwell being a Reddit power mod Obama did not say aliens are real – PBS NewsHour NBC News: Epstein’s relationship with Ehud Barak Al Jazeera: What were Jeffrey Epstein’s links to Israel? Warren Smith’s post about threats from Digital Gnosis Digital Gnosis Substack statement Destiny’s Head Mod Confronts Him On His Rhetoric Eric Weinstein Demands UFO Secrets From Pentagon Scientist Epstein email documents Email from Pablos Holman to Epstein (document 1) Email from Pablos Holman to Epstein (document 2) Email from Pablos Holman to Epstein (document 3) Epstein forwarding Holman’s email to Bobby Kotick Pablos Holman responding and dunking on Kotick

In Part 2, Matt and Chris return to Blindboy, now broadcasting from a solar-powered podcast and therefore morally unimpeachable. The darkness, however, remains. Having established in Part 1 that the global elite are a vampiric class of depraved blackmailers who traffic children and delight in cruelty, in Part 2, Blindboy offers us some welcome relief in the form of answering the question of what it looks like to be one of the good ones. You may be surprised to learn that it involves a missing dressing room, muddy socks, and a loyalty to small-time promoters that some might call heroic. The episode also traces an ambitious historical arc: from street gangs in 1800s Limerick to the New York underworld, Meyer Lansky, Roy Cohn, CIA brothels and LSD interrogation programmes, and eventually to Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. The connecting thread is a continuous tradition of sexual blackmail passed from master to apprentice that has, apparently, been quietly guiding Western (criminal) civilisation for the better part of two centuries. Matt and Chris sift through the historical material, examine the leaps required to keep the chain intact, and consider whether a conspiracy hypothesis that explains quite so much, quite so neatly, might deserve a small dose of skepticism. As you might anticipate, the episode features discussions of many of our old friends, including strategic disclaimers, moral grandstanding, and layered preemptive defences. Finally, get ready to learn who the real villain is, when the mask is finally removed.... spoiler: it's neoliberal capitalism. A revelation that some listeners may have suspected from the very beginning. Links Blindboy: A Deep Dive into Jeffrey Epstein The Rest is Classified: Was Epstein a Russian Spy? Epstein Files Declassified: Mossad, Israel, and Ghislaine Maxwell Epstein Files Declassified: Was he a Spy? The Saville Inquiry Report on Bloody Sunday (2010) BBC Panorama reporting on the British Army’s Military Reaction Force (MRF) Popular Mechanics article on Operation Midnight Climax US Senate Church Committee report on MK-Ultra and CIA covert experimentation and the archived report NY Times: What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthy’s Right-Hand Man A less conspiratorial but more sympathetic perspective on Epstein's influence by Taylor Lorenz and Ryan Broderick An in-depth critical review of Whitney Webb's book (by an academic who might be a little conspiracy-prone themselves) Webb, W. A. (2022). One Nation Under Blackmail-Vol. 1: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime That Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein, VOL. 1. Trine Day

In this episode, Matt and Chris turn their attention to Blindboy Boatclub, the Irish podcaster, satirist, and former member of the Rubberbandits. Blindboy is recognisable for his plastic-bag headwear, which has transitioned from a comedy prop into something a bit deeper and more philosophical. His podcast blends ASMR-style delivery, stream-of-consciousness storytelling, and cultural and political commentary, drifting between reflections on mental health, colonialism, Irish history, and the origins of the month of February. It is a distinctive format: whispered monologues over gentle piano where poetic association, personal reflection, and narrative intuition take precedence. For many listeners, that unique mixture of introspection, politics, and storytelling is exactly the appeal. As you might imagine, it is not entirely our bag, but to each their own. However, when Blindboy turns his attention to the recent Epstein document releases, the narrative becomes considerably darker and drifts into some familiar gurusphere territory. Blindboy describes this as a “phone call episode”, an unscripted stream-of-consciousness riff with minimal fact-checking, and then proceeds to expound for over an hour on a sprawling narrative connecting elite conspiracies to the hidden psychological forces shaping modern politics. Along the way we encounter a parade of lurid spectacles, including necrophilic Hell’s Angels, secret society members masturbating in coffins, murdered women buried on Trump’s golf course, potentially cannibalistic elites, and healthcare CEOs who delight in causing pain and misery. We also discover the crucial, if previously underappreciated, role that Jeffrey Epstein apparently played in the creation of the modern culture wars. As usual, the goal is not to adjudicate the politics involved but to examine the rhetorical and epistemic patterns at play. What happens when a charismatic storyteller combines emotionally compelling narratives with speculative leaps? How do strategic disclaimers like “I’m not saying it’s true” interact with extended conjecture? And why do some conspiracy frameworks feel persuasive when wrapped in an appealing ideological package? Matt and Chris listen through Blindboy’s riff to see how well the arguments hold up once the plinky-plonk piano fades and the claims are examined in the cold light of day. Links Blindboy: A Deep Dive into Jeffrey Epstein Blindboy: Butter Melting Down The Neck Of A Warm Horse The Guardian: ‘I have a bag on my head. Deal with it!’ Is Blindboy the perfect podcaster? The Rubberbandits: Horse Outside Bobby Fingers' performance art on YouTube Jake Tapper shared the removed DOJ documents that contain allegations against Trump A detailed debunking of the claim that Ghislaine Maxwell was a Reddit Mod 2013 article covering approval for Trump’s family cemetery 2016 New Yorker Article about Trump wanting to be buried at his golf course The Verge: Christopher Pool ‘moot’ rejects the claims about Epstein creating the 4chan Ron Rosenbaum’s 1977 article on the Skull and Bones society initiations America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones (Sutton, 1986) Atlantic Article from 2000 that mentions the coffin masturbation rumour Article from the NYT: How The Times Is Digging Into Millions of Pages of Epstein Files The Rest is Classified: Was Epstein a Russian Spy? Epstein Files Declassified: Mossad, Israel, and Ghislaine Maxwell Epstein Files Declassified: Was he a Spy? Le Monde: Some consequences for the Sultan who Epstein messaged about the torture video BBC: Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty if convicted, judge rules An in-depth critical review of Whitney Webb's book (by an academic who might be a little conspiracy prone themselves) 2022 Podcast featuring Brian Thompson (United Healthcare CEO) discussing his views on healthcare Critical examination of the headline denial rate of UnitedHealthcare 2024 US Senate Report on Insurance Denials under Medicare Advantage Insurers

