Conspirituality
Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 11, 2026 • 8min
Bonus Sample: What's Left?
Discussion of the unexpected bipartisan coalition behind criminal justice reform and how it actually worked. Examination of the law's limits, implementation problems, and who was left out. Conversation about online left-right fights, shifting meanings of political labels, and how tribalism and outside actors shape coalition risks.
May 9, 2026 • 43min
Brief: Antifascist Dad (Audiobook Excerpt)
A reading from a handbook for parents about urgent conversations with young people after a shocking political moment. Themes include organizing against rising authoritarianism, spotting cultlike leaders and sexist patterns, and talking to kids about capitalism and power. It also explores parenting as relationship work, pacing conversations, and building personal self-regulation to resist authoritarian instincts.
9 snips
May 7, 2026 • 58min
307: Conspiracy Reflex Syndrome
Rapid-fire theories around a White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting and how social media accelerated false-flag claims. The rise of AI-manipulated clips, time-travel and pattern-seeking pareidolia driving wild narratives. A look at influencer dynamics, normie extremism, and how accelerated media cycles produce reflexive conspiratorial verdicts.
May 4, 2026 • 6min
Bonus Sample: Hasan, Contrapoints, Ezra Klein, & The Dem Civil War
A heated debate over whether Democrats should prioritize coalition-building or embrace radicalization. Clips and controversy around a popular leftist streamer spark debate about online culture and political strategy. A deep dive into the factional split inside the party as activists and pragmatists clash ahead of upcoming elections.
25 snips
May 2, 2026 • 28min
Brief: Women 3, Manosphere 0
Featuring Enemy Charlie (Twitch streamer and literature MA), Kyla Turner (substance abuse counselor and progressive Christian streamer), and Drianna Sixto (conservative commentator). They take on a notorious manosphere figure in heated livestream clips. Sharp rebuttals, culture-clash debates, and moments of composure amid chaos. Snappy, confrontational, and unapologetically entertaining.
12 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 1h 11min
306: Antifascist Wellness
They unpack the boom in consumer continuous glucose monitors and who actually benefits from them. They debate how real-time health data can fuel obsession and eating disorders. Two new books get candid treatment: one on critiquing the wellness industry, the other on talking to young people about antifascist politics and caregiving. Conversations trace religion, radicalization, memoir and media incentives.
Apr 27, 2026 • 6min
Bonus Sample: Leo and Restless Hearts in Algeria
A papal trip to Algeria sparks controversy across global media and political lines. The visit is read through Augustine, colonial history, and liberation theology. Tensions around reparations, anticolonial memory, and interfaith gestures take center stage. Reflections on martyrdom and spiritual testimony punctuate the narrative.
8 snips
Apr 25, 2026 • 22min
Brief: Well Enough (Book Excerpt)
A memoir reading that explores emergency room life, from monitoring suicidal and unstable patients to the numbness staff develop. Vivid scenes include moving bodies to the morgue and the sensory overload of trauma. The narrator also recounts a personal panic attack that landed him in the ER and traces how stress, art, and relationships fed long-term anxiety and eating struggles.
10 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 1h 22min
305: AI’s Cultish Leader
A deep dive into a New Yorker investigation of Sam Altman and the power concentrated in AI leadership. Conversations about OpenAI’s shift from safety rhetoric to profit, board drama, and safety team cuts. Broader riffs on geopolitics, data center impacts, tech cult dynamics, open source vs commercialization, and who gets to shape AI’s future.
Apr 20, 2026 • 5min
Bonus Sample: How the Self is Made...and Unmade
A dive into behavioral economics showing how identity shifts with training, wealth, and workplace pressures. Short studies highlight how law school and extreme wealth reshape values. The conversation links modern research to ancient Buddhist ideas about the self. Listeners are encouraged to explore how environment molds who we become.
