Épisodes

  • Brief: Is God Necessary in Spiritual Practices?

    Brief: Is God Necessary in Spiritual Practices?
    May 25 2024
    There’s been a growing acceptance of religious belief from the previously religious-adverse, especially in the Covid contrarian space. This comes in the wake of a number of recent high-profile conversions, most notably Russell Brand getting baptized. Why are the skeptical suddenly finding faith? Derek and Julian discuss their atheism in the context of these recent changes of heart—including Brand’s recent appearance on Bret Weinstein’s Dark Horse podcast. They share how their own skepticism has evolved and informs their work, debating on what value religion and, specifically, a belief in a god, holds for spiritual practices today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    48 min
  • 207: Gaming Realities (w/Thi Nguyen)

    207: Gaming Realities (w/Thi Nguyen)
    May 23 2024
    Philosopher Thi Nguyen first visited us 150 episodes ago (!!) to discuss how social media gamification exploded online conspiracy theories and audience capture drags content producers toward the seductions of premature clarity—and the ecstasy of fascism. Nguyen returns to discuss “value capture”: how simplified and portable metrics in institutions, technology, and media landscapes erode our moral capacities as we pursue goals we never signed up for. (We even consider this influence on podcasting!) Throughout, we also talk about the heart of Nguyen’s book, Games: Agency as Art, in which he explores the liberatory nature of games that offer the pleasures of striving and absorption. We wonder whether—if we valued and understood play for its own sake—we might not need to gamify the world. Show Notes Games: Agency as Art Games and the Art of Agency (Philosophical Review) (2020 APA Article Prize; selected for Philosopher Annual‘s “10 Best Philosophy Articles of 2019”) Value Capture (JESP) Trust as an Unquestioning Attitude (OSE) Transparency is Surveillance (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research) (short summary) Hostile Epistemology (keynote for the 2022 NASSP.) Autonomy and Aesthetic Engagement (Mind) (audio) Art as a Shelter from Science (Aristotelian Society Supplementary) The Arts of Action (Philosopher’s Imprint) Moral Outrage Porn with Bekka Williams (Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy) (selected for Philosopher Annual‘s “10 Best Philosophy Articles of 2020”) How Twitter Gamifies Communication (Applied Epistemology, OUP) (And a shortened version for students, with suggested classroom exercises.) Echo Chambers and Epistemic Bubbles (Episteme) The Seductions of Clarity (RIPS) Cultural Appropriation and the Intimacy of Groups, with Matt Strohl (Philosophical Studies) Trust and Antitrust — Annette Baier Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    1 h et 8 min
  • Bonus Sample: Russell Brand Is Christian Now?

    Bonus Sample: Russell Brand Is Christian Now?
    May 20 2024
    Russell Brand has accepted Jesus into his heart and been baptized in the spirit. But does his conversion to Christianity make sense along the New Age rebel to right-wing, conspiracy-theorist radicalization pipeline? Is Brand seeking absolution for his sins, or recognizing that most of his audience are Christians “oppressed” by authoritarian libs? Julian explores how the “enlightened outsider” uses pseudoscience to justify spiritual beliefs that are actually connective tissue between conspiracism, New Age metaphysics, and faux Christian victimhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    7 min
  • Brief: The Outside Agitator Conspiracy Trope (w/Dr. Peniel Joseph)

    Brief: The Outside Agitator Conspiracy Trope (w/Dr. Peniel Joseph)
    May 18 2024
    Two weeks ago, several university administrators asked militarized police units to smash pro-Palestinian encampment protests on quads and in occupied buildings. It happened at places like Columbia and CUNY, and the University of Texas in Austin where our guest today, Dr. Peniel Joseph, teaches on the history of the Black Power movement. In the midst of the news cycle frenzy, an old phrase began popping up in discussions of who the protestors were and whether the police actions were justified. Authorities said (and media figureheads repeated uncritically) that protestors were infiltrated and influenced by “outside agitators.” It’s a phrase with a long history to it. Joining Matthew to unpack it is Dr. Peniel Joseph, a historian of the Civil Rights era, during which time the trope reached peak exposure, when it was lobbed at Martin Luther King Jr., as he sat in Birmingham Jail. Show Notes Peniel E. Joseph NYPD Chief of Patrol on the “unknown entity” Thursday's Headlines: NYPD Discovers Chained Bike Locks Edition Nearly all Gaza campus protests in the US have been peaceful, study finds Unmasking The 'Outside Agitator' Debunking the “Outside Agitator” Trope amid pro-Palestinian campus protests Cost of repairing occupation damage at Portland State library estimated at $750K Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    37 min
  • 206: Surviving Modern Yoga (w/ Matthew Remski)

