Decoding the Gurus

We risk contamination with toxic mould, endure distressing initiation rituals to a comedy cult, and ponder if the narratives we have received about the Nazis have enough nuance. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 21 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus [https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus] Supplementary Material 36 00:00 Introduction and an Intervention 01:59 Tomatoes, Holidays, and Hollywood Remakes 06:15 AI x Indulgent People 06:41 AI Chatbots and Delusional Gurus 10:46 Sir Robert Edward Grant and the Architect  12:26 Critiquing the Critics 13:31 Eric Weinstein engages with Dialogos with his silicon friend Grok 22:25 Tim Nguyen details the Distributed Weinstein Suppression Complex 24:20 Sabine Hossenfelder's Google Doc 27:10 2+2 Discourse and a surprise appearance from Kareem Carr 29:34 Chris's 10 Tips for Sabine 34:39 Coffeezilla does more Anomaly Hunting on Epstein Videos 37:50 Conspiracy Chat 39:58  Ghislaine Maxwell's potential deal  42:29 Thoughts on the Elephant Graveyard's Video on the Joe Rogan Comedy Cult 49:45 Details vs Vibes 52:46 Rogan's Fact-Checking and Comedian Dynamics 54:54 The Rogan Anti-Human Tech Elite Conspiracy Theory 59:40 Master Geniuses vs. a bunch of dickheads who like the same stuff 01:03:55 Lex Friedman and the Role of Softball Interviews 01:06:28 Conspiracy Theories vs. Real Conspiracies 01:15:51 Overall thoughts on the Elephant Graveyard Video Essay 01:19:18 Ana Kasparian thinks the Jews knew about 9/11 01:22:21 Jordan Peterson's Health and Mould Toxicity 01:24:24 Good Fungus vs Bad Mould 01:26:08 Bespoke Medicine and American Individualism 01:29:57 Streamers saying Stupid Things: Taylor Lorenz on DSA Nazis 01:33:08 Populist anti-vaccine rhetoric in Japan! 01:35:58 Bill Maher and Andrew Huberman discuss the problems with medicine 01:38:40 Chris Rufo and Right Wing Outrage over the Cracker Barrel logo 01:42:31 The War on Christmas in Australia 01:44:35 Jonathan Pageau's revisionist World War II symbolism 01:48:29 Pageau's Postmodern Narratives 02:03:32 Finding the Balance between Nazism and Liberalism 02:14:02 Random Shoutout 02:15:45 Matt's Cognitive Decline and Professor Archetypes Sources * Article on Sir Robert Edward Grant and The Architect [https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/sir-robert-edward-grant-and-the-architect?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Eric talking with his silicon friend @grok [https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1956763115414274414?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Eric waxing lyrical about Grok and praising Elon for his unique insights [https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949503650222752231?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Tim Nguyen — Physics Grifters: Eric Weinstein, Sabine Hossenfelder, and a Crisis of Credibility [https://timothynguyen.org/2025/08/21/physics-grifters-eric-weinstein-sabine-hossenfelder-and-a-crisis-of-credibility/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Sabine vindicates herself in a Google Doc [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xzohqSEjngxMGu0N7vbVOBDdJNUKnzp3/edit?tab=t.0&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Kareem Carr thinks Sabine’s document is great! [https://x.com/kareem_carr/status/1958697703077974180?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Chris’s Top 10 tips for Sabine on how to be a science skeptic YouTuber [https://x.com/skdh/status/1956285611255493013?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * BBC — Ghislaine Maxwell denies seeing ‘inappropriate’ conduct by Trump [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3pe6189go?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * The Guardian — Ghislaine Maxwell transcripts: what we know at a glance [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/ghislaine-maxwell-transcript-what-we-know?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Voidzilla — Top 5 Lies in Epstein Footage [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oCrW4cVCO0&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Lewandowsky, Lloyd & Brophy (2018) When THUNCing Trumps thinking — Argumenta (PDF) [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=7a420cff8634ec294cb737dd8340c21cb9aaa2d0&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Transcripts from Interview with Ghislaine Maxwell (Justice.gov) [https://www.justice.gov/maxwell-interview?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * How Comedy Was Destroyed by an Anti-Reality Doomsday Cult [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvRS3NwIlQ&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * The Loving Trap (Parody of Adam Curtis) — Ben Woodhams [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1bX3F7uTrg&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Ana Kasparian spreading anti-semitic 9/11 Truther conspiracies [https://x.com/AnaKasparian/status/1958648204070986230?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Mikhaila Peterson’s update on Jordan Peterson’s health problems [https://x.com/MikhailaFuller/status/1955777019712819287?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Taylor Lorenz explaining how the DSA are the real fascists [https://x.com/TaylorLorenz/status/1957302961295524212?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Huberman & Bill Maher discuss medicine [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMGAO3SEz2Q&utm_source=chatgpt.com] * BBC article on Sanseito Party [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly80nnjnv5o?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Independent article on the Cracker Barrel ‘Controversy’ [https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/cracker-barrel-logo-designer-family-b2815906.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Jonathan Pageau — Symbolism Explained: The Fundamental WWII Duality That Still Haunts Us Today [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLpEDlgEleg&utm_source=chatgpt.com]

