Vote on Upcoming Episodes
Added 2024-09-27 04:41:39 +0000 UTCHey everyone,
We have developed a rather extended list of future episodes and thought that when informing you all on what’s coming, it might also be interesting to get feedback on what people are interested in.
Matt and I often adjust plans for episodes when we feel like a break or a vibe shift, something crazy comes out or we just really want to cover something. Some of our best episodes have been ones that not many people asked for. But we also don’t ignore feedback and people have made very good suggestions in the past.
So here is what we have coming up soon in no specific order. Your duty 😉 is to vote on which episodes you are most interested in or to provide alternative suggestions in the comments below.
1. Curtis Yarvin - Dark Enlightenment cringe lord.
2. Peter Thiel - Tech Libertarian / Rich idiot.
3. Michael Hobbes - popular progressive anti-disinformation researcher (or is he?!?)
4. Naomi Klein - influential liberal critic of corporations and recent analyst of conspiracy theorists
5. John Vervaeke & Jordan Peterson - Sensemaking Boogaloo
6. Sabine Hossenfelder - Responsible scientific commentary vs YouTube clickbait contrarianism
7. Warren Smith - Viral teacher bringing back the 2016 culture war.
8. Peter Turchin - Academic with some grand theories about conflicts.
9. Matthew McConaughey - from Hollywood A lister to Multilevel Marketing and self improvement scammer.
Other stuff that isn’t decoding episodes that we need to arrange.
10. Flint Dibble returns to discuss online harassment from alternative archaeologists.
11. Very Bad Decoders- crossover with VBW hosts, covering a relevant movie. Perhaps Dream Scenario.
12. Moral Grandstanding special episode - we need to score all previous gurus on this new facet.
13. Gurometer scores revisited- Checking in on scores of some classic gurus and updating.
Comments
Very bad decoders would be awesome! I’d love to hear y’all’s reactions to Dream Scenario
Josh B
2024-10-08 11:33:07 +0000 UTCScott Galloway would be interesting
Bill
2024-10-07 03:52:09 +0000 UTCThiel is the poster boy of technocratic aristocracy that has been fetishized by Silicon Valley brogrammers and venture capitalists. He genuinely believes the richest people are the most qualified to make the most important decisions. Definitely the most relevant, now that he’s becoming more and more of a household name.
Talent Pun
2024-10-05 15:40:47 +0000 UTCYeah Thiels love of Viking lore is a bit surreal. Is he romanticizing the past? Gandolf is a archetype of Odin. The Vikings definitely did not practice liberal democracy.
Mark Francis
2024-10-05 05:32:15 +0000 UTCMichael Hobbes AND Michael Malice. C’mon, left and right, a tale of two Michaels.
Boyo
2024-10-02 01:51:37 +0000 UTCI've hoted Hossenfelder, because she's had an interesting trajecotry. What do people think of the Dark Mountain founder people (Dougald Hine or Paul Kingsnorth).
Beigeian
2024-10-01 15:05:57 +0000 UTCThat's a good one, he was a guru of mine in high school
Anna
2024-10-01 13:28:26 +0000 UTCHobbes or Hossenfelder! I watch both but both make me say 'oh, come on' now and again.
Barrett
2024-10-01 10:52:49 +0000 UTCI voted for a number of the popular ones, like Thiel, Yarvin, etc, because they're politically impactful. But I'm not sure how well they fit the guru mould for a decoding exercise (as distinct from a political influence, networking and Ideological analysis). So I also put a vote in for Turchin bc even tho he's much lower profile (and less ideologically poisonous from my vantage) I think there's a strong element of secular guru gurudom from his revolutionary new science of history (TM). Also that Costello, Pennycock & Rand paper "Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI" has to be in your wheelhouse for a Decoding Academia, surely?
Paul Bowman
2024-10-01 09:09:22 +0000 UTCIs there any chance we can do a decoding academia on the Stanford Prison Experiment? It shocks me how much people still hold this up as 'science' as opposed to an art installation.
Elliot Nial
2024-10-01 08:09:32 +0000 UTCDr.Drew just continues to get more unhinged and now is pushing fad pseudo science diet/nutrition stuff
DemonicDreamer
2024-10-01 03:01:25 +0000 UTCMoral grandstanding. It's everywhere! The horse world is full of it, and it's even invading gardening in subtle ways. Gurus, Gurus everywhere.
Geraldine Kawabe
2024-09-30 23:17:15 +0000 UTCI am genuinely curious what could be going on with Michael Hobbes. Thiel and Yarvin for sure.
