The Enhanced Games promises to display the "true potential" of athletes by letting them use any sort of performance enhancement drugs available when it launches in Las Vegas in 2026. Yet why would a group of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists with no interest in sports be behind it? Likely because it's all a supplements grift, as Derek and Julian discuss. Show Notes The Definitive, Insane, Swimsuit-Bursting Story of the Steroid Olympics Joe Rogan Experience #2166 - Enhanced Games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The implications of awarding Robert F Kennedy, Jr with a position he’s completely unqualified for are becoming clearer by the day. While he’s made numerous egregious and dangerous moves as Secretary of HHS, canceling nearly $500 million of mRNA research grants is one of the most startling and shortsighted to date. Today we look at both the microcosm and macrocosm of such a move. Show Notes Kennedy Cancels Nearly $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Contracts RFK Jr. slashed mRNA vaccine development funding. A Nobel Prize winner just responded Kennedy to halt $500 million in vaccine projects Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study Do All Celebrities Have Lyme Disease Now?  CDC Lyme Disease Case Maps  How mRNA Vaccines Work CDC Explaining How Vaccines Work Clinical Advances for mRNA Vaccines and Cancer Immunotherapy Katalin Kariko’s Brittanica page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, I seem to always be inspired by the person who is considered marginal. Firstly, their spirit of survival, their resilience, their lack of self-pity, the ability usually to laugh in the face of having nothing and to create a kind of sense of flamboyance and life at any cost, despite having you know no resources of any kind that are visible. That's what inspires me and I think in making portraits of the so-called outsiders, I'm also then allowed to question what is that society that deems us an outsider? — Mira Nair on BBC “Masterpiece”, 11/29/04 When official America speaks of good and bad Muslims, we must not think that they are speaking of the attitude of Muslims to Islam. They are actually talking about the attitude of Muslims to the U.S. A good Muslim is simply a pro-American Muslim and a bad Muslim is simply an anti-American Muslim. This is not about Islam, it is about America. — Mahmoud Mamdani, C-Span's Book TV series, hosted by the University of Michigan on April 15, 2005. Want to better understand Zohran Mamdani’s intellectual and emotional heritage? Want to understand how he seems to be thrashing the culture war with, well culture? Matthew did, and so he looked into the films of his mom Mira Nair (Part 1), and the scholarship of his dad, Mahmood (Part 2). Show Notes Masterpiece - Mira Nair - BBC Sounds  Good Muslim, Bad Muslim | Author Mahmood Mamdani  Good Muslim, Bad Muslim | Penguin Random House Secondary Education  Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Ben Affleck, Sam Harris and Bill Maher Debate Radical Islam | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)  Sam Harris on the Reality of Islam - Truthdig   Samuel Huntington’s Great Idea Was Totally Wrong | The New Republic #ZeeJLF2018 | Mira Nair A timeline of JK Rowling's anti-trans shift  Mori Araj Suno lyrics  My secret debate with Sam Harris: A revealing 4-hour dialogue on Islam, racism & free-speech hypocrisy - Salon.com  New Atheists and old prejudices - The Chronikler The Clash of Civilizations - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts  President Reagan welcomes al-Qaeda and Mujahideen leaders to the White House, May 1986   For Zohran Mamdani, Mom Mira Nair’s Films Were a Formative Influence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, I seem to always be inspired by the person who is considered marginal. Firstly, their spirit of survival, their resilience, their lack of self-pity, the ability usually to laugh in the face of having nothing and to create a kind of sense of flamboyance and life at any cost, despite having you know no resources of any kind that are visible. That's what inspires me and I think in making portraits of the so-called outsiders, I'm also then allowed to question what is that society that deems us an outsider? — Mira Nair on BBC “Masterpiece”, 11/29/04 When official America speaks of good and bad Muslims, we must not think that they are speaking of the attitude of Muslims to Islam. They are actually talking about the attitude of Muslims to the U.S. A good Muslim is simply a pro-American Muslim and a bad Muslim is simply an anti-American Muslim. This is not about Islam, it is about America. — Mahmoud Mamdani, C-Span's Book TV series, hosted by the University of Michigan on April 15, 2005. Want to better understand Zohran Mamdani’s intellectual and emotional heritage? Want to understand how he seems to be thrashing the culture war with, well culture? Matthew did, and so he looked into the films