The world has never been more connected. Yet never more divided. We yell at each other from inside our echo chambers. But change doesn’t happen inside an echo chamber. It’s time to get out, to stretch our legs, to step on some land mines. It's time to have an uncomfortable conversation with Josh Szeps. A DM Podcast
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Josh Szeps Podcasts
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 puzzl ...
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Listen to over 10 years of talks presented at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas – Australia's original disruptive ideas festival. FODI brings to light important conversations that push the boundaries of conventional thought, challenging thinking on some of the most persevering and difficult issues of our time. Hear from our festival alumni – the world's best experts, innovative thinkers and mischief makers – as they share provocative ideas and conversations that encourage debate and critical t ...
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“Have We Got Morality Backwards? The Case Against Utilitarianism” with Bo Winegard
1:48:34
1:48:34
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1:48:34
What does it mean to do the right thing, and how do we know when we’re doing wrong? Is it ever okay to lie? To exact vengeance? To eat meat? To abort a foetus? To pamper your kids when that money could save a poor child's life overseas? All of our most uncomfortable conversations stem, at their heart, from a conflict about what we ought to do. And …
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“The New Race to the Moon: China, MAGA, SpaceX & Mars” with Jeffrey Kluger
37:40
37:40
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37:40
President Trump has nominated a billionaire to be the new head of NASA as the United States gears up for its most ambitious mission in decades: a return to the Moon. This time, the adversary to beat isn’t the Soviets, but China. And the players at the heart of the new space race are no longer just nation-states but private companies. Who are these …
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JUST JOSH: Dissecting Tucker Carlson
2:21:03
2:21:03
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2:21:03
American conservatives are in a tizzy of in-fighting after one of their leading voices, Tucker Carlson, hosted a genial chat with a Holocaust-denying, Hitler-admiring, 27-year-old white-nationalist influencer, Nick Fuentes. Should your local upstanding conservative disavow King Tuck? Or is Tucker's aww-shucks, just-askin'-questions schtick too valu…
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LIVE PANEL: "Who Really Influences Our Politicians?" with Senators Bridget McKenzie & David Pocock, and MP's Allegra Spender & Helen Haines
51:08
51:08
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What happens when you put politicians in a room and ask them to talk honestly about who really influences their decisions? This bonus episode is a live recording from a one-of-a-kind gala in Canberra dreamed up by social-media firebrand (and friend of the show) Punters Politics. Instead of corporations buying access to ministers, everyday Australia…
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“Being a Satirist in Censorious Times” with cartoonist Jason Chatfield
42:42
42:42
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42:42
Zohran Mamdani has just been elected mayor of New York, parachuting onto a political terrain more polarised and energised than it's been since the 1960s. How do you maintain an independent satirical voice in such vitriolic times? Joining Josh from NYC on a Substack Livestream the day after the mayoral election is Jason Chatfield, one of the world’s…
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“The Climate Change Solution So Crazy it Just Might Work” with Quico Toro
1:28:21
1:28:21
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The conversation around climate change is so predictable. It's either depressing doom, science denialism, or ambitious summits that don't achieve much. Can't anyone think outside the box? Quico Toro does. He's the Director of Climate Repair at the Anthropocene Institute, a former journalist who's written for the New York Times, Washington Post and …
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Right to Reply: A Dialogos about Sensemaking with Alexander Beiner
1:12:10
1:12:10
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We are joined by Alexander Beiner, current founder of Kainos and former co-founder of Rebel Wisdom, to grapple with that eternally slippery concept: sensemaking. Naturally, this leads us through interdisciplinary adventurism, reflections on the (il)legitimacy of academia, and the recurring “meaning crisis” that haunts our times. Sense will be made,…
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Supplementary Material 39: Bad Guys, Panpsychists, and Sensemakers
37:58
37:58
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Chris and Matt walk into a bar with an atheist sensemaker, an Ayurvedic Guru, and a Christian Apologist, and predictable frivolities ensue. Featuring not one but two good-natured, robust exchanges of opinion between our two hosts. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 42 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/Decoding…
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Pile-ons, performative outrage, apology rituals, and public humiliation have become a blood sport over the past decade. What happened? Was it a moral panic? A byproduct of new communications technologies? Or a storm in a teacup - a well-intentioned overreach, exaggerated by anti-woke right-wingers? Clare Stephens is a feminist journalist who has sp…
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Required Readings: The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis
16:44
16:44
