Podcast · Tech & Science

Decoding the Gurus

by Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne · English · Tech & Science

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 acc

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr
Latest: 14 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026 · 40 minNew

Supplementary Material 57: p(doom) Updates, Nazi Apologist Imbeciles, and JAQs about False Flag Conspiracies

Matt updates his p(doom), Tucker Carlson does his best impression of Wormtongue, and the political horseshoe unites over Flydubai JAQs. Sometimes our future AI overlords do not look so bad. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hrs 51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:07 Dog Updates and Cultural Appropriation 00:07:20 Annual Health Check Approval 00:14:47 Matt’s p(doom) Update 00:17:26 Matt’s Dragon 00:21:34 Becoming Obsolete? 00:26:27 P-Zombie Thoughts on AI 00:33:03 Productivity Gains? 00:36:22 Jacob Rees-Mogg Meets…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

4 Oct 2026 · 26 min
Supplementary Material 56: 10% for AI Doom, Bespoke Debates, and Eurotrash DJs
Chris and Matt grapple with Face Huggers, ponder the mysteries of algebra, and have a heated exchange over the term "bespoke". *Sorry about some of Chris' audio: the microphone settings will be fixed next episode! The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hrs 12 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 56 00:00 Introduction 01:58 The Hugging Face incident 08:46 AI risks and AI discourse 22:29 OpenAI’s presentation and the incentives around AI safety 29:51 How worried should we be? 40:13 Disagreeing about AI 46:15 Peter Boghossian’s…
E170 · 26 Sep 2026 · 2 hr 28 min
Candace Owens, Part 2: The Woman Who Noticed Everything
Part Two of our Candace Owens decoding offers a generous case study in conspiratorial thinking. The necklace in the footage of Charlie Kirk’s murder may have moved before his jacket, a photograph of Tyler Robinson in front of a Man of Steel poster also raises questions about why Erika Kirk used the phrase about Charlie’s neck, not to mention that one of the early suspects also lived in New York during 9/11... all of it just makes you think... who is actually running things? One possibility could be Erika Kirk. Not that she is the mastermind (that, as always, is occult Jewish satanists), but…
E169 · 21 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Candace Owens, Part 1: Charlie Kirk and the Cosmic Conspiracy
Candace Owens is just a Catholic, a mother, and a wife. She loves her husband, works hard, and tries not to let internet drama disturb her spiritual peace. She also has just a few questions about the international satanic conspiracy behind Charlie Kirk’s ritual murder. We join Candace during her appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, where an impressive amount of time is devoted to establishing how lovely they both find each other. There are the usual fond memories of dinner, a husband who is a James Bond lookalike, and a series of fascinating career adventures, including how Candace rose to be…
14 Sep 2026 · 1 hr
Gurometer Triple Threat: Professor Jiang, Mel Robbins & Jimmy Carr *Patreon Preview*
The rumours of the Gurometer's demise have been greatly exaggerated. We were simply collecting enough gurus to feed three into the sacred instrument at once. In this special Triple Threat edition, Professor Jiang brings angel-informed psychohistory, Jimmy Carr brings a head full of dubious historical factoids, and Mel Robbins just desperately wants to help you (for a price). Three potential gurus, eleven characteristics, and a brief disagreement over the nature of data. Let the highly rigorous scoring commence! Also... think you can do better? Rate Jiang, Mel, Jimmy, or any of the other…
8 Sep 2026 · 35 min
Supplementary Material 55: Nature Debates, Murder Drone Conspiracies, and Podcast Vibes
Two academic windbags attempt brief discussions of the controversy at Nature, Bret’s newest conspiracy theory, and the latest vibe sessions in Podcastistan. It goes about as well as expected. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1hr 18mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 55 00:00 Introduction: Science by Podcast 04:04 Nature Joins the Arday Discourse Wave 09:28 Activism and Science 14:40 Academic Prestige Bias 19:08 The Business of Academic Publishing 23:43 Sasha Gusev Being Sensible and Culture War Brainrot 29:04 Bret Weinstein…
E168 · 30 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Mel Robbins, Part 2: Matt & Chris manifest their fully actualised future selves
In Part Two of our decoding of Mel Robbins, things take a practical turn. But before we get to preoccupied with all that, why don't you pause, take a breath, and, in the context of your body, write down ten ways to make a bad situation worse. Your focus should then be on doing the exact opposite! For example, if one of your answers is to not listen to the podcast, then start listening, right now! Next, before hitting play, let's work on building a daily manifestation practice. Write down five things you want, then sit in your body, picture yourself doing all the annoying steps, and flood…
28 Aug 2026 · 41 min
