With colleagues Derek Beres and Julian Marc Walker, I’ve been working on Conspirituality Podcast since May of 2020.

You can subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify

Here’s our show description:

 

A weekly discussion of the intersection between right-wing conspiracy theories and left-wing wellness utopianism.

As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, well-intentioned discourse and honest debate are being smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by peddling dangerous conspiracy theories. In the process, spiritual beliefs that nurture creativity and meaning are transformed into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia.

Conspirituality attempts to bring clarity to this conversation. A journalist, cult researcher, and philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds.

The term “conspirituality” first appeared in 2009 as the name of a Vancouver rap group that unironically dropped conspiracy keywords into beats calling for political awakening. In 2011, Charlotte Ward and David Voas used the term academically to analyze the growing overlap between the paranoid conspiracism of right-wingers and the New Age’s yearning for spiritual transformation.