Carl
2024-09-30 19:56:22 +0000 UTCRich idot please
Robert Young
2024-09-30 19:07:40 +0000 UTCOne potentially very controversial but influential guru is Steve Sailer. He's a well known guy and has very big influence in the right wing race pseudoscience obsessive sphere, but if you cover him I'd anticipate some significant online backlash from both him and his frothing at the mouth nazi followers. Semi related to the recent Amy Wax UPenn culture war story, is Jared Taylor, noted American white nationalist who Wax is hosting on campus to give a speech. https://www.phillymag.com/news/2024/09/18/jared-taylor-amy-wax-penn/
Kyle Ferriter
2024-09-30 17:54:47 +0000 UTCTaibbi has descended into full blown loonery but I'm not sure he's much of a 'guru' specifically
Kyle Ferriter
2024-09-30 17:50:36 +0000 UTCI don't think I could take a John Vervaeke & Jordan Peterson episode now. It's mind numbingly dumb content and has already been decoded extensively. Maybe a mini episode on a specific bit of content like their recent youtube video but I'd rather hear about something new. Peter Thiel and MIchael Hobbes are good options. Michael Hobbes would be good to cover in the interest of being "fair and balanced". I'm sure Jesse Singal would be available to give input, or commentary on it after the fact. While another Dibble episode would be great, maybe first it would be good to do a whole episode on Graham Hancock (maybe also covering Randall Carlson), getting a deeper look at that content, so when Dibble returns there's more context and he can also comment on that.
Kyle Ferriter
2024-09-30 17:49:10 +0000 UTCLooking forward to Flint Dibble. Would hope Dr. Drew was decoded soon too!
Alexander Tronstad
2024-09-30 16:20:49 +0000 UTCI am interested because she walks on the precipice of sense making but doesn't fail into gurudome. These cases are important tests for the theory
Emil Mi
2024-09-30 11:22:00 +0000 UTCYes, I think his speeches are delivered in a boring manner but are often chock-a-block full of bad reasoning and rhetorical techniques.
Christopher Kavanagh
2024-09-30 02:46:12 +0000 UTCSpeaking for myself, I actually rather enjoy Hobbes' delivery and find the (occasionally played up) bitchiness endearing. Still, I think he approaches science in a politics-first manner, which can lead him astray. I have also seen his co-host on If Books Could Kill criticised for being smug, I think the difference is that he's just less famous than Hobbes.
Christopher Kavanagh
2024-09-30 02:45:20 +0000 UTCOh god yeah please don't get Gawkered!!!
Galantasy
2024-09-29 23:19:18 +0000 UTCWould also be nice to include Kahn and Coursera. They're not grifts but they cost money and have poor completion rates.
Adam Sher
2024-09-29 18:26:21 +0000 UTCWhatever you decide to do, I am interested in learning more about the alternate academic universe of Peterson Academy and the University of Austin, for example, in a future Supplemental Material episode. You mentioned Bad Stats had become a student of Peterson Academy. It might be fun to interview him on that experience. This also gives you two a little break from the decoding grind. 😉
Linda Sears
2024-09-29 15:14:45 +0000 UTCHow about Matt Dillahunty?
TraderinNYC
2024-09-29 10:27:35 +0000 UTC+1 to Vaush!
aneladgam_varelse
2024-09-29 09:09:06 +0000 UTCA fact-checking decoding on an episode about fact-checking (that is also doing fact-checking). I'm all for this haha
Christopher Rosiak
2024-09-29 04:52:07 +0000 UTCI like him as well. I've learned to keep a bit of psychic distance from people who are doomsayers - apocalyptic. While I worry about various elements of the so-called metacrisis, I try not to fall into the end is nigh thinking - it's a very narrow path filled with alternative roots.
S Garvey
2024-09-28 22:11:54 +0000 UTCReally curious on whether my memory would survive a decoding episode on him. Nudge nudge wink wink at Chris to cover him. We know that you read everything compulsively ;)
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:24:46 +0000 UTCIt was at least a year ago that I listened to Hobbes, but from what I remember he preferred an approach to scientific literature where he cherry picked quotes without relevant context. Relied on a confident delivery to hide that he did not have the basics under his belt. Which I experience as incredible grating. And then everything was quite black and white. His disclaimers were often weird, like not addressing the core problems with his arguments. I think thanks to this podcast I could now call them strategic disclaimers.
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:23:07 +0000 UTC(Covid vaccines and possible lab leaks were common topics on this podcast in the past)
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:14:40 +0000 UTCNeither Matt, Chris nor Hobbes are biologists. When the decoders engage with biological topics they do it with care, talk to a number of relevant subject experts. And generally know how to talk about uncertainty and the incremental progress. Not getting hyped by flashy sentences in titles or abstract.
