XaiJu
Decoding The Gurus
Decoding The Gurus

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DTG Upcoming Releases

It's January and we have a lot of upcoming material planned, so we thought we might share it here to keep us on track and let you know about our short erm plans. Some things are subject to change but these will definitely be things that are coming soon.

Decoding Episodes
1. Peter Thiel: This one is long overdue.

2. Michael Hobbes: Also late and one we want to get off the list. Plus we have been in right-wing guru land for quite a while, so nice to get a change. Probably, will do an episode of Maintenance Phase.

3. Naomi Klein: Again, a long-term list resident. It might even turn out to be a nice escape!

4. Matthew McConaughey: I was reminded of this missed episode recently and his multi-level marketing spiel would be fun to cover.

5. Chris Langan: Physics crank with self-proclaimed 200 IQ. Think Eric Weinstein but turned up to 11. Matt wants to do this and god he deserves it!

Supplementary Episodes / Topics

1. Peterson X Huberman Crossover: God waffle meets optimising broicity.

2. When Lex met Zelensky: Love, War, and Wounded Birds

3. Zuckerberg's Libertarian MAGA pivot

4. Shermer and his conspiracy hypotheses

5. Matt's final thoughts on the US

Interviews & Crossovers

1. That long overdue episode with the Very Bad Wizards on Dream Scenario

2. We would like to interview Julia Rohrer on how to do research well and appropriately infer causality (but have not arranged yet)

Decoding Academia and some updates to the Gurometer (updated scores and adding scores for moral grandstanding for all those missed) are also on the horizon.

DTG Upcoming Releases

Comments

Klein is the relatively sane one. Wolf is the one who started out as a respected feminist with books like the beauty myth, but lately seems to have gotten lost in conspiracy land and is coming up with more and more nutty hot takes. Klein has actually written a book about Wolf and about how Wolf going nuts has impacted her because people always get the two of them confused.

Emma

Klein is No Logo, Shock Doctrine, etc.

Kerena

Please also have a look at the Destiny + Dr K interview on Bridges.

Horace Fairview

Is Naomi Klein the one who wrote ‘no logo’ or is it the other one? (Naomi Wolf?)

Michal Lichota

Thanks, looking forward to those! 😃 So Iain McGilchrist didn't make the cut. Never mind, he'll still be around when you need a break from really bad gurus.

Roland Weber

I think of the decodings as advance warnings, so I'm prepared when these people pop up in real-life conversations.

Roland Weber

I agree wholeheartedly, except for one thing. The self presentation strategies, contradictions, and playbook mirror so many of those discussed with the “ great men” this pod features. And Dana is sort of an un-explored gem. Lots of information out there that traditional media outlets have overlooked b/c mma was/is so fringe. But now it’s a political prop, hence my suggestion.

DJM

Sam Bankman-Freid! I would enjoy an Effective Altruism skeptical eye :)

Ymirsdreams

He's pretty terrible. I'm under the impression he recently quit his lecturing job (or it quit him). I actually worry about his mental health, tbh. (I suspect it's a case of 'watch this space' for other...uhm... stories.)

Ymirsdreams

I do feel that there's something in the idea that the conflagration of youtube and podcasting has incentivised entrepreneurial internet-facilitated guru-dom, and something in the way content is funnelled and user accounts 'sold' to creators/advertisers that encourages cult-ish devotion.

Ymirsdreams

Kastrup is very interesting. He's surprisingly good on Schopenhauer and on Spinoza. His own ideas are, imho, entertaining thought experiments, and worth engaging with on those grounds alone. (Don't buy his arguments, personally.)

Ymirsdreams

Yarvin was especially bad. You know you’re in a weird interview when the triggernometry boys are the voice of reason…

RabdoRabbit

Unfitforpurpose -> What content of Jesse's would you recommend?

Christopher Kavanagh

Thank you for the recommendation. Heading there now!

Jess B.

It's a gap in my knowledge. Never listended that pod. Just know him Books could Kill and social media.

Unfitforpurpose

I'd suggest that of Hobbes is worth a decoding the Singal is even more so.

Unfitforpurpose

The Matthew Shepard episode of his old podcast, 'You're Wrong About', would be interesting to cover. The message - that homophobia is bad - is a good one that I agree with, but the discussion of the facts of the Matthew Shepard case is poor. Jesse Singal has written interesting things about it.

Jack Anderson

Yesssss that sounds good!

Monica B.

Sorry to be negative, but please god no. There is surely nothing interesting to be gleaned from that MAGA meathead

Spartacus Mills

Would love to hear a decoding of Bernardo Kastrup one day. I think he's a very interesting and provocative thinker but ultimately way too certain in his theories and arrogant to make him anything close to a reliable caveat-laden intellectual craftsman like Sean Carroll.

Spartacus Mills

Actually come to think of it, he literally just had a new book release a couple of days ago, so it's a decent pretext to ask further questions of whatever sort

Empty_Cognizance

I’ve never found him even vaguely interesting. There’s a clip of him and Rogan talking about Willink’s boots and it is brain-meltingly bro bs.

RabdoRabbit

Hobbes makes a lot of very confident claims, especially on the Maintenance Phase podcast. Many of these claims are inaccurate.

RabdoRabbit

For everyone saying they really like Hobbes and the Maintenance Phase podcast, I highly recommend the “Maintenance Phase Reality Check” Substack. It shows just how bad the science is in the podcast.

RabdoRabbit

Monica, I agree! Let's touch base once the episode drops and we have a chance to listen 🙃 we can talk through the damage and what we learned haha.

Jess B.

Listened to Jocko for the first time in a long time; he is screaming for a decoding.

