From 1999-2002, VH1 ran a show called “Where Are They Now?” The irregularly produced series wondered aloud what happened to former cultural icons like eighties hair metal bands, kid actors, and one-hit wonders. While some people remained surprisingly relevant, most were confined to, at best, appearing at VFWs and regional summer festivals in parking lots or, tragically, gripped by an addiction and dreams of a better time that they couldn’t make last.
Two years ago this month our book, Conspirituality, was published. We called one section Rogue’s Gallery to highlight a range of figures we’ve covered on the podcast. One of those chapters was dedicated to a man named Robert F Kennedy, Jr—don’t say we didn’t warn you. How about the other nine?
In our own version of “Where Are They Now,” we’re going to turn back the clock and revisit those other nine chapters. We’ll do it over three episodes in the coming weeks. This week, we begin with famed women’s health expert turned harp-playing conspiracy peddler, Christiane Northrup; self-proclaimed philosopher king, Charles Eisenstein; and former model turned middling new age filmmaker turned anti-vax documentarian Mikki Willis.
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1:05:22
Bonus Sample: Watching Andor with the Kids (Pt 2)
Matthew continues the Antifascist Woodshed series with a two-part analysis of an extraordinary cultural event: rebellions within rebellions—or how a ragtag band of writers and worldbuilders Trojan-horsed an antifascist masterpiece into the Empire of streaming content.
Seven chapters:
(This past Saturday, main feed:)
Space Wizards or Antifascism?
Star Wars Culture Wars
A Post-Fragmentary Left
(Today:)
Hope and Love
Tony Gilroy’s Antifascist Field Manual
The Used Future
Antifascist Parents Are Better than Jedi Parents
NB: There will be spoilers for Andor!
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6:15
Brief: Watching Andor with the Kids (Pt 1)
Matthew continues the Antifascist Woodshed series with a two-part analysis of an extraordinary cultural event: rebellions within rebellions—or how a ragtag band of writers and worldbuilders Trojan-horsed an antifascist masterpiece into the Empire of streaming content.
Seven chapters:
Space Wizards or Antifascism?
Star Wars Culture Wars
A Post-Fragmentary Left
(Monday on Patreon:)
Hope and Love
Tony Gilroy’s Antifascist Field Manual
The Used Future
Antifascist Parents Are Better than Jedi Parents
NB: There will be spoilers for Andor!
Show Notes
The Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas and Bill Moyers
Special Interview: Nostalgia for the Superego (w/Sam Binkley) — Conspirituality
Movie Review – THX 1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut – A Sci-Fi Geek Looks at George Lucas' First Film
8 women accuse screenwriter Max Landis of sexual, emotional abuse - National | Globalnews.ca
'Star Wars' Actress Amandla Stenberg's 'White People' Remark Sparks Fury - Newsweek
'The Acolyte' Star Amandla Stenberg Cracks Up at 'Gayest Star Wars' Moniker: It's 'So Gay Already!' | Video
Amandla Stenberg Slams Anti-‘Woke’ Attacks And ‘Intolerable Racism’ Over ‘The Acolyte’
Sorry, haters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ new characters more than make up for the movie’s sins | Vox
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 - Official 'Omega & Tech' Clip (2023)
The Bad Batch: Tech’s death and the neurodivergent community
Why Our Autism Community Loves Star Wars - Kerry Magro
Virtue Hoarders and the Rejection of Liberalism (w/ Catherine Liu) | The Chris Hedges Report
The problem with identity politics | Counterfire
Transcript: Andor: Tony Gilroy on Oppressive Regimes and Popular Revolutions - The Peabody Awards
Star Wars: A New Heap
Music:
Brief: Star War fan-made music from Luis Humanoide: Trust Only in the Force
Bonus: Star War fan-made music from Luis Humanoide: Dark Ruins Exploration
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39:07
260: Aubrey Marcus's Polyamory God Bomb
Megamillionaire supplements and New Age life coach tycoon Aubrey Marcus recently claimed the goddess Isis told him that he must impregnate both his wife and the third member of their throuple while doing spiritual tourism in Egypt.
During a nearly three-hour podcast, the three explain their polygamous plans and heartaches while their on-call guru, Marc Gafni—an old-school spiritualist most famous for the long list of sexual assault and misconduct allegations against him—frames their drama as a sacred crisis.
We pick apart the spectacle, assessing how badly Marcus is getting his ass beat.
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1:14:13
Bonus Sample: Has Nonviolence Been Debunked?
Support Conspirituality on Patreon.
Does the word protestor conjure a masked figure in black clothing smashing windows and lighting fires or a weekend liberal ineffectually following rules while sipping on a creamy latte along the state-permitted protest route?
A popular media narrative is that peaceful protest works best, but has the power of nonviolent resistance been debunked?
Julian responds to Matthew’s interview with political sociologist, Benjamin Case.
In the context of anarchist activism, Case points out that successful “nonviolent protest movements” have always featured property damage, street-fighting, and window smashing. His ethnographic research shows that rioting can also be personally transformative and empowering, as the participant experiences “contentious effervescence.”
His interview (and book, Street Rebellion) included a pointed critique of celebrated nonviolence advocate and academic, Erica Chenoweth, and their towering predecessor, Gene Sharp—who, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, practically created the field of nonviolent resistance studies. Case has some excellent points, especially about how often Chenoweth’s work is misinterpreted.
But was Gene Sharp really a tool of American imperialism? Is Erica Chenoweth a willing lapdog to status quo liberalism and capitalist power? What kinds of protest strategy might serve us best in our terrifying authoritarian moment?
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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.
Ireland