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:12:53 +0000 UTCFor me the difference between him and Matt/Chris is tremendous. Not the least because of my own background which is in biology 🧪🧫🧬
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:08:18 +0000 UTCGreat to listen to I cannot argue with :D
mobitobi
2024-09-28 20:04:57 +0000 UTCI think he is great to listen to and I find it interesting and hilarious how hated he is by the fans of DTG. It makes me wonder what your idea of smug is and how he is any different than Matt or Chris.
Sarah S
2024-09-28 17:29:05 +0000 UTCWhy do you say that?
Sarah S
2024-09-28 17:26:53 +0000 UTCBalaji Srinivasan
Sam
2024-09-28 16:49:29 +0000 UTCVaush please
Sam
2024-09-28 16:44:05 +0000 UTCAm I thinking of something else? Wasn't it a video of a student who critizied JK Rowling and then Warren DESTROYS HIS STUDENT?
Adam Sher
2024-09-28 15:15:54 +0000 UTCHi all, how about an episode or series on "Everyday Gurus" where patrons submit tales of guruesque behaviour from people in their lives. I find your analyses of the typical rhetorical and manipulative techniques so helpful in understanding the behaviour of characters I interact with in the academic sphere and I'm betting many other listeners feel the same resonance in their circles. Cheers! Keep up the great work.
James Keaveney
2024-09-28 11:30:32 +0000 UTCI vote for Tim and Eric’s Zone Theory. Could be a fun decoding.
elcid
2024-09-28 09:15:07 +0000 UTCI don’t think him being gay shelters him. It hasn’t sheltered Dave Rubin, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Peter Thiel either, so there are other factors at play. He’s an effective communicator for leftist-y causes, and I think that’s what made me like him too. Although recently I’ve come to think that the excessive snark just distracts from the arguments. Curious to see what the DtG decoding will be like. I have some reservations about how well DtG can cover lgbt related stuff.
IDW Dinner Club
2024-09-28 07:52:27 +0000 UTCReally? I hear a lot of people dumping on how annoying Michael is but nothing specifically about Aubry or Peter. I do think it's a pity that they have weakened their credibility with some people by getting a bit outside their lane in attacking the science of the health system. Because they have very valid criticism of the social side of healthcare. I had a hormone producing pituitary tumour causing Cushing's disease for about a decade and the major reason I could not get an early diagnosis was doctor bigotry inspire of the fact that I 100% knew I had some type of endocrine disease and I went to the doctors dozens of times trying fruitlessly to get help. And now I've joined the Cushing's support group I've realised this is the universal experience of us Cushies. So getting out the message about the harms of weight stigma is incredibly important work.
Emma
2024-09-28 06:31:39 +0000 UTCI love listening to him I used to binge all of his content but I’d selfishly like a critical view on him just to see wher I’m going wrong in how much I like him.
Andrew
2024-09-28 05:29:00 +0000 UTCI don’t think there was any kid…
Christopher Kavanagh
2024-09-28 05:23:32 +0000 UTCI honestly don’t understand how Michael Hobbes makes it onto a list with Peter Theil. Like or loathe him he has considerably less impact on anything than everyone else on the list. Unless you consider what mass market self help or diet books you might impulse buy at the grocery store or airport a potential Earth changing event. Peter Thiel is actually potentially dangerous, and has the money to create things like JD Vance who NO ONE likes. Also I’m pissed about him naming every damn thing after Tolkien stuff. I like Tolkien stories, but just as stories. And movies. And the one TV series so far.
Laura
2024-09-28 04:28:49 +0000 UTCThe aim of the podcast isn't to hate on people who they (or you) disagree with. I don't think Weiss would score particularly high on many of the guru metrics and doesn't really do much to warrant analysis in my opion. Though maybe if they did a political pundits season she would. I personally don't really see why Weiss garners so much hate. I disagree with her politically, and feel like her podcast often lacks in-depth critical analysis of certain guests, but that's not particularly different from similar outlets on the left.
Password1234!
2024-09-28 03:05:26 +0000 UTCFunding does not equal influencing though. I think Thiel funds him because he likes his ideals and wants them to be influential. And he’s succeeded in making Yarvin’s vision get closer to reality. Hell, project 2025 is basically the cleaned up policy wonk version of Yarvin’s ideas (retire all government employees, replace them with loyalists, etc). Yarvin is like a guru for the gurus.
Kelley
2024-09-28 02:35:05 +0000 UTCSounds like an interesting person!
