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Decoding the Gurus

Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne

An exiled Northern Irish anthropologist and a hitchhiking Australian psychologist take a close look at the contemporary crop of 'secular gurus', iconoclasts, and other exiles from the mainstream, offering their own brands of unique takes and special insights.

Leveraging two of the most diverse accents in modern podcasting, Chris and Matt dig deep into the claims, peek behind the psychological curtains, and try to figure out once and for all... What's it all About?

Join us, as we try to puzzle our way through and talk some smart-sounding smack about the intellectual giants of our age, from Jordan Peterson to Robin DiAngelo. Are they revolutionary thinkers or just grifters with delusions of grandeur?

Join us and let's find out!

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May 12 · 44 min
Supplementary Material 49: Calibrated Podcast Expectations, The Great Consciousness Debate of 2026, and Russell Brand is a Bad Guy
Matthew Browne, a high-profile advocate for pan-psychism, compels his reluctant co-host to endure a public struggle session on the topic of consciousness, hopefully for the last time. Supplementary Material 49 00:00 Introduction 02:47 Returning to the Emerald Isle 03:44 Irish History Segment: The Titanic & Potato Famines 10:45 McGilchrist Reflections 12:51 Knowledge Fight has ended 26:23 Podcasting Motivations 34:37 Calibrated Expectations 41:03 The Problem with the Patreon Members 42:51 Shermer's Activist Skeptic Research 47:24 Research on Support for Political Violence in the US 54:35 Rob Henderson and Decorative Scholarship 58:11 Ryan Holiday Stoically Flames MAGA 01:04:41 Zuby and Motivated Reasoning 01:07:15 Monocausal Explanations for Declining Birth Rates 01:08:51 More credulity from Shermer 01:10:25 Bryan Johnson and Testicular Optimisation 01:14:41 Testicle Fixation Gurus 01:15:24 Professor Jiang thinks Trump is Immortal 01:19:57 When Dawkins Met Claude 01:30:00 The Great Consciousness Debate of 2026 01:42:47 When Cladius met Claudia 01:52:39 Chris's Concession 01:54:23 Animal Minds and AI Consciousness 01:56:31 Russell Brand vs Piers Morgan 02:10:13 Thirsty Christian dunks on Dawkins 02:13:18 Brand's Family's Response 02:22:39 Hasan Piker is the one who knocks! 02:27:44 Outro 02:28:36 A final message of hope! Links Knowledge Fight's Last Episode – The End of the Road Jordan's video on the Onion Dan's blog on his next plans Rob Henderson’s thread promoting the Shermer Skeptic Study Polarization Research Lab- Low levels of support for partisan violence Polarization Research Lab - Did the 2024 Election Change American Attitudes About Democracy? Ryan Holiday’s response to the Shellenberger video Ryan Holiday responding to article that he is ‘fuming’ at Ivanka Zuby’s insights on Birth Rate Decline Vice article on the history of testicle transplants "Massive GRIFTER!" Piers Morgan Grills Russell Brand On Allegations, Prison, 'Truth' & Religion UnHerd: When Claudia met Claudius- So are they really conscious? UnHerd: When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious? ‘Professor’ Jiang on Trump’s Immortality Mehdi Hasan dunking on Dawkins
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#161
May 4 · 3 hr 10 min
Iain McGilchrist, Part 2: Hemispheres, Culture, and Cosmic Consciousness
In this episode, we return to Iain McGilchrist as he spirals upwards from his binary hemispheric model into full cosmic spirituality. The rule is simple: everything McGilchrist likes is due to the subtle, nuanced, and deeply sophisticated right brain, while the left brain (pffft) is responsible for reductionism, modernity, and most of the problems in your life. From this neuroscientific foundation, the theory expands with admirable ambition. Civilisations rise and fall depending on which hemisphere they inhabit. Ancient societies were properly attuned to the right brain, while the modern world has gone mechanical and spiritually bankrupt. The details are, of course, very complex, but the moral is clear. Scientific evidence features occasionally, mostly in a decorative capacity or as parables of scientists being baffled by mystical forces. Hence, we learn that decapitated worms retain perfect memories, Nobel Prizes have been awarded for demonstrating a mystical direction powering evolution, and near-death experiences establish that memories form when the