Another episode where the guest is not a sense-making prophet or a galaxy-brained guru, as we engage in academic dialogos with Oxford psychologist Andrew Przybylski. This is a preview of our Decoding Academia series on Patreon (now 30+ episodes deep), where we swap internet gurus and rhetoric for actual researchers and empirical debates. Andrew’s work spans motivation, gaming, and digital technology. His most recent crime is that he studies the impact of technology and has not found evidence that it is destroying wellbeing and ushering in civilisational collapse. We discuss the ongoing moral panic around smartphones, social media, and teenagers’ allegedly pulverised minds and why much of the debate rests on statistical techniques roughly equivalent to staring deeply at Excel spreadsheets and hammering SPSS until the desired narrative appears. We get into measurement problems around “screen time,” why trivially small correlations become front-page catastrophes, and how the discourse rewards confident storytelling far more than (boring) careful causal inference. Also covered: cross-cultural evidence, the policy implications of airport pop science bestsellers, and the potential civilisational threat posed by Warhammer 40k. If you enjoy episodes where we analyse methods rather than metaphysics, the full Decoding Academia series lives on Patreon. Relevant Research (Przybylski & collaborators) Andrew's Academic Profile and Personal Website Fassi, L., Ferguson, A. M., Przybylski, A. K., Ford, T. J., & Orben, A. (2025). Social media use in adolescents with and without mental health conditions. Nature human behaviour, 9(6), 1283-1299. Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2023). Estimating the association between Facebook adoption and well-being in 72 countries. Royal Society open science, 10(8). Vuorre, M., Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2021). There is no evidence that associations between adolescents’ digital technology engagement and mental health problems have increased. Clinical Psychological Science, 9(5), 823-835. Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature human behaviour, 3(2), 173-182. Orben, A., Dienlin, T., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10226-10228. Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A large-scale test of the goldilocks hypothesis: quantifying the relations between digital-screen use and the mental well-being of adolescents. Psychological science, 28(2), 204-215. Johannes, N., Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2021). Video game play is positively correlated with well-being. Royal Society open science, 8(2), 202049. Przybylski, A. K., Rigby, C. S., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). A motivational model of video game engagement. Review of general psychology, 14(2), 154-166.

We return to some old friends, and almost immediately, we regret the decision. Also, get ready for some heady insights from history, a new conspiracy hypothesis, and Game Theory based insights. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 37 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 45 00:00 Introduction 01:15 Mick Drop 04:44 Scott Galloway's Favourite Conservative 06:37 Konstantin Kisin: Neither Right Nor Left 11:51 Insane Ad Reads in Podcastistan 17:08 Aella's insights on history 20:30 Bret's New Conspiracy Episode 22:10 Bret on Epstein, Pizzagate, and Ritual Murder 30:58 Heather, the personification of strategic disclaimers 31:49 Bret's New Conspiracy: Epstein is Alive 36:31 The Real Culprit is Game Theory 44:25 Bret is a Force of Nature who is always vindicated 46:36 The Grand Unification of Conspiracy Theories 48:25 Cenk Uygur promotes 9/11 Conspiracies 51:42 Peter Thiel in Ghoulish Pro-Nazi Form 55:15 The Descent of the Discourse 57:47 Eric visits Triggernometry (Again): Russian Woes 01:05:20 The Eric Squid Ink Manoeuvre 01:14:49 Eric is pro-Nuclear weapons tests 01:19:27 Weinstein drives can take us multiplanetary 01:28:28 The Weinstein Function: Justifying Enlightened Centrists Everywhere 01:30:37 Drew Pavlou's latest stunt backfires Sources Is Epstein Alive? The 313th Evolutionary Lens (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying podcast episode) DarkHorse clip discussing the Epstein theory (YouTube) Aella’s history insights thread Aella’s large thread about homeschooling Interview where Aella discusses the perceived benefits of homeschooling Bret Weinstein responding to critics saying he has lost his mind Bret Weinstein linking Epstein and COVID conspiracies Cenk Uygur promoting 9/11 conspiracy claims Cenk Uygur criticising media responses to his conspiracy theories Peter Thiel comments invoking Weimar-era parallels Drew Pavlou’s stunt backfires