    206: Surviving Modern Yoga (w/ Matthew Remski)
    May 16 2024
    Matthew is in the guest seat today! Why? Because in 2019—just months before the pandemic and this podcast kicked off—he published a book titled Practice and All is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics and Healing in Yoga and Beyond. It focused on survivor stories of assault and abuse within the cultic mechanisms of Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Yoga community. The book also proposed a path into co-creating safer yoga communities via enhanced critical thinking, self-and-other-care, student empowerment, and community resilience. In many ways, this book holds the keys to how one-third of the team has tackled the conspirituality era. Derek and Julian interview their colleague about it all on the occasion of the release of a second edition, now titled: Surviving Modern Yoga: Cult Dynamics, Charismatic Leaders, and What Survivors Can Teach Us (North Atlantic Books). Show Notes Surviving Modern Yoga by Matthew Remski | PenguinRandomHouse.com Yoga’s Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories | The Walrus Survivors of an International Buddhist Cult Share Their Stories | The Walrus How a #MeToo Facebook Post Toppled a Yoga Icon | by Matthew Remski | GEN Shielded for Decades, A Yoga Leader's Alleged Sexual Abuse Finally Comes Under Fire How to Respond to Sexual Abuse Within a Yoga or Spiritual Community—Jubilee Cooke, Karen Rain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    1 h et 3 min
  • Bonus Sample: The Force That Divides Us All

    Bonus Sample: The Force That Divides Us All
    May 13 2024
    In 2020, former NY Times journalist Isabel Wilkerson published Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The book tells a compelling story: that the root of our social divisions is the invented hierarchical structure of castes, not, as we often assume in America, race. Race, she writes, is only another manifestation of caste. While it’s certainly an important topic here in America, Wilkerson shows, by investigating the longstanding caste system in India, the social divisions in Nazi Germany, and America’s founding and expansion through chattel slavery, that caste is a universal phenomenon. Derek discusses his thoughts on this powerful and important book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    7 min
  • Brief: An Honest Discussion About Food (w/Dr Sarah Ballantyne)

    Brief: An Honest Discussion About Food (w/Dr Sarah Ballantyne)
    May 11 2024
    Dr Sarah Ballantyne forged a career in science communication and health education advocating for autoimmune solutions in food and the paleo diet. In 2014, she began questioning her approach. Shortly after, she realized she was spreading nutrition misinformation and has dedicated her career to correcting those errors. Derek talks to Sarah about the dangers of diet and nutrition misinformation, dealing with obesity and eating disorders, and the challenges of talking about food in public. Her new book is Nutrivore: The Radical New Science for Getting the Nutrients You Need From the Food You Eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    45 min
  • 205: Dismantling Movement Dogmas (w/Laurel Beversdorf & Sarah Court)

    205: Dismantling Movement Dogmas (w/Laurel Beversdorf & Sarah Court)
    May 9 2024
    We have a real treat today for listeners who love all forms of movement, especially yoga and strength training. Derek and Julian talk to Movement Logic hosts, Laurel Beversdorf and Sarah Court, who navigate the curvilinear path of creating irreverent yet high quality science-based movement content that sets teachers and students free from dogma and fear-mongering. Our two podcasts intersect by looking into fallen gurus, pseudoscience health claims, dodgy alignment dogmas, and cults of personality susceptible to the dangers of conspiracism. And this week we’re diving into a recent Movement Logic episode on back pain specialist, Stuart McGill. Yet, as this conversation shows, all hope is not lost, and all physical culture is not a pipeline into body fascism, or worse—multi-level marketing. There are still intelligent and grounded educators who share the love of movement, infused with the logic and humility of science. Laurel Beversdorf is an international yoga educator, a certified kettlebell specialist, and a strength coach. Sarah Court is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, movement mentor, and yoga teacher trainer. Show Notes Movement Logic Episode 62: Make McGill Make Sense Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Voir plus Voir moins
    1 h et 16 min