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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 DadFULL PANEL: Should we abolish all podcasts? Michael Tracey, Bret Weinstein, Lauren SouthernJoe Rogan Experience #2503 - Eric Weinsteinhttps://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/candace-owens-tate-brothers-visit-russia-kremlin-touts-thaw-rcna348311Candace Owens x Ana KasparianFinancial Times - How China is breaking apart a people and its cultureZeteo: Where Did the 40,000 Iran Protests Death Toll Number Come From?Ana Kasparian repeating anti-semitic conspiracies about 9/11More fun tweets from AnaThe Young Turks: Tucker’s 9/11 Documentary Raises Some HUGE QuestionsJimmy Dore has tapped into God after stopping smoking PotJordan Hall Decodes AI
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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 ZimbabweBehind the Bastards: L. Ron Hubbard SeriesGoing Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (Documentary)My Scientology Movie: Louie Theroux
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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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 RoadJordan's video on the OnionDan's blog on his next plansRob Henderson’s thread promoting the Shermer Skeptic StudyPolarization Research Lab- Low levels of support for partisan violencePolarization Research Lab - Did the 2024 Election Change American Attitudes About Democracy?Ryan Holiday’s response to the Shellenberger videoRyan Holiday responding to article that he is ‘fuming’ at IvankaZuby’s insights on Birth Rate DeclineVice article on the history of testicle transplants"Massive GRIFTER!" Piers Morgan Grills Russell Brand On Allegations, Prison, 'Truth' & ReligionUnHerd: When Claudia met Claudius- So are they really conscious?UnHerd: When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious?‘Professor’ Jiang on Trump’s ImmortalityMehdi Hasan dunking on Dawkins
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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 McGilchristJonathan Pageau: Artificial Intelligence, Possession, and Mental Illness - Dr. Iain McGilchristThink Faith: Philosopher Iain McGilchrist DEBATES neuroscientist Anil Seth on God & minds | Uncommon GroundSpezio, M. (2019). McGilchrist and hemisphere lateralization: a neuroscientific and metaanalytic assessment. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.1604416Corballis, 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.
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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 IbogaineFact Check of Rogan's claims on PolitiFactPancreatic cancer mRNA trial update: NBC report on six-year follow-upArticle on NIH grant cancellations/funding cuts at Washington PostAPHA release on lawsuit over politically driven grant terminationsBan on DEI words, including "polarization" by DOGEBBC Article on Orbán's lossBoghossian dodges criticism of Hungary in HardTalk interviewBoghossian avoids dealing with protests in HungaryDugin / Sneako / Professor Jiang interviewTrump attacks Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn KellyBret Weinstein's moon landing / Artemis clip highlighted by Bad StatsEric Weinstein's tweets on commercial AI and theoretical physicsTucker Carlson's promotion for Russell Brand's new Christian-themed bookEzra Klein on Hasan Piker: RealClearPolitics mirror of the New York Times columnConduit: I Spent ONE WEEK Watching Hasan Piker , And This Is What I LearnedA generational divide over Trump among Vietnamese-Americans – BBC NewsHasan reacts to the Vietnamese-American documentaryTwitter Thread with most of the viral Hasan clipsNoahpinion: Hasan Piker is bad for the DemocratsHasan's Yale Debate on YouTubeYair Rosenberg's article on the Atlantic: The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein StoryNYT: ‘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 BidAlex Jones clip of him roaming shirtless and complaining about the OnionMikhaila Peterson: Jordan Peterson Health Update and Psych Med Injury DiscussionJonathan Pageau explains Jordan's illness is due to his refusal to submit to GodTaylor Lorenz being correct about the past promotion of technology productsTech Dirt article on the recent court decisions against Meta and YouTubeSean Hannity endorses Trump over his CatholicismTaylor Lorenz: The Truth About the Social Media Addiction Trial
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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 McGilchristIain 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.2019.1604416Lamm, 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.
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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 PearlmanThe Disagreement: Debating a mentalist professor of psychology (Scott Barry Kaufman) about Oz PearlmanChris' old blog covering the ethics of Derren Brown's claims in 2009The Power Of Subliminal Messages | Trick Of The Mind | Derren Brown
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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 backersMother 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 AICenk Uygur’s Pickleball ConspiracyVigeland & Citarella on Epstein: The One Conspiracy to Rule Them All (YouTube)Benjamin Boyce and Warren Smith discuss Quantum PhysicsTriggernometry: Mehdi Hasan Debate on the Iran War, Immigration and the Israel LobbyCreator of Horseshoe Theory Dies aged 100
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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!