of his mom Mira Nair (Part 1), and the scholarship of his dad, Mahmood (Part 2). Show Notes Masterpiece - Mira Nair - BBC Sounds  Good Muslim, Bad Muslim | Author Mahmood Mamdani  Good Muslim, Bad Muslim | Penguin Random House Secondary Education  Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Ben Affleck, Sam Harris and Bill Maher Debate Radical Islam | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)  Sam Harris on the Reality of Islam - Truthdig   Samuel Huntington’s Great Idea Was Totally Wrong | The New Republic #ZeeJLF2018 | Mira Nair A timeline of JK Rowling's anti-trans shift  Mori Araj Suno lyrics  My secret debate with Sam Harris: A revealing 4-hour dialogue on Islam, racism & free-speech hypocrisy - Salon.com  New Atheists and old prejudices - The Chronikler The Clash of Civilizations - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts  President Reagan welcomes al-Qaeda and Mujahideen leaders to the White House, May 1986   For Zohran Mamdani, Mom Mira Nair’s Films Were a Formative Influence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her new biography of Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Odell calls Goop “a powerful platform for spreading health misinformation.” So many topics Goop has covered favorably—yoni eggs, coffee enemas, celery juice—have been scrutinized on our podcast. Rolling off her successful biography of Anna Wintour, Odell decided to train her sight on the “It girl” of the nineties who pivoted to a lucrative but contentious wellness business that laid the groundwork for the influencer aesthetic. She joins Derek to discuss her new book. But first, we discuss our thoughts on Odell’s subject. Show Notes Gwyneth: The Biography BackRow by Amy Odell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything about Zen Master Rama was fake—except for the piles of money he made. His black belt in paranormal martial arts, three past lives as a Buddhist teacher, 31 meditation albums he claimed to compose in other dimensions, multiple computer software companies, and a bestseller based on being a “world-class snowboarder” were all smoke and mirrors.  He had no training or talent in any of these areas. He was an expert con man, however. The man wore Versace suits and Rolex watches, bought mansions, and owned a collection of pricey cars. His headshots were by the top Hollywood photographer of the day; he made many TV appearances. His students believed he could fill rooms with golden light, skate on light-beams, and protect them from the demons he claimed wanted to steal their enlightened energy. He instructed them to be celibate but then manipulated and coerced the prettiest into joining him for tantric sex rituals he claimed would accelerate their enlightenment. It didn’t end well for anyone—including him. In the latest installment of the Roots of Conspirituality series, Julian tells the tale of Frederick Lenz, a quintessential 80's synthesizer of phoney Buddhism, New Age delusions, cultic abuse, and wealth as a signifier of spiritual progress. Show Notes The Code Cult of the CPU Guru Mentor to Some, Cult Leader to Others The Guru’s Latest Incarnation Atrocity Guide The Enlightenment Fraud of  Zen Master Rama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strange billboards have been popping up all over Los Angeles featuring disgraced Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes, and an unidentified man listing a new URL—one that redirects to the Theranos website. Against all odds, the brand is back, with a wellness twist, as the new founder is directly courting MAHA. Derek and Julian dive in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We catch up on three figures this week. First is Bari Weiss, who's trying to sell her upstart media org, The Free Press, to Skydance for a reported $250 million, just days after the network's merger with Paramount was approved and they said bye-bye to Stephen Colbert. Then we talk about RFK Jr's continued dismantling of our public health system, as well as an interesting lawsuit filed by the very nonprofit he founded. Finally, we look into Texas state representative and Presbyterian pastor-in-training, James Talarico, and discuss his viral moment on Joe Rogan. Show Notes Anti-vaccine group that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. founded files lawsuit against him over vaccine safety task force RFK Jr. to Oust Advisory Panel on Cancer Screenings, HIV Prevention Drugs Was Colbert Cancelled for Trump? Bari Weiss in Talks with Skydance for $250M Billionaires Back Anti-Woke “University.” James Talarico Delivers Sermon Against Christian Nationalism  James Talarico Questions Republican Bill Forcing Ten Commandments To Be Displayed In Classrooms  Joe Rogan Experience #2352 - James Talarico  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MAHA hates petroleum-based food dyes. Yet, as Derek unpacks, many of the main influencers in this movement monetize products synthesized by the same exact