#decoding the gurus

In a world dominated by online influencers, the rise and fall of self-styled gurus have become a fascinating—and sometimes disturbing—phenomenon. My latest story takes a satirical dive into this world, drawing inspiration from the Decoding the Gurus podcast and its insightful Guru-o-meter, which outlines the traits that define modern secular gurus. This story isn’t just about Alex, a fictional…

I am listening to an episode of the podcast Decoding the Gurus, a podcast I have some issues with, especially their both-side bullshit. In this episode, they have Matt Johnson on. Matt Johnson is the author of How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment. It is an interesting episode, because the Hitchens that Matt Johnson talks about is not…

Interview with Elgen Strait on growing up in the Moonies and cultish manipulation

https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/interview-with-elgen-strait-on-growing-up-in-the-moonies-cultish-manipulation

Episode 42 • 31st March 2022 • Decoding the Gurus • Christopher Kavanagh and Matthew Browne

This episode is the first of two linked episodes in which we delve into the disturbing world of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church also known as the 'Moonies'.

Here in an interview episode we introduce Elgen Strait, host of the Falling Out Podcast which is "a podcast about leaving the Moonies and other cults, as told by the kids who grew up within them."

The topic matter is serious and Elgen deftly introduces us to the manipulative cult dynamics he experienced first hand, as well as offering some broader information about how the Moonies craft their public image and raise funds. However, Elgen is a man after our own hearts and his dark sense of humour means that he can also enjoy a laugh at Moon's expense & enlighten us about Absolute Sex(!), a term that might mean something slightly different than you imagine.

Our next episode will be guest co-hosted by Elgen as we take an excursion from the contemporary secular gurus and attempt to decode some historical recordings from a bonafide religious cult leader.

This episode hopefully provides the foundations to better understand that decoding and we hope you 'enjoy' the discussion with Elgen as much as we did, despite the subject matter!

Links • Falling Out Podcast

• Sun Myung Moon: God Bless America Festival (1976) Rare Complete Bicentennial Documentary & We will Stand. Rev. Sun Myung Moon (content for the decoding episode)

• QAnon Anonymous 160: The Moonies Conquer DC feat Elgen Strait

• Article on Trump's appearance at Unification Church linked event

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▲ Sun Myung Moon at Yankee Stadium on June 1, 1976

Reverend Sun Myung Moon: Absolute Decoding

Episode 43  •   9th April 2022

https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/reverend-sun-myung-moon-absolute-decoding

This week we return one more time to the disturbing world of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, also known as the 'Moonies', this time with a historical decoding episode.

We are joined again this week by Elgen Strait, from Falling Out podcast, who helps us with a historical decoding of Reverend Moon's speeches and Moonie promotional material.

Due to the subject matter we cannot promise a barrel of laughs but we hope this episode offers some useful insights into the approach of a genuine cult leader. It's also a useful comparison episode to see where there are parallels with the modern secular gurus we usually examine and where they diverge.

So join us as we return to an imagined glory era of America in the 1950s (or was it the 70s) when Absolute Sex and a God -centred ideology was all anyone needed for a perfect society... at least according to Moon.

Article on Trump's appearance at Unification Church linked event

Jordan Peterson speaking with Andy Ngo about Antifa

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoding-the-gurus/id1531266667

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There were also political reasons why Moon fled from Korea:

The Neil Young ultimatum to Spotify about the Joe Rogan podcast, and the afterwards removal of Young’s music from the platform has gotten me to do something which I had considered several times before – cancelling my Spotify Premium account. I am not a fan of neither Neil Young as a person nor of his music, but he is right that Spotify helps spread dangerous misinformation, and we need to show…

Who is included? Who is central and who is peripheral? Who is maybe not included in the IDW but is frequently referenced, or used as a prop or example? Who might you expect to be included but isn’t, and why?

What is their educational training/intellectual origins? And where? (What institutions, fellowships, think tanks, mentors, etc.)

How did they come to fame/“social prominence”? What are the characteristics/demographics of their audiences? How many people actually listen to them?

How do they get paid? Deep dive into the shadowy economies of podcasting and “influencers”? Deep dive into the economies of “thought leaders” and TED talks and “Institutes” and the non-profit-industrial-savior complex and their finders? Paging Jane Meyer!

Inspired by this podcast episode: Embrace The Void Ep. 170 Interview w/ Chris Kavanaugh (of Decoding The Gurus Podcast)