Adam Sher
2024-09-28 00:40:34 +0000 UTCThiel published one of the books in the tech Bible, Zero to One. It's based on a course he taught, and interestingly, Blake Masters was the TA. I love that book and like his lectures on startups and tech. He also published a much lessor known book called The Diversity Myth with David Sacks. This book provides a good window into his politics - it's based on their observations of the decline of the humanities at Stanford while they were there (mid to late 80s)
Adam Sher
2024-09-28 00:39:12 +0000 UTCI thought the video he posted with that kid was cruel and very inappropriate
Adam Sher
2024-09-28 00:26:09 +0000 UTCI just listened to the "Behind the Bastards" episode on Curtis Yarvin, so I'm not thrilled to go over similar ground right away. I'm curious about Michael Hobbes having guru tendencies since I'm a fan of "If Books Could Kill". I'd like to hear what I think is a long-needed review of what the hell happened to Matthew McCaunaghey if we aren't going to get a Dawkins episode any time soon. I believe there was a recent post about "Selfish Gene" being an upcoming topic, right?
JustTheWorstEver
2024-09-27 23:40:03 +0000 UTCbingo! follow the money.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 23:05:56 +0000 UTCI think Greenwald's financial stake in rumble (owned primarily by Thiel) should be examined.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 23:04:24 +0000 UTCit would be hard to do because Thiel is very careful about what he says publicly.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 23:00:31 +0000 UTCtrue, but Thiel funded most of the "alternative" right influencers including Yarvin. An episode on the intersection of Yarvin's philosophy with Nick Land's would be most interesting.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 22:59:35 +0000 UTCI have sympathy for Schmachtenberger. He seems to have gotten sucked into the alt-left new age vortex but then realized it and backed out rather quietly.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 22:56:39 +0000 UTCno. he is horrifically boring to listen to. He's very very careful about what he says publicly. His guru-dom is very much an elite thing. he's got an army of young men as followers who are true believers in the Thiel-verse but he keeps it very much on the down-low.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 22:54:30 +0000 UTCcool. now I need to see it.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 22:50:28 +0000 UTChonestly wish more people would read Max Chafkins bio. It's a very careful book, considering Thiel's power level, but still damning
S Garvey
2024-09-27 22:46:58 +0000 UTCThank god Warren Smith isn't getting many votes, he deserves as little attention as possible
Ryan Goss
2024-09-27 22:34:51 +0000 UTCJust remember that Stefan is not a holocaust denier because Sam Harris asked him if he believed it happened and he replied yes. That's how you check these things apparently!
Chris Spanos
2024-09-27 21:03:04 +0000 UTCI'm hoping libertarians kick Dave Smith out of the club.
Adam Sher
2024-09-27 20:57:55 +0000 UTCA Thiel decoding would be interesting although it might not be worth the risk. Maybe I’m being naive but he’s a litigious bastard.
Dada de Broglie
2024-09-27 19:41:12 +0000 UTCYou might be interested to know that Michael Hobbes released a patreon episode in the last 48 hours specifically on Fact Checking as gotcha-journalism/thinly-veiled-partisan-polemic! 😆 (I like him personally, hence why I'm voting for his decoding! 😂)
Kali
2024-09-27 19:31:56 +0000 UTCCan you do 100 hours on how Bari Weiss is garbage? I'd enjoy that.
Randy
2024-09-27 18:43:51 +0000 UTCBut i also demand a dave smith decoding. Libertarians aren’t getting enough hate
Charlie Friedberg
2024-09-27 18:31:31 +0000 UTCNot sure why I don’t see dr k pt 4 as an option
Charlie Friedberg
2024-09-27 18:30:40 +0000 UTCAnd bonus votes for Hobbes and re-decoding the master gurus. I appreciated some of the stuff that Hobbes & co-host did on You’re Wrong About, but Maintenance Phase started getting me 🧐
Nancy Hale
2024-09-27 17:54:56 +0000 UTCDtG x VBW + surrealist cinema = 💯
Nancy Hale
2024-09-27 17:30:02 +0000 UTCMichael Hobbes and Peter Thiel on the same list ! Haha. Hobbes is Bilbo Baggins and Thiel is Sauron. He’s, quite literally, Sauron.
Nancy Carrozza CaraDonna
2024-09-27 16:41:18 +0000 UTC@Emma @Monica I actually think that this ostensive gayness shelters Hobbes from criticism. If he was normie, people wouldn’t think twice about calling him out for spreading misinformation (see: https://checkthefacts.substack.com?r=2bu2im&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile ). But this way he’s likeable and relatable for progressive audience, the same audience that shares his views and biases.
aneladgam_varelse
2024-09-27 16:36:17 +0000 UTCOooo Judith Butler would be good one
aneladgam_varelse
2024-09-27 16:29:14 +0000 UTCTurns out he does god awful job on research and wilfully misrepresents facts in support of his views. Yet he plays the role of this great debunker, your trustworthy news source. Ugh. Check out this blog https://checkthefacts.substack.com?r=2bu2im&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile
aneladgam_varelse
2024-09-27 16:28:03 +0000 UTCExcited to hear your thoughts on Sabine. I'm very conflicted about her overall content. He good stuff is amazing. Which makes her bad stuff is so frustrating. Can you look at a guy named Steven greenstreet? Not that he's a guru, but he's been closely tracking this story of this ufo guy called lue elizondo. I think greenstreet would be a good interview. A greenstreet x mick west collab episode would be amazing.