We face a disciplinary crisis as the twin pillars of Game Theory and Gurometry are called into question. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 35 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus [https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus] Supplementary Material 35 00:05 Introduction   01:52 Matt's Apology 06:55 Just Life... 12:34 Matt's Foodie Corner  14:01 Dedunking Dan Richards finds Sabine 16:37 Sabine cultivates parasocial defenders 18:16 Ana Kasparian gets deeper into ZOG conspiracies 24:44 Gary vs Game Theory 40:26 Support the Channel to Save the World 47:10 Bryan Johnson and Methylene blue 51:52 Scientific Cosplay Online 53:51 Keith Rainiere and Sensemaking Parallels 54:57 High IQ YoungHoon Kim tweets about proof of God 56:19 Guru and Cult Leader Parallels 01:01:13 The Validity of the Gurometer in Question?!? 01:03:03 Hacking Social Heuristics 01:07:38 Cult Leaders vs Secular Gurus 01:12:33 Anti-Democratic moves by Trump 01:15:03 Dan Carlin on Trump 01:18:30 Streamers Talking Nonsense: Hasan on ISIS 01:21:24 Ideological Fixation and Motivated Conspiracism 01:27:22 Outro Sources * The Cushendun Sea Caves from Game of Thrones [https://citytoursbelfast.com/cushendun-caves-game-of-thrones] * Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is Boosting Tourism [https://gamerant.com/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-czech-tourism-increase/] * DeDunking: Eric Weinstein's Theory — Real Physicist vs Pseudo Poser [https://youtu.be/SYuY9sZlK9I?si=MIAZVAqJ-OjdOQUc] * Ana Kasparian tweeting about the “Zionist Occupied Government” [https://x.com/AnaKasparian/status/1954256169092182162] * Gary’s Economics: Game Theory is Broken [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HezHJKZ47Ck] * Critical Reddit thread on Gary’s Game Theory video [https://www.reddit.com/r/GarysEconomics/comments/1mnnwmb/game_theory_is_broken/] * Henrich, J., McElreath, R., Barr, A., Ensminger, J., Barrett, C., Bolyanatz, A., ... & Ziker, J. (2006). Costly punishment across human societies. Science, 312(5781), 1767–1770. * The Selfish Gene, Chapter 12: Nice Guys Finish First (Richard Dawkins) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=BnIk2aM3XWg] * High IQ YoungHoon Kim tweets about proof of God [https://x.com/yhbryankimiq/status/1952470521339318623] * I was Jordan Peterson’s strongest supporter. Now I think he’s dangerous [https://web.archive.org/web/20250617123928/https://www.thestar.com/opinion/i-was-jordan-peterson-s-strongest-supporter-now-i-think-he-s-dangerous/article_085724d2-94de-5fd2-81c3-b3b2822fd38a.html] * Dan Carlin’s tweet about Trump [https://x.com/dccommonsense/status/1954955462576837051] * BBC: National Guard troops appear in Washington DC as mayor rejects Trump's 'authoritarian push' [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7ypm6zxp2o] * Nathan Baker: Keith Raniere, Ringleader of NXIVM Sex Slave Cult, Interviewed by Allison Mack, Top Cult Member [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PTG0CB_biM]

In this watery simulation of an episode, Matt and Chris uncover the true purpose of Scott Adams’ existence: not to shape reality, but to provide training data for future AIs working on plumbing-related problems. Somewhere in a cosmic server farm, Scott is endlessly confronted with blocked drains, dripping faucets, and municipal water conspiracies, while his “insights” fuel the next generation of household maintenance bots. Against this surreal backdrop, Naval Ravikant enters the scene — investor, tweeter, self-styled philosopher, and, in practice, just another discourse surfer riding the waves of online conspiracism. The conversation opens with a familiar chorus of right-wing talking points, drifts into feverish speculation about lawfare, censorship, and “imported voters,” and finally winds down in the dim light of dorm-room metaphysics, where slogans like “happiness is a choice” are served up as if they were profound insights. Naval presents himself as a detached sage, offering a boutique blend of political commentary and Daoist-tinged wisdom. In reality, he delivers little more than predictable polemics and recycled aphorisms. Imagining himself a great man of history dispensing lyrical truths in tweet-sized form, he produces nothing that rises above the usual culture-war debris. The posture is Buddha-with-a-smartphone; the reality is a credulous tech elite mistaking his own Twitter feed for a philosophy seminar. What follows is Elon-as-Ben-Franklin fanboying, Trump rebranded as a “bottom-up” leader of the people, and a level of self-congratulation so thick it could be used to terraform Mars. By the end, you may find yourself nostalgic for the leaky pipes in Scott’s simulation — at least they produce real water... Sources * Modern Wisdom (Chris Williamson): 44 Harsh Truths About The Game Of Life - Naval Ravikant (4K) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyfUysrNaco] * Real Coffee with Scott Adams: Conversation with Naval Ravikant [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTRcs5ZsSJE]