Ever heard of cognitive dissonance? That thing a psychology lecturer might have explained to you once upon a time, likely using the same UFO cult example everyone else uses. Well, a new paper by Thomas Kelly suggests that the UFO cult example might have been ever so slightly oversold. Kelly's archival work suggests that the researchers didn't just observe the cult as reported. Instead, they infiltrated it, faked supernatural experiences, assumed quasi-leadership roles, and then wrote up the results as if the group had spontaneously doubled down on their failed prophecy, which they had not. Because the leader recanted, and the group fell apart shortly after the failed prophecy. Minor details. Matt and Chris discuss this paper, a 2024 multilab replication, and some other papers by Kelly, considering the ever-reliable tendency of researchers to find exactly what they are looking for. It's cognitive dissonance all the way down, folks. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 10 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Decoding Academia 34: When Prophecy Fails Debunked? 00:00 Introduction 02:04 Cognitive Dissonance Theory 06:41 Classic lab evidence: effort justification & the ‘severe initiation’ study 08:33 When Prophecy Fails: The Original Account 10:54 The debunking: archival evidence, misconduct claims, and ethical red flags 20:22 Replication reality check: multi-lab results and ‘strong vs weak’ dissonance 31:40 Beyond one case: survivorship bias, failed prophecies, and early Christianity parallels 35:51 Christianity as Historical Anomaly or Cognitive Dissonance Exemplar? 41:48 Thomas Kelly: Interesting biosafety takes and a possible Christian lens 45:43 The importance of seeking for disconfirming evidence 50:23 Conspiracy-theory dynamics & narrative elaboration 56:30 Classical Psychological Theories and Personal Motivations 01:03:07 Steps that can be taken to reduce biases 01:05:01 Stay tentative, check evidence, and don’t pick sides too fast 01:06:30 A lesson from Scott Alexander! Sources Academic Papers and Books Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press. Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956). When prophecy fails. University of Minnesota Press. Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(2), 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0041593 (The original induced-compliance/$1/$20 study) Kelly, T. (2026). Debunking "When Prophecy Fails." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 62(1), e70043. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.70043 Kelly, T. (2025). Failed prophecies are fatal. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 14(1), 48–71. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.33085 Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0047195 Vaidis, D. C., Sleegers, W. W. A., van Leeuwen, F., DeMarree, K. G., Sætrevik, B., Ross, R. M., ... & Priolo, D. (2024). A multilab replication of the induced-compliance paradigm of cognitive dissonance. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 7(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231213375 Croyle, R. T., & Cooper, J. (1983). Dissonance arousal: Physiological evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(4), 782–791. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.45.4.782 (The study that the Vaidis et al. 2024 multilab replication was based on) Podcasts Referenced The Studies Show [formerly Science Fictions] podcast. Episode 90: Cognitive dissonance. QAA Podcast. Episode 350: “When ‘When Prophecy Fails’ Fails.” Interview with Thomas Kelly. Conspirituality podcast. Episode 284: “When Prophecy-Science Fails” (w/ Thomas Kelly), 20 Nov 2025. Blog Posts & Other Sources Alexander, S. (2023, February 14). Contra Kavanagh on fideism. Astral Codex Ten. (Contains the PMDD / Slate vs. Vox example discussed near the end of the episode) Kavanagh, C. (2023). Am I a fideist? Medium. (Chris’s response to Scott Alexander) Alexander, S. (2023, February 15). Trying again on fideism. Astral Codex Ten. Kelly, T. Open Science Framework repository containing scanned archival materials from the Festinger papers (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan). Kelly, T. (2025, March 18). Yet another White House says it won't fund engineered deadly viruses. Tablet Magazine. Kelly, T. Christians for Impact. Politics and policy.

Cult Season rumbles on as Chris and Matt expand their minds in an attempt to absorb the cosmic insights of spiritual influencer and alleged cult leader Teal Swan (born Mary Teal Bosworth, 1984). Our intrepid hosts explore her recent appearance on the Just Tap In podcast with Emilio “starchild” Ortiz — a beanie-wearing vessel of pure credulity, lobbing softball metaphysical questions gently into the astral winds. The topic covered is ostensibly “Major 2026 Predictions” but this is really just an entry point for discussion of the ancient origins of AI, multiversal astral contract negotiations, and, of course, the urgent need to discuss masculinity before we spiritually implode. You will learn insights, such as: how AI will eliminate ageing, guide us to SOURCE, amplify our shadow, and corrupt and deceive us ... all at once. Aliens and other cosmic beings are deeply concerned with and also not really all that bothered with humanity. Also, pop stars are apparently set to receive divine instructions to stabilise the collective psyche in 2026. And how we are all trapped in a planetary pressure cooker that will run at least until 2030. Teal is trying not to scare us, but it doesn’t look great (though it might also be great and lead to utopia). Expect astral board meetings, sensemaking redefinitions of “power” and “love”, warnings about the painful sacrifices required to join Teal’s “conscious community”, and some distinctly uncomfortable talk about opening gates and reframing mother–son dynamics. As ever, Matt and Chris attempt to decode the elevated vagueness, semantic gliding, and cosmic scaling of very earthly anxieties. All hail SOURCE! Decoding Content Just Tap In Podcast #260: "Teal Swan – Why 2026 Is a Psychological & Relational Tipping Point for Humanity" Links The Gateway (Gizmodo Podcast, 2018) - Six-part investigative series by Jennings Brown The Deep End (Freeform/Hulu, 2022) - Four-part docuseries by Jon Kasbe Mormon Stories #1607: Growing Up with Teal Swan - Diana Hansen Ribera - Interview with Teal's childhood best friend Mormon Stories #1328-1331: Leaving Mormonism to Join Teal Swan's Cult - Jared Dobson BBC- Teal Swan: The woman encouraging her followers to visualise death Scam Goddess: The Culty Con of Teal Swan w/ Sarah Marshall Conspirituality 111: Who's Afraid of Teal Swan (pt 2) (w/Jennings Brown) Prosody's Gurudex Website