brain isn't functioning. Alongside this hard science, McGilchrist also ventures into more spiritual realms, where we learn that artificial intelligence is likely to be channelling demons, schizophrenia might be caused by malign spiritual forces treating our brains as a luxury resort, and recently exorcised demons prefer to communicate via text message. No really... Ultimately, what matters is that McGilchrist's bespoke theology, bespoke metaphysics, bespoke biological teleology, and bespoke panentheist philosophy are really very impressive. And if you don't find any of it compelling, well, we are sad to inform you that this itself proves you are stuck in the wrong mode of thinking and failing to recognise true profundity. And if that doesn't work, then let's just say it was all a metaphor anyway! Links Alex O' Connor: Why Evolution Gave You Two Brains - Iain McGilchrist Jonathan Pageau: Artificial Intelligence, Possession, and Mental Illness - Dr. Iain McGilchrist Think Faith: Philosopher Iain McGilchrist DEBATES neuroscientist Anil Seth on God & minds | Uncommon Ground Spezio, M. (2019). McGilchrist and hemisphere lateralization: a neuroscientific and metaanalytic assessment. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.1604416 Corballis, M. C. (2014). Left brain, right brain: facts and fantasies. PLoS biology, 12(1), e1001767. Carson, A. (2010). The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. By Iain McGilchrist. Yale University Press. 2009. US $38.00 (hb). 608 pp. ISBN: 9780300148787. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 196(6), 498-498. De Haan, D. (2019). McGilchrist’s hemispheric homunculi. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 368-379. Shomrat, T., & Levin, M. (2013). An automated training paradigm reveals long-term memory in planarians and its persistence through head regeneration. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(20), 3799-3810.
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April 25 · 44 min
Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates
The hour grows late, and Matt the Grey-Haired rides once more from his quiet study, summoned by whispers from the ever-churning gurusphere. And so he goes, to seek counsel with Chris the Grey-Bearded, keeper of receipts, watcher of long-form content, and wielder of the sacred Gurometer. For the gurus stir again… and their nonsense must be decoded. Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates 00:00 Greetings Old Friend 02:22 Decoding the Gamers 04:16 A Reckoning with Old Grey Hair 06:19 Joe Rogan determining US Medical Approvals 12:15 The Fall of Orban and the Silence of the Heterodox World 17:09 The Hypocrisy of Peter Boghossian 19:52 Dave Rubin and other Tenet Media Stooges 21:43 The Dugin, Jiang and Sneako Brain Trust discuss the ultra-hyper-globalists. 28:58 Trump attacks Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, & Megyn Kelly 32:39 A Return to Weinstein World 33:00 Bret's Moon Landing Conspiracies 39:03 Eric and his Silicon Friend are still having problems 42:47 Hasan Piker Discourse 54:33 The Radicalisation Funnel? 01:00:14 Hasan on Ukraine 01:03:21 Hasan doing China apologetics 01:14:03 More Apologetics 01:16:37 Hasan on the Vietnamese MAGA supporter 01:23:41 What about Destiny? 01:26:58 Yale is full of Snakes and Badgers 01:33:17 Micro Looting from the Corporations 01:41:36 Cenk Uyghur's Rent Gouging Credentials 01:44:47 Social Murder and Selective "Understanding" 01:54:26 Late-Stage Capitalist Anti-Capitalism 01:56:22 Tucker Carlson is Selling Russell Brand's Guide to Becoming a Christian 02:00:33 Sean Hannity chooses Trump over his Catholicism 02:04:18 Russell Brand and the spiritual marketplace 02:05:48 Postmodern Conservatism 02:07:28 Taking a Long View 02:10:14 AI Bouldering Gym Cages 02:11:30 Taylor Lorenz is making good points on Twitter! 02:19:52 Taylor's controversial take: AI is useful 02:21:36 Adam Conover engages in revisionist history on tech 02:24:14 Rotary Telephones and Typewriter Experiences 02:26:41 The Onion takeover of Infowars? 