Decoding the Gurus
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 brand...
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On the show
- Iain McGilchrist2 eps
- Mel Robbins2 eps
- Ian McGilchrist1 ep
Also: Stevie Baskin, Michael Inzlicht, Ken Wilber, Blindboy, Blindboy Boatclub, Professor Jiang, Jiang Xueqin, Cassandra Vieten, Jimmy Carr, Eddie Holmes, Kristian Andersen, Michael Worobey
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- 🇫🇮FI · Society & Culture#1059.6K to 118K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
9.6K to 118K🎙 Daily cadence·261 episodes·Last published 2w ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
32K to 392K🇺🇸71%🇫🇮29% - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
18K to 216K
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/14/26 | Supplementary Material 57: p(doom) Updates, Nazi Apologist Imbeciles, and JAQs about False Flag Conspiracies | Matt updates his p(doom), Tucker Carlson does his best impression of Wormtongue, and the political horseshoe unites over Flydubai JAQs. Sometimes our future AI overlords do not look so bad.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hrs 51 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus00:00:00 Introduction00:01:07 Dog Updates and Cultural Appropriation00:07:20 Annual Health Check Approval00:14:47 Matt’s p(doom) Update00:17:26 Matt’s Dragon00:21:34 Becoming Obsolete?00:26:27 P-Zombie Thoughts on AI00:33:03 Productivity Gains?00:36:22 Jacob Rees-Mogg Meets Tucker Carlson00:39:00 Tucker Carlson: Russian Apologist Extraordinaire00:48:14 Cognitive Empathy for Russia00:55:04 Who Cares About Treaties?00:58:45 Studied Ignorance and Russian Sycophancy01:05:50 The Isolationist Strain01:11:33 Wormtongue Carlson01:17:03 WHAT?!?01:23:02 Hitler Apologetics01:29:02 Bespoke Definitions of Sovereignty01:37:17 Mr Hitler and His Promises01:40:59 Great Fun with a Nazi Apologist Imbecile01:42:17 The Joyful League of Big Characters: George Galloway Enters01:46:20 Piers Morgan Is a Bad Guy01:49:17 Flydubai False-Flag Conspiracies01:56:35 The Young Turks Are Conspiracy Theorists02:02:54 Jimmy Dore Claims Bondi Beach Was a False Flag02:08:15 Cenk Explains False-Flag Psychology02:13:53 Ana Notices Some Anomalies02:18:25 Sneako Also Has Questions02:20:16 Hasan Has Noticed Some Red Flags02:35:00 Strategic Disclaimers Are Standard Practice02:40:06 The Hannibal Directive02:48:53 Dysphoric BondingSource materialKurzgesagt: AI Just Crossed the Terrifying Line - Now What? (original title: The Moment They Lost Control of AI)OtherReality: Claude Pop - I’m Upping My P(Doom)Osmarks: P(doom), the original songLex Fridman with Eliezer Yudkowsky: Dangers of AI and the End of Human Civilization (AI-box discussion)Sam Harris with Nick Bostrom: AI Utopia (related discussion of work, meaning and purpose)Tucker Carlson and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg: “Prepare for War”Tucker Carlson with Darryl Cooper: The True History of the Jonestown Cult, WWII, and How Winston Churchill Ruined EuropePiers Morgan vs Nick Fuentes: What a CROCK of S***!Piers Morgan with Gary Stevenson: I’m QUITTING!George Galloway: MOATS 592, Flight of FancyNick Fuentes: America First 1756 (Rumble Premium; Flydubai discussion from 3:20:32)The Young Turks: Bibi’s FlyDubai Narrative, 1 October 2026 (episode transcript)Jimmy Dore and Kurt Metzger: Here’s How You Know Australian Mass Shooting Was A FALSE FLAG!Candace Owens x Ana KasparianAna Kasparian / TYT: What Really Happened During The FlyDubai Flight Attack?The Young Turks: Fight and Flight, 30 September 2026Sneako: FlyDubai is the dumbest psyop ever. (headphone-cord demonstration from 15:09)Hasan Piker’s Flydubai stream, 1 October 2026 (discussion from 4:06:26)Benjamin Netanyahu on Hannity discussing the Flydubai incidentHasan Piker: What People Miss About The DC Israeli Embassy ShootingZeteo / Mehdi Hasan: How Many Israelis Were Killed BY ISRAEL on October 7th? FULL VIDEOZeteo: What Is the Hannibal Directive and How Many Israelis Did It Kill on October 7?Iain M. Banks: The Culture novelsRelevant articlesUN Commission of Inquiry report A/HRC/56/26, 14 June 2024 (Hannibal Directive: paragraphs 35–37 and 95)ISD: Mis- and disinformation and conspiracy theories about the October 7 Hamas attack on IsraelISD: Cross-ideological antisemitism and the October 7th attacksISD: Conflict Amplified: Disinformation and Hate in the Israel-Hamas WarADL: Within 48 Hours