Decoding The Gurus

Bret & Jordan Crossover Episode

The next episode to release will be examining the guru tastic crossover of Bret and Jordan. This includes the infamous segment were Bret and Jordan discuss whether hospitals and modern medicine kill more than they save. “The fact that it’s even plausible is breathtaking...”

There are two episodes one on Jordan’s podcast and one on Bret’s we had intended to only cover one but due to a mix up we have ended up using both. Chris is now in the process of final clipping for both epi...

How to access the Patron's RSS Bonus feed

The Patron RSS feed is now active.

To get access to it because of the software we use to host the feeds (Captivate) we need to manually add you as a 'subscriber', which means putting in an email address and name, this then generates a custom RSS feed for you that you can copy and paste to *most* podcast players.

If you have any problems with this, can't find your email message...

O'Fallon Episode is released (finally)

Thanks everyone for your patience.

I think this is a good one so will be interested to hear any feedback!

O'Fallon has already blocked Chris on Twitter so safe to say he isn't a fan.

The Gurometer episode will be recorded shortly and then onto Bret and Jordan.

Cheers!

O Fallon Episode editing & Peterson/Weinstein schedule

Hi guys,

Just wanted to give you all a quick heads up.

Normally we aim to release an episode at least once every two weeks. We are now a few days over this and it is entirely my (Chris) fault.

Our process as you may have picked up involves recording long sessions, stitching them together, and then editing down. We have a relatively clear process now and it means that when things are in sync we can make progress quite well.

Unfortunately, I've been mostly out...

April Live Hangout Reminder

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder for anyone interested we will be livestreaming in 3 hrs (click the link above to see the time remaining when you read this). 

Livestream is accessible for any Galaxy Brain Gurus. 

Hope to see some of you there but if asleep/busy then good luck with that too!

Bonus RSS Feed

Well it has taken a while but we have finally set up a bonus RSS feed. All current members should have received email invites and if you didn't just send us a message and we will get one to you.

This will be where we put unedited interviews, Gurus PM, the Gurometer episodes and other such wonders.

We will still post it all here too but this is just a convenient podcast audio only version.

Editing will be light so that it does not take up too much extra time to prepare so I h...

Paltrow & O'Fallon Clips Added

Have just updated the clip folder with the Paltrow and O'Fallon clips.

'Enjoy!'

Michael O'Fallon Episode

The next release will be the O'Fallon episode but ohhhh boy do we have a heck of an editing task for this one.

Due to technical difficulties and three expert level wafflers we have currently about 4.5+ hours of content to cut down. We also have to stitch together 7 multitrack audio files due to the technical issues.

So this might take some time...

We are using Descript now which speeds things up A LOT but it still requires a lot of manual labour to get things in shape.

Bret Weinstein's Anti Vaccine Contrarianism

Hi everyone,

The video linked is a short (honestly!) discussion between me (Chris) and friend of the pod/real life academic collaborator Rohan Kapitany about Bret Weinstein's recent DarkHorse podcast episode on coronavirus vaccines.

I found this to be a remarkably irresponsible episode by Bret and wanted to get some thoughts down while the content is still clear.

We will probably cover some of this on the next episode focusing on Peterson and Bret's content...

Embrace the Void Crossover on Michael O' Fallon

Hey guys,

Just a quick update to let you know we have started recording a crossover episode with Aaron Rabinowitz of Embrace The Void.

This was originally intended as a follow up on the James Lindsay episode and was focusing on his recent conversation series with Michael O'Fallon along with a standalone episode by O'Fallon on the Great Reset. However, during the prep it became clear that the standalone episode had enough material to cover an entire episode. So now this will be a t...

April Live Hangout (Guru Champions)

Hi guys,

Breaking our long standing tradition of last minute scheduling to announce the data of the April Live Hang out: Friday April 30th at 9AM Japan Time (which is late Thursday US & UK, I think)! 

If you have any burning questions now is your chance (if you aren't a galaxy brain guru we will still answer them if you post them here or via email).

We are planning (in part) to discuss the format for an upcoming episode assigning champions for each of the gurometer ...

Gwyneth Paltrow Gurometer (Unedited)

Hey guys,

Here is the follow up to the goopy Gwyneth Paltrow episode in which we fire up the Gurometer to scientifically quantify her guru essence.

I have a dream that I will edit this a bit and upload it as an inaugural episode for the Patreon bonus feed (which does not exist yet) but this version has no such quality of life edits... you get the full force of Matt's scuba diving stories. 

You have been warned!

Enjoy!

Gwyneth Paltrow Episode Update

Hi guys,

Just a quick update on the overdue Paltrow episode. Both of us are a bit slammed with our actual work commitments this week and it's resulted in editing duties being solely left with Matt, who is soldiering away but it is a LOOONG episode.

Currently Matt is about 3/5ths of the way through. We will try to get it finalised and out ASAP but likely it will be Saturday or Sunday rather than Friday.

Anyway, thanks for being patient and sorry for the delays!

Real lif...

March 2021 Livestream

Hi guys,

Thanks to our incredible scheduling abilities we are planning the March Live Hang Out for tomorrow (April 2nd) 10AM JST!

Access is available to Galaxy Brain Gurus!

Topic TBC!

Next-Next-Next Guru Poll

Hey guys,

As anyone who watched the scheduling video will know Matt and I have a couple of options when it comes to the next gurus to cover.

Upcoming episodes we have basically locked in are:

1) Gywenth Paltrow this week

2) The Peterson-Bret Weinstein crossover

3) Sam Harris

But following that we have a bunch of people that are neck and neck in terms of requests. Would be interested to see who you all would like to see, or if you think we should drop everyt...