In this Decoding Academia episode, we take a look at a 2025 paper by Daria Ovsyannikova, Victoria Olden, and Mickey Inzlicht, asking a question that might make some people uncomfortable/angry, specifically, are AI-generated responses perceived as more empathetic than those written by actual humans? We walk through the design in detail (including why this is a genuinely severe test), hand out deserved open-science brownie points, and discuss why AI seems to excel particularly when responding to negative or distress-laden prompts. Along the way, Chris reflects on his unsettlingly intense relationship with Google’s semi-sentient customer-service agent “Bubbles,” and we ask whether infinite patience, maximal effort, and zero social awkwardness might be doing most of the work here. This is not a paper about replacing therapists, outsourcing friendship, or mass-producing compassion at scale. It is a careful demonstration that fluent, effortful, emotionally calibrated text is often enough to convince people they are being understood, which might explain some of the appeal of the Gurus. Source Ovsyannikova, D., de Mello, V. O., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3(1), 4. Decoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? 01:40 Introducing the Paper 10:29 Study Methodology 14:21 Chris's meaningful relationship with YouTube AI agent Bubbles 16:23 Open Science Brownie Points 17:50 Empathetic Prompt Engineering: Humans and AIs 21:17 Study 1 and 2 31:35 Study 3 and 4 37:00 Study Conclusions 42:27 Severe Hypothesis Testing 45:11 Seeking out Disconfirming Evidence 47:06 Why do AIs do better on negative prompts? 54:48 Final Thoughts

In this interview episode, we are joined by physicists Sam Gregson (Bad Boy of Science YouTube channel) and Tim Henke to examine the rise of science populism: a style of science communication that borrows the tactics of political populism, including grievance narratives, institutional distrust, and conspiratorial framing, while presenting its advocates as lone truth-tellers battling a corrupt academic elite. We discuss how DTG favourites like Sabine Hossenfelder and Eric Weinstein, as well as fresh new faces Brian Keating and Avi Loeb, deploy selective truths about physics to fuel self-aggrandising, anti-expert narratives. Along the way, we also cover stuff like why “physics hasn’t progressed in 50 years”, cranks are useful props for populist arguments, and the strange obsession with Nobel Prizes. If you are interested in guru dynamics, science communication, and physics crankery, this might be an episode for you. Links Bad Boy of Science (Sam Gregson) Tim's Profile Website Bad Boy of Science – The Rise of Physics Populisers Theories of Everything (Kurt Jaimungal) Losing the Nobel Prize – Brian Keating Into the Impossible (Brian Keating) Sabine Hossenfelder’s YouTube Channel The Portal (Eric Weinstein) The Galileo Project (Avi Loeb) Sean Carroll – Mindscape / Preposterous Universe Not Even Wrong (Peter Woit)

We descend once more into the Gurusphere, encountering secret peasant archmages, decline narratives, Epstein emails, and endless moral panics. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 37 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00 SM 44 PF 00:23 Introduction 01:30 Konstantin Kisin: Not Left Or Right, Just Right 05:20 Boghossian is shocked by pessimistic French people 08:50 Konstantin and Warren Smith as relics of the anti-SJW era 12:45 A PSA! Hyper Capitalism Tier Update! 18:36 Matt's AV Setup 20:01 Recommendation: Successville (British version) 21:40 My peasant farmer dad is secretly an Archmage! 28:14 Scott Galloway talks with Gwyneth Paltrow 40:18 American Capitalist Culture and the Gurus 48:54 Bryan Johnson vs AG1 51:45 Bryan Johnson & Epstein Schmoozing 58:09 Bari Weiss's Peter Attia Woes 59:14 Epstein and QAnon Conspiracies 01:03:23 Overinterpreting Epstein emails 01:09:04 Shermer promotes Dave Rubin to hawk his book on Truth 01:10:37 Conspiracy Theory prevalence on left and riht 01:17:44 Jonathan Haidt and his anti-social media crusade 01:23:15 Plato on the Corruption of the Youth 01:24:30 The Eternal Appeal of Decline Narratives 01:26:22 They won't let you enjoy things anymore... 01:30:24 Matt's laissez-faire parenting tips 01:31:45 Life lessons from Lord of the Rings 01:34:17 The Witch King of Angmar defeated by a Woke White Women Sources Konstantin Kisin on not being left or right Boghossian and Kisin bemoan civilisational decline narratives The Guardian on Bari Weiss’s new CBS “Podcastistan” hires Niall Ferguson on how Trump “won Davos” The Guardian: Elon Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known My Farmer Dad Is Secretly an Archmage – viral short-form fantasy drama Behind the Scenes of My Farmer Dad Is Secretly an Archmage Original Chinese version of My Farmer Dad Is Secretly an Archmage (Destiny’s Keeper) Michael Shermer promoting Dave Rubin Michael Shermer previously promoted Stefan Molyneux Bryan Johnson criticising AG1 (sort of) Miami Herald’s early investigative coverage of Jeffrey Epstein Early New York Magazine profile of Jeffrey Epstein (2002) Vanity Fair on Jeffrey Epstein and elite power networks (2003) New York Magazine on Epstein before the non-prosecution deal (2007) Michael Shermer on conspiracies and truth-seeking on The Rubin Report Hong (2026) on the cognitive foundations of decline narratives New York Times on Jonathan Haidt and new evidence on social media Oliver Curry pushes back on Haidt’s claims Chris Ferguson responds critically to Haidt’s arguments