Supplementary Material 54: Solarpunk Pecan Pie, Northern Irish Sushi, & the Discourse Meat Grinder
We return from our holidays with an indulgent episode that starts light and ends up very dark as we turn to the unavoidable Jason Arday discourse. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 40 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 54 00:00 Pecan Pie Introduction 04:10 Solar Punk Matt 08:17 Ireland Trip Report 15:24 Australian Burger Culture 17:32 Manga Cafe Experiments 24:10 Joe Rogan on AI Remote Viewing 29:14 Parapsychology as a Research Field 34:07 A One Man University Level Course in Bad Thinking 36:58 The Young…
E167 · 25 Aug 2026 · 2 hr 5 min
Mel Robbins, Part 1: The Hard Science of Manifestation
Are you tired, stuck, or inconveniently constrained by reality? Good news: you may simply be imagining the wrong one. In Part One of our decoding of Mel Robbins, we explore the world of a self-help mogul who is also just a simple mother of three in Vermont hosting a little ol' podcast with a HUGE global impact. Together with Cassandra Vieten, a psychologist who is (apparently) one of the world's leading researchers on imagination and consciousness, Mel explains how to begin to stop reacting and start imagining, visualising, and manifesting the life you truly deserve. This will lead to…
E166 · 17 Aug 2026 · 2 hr 54 min
Jimmy Carr & Joe Rogan: The Jester & the Khan
Joe Rogan, the Great Khan of podcasting, is once again receiving a travelling jester at court. This time it is Jimmy Carr who arrives bearing gifts: pop evolutionary psychology, dubious history factoids, conservative "common sense", and an apparently bottomless appetite for telling Joe just how important he is. After listening to their three-hour conversation(!), we conclude there is nothing much of note beyond serving as a nice demonstration of popular "alternative" podcasting in 2026. What you get is a medley of sycophantic praise; regurgitated pop science and historical factoids;…
E165 · 10 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 45 min
Lab Leak Groundhog Day: COVID Origins in 2026 with Worobey, Andersen, and Holmes
With the Trump administration’s newest political persecution of Anthony Fauci and three years after our first lab-leak special, now seemed like a useful time to return to the topic. Fortunately, you do not have to rely on our knowledge of viruses, as we have somehow managed to convince the same three esteemed virologists, Eddie Holmes, Kristian Andersen and Michael Worobey, to come back for an update. Mike, Kristian and Eddie return and offer us their read on where the scientific evidence on COVID’s origins stands in 2026. They take us through the main lines of evidence and the often…
21 Jul 2026 · 31 min
Supplementary Material 53: Matthew the Succulent, Bin-faced Politicians, and Very Very Tired Economists
We endure the ravages of time to deliver you this exhausted Supplementary Material. Bowed but never broken, the decoders persist. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 2hr 20 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Supplementary Material 53 00:23 Introduction: Matthew the Succulent's Post-Holiday Report 02:15 Pickle Ball Injuries & Bouldering Curses 07:40 They Won't Let You Talk about Middle-Aged Sports Injuries 08:37 New AI Models 09:31 Cory Doctorow, Trevor Noah, and Confirmation Bias 23:45 The Glorious Past and the Terrible Present 28:28…
9 Jul 2026 · 23 min
Supplementary Material 52: Under-Optimized Academics, Tired Economists, and Bailiwick Clarifications
Two absolutely shattered academic heroes heroically drag themselves through yet another supplementary episode to bring you the important guru news in between their restorative breaks. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 32 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00 Introduction 02:13 Eliot Paisley's Anatomy of an Optimiser 08:52 Eric Weinstein wants a University Position and a Stipend 16:09 The Failure of the Anti-Woke Quasi Universities 19:19 Gary is Knackered Again 20:45 Gary is the best inequality economist in the world 24:36 How…
8 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Decoding Academia 36: Revenge of the Chimpanzees *Patreon Series*
In this Decoding Academia episode, we venture into comparative psychology, focusing on a fascinating line of work by Fumihiro Kano and colleagues on social intelligence and theory of mind in great apes. By showing apes short videos and tracking where they look, researchers examine whether they expect others to act based on what they have seen, what they know, or what they falsely believe. This approach offers a remarkable window into the evolutionary roots of human social cognition or, alternatively, the most elaborate way yet devised to explore what a chimp thinks of a man in a chimpanzee…
E164 · 3 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 32 min
Professor Jiang, Part 2: Cosmic Jiang's Jenga Tower of Bullshit
We return for Part 2 of our coverage of “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new geopolitical prophet, secondary-school sage, and proud owner of an ever-expanding box of educational props. Having already treated us to multiple maps, chess pieces, and a sealed metal case of predictions, Jiang is back with more predictions, more props, and even higher-level insights. This time, we get the dramatic unveiling of a fresh batch of forecasts, including the forthcoming U.S. civil war, AI surveillance states, a grand bargain with China, the Greater Israel project, and the coming East Asian…