of FlyDubai Incident, at Least 25,000 X Posts Pushed Conspiracy TheoriesHugging Face: July 2026 security incident disclosure (the incident discussed in SM56 and revisited here)METR and Redwood Research: Independent investigation of the OpenAI/Hugging Face incidentThe Budapest Memorandum on security assurances, 5 December 1994NATO: Collective defence and Article 5ABC News Verify: Fake news spreading online following Tel Aviv-bound flight incidentAssociated Press: A plumber and a dentist are praised as heroes in FlyDubai near-disasterADL: Extremists and Conspiracy Theorists Deny the Capital Jewish Museum Shooting With “False Flag” NarrativeHaaretz: IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive (7 July 2024)World Economic Forum: Now is the time for a “great reset” of capitalism | 39m 54s | ||||||
| 10/4/26 | Supplementary Material 56: 10% for AI Doom, Bespoke Debates, and Eurotrash DJs | Chris and Matt grapple with Face Huggers, ponder the mysteries of algebra, and have a heated exchange over the term "bespoke".*Sorry about some of Chris' audio: the microphone settings will be fixed next episode!The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hrs 12 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 5600:00 Introduction01:58 The Hugging Face incident08:46 AI risks and AI discourse22:29 OpenAI’s presentation and the incentives around AI safety29:51 How worried should we be?40:13 Disagreeing about AI46:15 Peter Boghossian’s AI-generated utopia and dystopia52:00 Matt’s favourite DJ meme53:32 Tucker Carlson meets algebra1:00:18 Andrew Callaghan and Channel 51:02:07 Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP meme coin1:06:08 A brief intervention on “paleocon”1:13:41 Andrew Callaghan explains the email-list mistake1:23:46 Andrew Callaghan on tech oligarchs1:36:28 Taylor Lorenz’s political independence1:42:35 The Great Bespoke Debate of 20261:56:35 Hasan, Mearsheimer, and Russia2:07:16 Peace is restoredLinksHugging Face: July 2026 security incident disclosureHugging Face: Technical timeline of the agent intrusionOpenAI: The Hugging Face incident and the road aheadOpenAI: Hugging Face incident technical report (PDF)OpenAI: Black Hat USA 2026 talk on the Hugging Face incidentMETR and Redwood Research: Independent investigation of the OpenAI/Hugging Face incidentMind Enterprises: Balcony MIXTAPE, the original DJ videoMatt’s preferred version of the balcony meme, with Sam Altman and Dario AmodeiTucker Carlson with Jess Elofson: The Forgotten Lessons of Human History and the Dark Forces Robbing You of Your God-Given CreativityChannel 5: Hunter Biden InterviewChannel 5: Nick Fuentes Interview, featuring Hunter BidenHunter Biden’s video response to the $LAPTOP launchChannel 5: Andrew Callaghan addresses the Hunter Biden crypto coinChannel 5: Andrew Callaghan’s September 10 explanation on XChannel 5: Andrew Callaghan’s September 15 “State of the Union” monologueJubilee: 1 Journalist vs 20 Conspiracy Theorists, with Andrew CallaghanMTS: The Panic and Fear around AI, with Taylor LorenzJohn Mearsheimer: The Russia I SawHasan Piker reacts to Mearsheimer’s Russia visit (from 5:24:30)Blake Lemoine discusses his claim that Google’s LaMDA was sentient and his identity as a mystic Christian priestThe Free Press: Two Drinks with Taylor Lorenz | 26m 00s | ||||||
| 9/26/26 | Candace Owens, Part 2: The Woman Who Noticed Everything | Part Two of our Candace Owens decoding offers a generous case study in conspiratorial thinking. The necklace in the footage of Charlie Kirk’s murder may have moved before his jacket, a photograph of Tyler Robinson in front of a Man of Steel poster also raises questions about why Erika Kirk used the phrase about Charlie’s neck, not to mention that one of the early suspects also lived in New York during 9/11... all of it just makes you think... who is actually running things?One possibility could be Erika Kirk. Not that she is the mastermind (that, as always, is occult Jewish satanists), but rather that she might be a sociopath that dark energy is being temporarily channelled into. Candace asks why Erika returned to work so quickly, muses over how Candace's connection to Charlie was deeper and more spiritually potent, and ponders if she was the only person who really truly cared about Charlie. But don’t worry, Shawn Ryan is there with his trademark scepticism to offer pushback, like “wow” and “holy shit, that’s incredible”. Trump, meanwhile, has