In a rare departure from our usual diet of online weirdos, this episode features an academic who is very much not a guru. We’re joined by Julia Rohrer, a psychologist at Leipzig University whose work straddles the disciplinary boundaries of open science, research transparency, and causal inference. Julia is also an editor at Psychological Science and has spent much of the last decade politely pointing out that psychologists often don’t quite know what they’re estimating, why, or under which assumptions. We talk about the state of psychology after the replication crisis, whether open science reforms have genuinely improved research practice (or just added new boxes to tick), and why causal thinking is unavoidable even when researchers insist they are “only describing associations.” Julia explains why the standard dance of imply causality → deny causality → add boilerplate disclaimer is unhelpful, and argues instead for being explicit about the causal questions researchers actually care about and the assumptions required to answer them. Along the way we discuss images of scientists in the public and amongst the gurus, how post-treatment bias sneaks into even well-intentioned experimental designs, why specifying the estimand matters more than running ever-fancier models, and how psychology’s current norms can potentially punish honesty about uncertainty. We also touch on her work on birth-order effects and offer some possible reasons for optimism. With all the guru talk, people sometimes ask us to recommend things that we like, and Julia's work is one such example! Links Julia Rohrer’s website The 100% CI blog Rohrer, J. M. (2024). Causal inference for psychologists who think that causal inference is not for them. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(3), e12948. Rohrer, J. M., Tierney, W., Uhlmann, E. L., DeBruine, L. M., Heyman, T., Jones, B., ... & Yarkoni, T. (2021). Putting the self in self-correction: Findings from the loss-of-confidence project. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(6), 1255-1269. Rohrer, J. M., Egloff, B., & Schmukle, S. C. (2015). Examining the effects of birth order on personality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(46), 14224-14229. BEMC MAY 2024 - Julia Rohrer - "Causal confusions correlate with casual conclusions" Dr. Tobias Dienlin - Less casual causal inference for experiments and longitudinal data: Research talk by Julia Rohrer

We crawl around the dark crevices of the internet so you don't have to. And what wonders we have to show you... The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 34 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 43 00:00 Introduction and Banter Allotment 01:23 The Hypocrisy of the Defenders of Western Civilisation 10:07 An Optimistic Take? 17:02 Scott Adams' Controversial Legacy 18:43 Scott Alexander's Rationalist Eulogy for Scott Adams 32:31 A Final Tribute to Scott Adams 33:43 Andrew Gold's Interview with a Racist 39:02 Fair Play for being a Racist 41:17 Comparing Follower Counts and Audience Makeup 44:40 Racism and Xenophobia Discussion 49:07 Securing the Future of Our People... 01:00:01 LawTubers and Grifting 01:00:48 Legal Mindset 01:06:02 Antifa Woke Women are Hunting Legal Mindset 01:07:41 A man of Christ 01:09:16 A Red-Blooded American 01:12:35 Woke White Women and Antifa Paranoia 01:13:55 Electro Gym Work and Pygmy Hippo Love 01:18:47 Antifa Paranoia 01:26:36 The True Masculine Renegade YouTuber 01:32:32 Concluding Thoughts and Farewell Links Peter Boghossian complaining about public attention to the Greenland situation Mike Cernovich’s tribute: “Scott is loved because he’s devoted his life to service to humanity” In full: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum (Davos) Scott Alexander’s eulogy to Scott Adams Coleman Hughes on Scott Adams at The Free Press Andrew Gold – Heretics: “I Confront Britain’s Biggest Racist” Liam Tufts: “Would You Let Your Kid Date a Black Person?” | Steve Laws sparks a heated debate Legal Mindset: “Free Kaya, Punish Hasan” (Fast Facts) Rob’s Media: Idiot Influencers – Legal Mindset (Go East channel background)