In this episode, we immerse ourselves in the potent juices of the manosphere with British journalist and author James Bloodworth. James recently published Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere and takes us on a whirlwind tour of various misogynistic and anti-feminist subcultures, including pickup artists, incels, and the blue, red, and black pill communities. Drawing on his personal experiences and research, James discusses the appeal and dangers of the manosphere, touching on themes such as insecure masculinity and the commodification of social interactions. We also get into some joyful political implications and consider the role of social media in spreading these messages. One for all the family! Links * Lost Boys - Journey into the Manosphere [https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/lost-boys/] * James' Substack [https://www.forthedeskdrawer.com/] * The Guardian – Journey into the Manosphere [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/28/lost-boys-by-james-bloodworth-review-journey-into-the-manosphere] – Review of Lost Boys * Prospect Magazine – Matthew Goodwin, Reform and the politics of resentment – Bloodworth’s recent article on Matt Goodwin [https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/philosophy/intellectuals-and-ideas/70456/matthew-goodwin-reform-and-the-politics-of-resentment]

We drown in waves of ideological fluidity as the gurusphere continues to crash all around us. Supplementary Material 34 00:00 Introduction 01:26 Irish Stew and Dog Exercise Report 03:45 A new 276 IQ Genius 11:47 Fresh and Fit Antisemitism 16:51 Are things getting dumber? 21:22 Asmongold on the Epstein Files 24:53 Epstein Conspiratorial Discourse helps Ghislaine Maxwell 29:00 Vinay Prasad resigns from his MAGA position 31:17 Eric Weinstein is the Architect of the Great Reset! 32:37 Google Eyed Loons vs. Willing Apparatchik 36:40 The Young Turks are joined by... Scott Adams 38:51 Ana Kasparian sits down with Tucker Carlson 44:46 Jimmy the Giant enters the arena 46:11 Jimmy the Giant meets Konstantin Kisin 57:12 Debating the Middle Class YouTube Grifters 01:06:15 The Gurusphere Grift 01:08:16 Jimmy the Giant reflects on his performance 01:11:16 Discourse standards for Research 01:15:05 Jimmy defends his criticisms 01:22:27 Jimmy the Giant deletes his videos and apologises to Konstantin 01:28:04 The Call to Action to support the Grand Mission 01:32:32 Separating Issues from Support of Influencers 01:37:13 Jimmy the Giant explains how the Elites created Wokeness 01:47:16 Woke Wars and Psyops 01:49:33 The Right Wing Media Outrage Ecosystem 01:55:26 False Consciousness and the Billionaires 02:02:47 AI limitations and Hallucinations 02:07:08 Post Hoc-Reasoning in AI and People 02:14:22 Outro The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hrs 16 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus [https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus] Sources * Younghoon Kim: World’s Highest IQ Score (276) Scientifically Documented in New Academic Preprint [https://substack.com/home/post/p-170040305] * Fresh and Fit idiots being giggly anti-semitic and praising Hitler [https://x.com/Saul_Sadka/status/1948372378481745955] * Joanne Freeman: The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War [https://www.amazon.com/Field-Blood-Violence-Congress-Civil/dp/0374154775] * Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Federal prison camp in Texas [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/ghislaine-maxwell-moved-federal-prison-texas-rcna222497] * Comment on the move from Prison Consultant [https://x.com/DilanianMSNBC/status/1951986872789397910] * Poor Vinay Prasad – The Disgraceful Campaign Against a Top FDA Official [https://www.thefp.com/p/the-disgraceful-campaign-against-vinay-prasad-health-politics-trump] * Eric responds to accusations that he is the mastermind behind the Great Replacement [https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1952017599824556111] * TYT’s The Conversation: Scott Adams Reflects on Life after his Terminal Cancer Diagnosis [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQEY_1xClI] * Ana Kasparian on the Tucker Carlson show [https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1948790348077047944] * Clips from now deleted Triggernometry video: He Called me a Grifter… it didn’t go so well [https://x.com/KonstantinKisin/status/1949110630947971513] * Konstantin complaining about now-deleted Jimmy the Giant video: So… I went on Konstantin’s podcast [https://x.com/KonstantinKisin/status/1950086996845568460] * Gary’s Economics: Immigration, the alt-right, the left and young men – Gary meets JimmyTheGiant [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCqfr91vFws] * Reddit thread on the now-deleted Jimmy the Giant video – The Middle Class British Grifter Explained [https://www.reddit.com/r/DecodingTheGurus/comments/1l48gpz/the_middle_class_british_grifter_explained/] * Jimmy the Giant – How I Escaped the Alt-Right Pipeline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygHnodf0XM] * Jimmy’s Heartfelt apology to Konstantin [https://x.com/jimthegiant/status/1950587267572994118] * Konstantin and Francis reflect on the growth of Triggernometry: What's Next for TRIGGERnometry? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2RkDJyp2W0] * Jimmy the Giant - Did I Escape the Alt-Right.. Just to Be Brainwashed? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD9tvlQTe1I]