chemical process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mehdi Hasan's recent Jubilee appearance has blown up—and so has criticism of the entire media operation. Derek and Julian discuss the value and pitfalls of this format, contrasting the far-right participants sitting across from Hasan from another recent episode, when atheists went to battle with Jordan Peterson. Show Notes 1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan) Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeffrey Epstein’s name is being screamed into the headlines again. The late and former self-described best-friend of Donald Trump's highly suspicious 2019 death following his arrest for child sex trafficking has been a loose thread for both rabid conspiracists and the reality-based community. Now that prominent conspiracy personalities are in the highest positions in America's law enforcement agencies, the QAnon faithful have been expecting all the damning details about the Democrat cabal to emerge. But that's not what's happened. Now Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino are in the collective hot seat as MAGA demand answers, while some appear to be colluding with Donald Trump in their own Deep State cover-up. CORRECTION: Matthew misstated the Virginia Guiffre was allegedly assaulted by Prince Philip. The allegation is against Prince Andrew, who is still alive and can still be tried. Show Notes Why is MAGA so obsessed with the Epstein files? Trump can't stop MAGA from obsessing about the Epstein files Why do Trump's MAGA followers care so much about the Epstein files? Republicans are split over the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein files How Trump spent years stoking dark theories, and why he’s facing Epstein case blowback now 'We want justice done': Christianity Today calls to see the Epstein files 146: The Reality of Online Child Abuse (w/Håkon Høydal) — Conspirituality  Online child sexual exploitation: A statistical profile of police-reported incidents in Canada, 2014 to 2022  Woman who accused Donald Trump of raping her at 13 drops lawsuit Perversion of Justice: Jeffrey Epstein | Miami Herald   Perversion of Justice – HarperCollins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the horizon: a new liberal-center manosphere, yearning to reach out to the young men poached by Trumpism, but offering what, exactly?  Professor Scott Galloway and Anthony Scaramucci are earnest and charming in their way, and they have Trump’s number. But with their new project, Lost Boys podcast, they’re stuck in a paradox. They know enough to admit that the capitalist logic that made them both multi-millionaires is fickle, cruel, and misogynist. They know it’s beating up everyone, including young men. But they can’t imagine any other way of organizing society. So what do they offer? Nostalgia for the 1980s, self-help tips. In this two-part series, Matthew looks at why the Lost Boys project is deceptively attractive. Liberal, libertarian, or even reactionary parenting can affect an earnest emotional bond through overtones of spiritual honesty. But all the empathy is impotent when it defaults into an apologetics for the very systems that make us suffer.  Part One looks at the overall liberal manosphere politics of Lost Boys, including the evidentiary claims put forward by their premier guest Richard Reeves, who Galloway calls his “Yoda” on the subject of how men are doing these days. Part Two goes into a granular reading of Episode 7 of Lost Boys, where the guest is Deirdre Scaramucci, Anthony’s partner. Together, the trio discloses a ton about their ambivalent GenX childhoods and their current parenting experience, including how they rationalize losing emotional control. Show Notes Lost Boys - Podcast  Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon | The New Yorker  Politics for men - by Richard V Reeves Richard Reeves? : r/AskFeminists Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription: Richard Reeves' Of Boys and Men | Institute for Family Studies Collapse Feminism by Alice Cappelle | Penguin Random House Canada  Communism | David Graeber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the horizon: a new liberal-center manosphere, yearning to reach out to the young men poached by Trumpism, but offering what, exactly?  Professor Scott Galloway and Anthony Scaramucci are earnest and charming in their way, and they have Trump’s number. But with their new project, Lost Boys podcast, they’re stuck in a paradox. They know enough to admit that the capitalist logic that made them both multi-millionaires is fickle, cruel, and misogynist. They know it’s beating up everyone, including young men. But they can’t imagine any other way of organizing society. So what do they offer? Nostalgia for the 1980s, self-help tips. In this two-part series, Matthew looks at why the Lost Boys project is deceptively attractive. Liberal, libertarian, or even reactionary parenting can affect an earnest emotional bond through overtones of spiritual honesty. But all the empathy is impotent when it defaults into an apologetics for the very systems that make us suffer.  