Decoding the Gurus

Mentalism and Meta-Deception with Stevie Baskin

On this episode, we’re joined by Stevie Baskin, a skeptic and YouTuber who released a five-hour detailed critique of the “meta-deception” of Oz Pearlman. He argues that mentalism differs from traditional magic by introducing an additional meta-deception because, unlike magicians, mentalists often leave their audiences with inaccurate beliefs about body language reading, subliminal influence, NLP, and general psychology. In Stevie’s framework, this places mentalists closer to psychics and mediums than to magicians, because the deceptive element is not clearly acknowledged.We examine this position, unpack common mentalist techniques, consider the role of strategic disclaimers and TED-style “epistemic theatre,” and explore possible parallels with contemporary secular gurus.SourcesMetadeception: the truth about Oz PearlmanThe Disagreement: Debating a mentalist professor of psychology (Scott Barry Kaufman) about Oz PearlmanChris' old blog covering the ethics of Derren Brown's claims in 2009The Power Of Subliminal Messages | Trick Of The Mind | Derren Brown

Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies

Our cover is blown. Our secret funders unmasked. Code Red: Abort! Abort! This is not a drill.Supplementary Material 47: The DTG Conspiracy UNMASKED, Quantum Idiots, and Triggernometry Prophecies00:00 Glowing Introduction03:14 The Secret Conspiracy at the Heart of the Podcast08:17 The Israel Connection19:09 Cenk Uygur's Pickleball Conspiracy23:25 Comment Section Conspiracies30:20 Pizzagate Conspiracies Revisited37:55 The Value of debating with ChadBigCum42:26 AI discourse reflections43:43 Ben Burgis's hyperbolic reaction to AI use44:53 The AI revolution and its potential impacts47:53 Social and Economic Disruption and Job Replacement51:33 The Dangers of Slopified Work and AI economies55:47 Statistical Analysis Software and the value of Friction57:36 The Perils of AI Usage outside of your Skillset58:59 The Solution is within yourself!01:04:22 The Hundred Schools of AI discourse01:05:58 Double Slit and Quantum Physics Insights from Warren Smith01:12:39 Schrodinger's poor, misinterpreted cat01:13:48 The Wonderful Benjamin Boyce01:14:41 Quantum Woo and Arrogant Sensemakers01:18:29 Young Matt and Aged Chris01:20:13 The Triggernometry Prophecy01:23:54 Quid Pro Quo in the Discourse Circuit01:28:25 The Anti-Institutional Horseshoe Theory of MEHDI HASAN01:37:18 So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 40 minutes).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusLinksReddit post unmasking our Israeli backersMother Jones article on whether 'pizza' is a codeword in the Epstein files (Spoiler: No it is not)Mickey's Opinion Piece in The Canadian Jewish News about "quiet anti-semitism"Ben Burgis is suggesting a journalist should be fired for using AICenk Uygur’s Pickleball ConspiracyVigeland & Citarella on Epstein: The One Conspiracy to Rule Them All (YouTube)Benjamin Boyce and Warren Smith discuss Quantum PhysicsTriggernometry: Mehdi Hasan Debate on the Iran War, Immigration and the Israel LobbyCreator of Horseshoe Theory Dies aged 100

The Moral Dilemmas of AI with Michael Inzlicht

Mickey is BACK with two new papers he has co-authored, a bunch of opinions, and a very unwelcome idea: maybe the problem with AI isn't that it doesn't work but that it works too well!The first paper, Against Frictionless AI, argues that AI assistance and its ability to take away the effort from thinking, writing, and smooth out social(like) interactions could be robbing those activities of the very thing that makes them worthwhile.The second paper is a more empirical investigation that presents a bunch of studies examining the topic of the (alleged) moralisation of AI. Some findings suggest that opposition to AI among some people isn't really about risks or trade-offs but rather about non-negotiable sacred moral values. Who knew?We also discuss effort justification, reproducible research, robosexual allyship, and just how much humanity remains within the cyborg Matthew Browne.And remember... It's just like our opinion, man!LinksDecoding Academia 34: Empathetic AIs? (Patreon Series)Ovsyannikova, D., Oldemburgo de Mello, V., & Inzlicht, M. (2025). Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans. Communications Psychology, 3, Article 4.Zohar, E., Bloom, P., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). Against frictionless AI. Communications Psychology, 4, Article 39.Oldemburgo de Mello, V., Côté, É., Ayad, R., Inbar, Y., Plaks, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2026). The moralization of artificial intelligence (Manuscript under review).Paul Bloom's Small Potatoes Substack- My friend thinks it's a good idea for us to spend most of our time with AI companions- Is it irresponsible for academics to refuse to use AI?Mickey's Speak Now Regret Later Substack - AI Alarmism Trades on Fear, Not FactsMickey's provocative tweet on his recent paperDTG Previous Interview with Mickey on the Replication Crisis, Mindfulness, and Responsible HeterodoxyAndy Masley Substack debunking the AI water usage claimsAndy Masley Substack: Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheetPataranutaporn, P., Karny, S., Archiwaranguprok, C., Albrecht, C., Liu, A. R., & Maes, P. (2025). “My Boyfriend is AI”: A computational analysis of human–AI companionship in Reddit’s AI community. arXiv.Critical response to Mickey's paper from Roy Schulam on Substack

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.SourcesSuma Gowda: Ken Wilber on Future of Consciousness, AI, Trump's Election: A Deep Dive into Spiral DynamicsThe Rise and Fall of Ken Wilber – Mark MansonRebel Wisdom: Interview with Ken Wilber- What Happened to Jordan PetersonDS Wilson finds wisdom in Ken's approachKen Wilber's website

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'.LinksGurometer scores to dateThe full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (51 mins).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusGurometer: Teal Swan and Scott Galloway00:00 Back to the Gurometer: Teal and Scott02:33 Galaxy Brain-ness04:18 Cultishness05:25 Anti-Establishmentarianism08:31 Grievance Mongering10:55 Self Aggrandisement and Narcissism 14:30 Cassandra Complex18:03 Revolutionary Theories21:49 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit26:07 Conspiracy Mongering28:50 Excessive Profiteering36:25 Moral Grandstanding40:33 Overall Gurometer Score41:27 Rapid Fire Bonus Guru Points