E163 · 30 Jun 2026 · 2 hr 33 min
Professor Jiang, Part 1: Geopolitical Pantomime
On Decoding the Gurus, we regularly get to hear a lot of truly “high-level” ideas, but the much-requested subject of this episode’s decoding is up there with the best of them. We are talking, of course, about “Professor” Jiang, the internet’s favourite new overly confident online guru, now that Jordan Peterson is indisposed. Jiang Xueqin is a secondary school teacher who has found an online audience thirsty for his particular style of confident bullshit, and he is more than ready to roll out his “predictive history” analyses on command. Be prepared for some serious professorial cosplay as…
20 Jun 2026 · 32 min
Supplementary Material 51: Parasitic Palate Cleansers, Selective Understanding, and the "Context"
We exercise good faith and grapple with the ever-versatile context window in this unintentionally thematic episode. Supplementary Material 51 The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 1hr 18 mins) Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Jordan Hall's Suspicious Semiotic Parasites 08:52 A New Covenant for the American Republic 14:33 Dave Rubin's support group after Jubilee 14:52 Dr. K vs 20 Depressed People 20:05 The Fifth Column Welcomes Batya Ungar Sargon (Again) 21:18 Anti-Semitism isn't really an issue on the Right 25:39…
12 Jun 2026 · 40 min
Gurometer: Iain McGilchrist *Patreon Preview*
In this Gurometer edition, Matt and Chris feed Iain McGilchrist into the sacred instrument to see where exactly refined country-parish-minister vibes land when combined with galaxy-brained hemispheres, civilisational decline narratives, decorative scholarship, and the other features of guruosity. Iain McGilchrist Gurometer 00:27 Introduction 01:00 Iain McGilchrist Reactions 04:40 Galaxy Brain-ness 06:39 Cultishness 08:28 Anti-Establishmentarianism 11:39 Grievance Mongering 14:30 Self-Aggrandizement and Narcissism 17:21 Cassandra Complex 19:54 Revolutionary Theories 20:48 Pseudo-Profound…
10 Jun 2026 · 48 min
Supplementary Material 50: The String Theory Mafia, Shameless Propagandists, and The Topography of Semantic Space
We become highly effective at exploiting the gap between salience and relevance as we universalise semiotic capability and listen to more brave renegades talking about how amazing they are. Join us, won't you? Supplementary Material 50 (Full Episode: 2hrs 23 mins) 00:24 Introduction 02:07 British People Struggling with Compliments 04:53 Matt loves SOME episode titles 08:42 Nachos Pronunciation 10:13 Brett Weinstein vs Michael Tracey 29:08 Brett pivots to his Anti-Vaxx Hits 42:32 The Hug Box World of Podcasting 45:55 When Eric met Joe (again) 47:29 Eric and Rogan re-litigate Sean Carroll's…
E162 · 31 May 2026 · 2 hr 25 min
L. Ron Hubbard: Sleeping with Bandits, Hunting with Pygmies And So On
The Decoders wrap up cult season by dissecting a titan of the cult scene, the founder of Scientology, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard or L. Ron for short. A prolific science fiction author, L. Ron founded an alternative self-help movement and then developed it into his cosmic self-help 'religion' of Scientology. Scientology has now been the subject of multiple documentaries and even a fairly detailed South Park parody episode, so it feels like many are aware of the general 'deal' of Scientology. But how about L. Rob Hubbard as a guru... how many people have actually taken the time to sit down and…
12 May 2026 · 45 min
Supplementary Material 49: Calibrated Podcast Expectations, The Great Consciousness Debate of 2026, and Russell Brand is a Bad Guy
Matthew Browne, a high-profile advocate for pan-psychism, compels his reluctant co-host to endure a public struggle session on the topic of consciousness, hopefully for the last time. Supplementary Material 49 00:00 Introduction 02:47 Returning to the Emerald Isle 03:44 Irish History Segment: The Titanic & Potato Famines 10:45 McGilchrist Reflections 12:51 Knowledge Fight has ended 26:23 Podcasting Motivations 34:37 Calibrated Expectations 41:03 The Problem with the Patreon Members 42:51 Shermer's Activist Skeptic Research 47:24 Research on Support for Political Violence in the US 54:35 Rob…
E161 · 4 May 2026 · 3 hr 10 min
Iain McGilchrist, Part 2: Hemispheres, Culture, and Cosmic Consciousness
In this episode, we return to Iain McGilchrist as he spirals upwards from his binary hemispheric model into full cosmic spirituality. The rule is simple: everything McGilchrist likes is due to the subtle, nuanced, and deeply sophisticated right brain, while the left brain (pffft) is responsible for reductionism, modernity, and most of the problems in your life. From this neuroscientific foundation, the theory expands with admirable ambition. Civilisations rise and fall depending on which hemisphere they inhabit. Ancient societies were properly attuned to the right brain, while the modern…
25 Apr 2026 · 44 min
Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates
The hour grows late, and Matt the Grey-Haired rides once more from his quiet study, summoned by whispers from the ever-churning gurusphere. And so he goes, to seek counsel with Chris the Grey-Bearded, keeper of receipts, watcher of long-form content, and wielder of the sacred Gurometer. For the gurus stir again… and their nonsense must be decoded. Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates 00:00 Greetings Old Friend 02:22 Decoding the Gamers 04:16 A Reckoning with Old Grey Hair 06:19 Joe Rogan determining US Medical Approvals…
E160 · 11 Apr 2026 · 2 hr 4 min
Iain McGilchrist, Part 1: Right-Brain Thinking
In this episode, we take a journey into the mind, traversing both the left and right hemispheres, but mostly the left, as we engage with the truly mind-bending insights of British psychiatrist-philosopher-neuroscientist-theologian-author Iain McGilchrist. Best known for his 2009 book "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World" but also a much lauded academic and sensemaker. We outline McGilchrist’s extremely complicated thesis that the two hemispheres of the brain reflect fundamentally different “ways of being” and that this is reflected in…
E159 · 8 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 28 min
Mentalism and Meta-Deception with Stevie Baskin
On this episode, we’re joined by Stevie Baskin, a skeptic and YouTuber who released a five-hour detailed critique of the “meta-deception” of Oz Pearlman. He argues that mentalism differs from traditional magic by introducing an additional meta-deception because, unlike magicians, mentalists often leave their audiences with inaccurate beliefs about body language reading, subliminal influence, NLP, and general psychology. In Stevie’s framework, this places mentalists closer to psychics and mediums than to magicians, because the deceptive element is not clearly acknowledged. We examine this…
3 Apr 2026 · 44 min
Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies
Our cover is blown. Our secret funders unmasked. Code Red: Abort! Abort! This is not a drill. Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies 00:00 Glowing Introduction 03:14 The Secret Conspiracy at the Heart of the Podcast 08:17 The Israel Connection 19:09 Cenk Uygur's Pickleball Conspiracy 23:25 Comment Section Conspiracies 30:20 Pizzagate Conspiracies Revisited 37:55 The Value of debating with ChadBigCum 42:26 AI discourse reflections 43:43 Ben Burgis's hyperbolic reaction to AI use 44:53 The AI revolution and its potential impacts…
E158 · 28 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 38 min
The Moral Dilemmas of AI with Michael Inzlicht
Mickey is BACK with two new papers he has co-authored, a bunch of opinions, and a very unwelcome idea: maybe the problem with AI isn't that it doesn't work but that it works too well! The first paper, Against Frictionless AI, argues that AI assistance and its ability to take away the effort from thinking, writing, and smooth out social(like) interactions could be robbing those activities of the very thing that makes them worthwhile. The second paper is a more empirical investigation that presents a bunch of studies examining the topic of the (alleged) moralisation of AI. Some findings…
E157 · 22 Mar 2026 · 2 hr 39 min
Ken Wilber: Spiralling Upwards through a Technicolor Cosmos
Ken Wilber, the grand architect of Integral Theory , enters the Decoding chamber (wearing a striking but slightly unconvincing wig) as we explore a worldview that confidently absorbs every religion, philosophy, and half-remembered psychology paper into one majestic, Borg-like synthesis. Resistance, as it turns out, is not just futile... it is probably “first-tier thinking". This is a world of elaborate, baroque cosmologies. Layers within layers, quadrants within stages, spirals within states, with each offering a map of reality that grows more intricate the closer it gets to its own centre.…
18 Mar 2026 · 19 min
Gurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway
In this Gurometer double bill, Matt and Chris break out the much-sought-after Gurometer™ to score Teal Swan and Scott Galloway across the 11 recurring guru traits. In one efficient episode, we compare cosmic-certified spirituality with secular man-talk (and a surprising amount of puffer-jacket merchandising). As a bonus, get ready to thrill at Matt's eternal puzzlement at his own simple binary question of 'guru-osity'. Links Gurometer scores to date The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (51 mins). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus Gurometer: Teal Swan and…
14 Mar 2026 · 37 min
Supplementary Material 46: Epstein Did Microtransactions, Grok Did Nothing Wrong, and Murder is Bad
In our never-ending quest to alienate all potential online audiences, we finger-wag about rampant Epstein conspiracism and explain why we are, on balance, anti-murder. The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (2 hours, 42 minutes). Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus In our never-ending quest to alienate all potential online audiences, we finger-wag about rampant Epstein conspiracism and explain why we are, on balance, anti-murder. 00:00 Intro 03:39 Flooding Adventures 06:54 Eric's Troubles with his Silicon Friend 13:09 Peter Boghossian's Hardcore for Grok 17:16…

About Decoding the Gurus

Decoding the Gurus is a English tech & science podcast from Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr
Latest episode: 14 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1531266667

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Decoding the Gurus

Latest episode

Supplementary Material 57: p(doom) Updates, Nazi Apologist Imbeciles, and JAQs about False Flag Conspiracies

Earlier episodes 29 most recent

Supplementary Material 56: 10% for AI Doom, Bespoke Debates, and Eurotrash DJs

Candace Owens, Part 2: The Woman Who Noticed Everything

Candace Owens, Part 1: Charlie Kirk and the Cosmic Conspiracy

Gurometer Triple Threat: Professor Jiang, Mel Robbins & Jimmy Carr Patreon Preview

Supplementary Material 55: Nature Debates, Murder Drone Conspiracies, and Podcast Vibes

Mel Robbins, Part 2: Matt & Chris manifest their fully actualised future selves

Supplementary Material 54: Solarpunk Pecan Pie, Northern Irish Sushi, & the Discourse Meat Grinder

Mel Robbins, Part 1: The Hard Science of Manifestation

Jimmy Carr & Joe Rogan: The Jester & the Khan

Lab Leak Groundhog Day: COVID Origins in 2026 with Worobey, Andersen, and Holmes

Supplementary Material 53: Matthew the Succulent, Bin-faced Politicians, and Very Very Tired Economists

Supplementary Material 52: Under-Optimized Academics, Tired Economists, and Bailiwick Clarifications

Decoding Academia 36: Revenge of the Chimpanzees Patreon Series

Professor Jiang, Part 2: Cosmic Jiang's Jenga Tower of Bullshit

Professor Jiang, Part 1: Geopolitical Pantomime

Supplementary Material 51: Parasitic Palate Cleansers, Selective Understanding, and the "Context"

Gurometer: Iain McGilchrist Patreon Preview

Supplementary Material 50: The String Theory Mafia, Shameless Propagandists, and The Topography of Semantic Space

L. Ron Hubbard: Sleeping with Bandits, Hunting with Pygmies And So On

Supplementary Material 49: Calibrated Podcast Expectations, The Great Consciousness Debate of 2026, and Russell Brand is a Bad Guy

Iain McGilchrist, Part 2: Hemispheres, Culture, and Cosmic Consciousness

Supplementary Material 48: Grey Beard's Council, Late-Stage Anti-Capitalism, and Demonic Mould Health Updates

Iain McGilchrist, Part 1: Right-Brain Thinking

Mentalism and Meta-Deception with Stevie Baskin

Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies

The Moral Dilemmas of AI with Michael Inzlicht

Ken Wilber: Spiralling Upwards through a Technicolor Cosmos

Gurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway

Supplementary Material 46: Epstein Did Microtransactions, Grok Did Nothing Wrong, and Murder is Bad

About Decoding the Gurus

More English tech & science

Take it with you