We return for Part 2 of our Scott Galloway deep dive, where the vibes remain strong, the confidence unwavering, and the relationship with empirical evidence increasingly… decorative. Returning to our Modern Wisdom safari, we continue navigating the forbidden terrain of men, masculinity, and male suffering: a topic so dangerous that it requires constant ritual disclaimers, whispered caveats, and the occasional nervous glance around the bar to make sure we can take out the other men if necessary. We cover Scott's outline of his masculine Third Way: rejecting both the Right’s “Bring Back the Fifties” masculinity and the Left’s “Men Are the Problem” framework, in favour of a solution that might be described as Stern Dad Who’s Also Nice About It. Prepare to thrill at proposals of mandatory national service, kindness as a masculine superpower, and the radical idea that young people might benefit from not being economically crushed. Things get spicier when we’re told what women really want and learn about the adaptive skill check of the female orgasm. Chris Williamson unveils a prepared essay on What Men Want which proves to be a moving piece of therapeutic slam poetry that somehow manages to combine manosphere grievance mongering with woke therapy talk. We learn how what men really just want to be told is “you are enough" and should be kind for kindness sake, but also should optimise their friend group such that they can properly signal their high mate quality and train hard enough to take out all other males in the bar. Finally, we hit peak Decoding Mode as Scott’s statistics begin to escalate: boys are ten times more likely to kill themselves, father absence turns sons into inmates, daughters into promiscuous approval-seekers, and nearly every claim is delivered with total confidence and minimal concern for effect sizes, confounds, or whether the study actually exists. Decorative scholarship is in full bloom. We do our best as two hyper-masculine men to separate reasonable concerns about boys, mentorship, and social policy from hyperbolic factoids, pop-psych inflation, and the familiar habit of smuggling moral arguments in under the banner of “what the science says.” Bring your hunting knife and stoic daily diary. Take your testosterone injection. And get ready for some man talk! Links Modern Wisdom: The War On Men Isn’t Helping Anyone - Scott Galloway The Diary of a CEO: Scott Galloway: We’re Raising The Most Unhappy Generation In History! Hard Work Doesn't Build Wealth Academic papers/Sources Referenced Culpin, I., Heuvelman, H., Rai, D., Pearson, R. M., Joinson, C., Heron, J., … Kwong, A. S. F. (2022). Father absence and trajectories of offspring mental health across adolescence and young adulthood: Findings from a UK-birth cohort. Journal of Affective Disorders, 314, 150–159. Dekker, M. C., Ferdinand, R. F., van Lang, N. D. J., Bongers, I. L., van der Ende, J., & Verhulst, F. C. (2007). Developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms from early childhood to late adolescence: Gender differences and adult outcome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(7), 657–666. Angelakis, I., Austin, J. L., & Gooding, P. (2020). Association of childhood maltreatment with suicide behaviors among young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA network open, 3(8), e2012563-e2012563. Zhang, L., Wang, P., Liu, L., Wu, X., & Wang, W. (2026). Different roles of child abuse and neglect on emerging adult's nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation: sex difference through emotion regulation. Current Psychology, 45(1), 56. Callanan, V. J., & Davis, M. S. (2012). Gender differences in suicide methods. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 47(6), 857-869. Raposa, E. B., Rhodes, J., Stams, G. J. J. M., Card, N., Burton, S., Schwartz, S., … Hussain, S. (2019). The effects of youth mentoring programs: A meta-analysis of outcome studies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(3), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-00982-8 Lloyd, E. A. (2005). The case of the female orgasm: Bias in the science of evolution. Harvard University Press. King, R. (2024). Naturally Selective: Evolution, Orgasm, and Female Choice. CRC Press. (The researcher Chris Williamson is relying on) The Scottish Sun. (2025, February 17). Nearly six pubs closed each week last year with 4,500 jobs lost amid rising costs [News article]. The Scottish Sun. Retrieved from https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/14352624/uk-pubs-closed-last-year/ Greater London Authority. (2025, February). London’s Night-Time Economy: Economy, Culture and Skills Committee report. Greater London Authority.

We dig deep into the online world to DO OUR OWN RESEARCH and return with horrors never dreamt of by man. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 23 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 42 00:00 Introduction 11:13 Rogan and Shane Gillis on Nick Fuentes vs Piers Morgan 17:49 Jimmy Carr's Physics Insights 24:00 The comedian shuffle 25:12 Andrew Huberman teams up with Goop! 30:41 Huberman injects his dog with testosterone. 32:09 Bryan Johnson and the secret longevity of the penis 35:41 The Science Behind Huberman's Careful Product Endorsements 39:48 The Statistics of Home Alone 41:22 Bryan Johnson's Love Tweet 46:24 Bryan Johnson's horrible treatment of his ex-fiancée 51:30 Andrea Botez and Influencer Health Research 57:41 Bespoke Treatments with Medical AIs 01:04:28 Self-Research, Stock Picking, and Gambling 01:07:47 Health Systems and their imperfections 01:12:37 Doing Your Own Research... 01:17:38 Matt's Content Recommendations 01:20:45 Outro Links NYT – How Trump Fixed On a Maduro Loyalist as Venezuela’s New Leader Triggernometry – “A Revolution is Coming!” – Jimmy Carr GQ – How Andrew Huberman, Goop Kitchen Collaborator, Is Staying Healthy in 2026 Vanity Fair – Why Bryan Johnson, Dave Asprey, and the Other Longevity Bros Are Obsessed With Penises Luis Batalha – Tweet on the “Home Alone” paper Bryan Johnson – “Love” tweet Andrea Botez – Hearing Loss Update (YouTube) Substack – The Truth About Bryan Johnson (treatment of ex-fiancée)