apparently sold his soul to Israel, though JD Vance may still be redeemable. Then Freud turns up, accused of inventing modern gaslighting and covering for satanic murders.Candace, as you might imagine, has her own place in the story. Charlie apparently knew she would inherit the fight after his death (which he had psychically foreseen), and Candace has indeed felt a spiritual awakening since. It’s a good thing then that she is so sensitive to others engaged in religious/spiritual grifting.As per Part One, this is ultimately a tour de force in conspiracy theorising and guru dynamics. And yet, remarkably, Candace still manages to come across as interpersonally likeable and even endearing. Which perhaps explains part of her popularity. Even still, with this episode we are (hopefully) done with four-hour Candace interviews.Also be forewarned that this episode contains an extended shoutout section; the Candace decoding ends at 1:41:02. We work through a backlog of listener shoutouts that we have neglected for long enough to turn them into a second podcast. If you would rather skip that entirely, jump to 2:25:56 for the brief sign-off. Complaints about the length/shoutouts will be referred to this paragraph. Thank you for your attention to this matter.Source materialShawn Ryan Show #318: Candace Owens, “I Don’t Believe Tyler Robinson Was Even There”Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, The Assault on Truth: Freud’s Suppression of the Seduction Theory (the book Candace invokes during the Freud segment)Rate the gurus yourself on the Gurometer | 2h 27m 38s | ||||||
| 9/21/26 | Candace Owens, Part 1: Charlie Kirk and the Cosmic Conspiracy | Candace Owens is just a Catholic, a mother, and a wife. She loves her husband, works hard, and tries not to let internet drama disturb her spiritual peace. She also has just a few questions about the international satanic conspiracy behind Charlie Kirk’s ritual murder.We join Candace during her appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, where an impressive amount of time is devoted to establishing how lovely they both find each other. There are the usual fond memories of dinner, a husband who is a James Bond lookalike, and a series of fascinating career adventures, including how Candace rose to be vice president of administration in just 4 years! She even got to experience the damaging effects of toxic mould before it was fashionable (and don't worry, it was cured with a restrictive diet!).Candace is like a one-woman crash course in conspiratorial ideation and how conspiracy theorists interact with other conspiracy theorists and conflicting evidence. But, to be fair, she is also very good at what she does! Coming across as a charismatic and composed speaker who makes very ugly claims sound like an entirely reasonable conversation.But then there are the questions... Why do witnesses remember different things? Why was ten inches of soil removed rather than eight? Did Charlie Kirk's necklace move before his jacket? But that's just the start; as is often the case we end up talking about Rothschilds, Freemasons, Denmons, and a public demonic ritual intended to channel spiritual energy into a surprising target. Shawn Ryan, who assures us repeatedly that he is an extremely sceptical person, is astonished at what he hears!And there's more to come too... in Part 2.Source materialShawn Ryan Show #318: Candace Owens, “I Don’t Believe Tyler Robinson Was Even There”Candace Owens vs Andrew Wilson: The Great DebateShawn Ryan Show #254: Brian Harpole, Charlie Kirk’s head of security60 Minutes: The Pager PlotDarkHorse: “Was Charlie Kirk Killed With a Drone?” with Viva Frei and Jimmy DoreCandace, episode 349: Corey Comperatore, Mark Liti, and the PETN claimsBrian Harpole’s complaint against Candace Owens and others, filed 30 April 2026 (plaintiff’s allegations, not court findings)Clare Malone, The New Yorker: “The Gospel of Candace Owens”Jesse Singal, New York: reporting on Social Autopsy and GamergateMariel Padilla, The 19th, via Capital B: “Candace Owens Has Won the Trust These Women Refuse to Give Politicians”Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact: Charlie Kirk conspiracy claims, one year later | 1h 42m 36s | ||||||