Part One looks at the overall liberal manosphere politics of Lost Boys, including the evidentiary claims put forward by their premier guest Richard Reeves, who Galloway calls his “Yoda” on the subject of how men are doing these days. Part Two (drops Monday on Patreon) goes into a granular reading of Episode 7 of Lost Boys, where the guest is Deirdre Scaramucci, Anthony’s partner. Together, the trio discloses a ton about their ambivalent GenX childhoods and their current parenting experience, including how they rationalize losing emotional control. Show Notes Lost Boys - Podcast  Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon | The New Yorker  Politics for men - by Richard V Reeves Richard Reeves? : r/AskFeminists Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription: Richard Reeves' Of Boys and Men | Institute for Family Studies Collapse Feminism by Alice Cappelle | Penguin Random House Canada  Communism | David Graeber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Body image is a phenomenon that has long simmered below the surface of the wellness industry. We’ve spent years covering the hard and soft eugenics that inform so many physical and spiritual practices, and how the notion of an ideal self persists and, as we get into today, grown in the online world.  Just as shaming and skewed body perceptions proliferate in the comments sections and fitfluencer podcast world, so have opportunities for meaningful conversations. One such venue is the wildly popular debate and discussion shows hosted by Jubilee Media. They’ve somehow managed to tow the line between heartfelt sharing and outright clickbait, for better and worse. We look at a few recent episodes that deal directly with body image issues, from being jacked and bro’d up to the challenges of obesity and eating disorders, and discuss how Jubilee is walking such a precarious tightrope. Show Notes Anorexia vs Obese | Middle Ground Is Being Fat A Choice? Fit Men vs Fat Men | Middle Ground Is Being Fat A Choice? Fit Women vs Fat Women | Middle Ground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protest slogans are designed to pack a punch. They communicate potent emotions and persuasive ideas to the public while galvanizing activist allies. At 5 '11, wearing an elegant hijab over jet-black hair, Nerdeen Kiswani cuts an elegant figure. “From the river to the sea,” she cries, and the loyal group around her repeats it back, loudly. “Palestine will be free!” Again the repeated phrase comes back. “You are my amplifier,” she tells them.  Even while delivering her speech, the crowd loudly shouts each phrase after she says it. “We need allies who are gonna help us to reach a victory, not allies who are gonna tell us to be non-violent!” Those at the front are holding up a long banner spread out in front of them that reads, “Globalize the Intifada.” Kiswani is the founder and chair of a Brooklyn-based group called Within Our Lifetime—which split off from other anti-Zionist groups she felt were not radical enough. “We don't want no two-state, we want '48!”  She's performed this activist role many times on New York streets: in front of a memorial installation for the Nova music festival; at the campus protests in 2024, where she told the students, “we must escalate!” She's taken credit for popularizing the slogan “globalize the intifada” since 2021. When NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was asked how he felt about it, he first struggled to answer, then said “it's not language I use.” His fellow candidate and ally, Brad Lander, said it was hard not to hear it as meaning “open season on Jews.” Mamdani has been pictured on social media alongside Kiswani and her inner circle.  At least six men affiliated with Within Our Lifetime have ended up with jail sentences for hospitalizing Jews after planning and then bragging about violence in exposed private chats—even in public posts. The group was booted from Instagram (180k+ followers) when they posted New York City maps showing the locations of specific corporate, government, and Jewish organizations. The phrases, "Blood on their Hands," "Know your Enemy" and "Globalize the Intifada" were emblazoned above and below the maps. "Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada," Kiswani chanted close to Wall Street, outside the Nova music festival memorial, dedicated to the 378 civilians killed and 40 abducted. Dancing and drumming, protestors in the crowd chanted back, set off flares, and unfurled Hamas and Hezbollah flags. Julian takes a deep dive into this controversial group in the context of an unfolding genocide in Gaza, and the long history of conflict, conquest, and religious extremism in the region. He asks fervent supporters of Israel, "How much do you know about the Nakba?" and pro-Palestine