We return to the podcast circuit in 2026 to examine Scott Galloway: NYU professor, prolific podcaster, and, more recently, part-time life coach for struggling young men. Joining him on an episode of Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson, we are invited into one of the few remaining forbidden conversational spaces: men, masculinity, and men’s problems. You may have been misled by the relentless popularity of Joe Rogan, Modern Wisdom, The Tucker Carlson Show, Triggernometry, The Diary of a CEO, Huberman Lab, and several dozen adjacent properties into thinking these topics are already discussed at length on a near-weekly basis. Alas, this turns out to be a dangerous illusion. In reality, even mentioning men’s issues requires an extended ritual acknowledgement of women, failure to perform which risks immediate cancellation. Braving these cultural headwinds, we wade into manly dialogue about masculinity, sex differences, and male malaise. Along the way, we ponder the intricacies of culture war evolutionary psychology, anthropological wars over Man the Hunter, optimised dosages for manly whingeing, and whether making boys learn French verb conjugations qualifies as a human rights abuse. So get your notebooks ready for some important notes from two of the most masculine men in the modern male podcasting space. Men... Links Modern Wisdom: The War On Men Isn’t Helping Anyone - Scott Galloway The Diary of a CEO: Scott Galloway: We’re Raising The Most Unhappy Generation In History! Hard Work Doesn't Build Wealth Academic papers Referenced Changes in gender-based hiring bias (large meta-analysis): Schaerer, M., Du Plessis, C., Nguyen, M. H. B., Van Aert, R. C., Tiokhin, L., Lakens, D., … Gender Audits Forecasting Collaboration. (2023). On the trajectory of discrimination: A meta-analysis and forecasting survey capturing 44 years of field experiments on gender and hiring decisions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 179, 104280. Epidemiology of alcohol use disorder by marital status (US, NESARC-III): Grant, B. F., Goldstein, R. B., Saha, T. D., et al. (2015). Epidemiology of DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(8), 757–766. Protective effects of marriage on life expectancy (US Medicare sample): Jia, H., & Lubetkin, E. I. (2020). Life expectancy and active life expectancy by marital status among older US adults: Results from the US Medicare Health Outcome Survey (HOS). SSM – Population Health, 12, 100642. Widowhood and well-being (contrary to claims of increased happiness): Adena, M., Hamermesh, D., Myck, M., & Oczkowska, M. (2023). Home alone: Widows’ well-being and time. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24(2), 813–838. Meta-analysis of the widowhood effect on mortality (men and women): Shor, E., Roelfs, D. J., Curreli, M., Clemow, L., Burg, M. M., & Schwartz, J. E. (2012). Widowhood and mortality: A meta-analysis and meta-regression. Demography, 49(2), 575–606. Marriage and life satisfaction across the life course (multi-country): Mikucka, M. (2016). The life satisfaction advantage of being married and gender specialization. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(3), 759–779. Marriage, children, and happiness (Note “very happy” vs “pretty happy”): Institute for Family Studies. Who is happiest? Married mothers and fathers, per the latest General Social Survey. Anthropology: “Man the Hunter” debate Original paper cited by Chris Williamson challenging the “Man the Hunter” narrative: Anderson, A., Chilczuk, S., Nelson, K., Ruther, R., & Wall-Scheffler, C. (2023). The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts. PLoS ONE, 18(6), e0287101. Critical commentary on Anderson et al. (2023): Venkataraman, V. V., Hoffman, J., Farquharson, K., Davis, H. E., Hagen, E. H., Hames, R. B., … Stibbard-Hawkes, D. N. (2024). Female foragers sometimes hunt, yet gendered divisions of labor are real. Evolution and Human Behavior, 45(4), 106586. Another influential burial-based paper about female hunters in the early Americas: Haas, R., Jr., Watson, J., Buonasera, T., Southon, J., Chen, J. C., Noe, S., … Parker, G. (2020). Female hunters of the early Americas. Science Advances, 6(45), eabd0310. Critical commentary on over-interpretation of evidence cited for the depiction of gender parity in hunting: Martin, M., de la Mora, A. N., Valeggia, C., & Veile, A. (2024). Can women hunt? Yes. Did women contribute much to human evolution through endurance hunting? Probably not. American Anthropologist, 126(2), 365–369. Fertility & demography Shaw, S. J. (Director). (2022). Birthgap – Childless World. Critical fact-checking project responding to Birthgap claims: Birthgap Facts: Unplanned childlessness. Politics & fact-checking PolitiFact on claims about abortion and vasectomies at party conventions: Ask PolitiFact: Are Democrats offering “free abortions and vasectomies” at their Chicago convention? Australian Labor Party policy platform: Our Plan. UK Labour Party policy platform: Plan for Change.