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In another exciting Required Reading episode, Chris and Matt offer their penetrating, high IQ thoughts on the latest book by journalist and podcast quizmaster, Helen Lewis. Titled 'The Genius Myth: The Dangerous Allure of Rebels, Monsters, and Rule Breakers', the book tears into some of the long-enduring myths surrounding historical and contemporar…
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Discussing Nazis and Gurus with Al Murray
1:07:17
1:07:17
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We welcome Al Murray, the comedian who might just be your new favourite historian, to Decoding the Gurus. In a crossover you probably didn’t expect, we discuss World War II, Wehraboos, gurus, and the contemporary comedy scene... something for all the family. Along the way, we touch on British nostalgia, military fetishism, and self-styled “truth te…
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"Trans Rights, Women's Rights, Gay Rights, Oh My!” with Professor Robert Wintemute
1:17:22
1:17:22
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What happens when the fight for women's equality collides with transgender rights? Is the anti-trans nastiness of the Elon MAGA-verse now winning? Or is it mere chaff in a new legal regime that privileges gender identity over feminism and gay rights? Where are we, exactly, in the gender wars? The question of who counts as a woman, once banal, is no…
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Keith Raniere: The Serpent and the Cognitive Fog
3:08:49
3:08:49
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Kicking off cult season, Chris and Matt take a dip into the manipulative world of NXIVM founder and self-proclaimed 200-IQ “Vanguard,” Keith Raniere, as he talks with his then-disciple and ex-Hollywood actress, Allison Mack. Through a haze of pseudo-profound musings and decorative scholarship, Raniere sermonises on creativity, authenticity, and the…
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"Mindfulness, Science, Buddhism & Bullsh*t"? with Mo Edjlali
23:43
23:43
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You know you should meditate. But you don't have the time. Or you're no good at it. So you occasionally subscribe to a meditation app, you listen to podcast episodes about mindfulness, you nod along sagely about the importance of living in the Now, and you get back to your busy life. It doesn't stick. That's been Josh's story for decades. So when h…
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“What’s Comedy For, Anymore?” with Wil Anderson
2:04:44
2:04:44
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The Saudi stand-up controversy, the Jimmy Kimmel brouhaha, the clickification of live shows into viral video clips, the clash of podcasters like Marc Maron vs Joe Rogan over Trumpism... What is comedy for in this algorithmic era of culture wars? Wil Anderson is perhaps Australia's most successful stand-up comic. As well as his countless sold-out li…
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Lab Leak Fever with Philipp Markolin
1:13:43
1:13:43
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Join Matt and Chris as they dive into the controversy-ridden world of the lab leak theory, accompanied by biochemist-turned-author Philipp Markolin. Philipp details his journey into the abyss of lab leak lore and sensationalist media, documenting how thorough research was pushed aside in favour of conspiratorial discourse. For those who dream of a …
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“Charlie Kirk’s Secret Plan to Take Over America” with Dr Matthew Boedy
28:49
28:49
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What if the fight for America’s soul wasn’t just political, but theological? A powerful movement inside Christian America believes it is on a divine mission to rescue the nation’s institutions; from education and media to business and government. Their chief cheerleader was Charlie Kirk, whose organisation, Turning Point USA, is now better position…
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Supplementary Material 38: Toxic Mould Symbiosis, Mild Phrenology, and the Best People in the World
49:51
49:51
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We end the futile struggle, embrace the toxins, and become one with our mould brethren. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 38 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 38 00:00 Intro 02:54 Boomer Matt reacts to Twitter videos 07:31 Shellenberger and Tucker discuss the 9/11 File…
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"There IS no Housing Crisis, Akshually ☝️" with economist Cameron Murray
1:46:06
1:46:06
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Insane house prices are destroying the middle-class dream of home ownership. Or... are they? Is there actually a housing crisis? Or are most people, in fact, comfortably paying historically-unremarkable mortgage repayments for a desirable product? Economist Cameron Murray argues for this unpopular (you might even say “uncomfortable”) heterodox view…
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“Godfather of the Greens”, fmr Senator Bob Brown
49:26
49:26
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He’s been called the most successful environmentalist in Australian history, and one of the most influential in the world. Former Senator Bob Brown co-founded the world’s first Green Party, in Tasmania in 1972. He led the Australian Greens in Parliament for decades and spearheaded a pivotal moment in global environmentalism, when he helped save the…
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By Josh Szeps
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"Is the UK Falling Apart?" with Dominic Frisby
36:18
36:18
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36:18
Is it racist to worry that there are more immigrants in London than white English? Has the UK reached a tipping point in its conversation about Britain’s national identity? What’s going on? Race riots; migrant detention hotels ablaze; the prime minister condemning Elon Musk for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language at a nationalist protest wi…
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