02:31:28 Knowledge Fight's Concerns 02:35:56 Jordan Peterson Health Update 02:40:07 Endlessly Misdiagnosed by "Experts" 02:44:32 The Dietary Cures 02:47:20 Experimental Stem Cell Treatments 02:50:04 Pageau blames Peterson's lack of faith 03:00:14 Letting the Pressure Out 03:01:07 Outro 03:02:01 We Must Join with the Mould The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (3 hours, 3 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Joe Rogan crowing about his role in the White House executive order on Ibogaine Fact Check of Rogan's claims on PolitiFact Pancreatic cancer mRNA trial update: NBC report on six-year follow-up Article on NIH grant cancellations/funding cuts at Washington Post APHA release on lawsuit over politically driven grant terminations Ban on DEI words, including "polarization" by DOGE BBC Article on Orbán's loss Boghossian dodges criticism of Hungary in HardTalk interview Boghossian avoids dealing with protests in Hungary Dugin / Sneako / Professor Jiang interview Trump attacks Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly Bret Weinstein's moon landing / Artemis clip highlighted by Bad Stats Eric Weinstein's tweets on commercial AI and theoretical physics Tucker Carlson's promotion for Russell Brand's new Christian-themed book Ezra Klein on Hasan Piker: RealClearPolitics mirror of the New York Times column Conduit: I Spent ONE WEEK Watching Hasan Piker ‪, And This Is What I Learned A generational divide over Trump among Vietnamese-Americans – BBC News Hasan reacts to the Vietnamese-American documentary Twitter Thread with most of the viral Hasan clips Noahpinion: Hasan Piker is bad for the Democrats Hasan's Yale Debate on YouTube Yair Rosenberg's article on the Atlantic: The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein Story NYT: ‘The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?' Why petty theft might be the new political protest’ LA Times article on the Onion's Infowars Takeover Bid Alex Jones clip of him roaming shirtless and complaining about the Onion Mikhaila Peterson: Jordan Peterson Health Update and Psych Med Injury Discussion Jonathan Pageau explains Jordan's illness is due to his refusal to submit to God Taylor Lorenz being correct about the past promotion of technology products Tech Dirt article on the recent court decisions against Meta and YouTube Sean Hannity endorses Trump over his Catholicism Taylor Lorenz: The Truth About the Social Media Addiction Trial
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#160
April 11 · 2 hr 3 min
Iain McGilchrist, Part 1: Right-Brain Thinking
In this episode, we take a journey into the mind, traversing both the left and right hemispheres, but mostly the left, as we engage with the truly mind-bending insights of British psychiatrist-philosopher-neuroscientist-theologian-author Iain McGilchrist. Best known for his 2009 book "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World" but also a much lauded academic and sensemaker. We outline McGilchrist’s extremely complicated thesis that the two hemispheres of the brain reflect fundamentally different “ways of being” and that this is reflected in individuals and civilisations that rely more on one side than the other. This is, of course, not merely a crude binary. As McGilchrist repeatedly emphasises, it would be quite wrong to suggest he is simply valorising everything he likes (religion, poetry, classic literature, wood-panelled interiors, sense-making chats) and attributing them to the products of a profound and integrative right hemisphere. Similarly, he does not simply want to denigrate materialists as reductive left-brain thinkers who cannot appreciate art, beauty, or love because they are too busy thinking about atoms. There is definitely none of that in his chat with Alex O'Connor (AKA CosmicSkeptic). Expect neuroanatomy, metaphysics, and extended reflections on the nature of love. In other words, a completely standard Decoding the Gurus episode. Links Alex O' Connor: Why Evolution Gave You Two Brains - Iain McGilchrist Iain McGilchrist's website. Spezio, M. (2019). McGilchrist and hemisphere lateralization: a neuroscientific and metaanalytic assessment. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 9(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2019.1604416 Lamm, C., Decety, J., & Singer, T. (2011). Meta-analytic evidence for common and distinct neural networks associated with directly experienced pain and empathy for pain. Neuroimage, 54(3), 2492-2502. Stavrova, O., & Ehlebracht, D. (2019). The cynical genius illusion: Exploring and debunking lay beliefs about cynicism and competence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(2), 254-269. Lindquist, K. A., Wager, T. D., Kober, H., Bliss-Moreau, E., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review. Behavioral and brain sciences, 35(3), 121-143.
