Conspirituality cover art

Conspirituality

Conspirituality

By: Derek Beres Matthew Remski Julian Walker
Listen for free

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 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.© 2023 Conspirituality Philosophy Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026

    Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026
    Jan 24 2026
    If conspirituality names the ways religion and spirituality are weaponized to justify power, prospirituality points to religious traditions doing the opposite: grounding resistance, ethical clarity, and solidarity in moments of crisis. So: is there a growing prospirituality response to fascism, genocide, climate collapse, and AI-driven labor precarity? Matthew argues that yeah, there’s some good news. In Israel, scripture has been mobilized by political and religious leaders to sacralize violence in Gaza. But there’s also a surge of Jewish religious resistance among U.S. rabbis and Peter Beinart’s On Being Jewish After Gaza sets a new landmark of reckoning. Mona Haydar’s rapping and chaplaincy models a form of Muslim spirituality that is feminist, anti-genocide, and rooted in mutual aid, while resisting both Islamophobia and liberal domestication. Then there’s Pope Leo’s escalating critiques of U.S. immigration policy and his renewed emphasis on liberation theology. Show Notes Dark Mirror: A Torah View of Revenge, and its Reflection in Israeli Media During Operation Iron Swords Peter Beinart, “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State,” The New York Times Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza by Peter Beinart: 9780593803899 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Even if you hate it- I still wrap my hijab — Haydar Mona Haydar: Ask a Muslim Program Fights Prejudice Conservative Muslims and Islamophobes Have One Thing in Common: Hating Mona Haydar Pope Leo replaces New York's Cardinal Dolan in shake-up of US Church | Reuters New archbishop ‘committed’ to immigration issues, accountability on abuse — and staying a Cubs fan Pope’s naming of New York archbishop signals continued challenge to Trump on immigration Pope Leo's new US bishops are critics of Trump's migrant crackdown | Reuters Pope Leo calls for Venezuela to remain an independent country | Reuters Pope Leo says Trump administration 'extremely disrespectful' to migrants | Reuters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • 292: Women of Jan 6 (w/ Noelle Cook)

    292: Women of Jan 6 (w/ Noelle Cook)
    Jan 22 2026
    Noelle Cook’s The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging is the first ethnography of conspirituality, and it comes via someone who was able to really embed themselves in a volatile culture and find its emotional logic. She’s our guest today. Cook focuses on the travails of two middle-aged women following the January 6 Capitol riot. By spending years befriending and talking with Tammy Butry and Yvonne St. Cyr, Cook is able to document the impacts of childhood trauma and systemic neglect—as well as diverse personality quirks—that can drive folks toward QAnon. They are starseeds. They are mama bears. They are on a divine mission to destroy the matrix and usher in the Great Awakening. For them, the algorithms were oracles, reinforcing isolation and radicalization by providing a sense of purpose to the purposeless, and visibility to the invisible. Cook has not written a book for answers, but a book filled with the next questions worth grappling with as we realize how deeply wounded some recruits to fascism are. Show Notes The Hottest Spot for Sunday Church Is a MAGA Dive Bar The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

    Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy
    Jan 19 2026
    In 1953 the CIA and MI6 participated in a coup d’etat in Iran. That true sentence (and what usually follows) can create an oversimplified distortion of history—and present. But Iran is in the news again with the biggest protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution bringing millions to the streets. The regime unsurprisingly cracked down hard: at least 2,700 protesters have been killed and 18,000 arrested. Though the initial impetus was economic, these are the latest in a wave of growing uprisings in Iran against the far-right theocratic authoritarian government—especially its treatment of women. How did we get here? What happened in 1953? Isn’t this all just about oil anyway? Was the 1979 revolution really about religion? Weren’t there Communists involved? Does all the turmoil in this region trace back to Western colonial imperialism? Julian explores the tangled threads of oil, empire, and religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
No reviews yet