loyalists, "How much do you know about Hamas?" Show Notes NYT Profile on Nerdeen Kiswani Kiswani Tweets About Using "globalize the intifada" since 2021 Kiswani Speaks At Columbia Encampment on Wedding Day Columbia Group Influenced by WOL To Support Armed Resistance Kiswani Wears Button Showing Hamas Spokesman Hamas and Hezbollah Flags At NYC Nova Memorial Protest  Within Our Lifetime Posts Maps To IG 6 Charged in Antisemitic Mob Beating In Times Square Sadaah Masoud Sentenced to 18 Months for 3 Antisemitic Assaults Hamas Leaders Live in Luxury Hamas Financial Network Hamas Gunmen Hunt Down Fatah Rivals Zohran Mamdani with WOL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1898, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace published a pamphlet entitled, "Vaccination a Delusion; Its Penal Enforcement a Crime." This work became the foundation of the modern anti-vax movement. Derek discusses how even though vaccination science is constantly evolving, the rhetoric of people like RFK Jr is just rehashing old and outdated ideas. Show Notes Vaccination a Delusion; Its Penal Enforcement a Crime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to the ongoing saga of Aubrey Marcus. As a wealthy, anti-vax New Ager who campaigned for RFK Jr (before going MAGA), he’s a pole star for the conspirituality moment and its political manias. He’s also a ceaseless innovator of guru narrative tech, with his latest trick being the attempt to turn his own implosion into top-tier content by enlisting an ex-fiance to prove his spiritual bona fides. , As we look at his rehab schtick in the context of the great guru death-spirals of the past, we’ll learn that he has a lot of the old 1970s vibe going on, but the digital age brings new humiliations and opportunities. At the end, we'll update you on another guru rehab in motion: the Liver King. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zohran Mamdani's win in the NYC democratic mayoral primary has been filled with deflections and pivots so that politicians and pundits don't have to focus on the core issues he's talking about. The left has a path worth considering. The democratic establishment is, for the most part, refusing to endorse him. Derek wonders if the rest of the left can avoid similar traps. Show Notes Globesonic On the Pier: 8 Years in NYC Globesonic Sound System 5 Years On The Hudson River The Cause That Turned Idealists Into Authoritarian Zealots Why I Just Quit DSA Ocasio-Cortez Loses the Democratic Socialists’ Endorsement Over Israel Status of DSA National Endorsement for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 24, Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King, was arrested in Austin for threatening Joe Rogan. The infamous raw organ "primal" influencer has since published dozens of videos detailing what appears to be a downward spiral—though the problems date back years. Derek and Julian detail the crash. Show Notes 'Liver King' arrested in Austin after allegedly threatening Joe Rogan 'Liver King' says he 'will never stop' after arrest over alleged threat against Joe Rogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Tonight we made history," grinned Zohran Mamdani as his supporters cheered with delight, "I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City. His victory over disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo in this primary election has made Mamdani, the 33-year-old fresh-faced Indian Muslim assemblyman from Queens, into a national sensation—and one of the biggest news stories in the week when Trump bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. He's used his eloquent, telegenic charisma to make a principled stand for Democratic socialist policies, call for Palestinian human rights, and propose a radical re-envisioning of policing in his city. Which of course makes him the target of conspiracy-mongers and right-wing propagandists, as well establishment Democrats and supporters of Israel. As masked ICE thugs, cynical SCOTUS enablers, movie-villain oligarchs, and MAGA cult ghouls steadily dismantle democracy we'll discuss the Mamdani Effect. Is he the hero we've been hoping for, or are his hard-left positions corrosive to a broader anti-Trump coalition? Show Notes NYC Councilman Brad Lander Is ‘Glad’ To Belong To A Shul That Promotes Toeiva; Adds That Israel Is ‘Occupying’ West Bank Defund the Police? Turning a Slogan into Policy - Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)  Reimagining a More Equitable Policing and Public Safety System in New York City  Seven Facts About the NYPD Budget After Winning NYC's Democratic Mayoral Primary, Zohran Mamdani Reaffirms Support For Reparations  NYC mayoral candidate Zahron Mamdani vows to 'expand and protect' trans healthcare  Democratic NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Is Pledging $65 Million for Trans Health Care Divine Shawarma: NYPD Officer's Halal Lunch Break Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices