Skip to content
Artwork for Decoding the Gurus
Society & CultureScienceSocial SciencesLeisure

Decoding the Gurus

Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne

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 accents in modern podcasting, Chris and Matt dig deep into the claims, peek behind the psychological curtains, and try to figure out once and for all... What's it all About?

Join us, as we try to puzzle our way through and talk some smart-sounding smack about the intellectual giants of our age, from Jordan Peterson to Robin DiAngelo. Are they revolutionary thinkers or just grifters with delusions of grandeur?

Join us and let's find out!

Play
  • 22 episodes
  • Avg 1 hr 23 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • #157
    March 22 · 2 hr 38 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. Traditions are not debated so much as absorbed, their distinctiveness dissolved into a higher synthesis that always leads to the ultimate insight: integral theory. Get ready to experience high-level political analysis where Kamala Harris becomes a “fractured green" and Donald Trump the embodiment of a "rational orange". You will also learn how Ken is working with AI companies to help them incorporate integral thinking into their algorithms. The implications this has for human evolution are hard to fathom. Finally, in true Columbo fashion, we circle back to Matt's core philosophical system … panpsychism. Just a small detail, and also take some time to conduct a brief spiritual inquisition into Matt’s alleged Christian upbringing. Fortunately, nothing is rejected. Everything is integrated, including all possible critiques. Sources Suma Gowda: Ken Wilber on Future of Consciousness, AI, Trump's Election: A Deep Dive into Spiral Dynamics The Rise and Fall of Ken Wilber – Mark Manson Rebel Wisdom: Interview with Ken Wilber- What Happened to Jordan Peterson DS Wilson finds wisdom in Ken's approach Ken Wilber's website

    • Chapters
  • March 18 · 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 Scott Galloway 00:00 Back to the Gurometer: Teal and Scott 02:33 Galaxy Brain-ness 04:18 Cultishness 05:25 Anti-Establishmentarianism 08:31 Grievance Mongering 10:55 Self Aggrandisement and Narcissism 14:30 Cassandra Complex 18:03 Revolutionary Theories 21:49 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit 26:07 Conspiracy Mongering 28:50 Excessive Profiteering 36:25 Moral Grandstanding 40:33 Overall Gurometer Score 41:27 Rapid Fire Bonus Guru Points

    • Chapters
Showing 21–22 of 22 episodes