| 9/14/26 | Gurometer Triple Threat: Professor Jiang, Mel Robbins & Jimmy Carr *Patreon Preview* | The rumours of the Gurometer's demise have been greatly exaggerated. We were simply collecting enough gurus to feed three into the sacred instrument at once. In this special Triple Threat edition, Professor Jiang brings angel-informed psychohistory, Jimmy Carr brings a head full of dubious historical factoids, and Mel Robbins just desperately wants to help you (for a price). Three potential gurus, eleven characteristics, and a brief disagreement over the nature of data. Let the highly rigorous scoring commence!Also... think you can do better? Rate Jiang, Mel, Jimmy, or any of the other gurus on our online Gurometer and compare your scores with ours. Ideally, do it before listening, lest Matt declare your numbers inadmissible.https://decoding-the-gurus-gurometer.netlify.app/ | 59m 54s | ||||||
| 9/8/26 | academic discourseconspiracy theories+3 | — | NatureDarkHorse+2 | — | NatureBret Weinstein+5 | — | 34m 57s | ||
| 8/30/26 | manifestationself-improvement+3 | Mel Robbins | — | — | manifestationself-help+3 | — | 1h 42m 34s | ||
| 8/28/26 | SolarpunkCultural Discourse+5 | — | The Young TurksInfoWars+2 | — | SolarpunkPecan Pie+5 | — | 41m 22s | ||
| 8/25/26 | manifestationself-help+3 | Mel RobbinsCassandra Vieten | Decoding the Gurus | Vermont | manifestationself-help+5 | — | 2h 04m 41s | ||
| 8/17/26 | podcastingcomedy+3 | Jimmy Carr | The Joe Rogan ExperienceModern Wisdom+1 | — | Joe RoganJimmy Carr+5 | — | 2h 54m 29s | ||
| 8/10/26 | COVID originslab-leak theory+4 | Eddie HolmesKristian Andersen+1 | Trump administrationmedia | — | COVID-19lab-leak+5 | — | 1h 44m 32s | ||
| 7/21/26 | economicsAI+5 | — | Russia TodayPatreon | — | economicsAI models+8 | — | 31m 01s | ||
| 7/9/26 | academicseconomics+4 | — | PatreonThe Times+1 | — | academicseconomics+6 | — | 22m 34s | ||
| 7/8/26 | comparative psychologysocial intelligence+3 | — | — | — | chimpanzeessocial cognition+3 | — | 27m 58s | ||
| 7/3/26 | geopoliticspredictions+3 | Professor Jiang | World BankWTO+2 | ChinaU.S.+1 | geopolitical predictionscivil war+4 | — | 1h 31m 30s | ||
| 6/30/26 | geopoliticsonline gurus+3 | Jiang Xueqin | — | — | Jiang Xueqingeopolitical strategy+3 | — | 2h 32m 34s | ||
| 6/20/26 | contextual understandingmedia analysis+3 | — | The Fifth ColumnJubilee+1 | — | context windowJordan Hall+5 | — | 31m 59s | ||
| 6/12/26 | guru analysispsychology+3 | Iain McGilchrist | — | — | GurometerIain McGilchrist+3 | — | 39m 50s | ||
| 6/10/26 | podcastingpropaganda+5 | — | The Romesh Ranganathan ShowJoe Rogan Experience+4 | — | podcastingBrett Weinstein+7 | — | 48m 10s | ||
| 5/31/26 | cult analysisScientology+3 | — | Scientology | — | L. Ron HubbardScientology+5 | — | 2h 24m 31s | ||
| 5/12/26 | consciousnesspan-psychism+4 | — | Knowledge Fight | Emerald Isle | consciousnesspan-psychism+6 | — | 44m 33s | ||
| 5/4/26 | neurosciencespirituality+3 | Iain McGilchrist | — | — | Iain McGilchristright brain+7 | — | 3h 10m 01s | ||
| 4/25/26 | anti-capitalismmedia criticism+4 | — | Tenet MediaYale | — | anti-capitalismJoe Rogan+6 | — | 44m 17s | ||
| 4/11/26 | neurosciencephilosophy+3 | Ian McGilchrist | The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World | — | neuroanatomyright-brain thinking+4 | — | 2h 03m 39s | ||
| 4/8/26 | mentalismmeta-deception+4 | Stevie Baskin | Decoding the Gurus | — | mentalismmeta-deception+5 | — | 1h 28m 17s | ||
| 4/3/26 | conspiracy theoriesAI discourse+4 | — | Patreon | — | DTG ConspiracyPizzagate+4 | — | 44m 10s | ||
| 3/28/26 | moral dilemmas of AIeffort justification+3 | Michael Inzlicht | Decoding AcademiaAgainst Frictionless AI+2 | — | AImoral dilemmas+4 | — | 1h 38m 08s | ||
| 3/22/26 | Integral TheoryAI and consciousness+3 | Ken Wilber | AI companiesIntegral Theory+1 | — | Integral TheoryAI+3 | — | 2h 38m 38s | ||
| 3/18/26 | guru traitsspirituality+3 | — | — | — | GurometerTeal Swan+4 | — | 19m 00s | ||
| 3/14/26 | Epstein conspiracismanti-murder stance+4 | — | QAnonPatreon+5 | — | Epsteinconspiracy theories+6 | — | 36m 46s | ||
| 3/14/26 | sexual blackmailhistorical analysis+3 | Blindboy | CIA | Limerick | Blindboysexual blackmail+7 | — | 1h 49m 05s | ||
| 3/5/26 | podcastingsatire+4 | Blindboy Boatclub | Rubberbandits | — | Blindboy BoatclubRubberbandits+5 | — | 2h 21m 23s | ||
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Chart history for Decoding the Gurus
Peaked at #105 in Finland, currently #105 in Finland.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | — | #105 | #105 | — |
Chart Positions
1 placement across 1 market.
Chart Positions
1 placement across 1 market.