Levitation, world peace, and blissful enlightenment were all essential to the hippie counterculture. But it came at quite a price. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made billions selling magical mantras and the promise of perfect happiness. Most well-known for being endorsed by the Beatles and David Lynch, he was also feted by world leaders and prestigious universities. The true story behind this 5’1” marketing genius is complex and layered: illicit sex, paranormal promises, alternative medicine, palatial estates, overpriced courses, bogus quantum physics, indoctrinated children, and mass group meditation combined with “yogic flying” would supposedly bring about world peace.
For his latest stand-alone episode in the Roots of Conspirituality series, Julian dives deep into the money-scented blissful waters of Transcendental Meditation and reports back on the sharks that swim beneath the surface. Stay tuned for some reflections at the end about the differences between cults and more familiar, normalized religions.
Show Notes
David Wants to Fly
Robes of Silk, Feet of Clay
The Deceptive World of ™
Maharishi Exposed
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Brief: Ground Zero Grifting
Plandemic creator Mikki Willis recently hosted an hour-long webinar to promote his supplements company. Marketed as a storytelling hour to share the power of immunity and god with their followers, the conversation went off the rails. Derek and Julian tune in and discuss.
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271: The Miseducation of PragerU
The right has waged a war on “woke” Sesame Street for generations. When the party passed the 2025 Recissions Act, they were finally able to take a significant field advantage in this battle—one which Big Bird and Mr Snuffleupagus never wanted to be in. That bill stripped $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, greatly damaging NPR, PBS, and mostly their member stations. The CPB announced it will have to close in January 2026. What will take its place? Well, the right has a plan for that, or so Vox speculates: PragerU.
Founded in 2009 as a right-wing alternative to reality, the sprawling, well-funded network teaches kids to hate DEI, love paying taxes, and recognize that the Bible offers the only salvation on this planet. Could it replace Sesame Street, however? Well, it’s already in use in numerous classrooms—and the right wants it in all of them.
Show Notes
The White House has a preferred alternative to PBS. It may already be in countless classrooms.
What Percentage of White Southerners Owned Slaves
How Neoliberalism Swallowed Arts Policy
The Global Liberal Arts Challenge | Ethics & International Affairs
When the Arts Are Attacked, Democracy Is at Risk | Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.
Kamp, David. Sunny Days. New York: Simon & Schuster, n.d.
Ledbetter, James. Made Possible By...: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States. London; New York: Verso, 1997.
Stewart, David C.The PBS Companion: A History of Public Television. New York: TV Books, 1999.
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Bonus Sample: The Naturopaths Are At It Again
In preparation for this Thursday's episode on PragerU, Derek looks at one of the propaganda organization's videos featuring naturopathic practitioner, Joseph Pizzorno.
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Brief: Olympics for Dopers
The Enhanced Games promises to display the "true potential" of athletes by letting them use any sort of performance enhancement drugs available when it launches in Las Vegas in 2026. Yet why would a group of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists with no interest in sports be behind it? Likely because it's all a supplements grift, as Derek and Julian discuss.
Show Notes
The Definitive, Insane, Swimsuit-Bursting Story of the Steroid Olympics
Joe Rogan Experience #2166 - Enhanced Games
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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.
New Zealand