LinksDecoding 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 FactsMickey's provocative tweet on his recent paperDTG Previous Interview with Mickey on the Replication Crisis, Mindfulness, and Responsible HeterodoxyAndy Masley Substack debunking the AI water usage claimsAndy Masley Substack: Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheetPataranutaporn, 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
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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 DynamicsThe Rise and Fall of Ken Wilber – Mark MansonRebel Wisdom: Interview with Ken Wilber- What Happened to Jordan PetersonDS Wilson finds wisdom in Ken's approachKen Wilber's website
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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 dateThe 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
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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 GrokBoghossian’s hardcore rules for GrokH-Neurons: On the Existence, Impact, and Origin of Hallucination-Associated Neurons in LLMs (Gao et al., 2025)YouTube comment under our NXIVM video about EpsteinPeople article claiming Epstein was Putin’s Wealth ManagerTaylor Lorenz – Panic World: How Epstein Warped the Entire InternetGarbage 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 RoganAmerican Alchemy: Eric Weinstein & Eric Davis on WormholesBBC: Ex-police chief said Trump told him in 2006 “everyone” knew about Epstein’s behaviourJoshua Citarella & Emma Vigeland – Epstein, Conspiracy & Right-wing Media | DoomscrollPew Research: Demographics of the Progressive Left in the United StatesDebunking claims about Ghislaine Maxwell being a Reddit power modObama did not say aliens are real – PBS NewsHourNBC News: Epstein’s relationship with Ehud BarakAl Jazeera: What were Jeffrey Epstein’s links to Israel?Warren Smith’s post about threats from Digital GnosisDigital Gnosis Substack statementDestiny’s Head Mod Confronts Him On His RhetoricEric Weinstein Demands UFO Secrets From Pentagon ScientistEpstein 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 KotickPablos Holman responding and dunking on Kotick
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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 EpsteinThe Rest is Classified: Was Epstein a Russian Spy?Epstein Files Declassified: Mossad, Israel, and Ghislaine MaxwellEpstein 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 ClimaxUS Senate Church Committee report on MK-Ultra and CIA covert experimentation and the archived reportNY Times: What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthy’s Right-Hand ManA less conspiratorial but more sympathetic perspective on Epstein's influence by Taylor Lorenz and Ryan BroderickAn 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
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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 EpsteinBlindboy: Butter Melting Down The Neck Of A Warm HorseThe Guardian: ‘I have a bag on my head. Deal with it!’ Is Blindboy the perfect podcaster?The Rubberbandits: Horse OutsideBobby Fingers' performance art on YouTubeJake Tapper shared the removed DOJ documents that contain allegations against TrumpA detailed debunking of the claim that Ghislaine Maxwell was a Reddit Mod2013 article covering approval for Trump’s family cemetery2016 New Yorker Article about Trump wanting to be buried at his golf courseThe Verge: Christopher Pool ‘moot’ rejects the claims about Epstein creating the 4chanRon Rosenbaum’s 1977 article on the Skull and Bones society initiationsAmerica's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones (Sutton, 1986)Atlantic Article from 2000 that mentions the coffin masturbation rumourArticle from the NYT: How The Times Is Digging Into Millions of Pages of Epstein FilesThe Rest is Classified: Was Epstein a Russian Spy?Epstein Files Declassified: Mossad, Israel, and Ghislaine MaxwellEpstein Files Declassified: Was he a Spy?Le Monde: Some consequences for the Sultan who Epstein messaged about the torture videoBBC: Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty if convicted, judge rulesAn 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 healthcareCritical examination of the headline denial rate of UnitedHealthcare2024 US Senate Report on Insurance Denials under Medicare Advantage Insurers
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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 WebsiteFassi, 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.
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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
SourcesIs Epstein Alive? The 313th Evolutionary Lens (Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying podcast episode)DarkHorse clip discussing the Epstein theory (YouTube)Aella’s history insights threadAella’s large thread about homeschoolingInterview where Aella discusses the perceived benefits of homeschoolingBret Weinstein responding to critics saying he has lost his mindBret Weinstein linking Epstein and COVID conspiraciesCenk Uygur promoting 9/11 conspiracy claimsCenk Uygur criticising media responses to his conspiracy theoriesPeter Thiel comments invoking Weimar-era parallelsDrew Pavlou’s stunt backfires
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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!
SourcesAcademic Papers and BooksFestinger, 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.70043Kelly, T. (2025). Failed prophecies are fatal. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 14(1), 48–71. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.33085Aronson, 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/h0047195Vaidis, 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/10.1177/25152459231213375Croyle, 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 ReferencedThe 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 SourcesAlexander, 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.
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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 BrownThe Deep End (Freeform/Hulu, 2022) - Four-part docuseries by Jon KasbeMormon Stories #1607: Growing Up with Teal Swan - Diana Hansen Ribera - Interview with Teal's childhood best friendMormon Stories #1328-1331: Leaving Mormonism to Join Teal Swan's Cult - Jared DobsonBBC- Teal Swan: The woman encouraging her followers to visualise deathScam Goddess: The Culty Con of Teal Swan w/ Sarah MarshallConspirituality 111: Who's Afraid of Teal Swan (pt 2) (w/Jennings Brown)Prosody's Gurudex Website
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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
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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 WebsiteBad Boy of Science – The Rise of Physics PopulisersTheories of Everything (Kurt Jaimungal)Losing the Nobel Prize – Brian KeatingInto the Impossible (Brian Keating)Sabine Hossenfelder’s YouTube ChannelThe Portal (Eric Weinstein)The Galileo Project (Avi Loeb)Sean Carroll – Mindscape / Preposterous UniverseNot Even Wrong (Peter Woit)
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