Upcoming DTG content, schedules & next Gurus chat!

Matt and Chris engage in Guru level scheduling and revolutionary admin for the show. 

We also map out the next 6 shows and 3 gurus. Chris is also going to try and convert this to audio and release on the Patreon guru feed, will update if it works.

Enjoy at your own peril!

Upcoming Release Schedule & Interview Stuff

Hi everyone,

More updates!

First some info on release schedule, the plan is:

1. Phrost Interview (tomorrow Mar 19th) 

2. Gywenth Paltrow Episode (Next Week Mar 26th or weekend depending on editing)

After that we are thinking to release a special episode on the Bret Weinstein/Jordan Peterson crossover podcasts, because there is just too much there.

Interview wise we have planned:

- Stuart Ritchie (to record tomorrow): Discussing mainstream science...

Clip Folder Updated with Taleb & Kendi

Hi guys,

Just a reminder that we have a clip folder with all the audio clips we use and some that we never got round to using.

In any case, it is all up to date now with Taleb & Kendi clips.

Paltrow clips will be added soon too!

'Enjoy'

We have a subreddit!

A kind and entrepreneurial listener set up a subreddit for the podcast!

It might die off in time or (hopefully) become a nice companion place to discuss topics relevant to the show. 

Whatever happens we are very grateful for all the effort so check it out if you get the chance!

Gwyneth Paltrow episode and other upcoming releases

Hi guys,

You heard our discussion at the end of the last podcast so you know that we have decided to cover Gwyneth Paltrow as our next guru.

I know she falls a little outside our usual scope but I think she is, in many respects, a prototypical online guru. She just happens to be one who is active in the health and wellness space and fairly mainstream. We have discovered however that, like almost everyone on the planet these days, she has a podcast. And from initial forays it’s a...

*Unedited* interview with Phrost from Bullshido

Hi guys,

I know you are still waiting on the Kendi episode. This week has just been a killer schedule (for Chris at least!) but I'm still determined to get it out by Friday. 

In the meantime find here an *unedited* video version of our interview with Phrost the owner of the (in)famous martial arts fraud busting site Bullshido. We cover the wonderful world of martial arts frauds and gurus, the role of toxic/excessive masculinity, mental training gyms, and why in recent years t...

Update on Ibram X. Kendi Episode

So we've recorded this and the edit has begun but it's a long one. Currently 3hrs 24 mins, so it'll take some time to edit. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the weekend but might be early next week depending on work and kids. At latest we will have it out by Friday next week.

I (Chris) think it's a good one! We definitely do get into the weeds on a lot of the topics Kendi covers and we also make time to discuss the ongoing feud with another controversial black academic you may ha...

AMA Live Hangout February 2020

Ok guys we are planning another AMA Live Hangout thing for the Galaxy Brains which will be recorded and posted up afterwards.

Any suggestions or requests for topics to cover can be posted below! 

If you are a Galaxy Brain and want to hop on the time of the Hangout will be 9.30AM Japan Time which is I think late evening on Sunday in US time and just after midnight UK time.

(Unedited) Interview with Matthew Remski

Hi guys,

Here is the first of those interviews I mentioned.

Matthew is the host of the Conspirituality podcast and as you will see if you watch an absolute font of information about 'conspirituality' and guru dynamics in the spirituality sphere.

Much like Thi Nguyen, Matthew brings an extremely sharp analytical mind and helps us to understand all the phenomenon we have been observing with the gurus.

Highly recommend!

If you can't do video, we will edit things do...

Upcoming Interviews

Hey guys,

Just a quick note to let you know about some upcoming interviews we have planned and will be recording pretty soon:

1. Matthew Remski from Conspirituality Podcast: Discussing his work on gurus active in the spirituality sphere and the growing overlap with right wing political conspiracies.

2. Phrost from Bullshido Podcast/Message Board: Discussing gurus, cults, and conspiracies in the martial arts sphere.

3. Stuart Ritchie, author of Science Fictions: Discus...

Guru Suggestions/Recommendations

Hey everyone,

I've made an editable google doc for future guru suggestions. We've already received a tonne via DM and email that I will add in the next couple of days (if people do not add themselves) but if you have anyone to suggest please do so! Doesn't matter if it is obvious. I've made a 'voting' column as well so people can indicate their interest in someone that has already been suggested.

Look forward to seeing suggestions!

Nassim Taleb: Gurometer

Here's a postscript to the Taleb episode with our Gurometer scores.

Unfortunately, the new video software we used screwed up on Chris' end so while all the audio is there and you can see Matt and his lovely shirt all you get is the green block for Chris! Then YouTube refused to finish processing the video because it is 'too long'. But the video is shorter than usual, only 30 mins this time!

So... technology win!

As an alternative, we have the audio! So that's what is availab...

Scoring Taleb on the Gurometer

Here's a postscript to the Taleb episode with our Gurometer scores.

Unfortunately, the new video software we used screwed up on Chris' end so while all the audio is there and you can see Matt and his lovely shirt all you get is the green block for Chris!

Technology win!

This video is also shorter than usual, only 30 mins this time!

EDIT: The video is not working now. I'm re-uploading and will update afterwards.

Taleb Episode

Hi everyone,

Just a short scheduling update.

The Taleb episode is recorded and about 50% edited.

We should have it out in next 24-48 hours!

Was a fun one!

That's all...

Matt rates the Gurus

Still reeling from Chris' betrayal with Rohan, Matt selflessly donates another night of good sleep to fill out his Gurometer ratings. Do the ratings match up and which Guru would Matt like to have dinner with?!?! 

Tune in to find out!

P.S. Sorry it's so long but you should be used to this by now! Enter at your own peril.