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#159
April 8 · 1 hr 28 min
Mentalism and Meta-Deception with Stevie Baskin
On this episode, we’re joined by Stevie Baskin, a skeptic and YouTuber who released a five-hour detailed critique of the “meta-deception” of Oz Pearlman. He argues that mentalism differs from traditional magic by introducing an additional meta-deception because, unlike magicians, mentalists often leave their audiences with inaccurate beliefs about body language reading, subliminal influence, NLP, and general psychology. In Stevie’s framework, this places mentalists closer to psychics and mediums than to magicians, because the deceptive element is not clearly acknowledged. We examine this position, unpack common mentalist techniques, consider the role of strategic disclaimers and TED-style “epistemic theatre,” and explore possible parallels with contemporary secular gurus. Sources Metadeception: the truth about Oz Pearlman The Disagreement: Debating a mentalist professor of psychology (Scott Barry Kaufman) about Oz Pearlman Chris' old blog covering the ethics of Derren Brown's claims in 2009 The Power Of Subliminal Messages | Trick Of The Mind | Derren Brown
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April 3 · 44 min
Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies
Our cover is blown. Our secret funders unmasked. Code Red: Abort! Abort! This is not a drill. Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies 00:00 Glowing Introduction 03:14 The Secret Conspiracy at the Heart of the Podcast 08:17 The Israel Connection 19:09 Cenk Uygur's Pickleball Conspiracy 23:25 Comment Section Conspiracies 30:20 Pizzagate Conspiracies Revisited 37:55 The Value of debating with ChadBigCum 42:26 AI discourse reflections 43:43 Ben Burgis's hyperbolic reaction to AI use 44:53 The AI revolution and its potential impacts 47:53 Social and Economic Disruption and Job Replacement 51:33 The Dangers of Slopified Work and AI economies 55:47 Statistical Analysis Software and the value of Friction 57:36 The Perils of AI Usage outside of your Skillset 58:59 The Solution is within yourself! 01:04:22 The Hundred Schools of AI discourse 01:05:58 Double Slit and Quantum Physics Insights from Warren Smith 01:12:39 Schrodinger's poor, misinterpreted cat 01:13:48 The Wonderful Benjamin Boyce 01:14:41 Quantum Woo and Arrogant Sensemakers 01:18:29 Young Matt and Aged Chris 01:20:13 The Triggernometry Prophecy 01:23:54 Quid Pro Quo in the Discourse Circuit 01:28:25 The Anti-Institutional Horseshoe Theory of MEHDI HASAN 01:37:18 So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 40 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Links Reddit post unmasking our Israeli backers Mother Jones article on whether 'pizza' is a codeword in the Epstein files (Spoiler: No it is not) Mickey's Opinion Piece in The Canadian Jewish News about "quiet anti-semitism" Ben Burgis is suggesting a journalist should be fired for using AI Cenk Uygur’s Pickleball Conspiracy Vigeland & Citarella on Epstein: The One Conspiracy to Rule Them All (YouTube) Benjamin Boyce and Warren Smith discuss Quantum Physics Triggernometry: Mehdi Hasan Debate on the Iran War, Immigration and the Israel Lobby Creator of Horseshoe Theory Dies aged 100
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#158
March 28 · 1 hr 38 min
The Moral Dilemmas of AI with Michael Inzlicht
Mickey is BACK with two new papers he has co-authored, a bunch of opinions, and a very unwelcome idea: maybe the problem with AI isn't that it doesn't work but that it works too well! The first paper, Against Frictionless AI, argues that AI assistance and its ability to take away the effort from thinking, writing, and smooth out social(like) interactions could be robbing those activities of the very thing that makes them worthwhile. The second paper is a more empirical investigation that presents a bunch of studies examining the topic of the (alleged) moralisation of AI. Some findings suggest that opposition to AI among some people isn't really about risks or trade-offs but rather about non-negotiable sacred moral values. Who knew? We also discuss effort justification, reproducible research, robosexual allyship, and just how much humanity remains within the cyborg Matthew Browne. And remember... It's just like our opinion, man! Links Decoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? (Patreon Series) Ovsyannikova, D., Oldemburgo de Mello, V., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3, Article 4. Zohar, E., Bloom, P., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). Against frictionless AI. Communications Psychology, 4, Article 39. Oldemburgo de Mello, V., Côté, É., Ayad, R., Inbar, Y., Plaks, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). The moralization of artificial intelligence (Manuscript under review). Paul Bloom's Small Potatoes Substack - My friend thinks it's a good idea for us to spend most of our time with AI companions - Is it irresponsible for academics to refuse to use AI? Mickey's Speak Now Regret Later Substack - AI Alarmism Trades on Fear, Not Facts Mickey's provocative tweet on his recent paper DTG Previous Interview with Mickey on the Replication Crisis, Mindfulness, and Responsible Heterodoxy Andy Masley Substack debunking the AI water usage claims Andy Masley Substack: Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheet Pataranutaporn, P., Karny, S., Archiwaranguprok, C., Albrecht, C., Liu, A. R., & Maes, P. (2025). “My Boyfriend is AI”: A computational analysis of human–AI companionship in Reddit’s AI community. arXiv. Critical response to Mickey's paper from Roy Schulam on Substack
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#157
March 22 · 2 hr 38 min
Ken Wilber: Spiralling Upwards through a Technicolor Cosmos
Ken Wilber, the grand architect of Integral Theory, enters the Decoding chamber (wearing a striking but slightly unconvincing wig) as we explore a worldview that confidently absorbs every religion, philosophy, and half-remembered psychology paper into one majestic, Borg-like synthesis. Resistance, as it turns out, is not just futile... it is probably “first-tier thinking". This is a world of elaborate, baroque cosmologies. Layers within layers, quadrants within stages, spirals within states, with each offering a map of reality that grows more intricate the closer it gets to its own centre. Traditions are not debated so much as absorbed, their distinctiveness dissolved into a higher synthesis that always leads to the ultimate insight: integral theory. Get ready to experience high-level political analysis where Kamala Harris becomes a “fractured green" and Donald Trump the embodiment of a "rational orange". You will also learn how Ken is working with AI companies to help them incorporate integral thinking into their algorithms. The implications this has for human evolution are hard to fathom. Finally, in true Columbo fashion, we circle back to Matt's core philosophical system … panpsychism. Just a small detail, and also take some time to conduct a brief spiritual inquisition into Matt’s alleged Christian upbringing. Fortunately, nothing is rejected. Everything is integrated, including all possible critiques. Sources Suma Gowda: Ken Wilber on Future of Consciousness, AI, Trump's Election: A Deep Dive into Spiral Dynamics The Rise and Fall of Ken Wilber – Mark Manson Rebel Wisdom: Interview with Ken Wilber- What Happened to Jordan Peterson DS Wilson finds wisdom in Ken's approach Ken Wilber's website
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March 18 · 19 min
Gurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway
In this Gurometer double bill, Matt and Chris break out the much-sought-after Gurometer™ to score Teal Swan and Scott Galloway across the 11 recurring guru traits. In one efficient episode, we compare cosmic-certified spirituality with secular man-talk (and a surprising amount of puffer-jacket merchandising). As a bonus, get ready to thrill at Matt's eternal puzzlement at his own simple binary question of 'guru-osity'. Links Gurometer scores to date The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Gurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway 00:00 Back to the Gurometer: Teal and Scott 02:33 Galaxy Brain-ness 04:18 Cultishness 05:25 Anti-Establishmentarianism 08:31 Grievance Mongering 10:55 Self Aggrandisement and Narcissism 14:30 Cassandra Complex 18:03 Revolutionary Theories 21:49 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit 26:07 Conspiracy Mongering 28:50 Excessive Profiteering 36:25 Moral Grandstanding 40:33 Overall Gurometer Score 41:27 Rapid Fire Bonus Guru Points
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