Brett Jeffery

Also a fave of mine! I guess we’ll get a taste of how the Lex Sam destiny whoever fans here feel 🥺 😆 I will say that I hope the fact that it’s one of the very few non-dude and maybe one if the only non-straight podcasts (and non-small bodied even?!) covered by DtG doesn’t make it extra painful (obviously I don’t think Chris and Matt will get weird about it or I wouldn’t be here, but who knows, and among some of our fellow commenters…I worry : )

Monica B.

Any chance of a Dana White decoding? That could frankly be a whole podcast…

DJM

Good reminder

Christopher Kavanagh

High

Christopher Kavanagh

Except for Thiel, the upcoming candidates seem like they will be less painful than Yarvin was.

Linda Sears

The Michae Hobbes episode would be interesting. I agree with him on much and aI m not sure whether he fits into the typical guru model, but I do find some of the arguments and reasoning he uses problematic.

Jack Anderson

I don't know many of them. DTG is bad for my mental health because it constantly introduces me to new people to hate 🙄 I know that's not the point of the podcast but that is the effect.

Ion

It’s about time someone talked about McConaughey’s madness! And Thiel. Can’t wait. Sorry I didn’t get the note on the NYC meet-up in time. Hope you come back sometime.

Neely McCormick

Some very interesting choices. I hope that you do get around to doing. Michael Hobbes. Despite sharing some of his political outlook, I do find him. unbearably smug and lacking in significant capacity for reflection. I'm also looking forward to Naomi Klein. I really like her work, and I see her almost as an antithesis to some of the gurus that you cover. Along with Zizek, she is probably the closest to my own views. Your analyses are generally really considered and fair so I think it's great that you are considering her covering her.

David AS

What's the chances of a Mike Israetel DTG episode in the future?

Ryan

Veeery curious to listen to the Micheal Hobbes one. I’ve been a listener to all of his podcasts and find him mostly to be smart and thoughtful although he is a bit more left on the spectrum than I am.

Adalheidur

Adorable illustration! Didn’t know Chris wore specs 😉

Nancy Hale

Can we get a little Mark Manson in the mix at some point please? Even a morsel for an SM ep would be very welcome! Nice break from politics, but also the guy is I think a great example of someone who seems to think he has some deep and profound takes about modern culture that are actually well pedestrian and a decade old. Dude's maybe quite a positive figure overall, but he does seem to be regarded as a major guru by a lot of people.

Spartacus Mills

Big tings!

Spartacus Mills

Wouldn't mind a Donald Lopez interview someday, like you briefly hinted at during the last livestream 🙏

Empty_Cognizance

Mel Robbins? I had never heard of her until there was a write up in the NY Times. I think she’s not political. there hasn’t been very many women represented on the pod. Even up the score a bit with her. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I tried to listen to her podcast but lasted less than 30 minutes. It was very boring. It seems she has managed to repackage Buddhism but doesn’t seem to give the big guy any credit. Maybe Chris can make it through an episode? Because I can’t. Listening to this nonsense is like modern day self flagellation but without the heavenly reward. Thank you Chris. We owe you. I’ll light a candle. 🕯️

Daniel

I listened to that and felt many of the criticisms were fine but also some silly petty and uncharitable stuff too. The points about atheism more broadly also seemed very confused.

Christopher Kavanagh

I’ve been on a VBW kick and have come across both some of Tamler’s supernatural centrism and times he and David went to war on air over issues like criminal justice. I feel once the Dream Scenario bit is done, you could easily have some fun burning that bridge if you’d like 😅 (but please don’t)

Milquetoast Ramen

I'm kindly requesting Alan Watts be added to the decoding backlog

Níall Faughnan

I've been relatively unscathed so far by DtG, but Maintenance Phase is a favorite podcast of mine 😅🫣 I'm excited and nervous. I'll start prepping my humble pie.

Jess B.

Hobbes did a fun pod about Sam Harris' book End Of Faith a while back. A decoding confrontation seemed inevitable at that point. Though he seems an odd fit.

Unfitforpurpose

Dr k pt 5

Charlie Friedberg

Yeah, just saw Zuckerberg on NHK news. What’s with that?

Gerard Marchesseau

If you're doing Naomi Klein, you should mix her up with Naomi Wolf.

Jon Cronshaw

Any chance for an Asmongold episode? or is the streamer arc over? Happy new year!

Yellow Crocs

So… we should expect these episodes over the next year??? Jk jk look forward to the episodes!!

Heath Lancaster

Super excited to hear you're covering Langan! 🎉

Ian Abildskou

I'd thought Eric was already Eric Weinstein turned up to 11...? Gulp.

John S Durst

I need to know Tamler's opinion on whether the US is being invaded by aliens or not. Surely the witnesses can't all be wrong.

Kyle Ferriter

For the Chris Langan content, I have to suggest his discussion on consciousness with Bernardo Kastrup (who is already got his own heterodox theory — analytic idealism). Langan insists on rapid fire use of his own anachronistic, made up terminology across multiple domains and seemingly refuses to actually engage with the literature on the subject which makes the conversation tedious. It’s clear Langan has little understanding of basic philosophical concepts and Bernardo treats him with kids gloves. However apparently after this debate things got heated and Langan threatened physical violence against Bernardo via email lol. Maybe, just maybe, the fact he was a bouncer his whole life getting into physical altercations with people is indicative of deeper personality problems that prevented him from succeeding in school. This discussion and the subsequent drama is just wild. I believe Langan is also a truther who believes in 911 conspiracies and was advocating the March on January 6. He has (of course) concluded from his theory of everything that Jesus is the son of God and our Lord and Savior. It’s quite depressing to see he is absolutely blown up on YouTube and is getting millions and millions of views these days. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HsXxgQy4xLQ

Par


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