In this festive descent into methodological despair, Chris and Matt convene a secret cabal of elite psychology podcasters within the Decoding Cloister, operating under the distant yet reassuring gaze of Arch-Wizard Paul Bloom, whose role is largely ceremonial but nonetheless morally binding. Joining them are Dave Pizarro (Very Bad Wizards) and Michael Inzlicht (Two Psychologists Four Beers, emeritus), for what can only be described as an end-of-year audit of social psychology’s moral character. What follows is a mixture of intense hubris, disciplinary self-loathing, and revolutionary insights, delivered via one of the most sadistic Christmas quizzes ever devised. The quiz format allows the episode to do what psychology does best: create the feeling of measurement while hovering dangerously close to intuition. Alongside the quiz, we engage in some meta-commentary and sensemaking reflections on audience capture and the state of psychology-themed podcasts in 2025. In other words, it’s Christmas, so naturally everyone is discussing perverse incentives, damaged reputations, and the slow moral corrosion of institutions. So join us, won’t you? For the first International Congress on Psychology-Themed Podcasting and Gurus… Links Mickey's Substack Mickey's Work and Play Lab Two Psychologists Four Beers Very Bad Wizards Uhlmann, E. L., Pizarro, D. A., & Diermeier, D. (2015). A person-centered approach to moral judgment. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(1), 72-81. Ovsyannikova, D., de Mello, V. O., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3(1), 4. References Alter, A. L., Oppenheimer, D. M., Epley, N., & Eyre, R. N. (2007). Overcoming intuition: Metacognitive difficulty activates analytic reasoning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136(4), 569–576. Aarts, H., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2003). The silence of the library: Environment, situational norm, and social behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 18–28. Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). On the ethics of intervention in human psychological research: With special reference to the Stanford Prison Experiment. Cognition, 2(2), 243–256. Resnick, B. (2018, June 13). The Stanford Prison Experiment was massively influential. We just learned it was a fraud. Vox. Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956). When prophecy fails. University of Minnesota Press. Bem, D. J. (2011). Feeling the future: Experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(3), 407–425. Schimmack, U. (2018, January 20). My email correspondence with Daryl J. Bem about the data for his “Feeling the Future”. Replicability Index. Merton, R. K. (1973). The normative structure of science. In The sociology of science: Theoretical and empirical investigations (pp. 267–278). University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1942). Hauser, M. (2012). Evilicious: Why we evolved a taste for being bad. Basic Books. Kay, A. C., Wheeler, S. C., Bargh, J. A., & Ross, L. (2004). Material priming: The influence of mundane physical objects on situational construal and competitive behavioral choice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 95(1), 83–96. Macfarlane, B. (2024). The decay of Merton’s scientific norms and the new academic ethos. Oxford Review of Education, 50(4), 468–483. Vaidis, D. C., Sleegers, W. W. A., van Leeuwen, F., et al. (2024). A multilab replication of the induced-compliance paradigm of cognitive dissonance. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 7(1). Kelly, T. (2026). Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 62(1), e70043.

In this special Christmas episode, Helen’s annual Guru Quiz returns, lightly dusted with Trump, podcast tours, and the unsettling realisation that the Guru-sphere and the MAGA-sphere have quietly fused into a single, monetised, vibes-based organism. That's right, the regular decoding team are joined by renowned journalist, author, podcaster... and occasional DTG quiz master, Helen Lewis, who once again brings her festive cheer, an uncanny ability to identify exactly who will be unbearable next year, and a quiz designed to torture Matt. Points are awarded, dignity is lost, and Matt briefly considers revising for the quiz before remembering that preparation has never helped him before. The episode also covers MAGA and UK political manoeuvres, the movers and shakers of the Gurusphere in 2025, and a lament for the collapse of the ancient boundary between editorial content and hawking pants. So join us for a festive episode about gurus, geniuses, authoritarian comedy festivals, and the slow erosion of shame. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night... and that includes you, Bubbles! Links Helen Lewis on Substack Helen's Article on the Riyadh Comedy Festival Helen's Article on Olivia Nuzzi's Book The Genius Myth That Dave Chappelle picture

In this tragic episode, we pay tribute to a fallen comrade and honour his memory with a discussion of a melange of truly terrible people, some of whom are much worse than others. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 33 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 41 00:00 Introduction and Swimming Update 02:34 The Tragic Tale of Old Squeaky 09:01 Sam Harris interpersonal bias & Megyn Kelly 26:05 Gary Stevenson vs Rory Stewart 36:26 Master Certificates and Jaffa Cakes 41:59 Dasha's Nick Fuentes Problem 50:08 Nick Fuentes' Racist Remarks 54:29 Piers Morgan vs. Nick Fuentes 59:08 The Two Nick Fuentes Personas 01:02:39 Father Issues 01:20:51 Nick Fuentes the Racist 01:30:36 Piers Lab Leak Ad Break 01:32:52 Antisemitism and Holocaust Denialism 01:45:25 IDW Style Credulity and Holocaust Denialism 01:48:12 Hitler was really f**king cool? 01:58:20 Blustering Boomer Outrage vs. Online Groyperism 02:02:09 Debating Misogyny and Extremism 02:12:54 Piers Take on Fuentes 02:17:11 Overall thoughts on Piers Morgan vs Nick Fuentes 02:20:15 Infighting on the Conspiratorial Right 02:25:13 Bret Weinstein's Powers of Prediction: Trump on Rob Reiner 02:30:29 Outro Links Sam Harris AMA Megyn Kelly Talking About the Drug Smugglers The Rest Is Politics – Zack Polanski: “I Am a Populist, Farage Is Not” Gary Stevenson’s Public Statement on Rory’s Comments Gary Stevenson’s Master’s Thesis & Chocolate Biscuits Red Scare – “Nuzzi Salute” “What a Crock of S***!” – Piers Morgan vs Nick Fuentes (Full Interview) Jason Calacanis Reacts to Trump’s Message Bret Weinstein Displays His Foresight Trump’s Follow-Up Comments on Rob Reiner