In episode 334 of Stephan Kesting versus the world (aka The Strenuous Life Podcast) I talk with Oxford trained evolutionary and cognitive anthropologist Chris Kavanagh about the 10 red flags that go into creating the ‘gurometer’ used by the Decoding the Gurus podcast. That podcast tackles the secular gurus propagating their ideas, grievances, and conspiracies on the internet. From Jordan … [Read more...]
Cults
Are You in a Jiu-Jitsu Cult?
I've wanted to talk with Matt Kirtley for a LONG time because of his BJJ background, but it just so happens that he's done a ton of research into cults and cult-like practices, so we went off in some pretty interesting directions in this one! Some of what we talked about in episode 310 of The Strenuous Life Podcast includes... Red flags that you might be in a jiu-jitsu cult Changes to … [Read more...]
Cults, Prophecies, and Deprogramming Your Friends, with Matthew Remski from the Conspirituality Podcast
On episode 297 of my podcast I was thrilled to talk to Matthew Remski. Matthew is a cult researcher, cult survivor, and cohost of the Conspirituality Podcast who has written extensively about the pervasive cultism and abuse in Yoga, spirituality, and wellness culture. The parallels to happens in some BJJ schools are … [Read more...]
Cults and Conspiracies in the Yoga, Wellness, and BJJ Communities, a Podcast with Derek Beres
I've been a fan of Yoga for a long time, starting in the late 90's as I started doing it to get an edge over my opponents on the mat in BJJ. In general I found Yoga useful and regenerative, although at times I really had to turn off my ears and ignore the quantum woo gobbledygook emanating from the mouth of some newly minted graduate of the latest teacher training program. But recently some … [Read more...]
BJJ Cults and Conspiracy Theories
Steve Kwan, a BJJ black belt known for cohosting the most excellent BJJ Mental Models podcast, joins me to discuss cult behaviour in BJJ, good and bad club cultures, and the big picture behind effective jiu-jitsu training. This is a really important topic given the long history of less than stellar behaviour of some of the big names in the jiu-jitsu community. To give you a taste, here are … [Read more...]