Vee
2024-09-27 16:21:57 +0000 UTCSabine would be interesting, but I'm not sure about guru. She seems more like a robot than a person sometimes LOL
ketracel-white
2024-09-27 16:10:49 +0000 UTCI think Yarvin's influence on Thiel is overstated. Thiel wrote his own antiwoke book with David Sacks in 1998 based on their observations while at Stanford.
Adam Sher
2024-09-27 16:05:00 +0000 UTCDon't let ignorance get in the way of strong opinions!
Adam Sher
2024-09-27 16:00:27 +0000 UTCAgree on Taibbi. I subscribe and have noticed more conspiratorial thinking in his weekly pod with Walter Kirn. The short story discussion segments at the end are fun though.
Adam Sher
2024-09-27 15:59:25 +0000 UTCI don't know all these people, but I'd like Yarvin and Thiels (for reasons of impact on US politics); Hobbes (for reasons I mention in a comment above), and McConaughey bc he gives me the creeps; and VERY MUCH both Moral Grandstanding and the Gurometer revisited (which I suggested in chat).
Sam D.
2024-09-27 15:41:35 +0000 UTCI like him too. But I do see some benefit form a DTG look, because he claims to be a debunker himself, so how good a job is he doing, what can we learn about debunking in general? And I know I now hear him differently, since listening to DTJ, and I know he is sometimes sloppy which is covered up by humor and charm and I know that I tend to give him a bit of a pass because of that.
Sam D.
2024-09-27 15:35:27 +0000 UTCI think DTG should do both of these.Souunds liek they need to be a set. I really am curious about Yarvin- would like to know more - from DTG.
Sam D.
2024-09-27 15:30:19 +0000 UTCI am for this.
Sam D.
2024-09-27 15:28:47 +0000 UTCLet's do both! A twinsie episode!
Sam D.
2024-09-27 15:26:07 +0000 UTCAgree. Cause I note Peter his cohost is every bit as 'smug' as Michael. But somehow when smugness is delivered in a very stereotypically straight male style, it doesn't register with anyone 🤔. I don't think he's above being swayed by his own biases. No one is. But overall I think he does more good than harm and also I think he's hilarious.
Emma
2024-09-27 15:21:18 +0000 UTCAlso very curious about thiel and yarvin, given that they seem to have a lot of influence over the far right in American politics
Bernt Goodson
2024-09-27 14:48:14 +0000 UTCMatthew McConaughey. I can't help but love the guy when he talks, there's a feeling of relatability and genuine humility he gives off. But then watch him in one of his Lincoln commercials, and it puts into perspective how easily he can pull off any vibe or personality.
Benjamin Layton
2024-09-27 14:45:36 +0000 UTCI vote Micheal hobbes. I have tried listening to him couple times and I can't understand his appeal. He seems like a fact checker he could really take or leaves depending on if it conforms to his ideology. Also i would be interested in a Matt taibbi decoding. I keep loose tabs on him and he seems he has descended in complete lunacy. Also his online fan base of paid subscribers are pretty awful
Bernt Goodson
2024-09-27 14:44:39 +0000 UTCSome of my choices are based on the folks I find the most annoying, ones I cannot bear to listen to. Lucky for me, your calloused ears and steely minds are a bulwark absorbing hours of their smug crap and parceling out excerpts wrapped in your commentary. My other choices are folks I admire. I am not worried about your critiques of them, since admiration is not adulation. (I have never been any kind of acolyte, to anyone. I have no capacity for it. I have never lost myself to ecstatic fandom or guru worship.)
Jeanne H-B
2024-09-27 14:43:58 +0000 UTCBut also I would 100% listen to the DtG take 😅
Monica B.
2024-09-27 14:31:07 +0000 UTCI see homophobia there too! NOT saying that’s why DtG want to cover him, though I don’t think he’s a good candidate for other reasons , but lots of people just don’t like a gay voice : / And a fat woman cohosting with a gay man? Reminding you can’t tell someone’s health by how they look? People get fully apoplectic!
Monica B.
2024-09-27 14:23:35 +0000 UTCNaomi Klein - I’m so interested in the change in her thinking about social activism in Doppelgänger.
Krista LePage
2024-09-27 13:38:57 +0000 UTCPleeeeaaase do Michael Hobbes! I’m a big fan of his but also based on my field of study I’ve heard him make some pretty egregious errors over the years so I’m so interested in what y’all have to say. Also Peter Theil but I see he’s handily winning
KT
2024-09-27 13:28:58 +0000 UTCI like him to! I wonder if he rubs so many people upthe wrong way because part of his shtick is to have almost a campy gay style of humour? I just notice whenever people criticise him it seems to mostly focus on his style. Which I have no issue with. After all he's also an entertainer so it's part of his job to be funny. And comedy itself tends to be quite specificto different communities. Like many (mostly male) people like Jo Rogan partly cause they find him funny. But a lot of other people find his style unbearable.
Emma
2024-09-27 13:28:30 +0000 UTCdo richard hanania as well.
JackG
2024-09-27 13:14:22 +0000 UTCVery bad gurus! This comment counts as a second vote.
Billy Hansen
2024-09-27 13:13:47 +0000 UTCPeter thief is the source code for the SV far-right. he's the point of origination so the most important.
S Garvey
2024-09-27 12:56:21 +0000 UTCI want to hear your analysis of Michael Hobbes! I love this multi-level debunking universe “well, actually…”
Anna
2024-09-27 12:40:54 +0000 UTCMichael Hobbes?? I enjoy his work on "If Books Could Kill" He is a potential guru?
Angelo Lillo
2024-09-27 12:31:12 +0000 UTCI feel like I don’t know enough on all the figures to make an informed choice. Should I choose anyway?
Linda Sears
2024-09-27 12:18:03 +0000 UTCPeter Thiel
Justin Hurley Ley
2024-09-27 12:16:44 +0000 UTCI probably didn't help much cuz I voted on everything
Don Cecil
2024-09-27 12:12:31 +0000 UTCHey everyone I hope you’re well. Curtis Yarvin would be interesting. Isn’t he connected to the Nerd Reich, which is more than just an insane physiological op. They may be up for getting physical to overthrow democracy and introduce- King Peter? Emperor Musk? Tbh I’m at the early stages of getting my head around their strand of lunacy…
Tricia Scott
2024-09-27 11:57:13 +0000 UTCI am interested mostly in Sabine. Though if you go deep into the physics you might need a physicist to back you up. (can you crossover with Sean Carroll?). But the random content seems easy enough to do. And it seems overly contrarian but I can't point to obvious "wrongness". I have wanted a gut check on her for a while now. Hobbes is just an ass and wrong a lot while be smug. I read an impactful takedown somewhere a year ago or so. But digesting how his studies stuff is twisted (has to be lots of Maintenance Phase) would be instructive.
James Pulver
2024-09-27 11:21:37 +0000 UTCIt would be a very different episode for sure. Having listened to other podcasts that cover Yarvin types (and those farther right than even him), it can be unsettling to actually hear people say the absolutely vile stuff they say. So that will be an unforgettable DtG episode if it happens.
Joe G
2024-09-27 11:17:34 +0000 UTCOhh, this is the guy from Maintenance Phase! What an awful podcast full of harmful health disinformation.
Amy
2024-09-27 11:01:24 +0000 UTCTotally agree. I feel like the scriptwriter must be a fan of this show, It's practically DTG: The Movie! He definitely paid a lot of attention to Bret and his various shenanigans, bringing so many of them to life onscreen, down to the weirdest little details.
Josh Davie
2024-09-27 10:46:08 +0000 UTCDTG covering Dream Scenario is my dream scenario. Don’t snooze on the Brett biopic.
pitiful_n00b
2024-09-27 10:40:14 +0000 UTCActually, I have no idea what the percentage of your audience is Australian. if it's more than some magic number, Jordan Shanks would be interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendlyjordies I like Jordan, his standup is original, his politics are my sort of centre left union positive flavour but he /also/ see's himself as a self-help guru and he sometimes crosses the line even in my view.
Jack
2024-09-27 10:07:48 +0000 UTCMatthew Mcconaughey most definitely. And Seth Godin one day please! He could be one of the most benign gurus you'll have come across but I think would be very interesting to hear decoded because his style of speech, at least on his Akimbo podcast, is quite unique and he may or may not be as incredibly insightful as his dedicated followers seem to think he is. They regularly sign off their listener questions with "thank you for all that you do", and Seth loves saying "people like us do things like this and talking about "changing the culture" even though it's mainly about marketing and growing your business. There is definitely a cultish quality to him and his audience of eager "entrepreneurs" who want to change the world. And he has been regarded by many as one of the greatest marketing gurus out there. Certainly not that important a figure to look at in terms of helping the world see through the bs of hugely influential and problematic gurus, but for the sake of variety and Gurometer calibration I think Godin could be a fun one.
Spartacus Mills
2024-09-27 09:23:51 +0000 UTCI voted for Naomi Klein but it would be interesting to hear your take on Judith Butler. I’ve found them to be a very interesting and influential philosopher and public intellectual. My view is that a lot of people haven’t actually listened to their reasoning properly, and the gurometer score would be low. But who knows!
IDW Dinner Club
2024-09-27 08:46:59 +0000 UTCI would like to suggest Dave Asprey.
STEPHEN CARLTON
2024-09-27 08:15:09 +0000 UTCThis is really just a joke suggestion, as she's probably way too small a figure for you guys to cover. But there's a very guru-like (though I think mostly harmless) youtuber called Brittany Simon, who has her own bespoke system called "The Levels" (there's 5) with which she ranks people based on how psychologically introspective she thinks they are (5 being from what I can tell basically akin to introspective enlightenment). Now it occurred to me that you both have now covered 2 out of 3 of the people that the infamous internet personality MrGirl (I know Chris at least is familiar with him) attempted to "take down" for being "unethical cult leaders": Destiny and Dr K. If you did cover Brittany Simon, this would complete the MrGirl trifecta. I'm not sure what that would achieve, but perhaps summon his vengeful spirit for showing him up or something? And yes this is also a vote for you guys one day covering MrGirl himself ;)
RipleyV
2024-09-27 08:06:24 +0000 UTCPlease do Hobbes, i listened to an episode of maintenance phase and dangerous books each. He is incredibly hard to listen to. Maybe I had bad luck with the specific episodes, but just so much bs delivered in such a smug way. I need a Chris filter between me and his content. Please keep me safe and cover him
mobitobi
2024-09-27 07:54:42 +0000 UTCThere is a god
Mikerpiker
2024-09-27 07:53:56 +0000 UTCMaybe I would be interested in Thiel, but he seems to be more of a case for political journalist. Does he have interesting rhetorics?
mobitobi
2024-09-27 07:51:31 +0000 UTCMichael Hobbes! Discovering he’s a hack changed my entire worldview
aneladgam_varelse
2024-09-27 07:44:57 +0000 UTC+1 for Moral Grandstanding
Nick Asbury
2024-09-27 07:34:11 +0000 UTCI'm interested in the Moral Grandstanding episode (also to see what an episode focused on a single axis across lots of gurus at the same time is like), and the Gurometer scores revisited.
Jake
2024-09-27 07:32:18 +0000 UTCI think Peter Thiel was always a libertarian weirdo and was writing about living on super boats back in 2009. Maybe Yarvin influenced him, but I get the feeling that Thiel was always going to be a libertarian weirdo once he made all that PayPal money.
Chris Spanos
2024-09-27 07:05:29 +0000 UTCYeah, Smith feels like a throwback culture warrior cosplaying as a 2016 Jordan Peterson
Will
2024-09-27 07:03:42 +0000 UTCPeter Theil. I have spoken.
Kyle
2024-09-27 06:53:25 +0000 UTCAlternative suggestion : Daniel Schmachtenberger
Andrew
2024-09-27 06:53:17 +0000 UTCSame! That’s why he gets my vote
Sean Howarth
2024-09-27 06:50:10 +0000 UTCHe will be done.
Christopher Kavanagh
2024-09-27 06:47:25 +0000 UTCYeah he feels like the shadowy background character to a lot of the other episodes so far. Would be good to do a deep dive on him.
Kevin O'Rourke
2024-09-27 06:41:22 +0000 UTCAlso, the guru-sphere is kind of a sausage festival, and not in the way of Sabine's people
Jack
2024-09-27 06:39:00 +0000 UTCOooo Sabine please, I've heard people grumble about her a bit in pretty vauge ways - YouTube recommended me this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk_NjIPaZk4 and it was pretty funny
Jack
2024-09-27 06:35:50 +0000 UTCI only know Michael Hobbes from some podcasts. I find him funny and charming. I’m not on Twitter and never have been, so I have to assume it’s his behavior on there that makes him a candidate for decoding? What am I missing 😅
Kelley
2024-09-27 06:32:46 +0000 UTCBut Yarvin is the guy that influenced Thiel! We need to tackle the root cause of the proliferation of neo-reactionary nonsense!
Kelley
2024-09-27 06:29:01 +0000 UTCI don’t think btb did a very good job of covering him though. It was like a book report about him, rather than just hearing it from the horses mouth and then analyzing it (which our fearless decoders excel in)
Kelley
2024-09-27 06:25:42 +0000 UTCCurtis Yarvin is the genesis of the neo-reactionary moment that the US is currently in. It’s his writings that heavily influenced Thiel and basically every other silicon valley tech doofus.
Kelley
2024-09-27 06:21:22 +0000 UTCdefinitely peter thiel!
JackG
2024-09-27 06:08:35 +0000 UTCWould love to hear a Michael Hobbes episode. 🤞🤞🤞
Bri Koral
2024-09-27 05:52:56 +0000 UTCTouché!
Aaron Holder
2024-09-27 05:52:29 +0000 UTCI generally like Michael Hobbes (with some reservations) and don't often see critical coverage of him, so I'd definitely be interested in that. Behind the Bastards just covered Yarvin.
Joe G
2024-09-27 05:52:16 +0000 UTCX 2
Dave Lavelle
2024-09-27 05:50:15 +0000 UTCVote team Yarvin to find out
Maarten Wesselius
2024-09-27 05:47:57 +0000 UTCThat would be awesome!
Maarten Wesselius
2024-09-27 05:47:11 +0000 UTCI think extremely highly of Naomi Klein, and I'd love to hear your perspectives on her. Contrary to this, I can never hear too many takedowns of the Spiked online crew. They are absolutely bizarre. Maybe their own guru, Frank Furedi? Or maybe Matthew Goodwin, an academic cum toxic charlatan who floats in the same sphere.
David AS
2024-09-27 05:44:21 +0000 UTCI really wanted to vote ‘for’ Thiel, but on the condition that you used a mellifluous voice actor, ‘cos he sounds like Ayan Rand if she’d be a man. So it’s wizards all the way. Warren teacher guy is a little Andrew Goldesque with his belated dash for the outrage train.
john statham
2024-09-27 05:39:41 +0000 UTCHe was fired from his job as a teacher after this video went viral: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIPPpsJY39c
Will
2024-09-27 05:39:20 +0000 UTCI follow Hossenfelder, and Klein and her partner Evan Solomon influenced me over the past decade or two, so I'd be particularly interested in them. Regardless, I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever strikes your fancy. Thank you for your work, Docs. At some point I may express to you how significant DTG has been for me. Cheers.
Mug Wump
2024-09-27 05:38:51 +0000 UTCTo combine two of these, I've love to see Very Bad Decoders on JBP + Vervaeke
Will
2024-09-27 05:33:05 +0000 UTCFor those who don't know Warren Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTvz9oatUiw&t=3s
Will
2024-09-27 05:32:04 +0000 UTCI haven't heard of all of these. They don't get mentioned in the London Review of Books (well, Naomi Klein has been). But I'd love to hear the guru boys on Michael Hobbes who I used to admire but now I don't. Please, Matt & Chris, explain to me why that is
Jill Brown
2024-09-27 05:30:44 +0000 UTCI love the description, but I don’t understand it - What is a Cringe Lord?
Aaron Holder
2024-09-27 05:22:10 +0000 UTCConsider direct influence over sanitizing Rogan, Weinstein, etc. these two have been all over the typical Gurus you cover and totally escape focus, yet their role in brainwashing post-leftists is essential - most importantly because they were ultra trusted journalist types to left wing anti-establishment types. So underestimated!
Not Sure
2024-09-27 05:12:46 +0000 UTCAlternative suggestion + massively underestimated Guru-like influence: alternative news space, especially Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald (uniquely and successfully moved many around the horseshoe).
Not Sure
2024-09-27 05:08:17 +0000 UTCI want to hear all of these. But I voted for my 5 top picks.
Maarten Wesselius
2024-09-27 05:04:06 +0000 UTCWill I get a Stefan Molyneux decoding before I die? Gotta do it! Would be your magnum opus. Could be another 3 parter
Mikerpiker
2024-09-27 04:59:59 +0000 UTCYarvin by far; he's for sure a severe guru but also may dodge many of the metrics.
Fake Chuck
2024-09-27 04:53:17 +0000 UTCIt would be much more efficient for me to be able to listen to you and vbw at the same time
Cole Rees
2024-09-27 04:52:56 +0000 UTCWould love to see an episode on Peter Thiel given how much influence he has in US politics. In many ways he is the most influential person on this list. I also have a soft spot for Sabine, so would love to hear your views on what she does well and what she does poorly.
Chris Spanos
2024-09-27 04:48:45 +0000 UTCI mean, all of them? But I did pick some favourites for ✨science✨
The Escape Merchant
2024-09-27 04:47:33 +0000 UTCIf very bad decoders doesn’t win I’m canceling my Patreon
Heath Lancaster
2024-09-27 04:43:46 +0000 UTCYall, we gotta vote the vbw crossover, let's be real.
Zack Katopodis
2024-09-27 04:43:13 +0000 UTC
