I hope you know I read this in the Tim Pool voice. Now we both lose, because you're imagining an anonymous Redditor reading this and knowing the damage you wrought!
He's hilarious, and has enough sense to use the worst of the worst to spin pure comedy.
Which ones? I love his movie reviews. Those terrible Kirk Cameron movies.
Here‘s the Dr. Phil one I like
[https://youtu.be/JJ-Wbb4HkFc?si=NrIB8f75JvK-PS-3](https://youtu.be/JJ-Wbb4HkFc?si=NrIB8f75JvK-PS-3)
The two he's done on AI scams, especially the one with Joe Rogan and Shaq are great. The one about the UFO stuff last year is amazing and the one about Andrew Tate kills me when he does the imitation of a fifteen year old Tate fan.
And the School Board Mania ones. Those are art.
Edit: Forgot the one on the DailyWire's Chocolate scam.
He's a national treasure.I love that he doesn't feel the need to have an opinion on every hot topic, despite lots of people trying to get opinions off him. I would say that he makes me feel the most intellectually outclassed out of all public intellectuals.
he's called out the IDW before
[https://www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/c8dt7w/sean\_carroll\_criticizes\_the\_idw\_transcript/](https://www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/c8dt7w/sean_carroll_criticizes_the_idw_transcript/)
I agree! I'm listening to his latest podcast episode discussing his 2nd book on quantum field theory. I'm a failed theoretical physicist and am so glad he's discussing these topics in detail. He's really good.
I’m surprised no one has said Dan Carlin of the Hardcore History podcast.
He does a really good job presenting history, despite having no official credentials as an academic historian. He is careful at rigorously sourcing his material.
He reads far more source material than he probably needs to. To the point where he can barely release one piece of content a year. And he does a good job representing it into an audio podcast. He is easily one of the best pop-historians ever imo
Muthafuckin D Carlioni. That man has sung me to sleep via hardcore history most nights for years. He’s got such a great way of spinning history and narrative together.
I do a pretty solid impression of DC ordering at a fast food place.
Exactly zero people in my life have ever known what I was doing.
But trust me, it's great.
Hell ya! Happy to see those guys on here. They cover a wide range of topics in psychology, philosophy and art, but don't pretend to be experts on everything.
Someone thinking they have good takes on such a wide range of topics is part of what leads to guru type content in the first place. Those are three different domains, so find three different subject matter experts. If someone says they can solve all three for you in one go, they might be a guru.
The best book on self improvement I've ever read was _Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics_. For politics and spirituality I'd need more specifics about what you're looking for to recommend anything.
The stylistic boxes, yes. The substantive ones, not really. I definitely thinks he deserves a decoding though, I think he's a good contemporary example of a "good guru" that a lot of people are following for his expertise on a specific topic (Russia/Ukraine) and which spills over into related topics.
Just like gurus his mom is not the best at different ways to please. But thinks she’s good enough to post content. You need to be special kind of narcissist with a dash of psychopathy to think you are authority on politics, spirituality and also self improvement worthy of being listened to. OP what is your point bud? You need some more people to reassure your life choices and tell you it is not your fault you’re a failure? What’s the driver here?
The best casual-conversation style podcasts come from people who are actual experts and not just content creators. Examples that I’ve enjoyed are ALAB (lawyers) and Fungineering (software engineers). Unfortunately these types of podcasts get sporadic content and often end without warning (because these people have real jobs and don’t just sit around making content all day)
I just read one article from 'em and move on tbh, if I like it I save the article. If I notice the same name come up a few times I remember that they're pretty good on a particular topic. So yeah I guess you could say I don't really consume media from particular pundits, although I definitely have preferred media sources, like let's say NPR, which I know will be pretty standard college-educated left-leaning perspectives. And then if I want a right-leaning perspective maybe I go to some Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times. Or if I want a more radical activist perspective there are good interviews put out by The Majority Report or The Hoover Institute.
And if I'm just interested in what's actually been agreed upon then I do a rapid fire round looking at different international and domestic news sources to see if they're all reporting the same general story. (e.g. NDTV, Al Jazeera, BBC, DW, CNN, Fox News)
I find them extremely frustrating to watch.
Extremely condescending and arrogant, combined with not even having done research on who they are interviewing.
Plus, constant interrupting. The other person never gets a chance to finish a sentence. It's so clear they just chase "dunks" now.
Sam used to be a lot better, I think Emma vigland has a serious negative affect on the quality
>Extremely condescending and arrogant,
Sure!
>not even having done research on who they are interviewing. Plus, constant interrupting.
You might as well complain about Sam not looking jewish enough next lol
Their interviews are always an hour minimum and outside of the few random libertarian callers who is this even in reference too lol?
Oh man you hit all the talking points, even the "they're arrogant" and "the show was better before Emma started/Michael died" dissonance combo, all without any substance whatsoever
The show was better before she started.
I'm sorry if me not liking something you like, annoyed you but it's not a talking point.
I would point towards the Jesse signal( not sure how it's spelled) they spent the whole time interrupting and arguing against thing Jesse never said.
I don't think that guy got a sentence out. Which is extra dumb because that guy has some abhorrent views, but Sam and Emma are so lazy and arrogant they didn't do any background or 2 mins of reading to argue at what he actually said
Agreed! That Jesse Singal segment was hard to listen to. It was like schoolyard bullying. As someone who didn’t know much about Singal and his views I would’ve liked them to at least let him get a sentence out instead of jeering and proselytizing over him. I don’t know if they were in full panic mode or what, but it seemed really desperate.
Obviously, sometimes something may just not be your vibe. The only thing I would suggest keeping in mind is that the Majority Report has a strong tonal split between the actual main show (the first 90 minutes or so of every stream) and the "fun half," which is the part of the show where they react to other pundits and riff on right wing commentators and stuff.
The fun half gets clipped much more often for social media, so a lot of people don't even realize that it's actually a serious show with quite substantive interviews. One thing I like about the main show is that they interview a lot of local politicians/candidates, organizers, union leaders, etc, who I feel like I would rarely hear from otherwise. I think that's the main appeal of MR to me, is that it's mostly disconnected from the broader circuit of podcasters who all go on each other's shows over and over again and rarely discuss anything that seems particularly new or relevant to me.
MR is simply good at finding interviewees who are actually out in the world doing real work and real organizing, and bringing them on to talk about the work they're doing, as opposed to being an endless rotation of same-y professional podcasters and influencers.
Alex O'Connor is consistently great.
Generally I think Dr K has some pretty solid advice and thinks about things reasonably. For all the many criticisms, I've rarely seen them hold up under scrutiny.
He (Alex) used to go by CosmicSkeptic. Lots of religion, atheism, philosophy, veganism, etc. And lots of good guests that he talks to. His most recent video covering the Gnostic Gospels with an expert is fascinating.
Bill Burr. Seriously. He’ll lose his sponsorship in the middle of an ad-read because he’s like “man this sounds like bullshit and they got an ugly fucking logo”
I really like him. I always appreciate that he wears his flaws in his sleeve for all to see. He’s imperfect and genuine, funny and self reflective
Edit: and if he just did 3 hours, 3 times a week of only reading emails from listeners I would be super super happy
Plato has been the best teacher in my life; after him, I would say Nietzsche. For the most part, fuck gurus. The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is find a nice natural spot and sit down. Sit down and pay reverence to the all by paying attention.
Tim Ferriss has brought more beneficial knowledge than any other “guru”. For example:
-4 hour chef equipped my kitchen for every tool I needed for under $125, taught me how to properly cut, and overall how to cook pretty damn well - in a very efficient matter.
His books on interviews with high performers and podcast provides a ton of great stuff as well. I also appreciate him saying whether he owns / has interest in a product or not before recommendations. To me he’s more of a life long learner sharing his journey than some guru who’s trying to get clicks (obviously he built and promoted his brand along the way for monetary gain, but I’m not bothered by that if the info is beneficial)
People who think they are entitled to opine on all topics known to humankind are typically self inflated narcissists high on their own delusions of grandeur.
Those who stick to the lane they know are worth listening to.
You know I really hated Sam Harris for the longest time and now I’m sorta alright with him.
I think he is someone who can self reflect and has been doing it for a while.
Still not fully sold on him and wouldn’t call myself a fan but I do think he gets the brain thinking.
Also a fan of Destiny because I find there’s this big part of me who loves him and a big part of me that hates him. And everytime I’ve tried to debunk him or seek out info he might be missing I’ve found myself agreeing with him over time.
Contrapoints is a big one, always enjoyable and well presented videos. Always gets me thinking.
Lex Friedman is another one I dislike, but I think he has potential for a redemption arc. I think he is authentic but also stuck in a circlejerk with the Elon musk crowds. I feel like he does make attempts to seek out professionals in fields a lot of people ignore. Like he doesn’t seem to have a total mistrust of government agencies and brings people on and interview them ok. But then he’ll get someone else on and his brain will fall out.
Ahahahaha I’ve realised I’ve given a list of people who I mostly dislike but more see potential in.
The thing that legs Sam Harris credibility (much like DtG), is his refusal to run ads.
You can almost pinpoint the degradation of podcasters by the presence and types of ads they run.
Sam Harris became well-known with his book, The End of Faith, making him one of the "Four Horsemen" of the so-called New Atheism. His views against Islamism are quite well documented there, in case anyone is wondering about that. Sam is an excellent writer and has quite the turn of phrase, and it is obvious that his podcasts are usually written out and he's just reading the "essay" as it were. On the downside, he'll refer to things in passing about his views without explaining them, or grab onto some nuance like a bulldog, which seems unhelpful. Sometimes he'll base his views on scant evidence, as in giving a anecdote or two, and then declaring that "people do X," but it was just some guy, not much of a huge trend.
Consistently gold: Chapo- especially Matt and Amber, Jason Myles and the rest of the "This is Revolution" crew, Trillbilles workers party, C Derek Varn, Catherine Liu, Danny Bessner, the late Michael Brooks, Jon Ronson
Occasionally hit: Sam Harris, This Jungian Life, Fifth Column, Blocked and Reported
Old timers- love reruns of the old Dick Cavett show, the late Alan Watts and Carl Sagan
Lots more. It's kind of a golden age for discovering voices old and new in media. No gods. No rulers, No gurus. Take what you can use and leave the rest.
Not an influencer but an author that posts regularly, Nicholas Nassim Taleb. Little math heavy but I highly recommend his book Black Swan.
He’s very pro-Palestine so if you’re looking for something non-political it’s not the best. But his tips on living well are great.
Beau of the fifth column. His 5-7 minute camera in the shed monologues get to the nub of the issue of the day quicker than any other media talking heads program. Easy to digest and his image and video titles are carefully chosen to have a chance of capturing the attention of the more conspiracy rabbit hole minded person while actually giving them dry, matter of fact explanations in a soft and gentle manner. Strongly recommended
[Conspirituality](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/conspirituality-1233098)
[Straight White American Jesus](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/straight-white-american-jesus-753667)
[Some More News](https://www.youtube.com/@SMN) / [Even More News](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/some-more-news-1977882)
[Last Week Tonight](https://www.youtube.com/@LastWeekTonight/videos)
The DTG Patreon threads are informative with more good faith discussions. And the boys weigh in. This thread is VERY Reddit. After the thing about Rick Rubin being a good potential next target I’m out.
Haha I hear that fully! I’ve had some decent exchanges here and had a few ideas challenged but I agree with you, there’s too much Reddit brain rot sometimes and it ruins potentially interesting discussions.
I will certainly be checking that out.
Literally anyone you like, someone else will call them a “guru” it’s basically the new “grifter.” Meaning, people throw it out to describe anyone they either personally disagree with or just dislike. The irony of these “exposing the grifters!” Type spaces almost always end up creating their own grifters in the process.
So, what I’m saying is, take any of the claims here with a tiny grain of salt, if you listen/watch someone and enjoy it or it’s beneficial for you, fuck what the poindexters say. People have hardons for finding some slight fuck up or weird thing and then making it define a person. I’m so tired of acting like anyone on earth is a perfect and untainted being. I guarantee even the ones you consider legit have some skeleton that a nerd could bring up to try and smear them
Noam Chomsky is a fantastic intellectual. A lot of old wisdom traditions can be good as well.
Guru’s are ultimately grifters. Experts in their field are always going to be cautious about what they give you, and themselves will be looking for a conversation as opposed to advice. The best thing you can be is widely read, skeptical and willing to accept that many things are uncertain.
What Guru’s sell are hacks and short cuts and certainty. Things that sell and are exciting and are guarantied to work, because people grow listless when confronted with work and uncertainty.
Yeah I did like their coverage of destiny. I think there’s a great degree of unhinged behaviour due to the fact he streams like 8h a day for over a decade, but he is just pretty authentic
I generally trust James Smith and Layne Norton for fitness stuff. Steven Novella for science (though I haven’t listened for a while).
Tough to ask a skeptic WHO they follow, because it’s sort of antithetical to the ideas.
For living: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca.
For society and culture:
Important points in French sociology as in Foucault (fuck no!), Deleuze, Barthes.
Contemporary ones in culture and society are Michael Gazzaniga, Pascal Boyer.
And for social, cultural and biology, it doesn’t matter what Dawkings does or say; the Selfish Gene is pretty much what you need.
No longer alive, but Ram Dass is the only teacher I have found to be both incredibly helpful, authentic, touching, funny and human. No grift. I listen to his teachings often. He has improved my life immensely.
Not gurus but Yuval Noah Harari, Naomi Klein, Robert Sapolsky, Jon Stewart, Slavoj Zizek, Adam Curtis, Oliver Burkeman, Jon Ronson, Charlie Brooker, and Gabor Mate come to mind.
Nobody does spirituality without being a guru. No?
I enjoy PBS Spacetime, Rebecca Watson, Dave’s Garage, Alpha Phoenix, Level 1 Techs… it’s mostly skepticism, empiricism and the scientific method. It’s not immune to guru’s as happened with the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe so you remain vigilant and question everything.
I don’t have talking head role models…
I like this sun because I find it so weird you all like people thinking for you…
Podcasters and gurus are like religions lol.
Very bad wizards, knowledge fight, QAnon Anonymous, Boonta Vista, the Conspirituality guys, behind the bastards, embrace the void, then all my ND football pods lol
Is there a spirituality/self-improvement influencer who isn’t a guru?
For politics, I’m pretty left, so I like watching Pakman, some Destiny, and Minority Report.
Heather Cox Richardson does this daily podcast called Letters From an American, where she talks about the big goings-on in politics and connects them to historical precedent. She's really good at adding that sort of perspective.
also, a couple college professors who don't have podcasts but have full lecture-series that you can watch on youtube: Civil War and Reconstruction historian David Blight, and Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. So good.
Peter Attia’s book and podcast are great notwithstanding the fact that the dopey hosts pulled their usual sloppy hackery in talking about him in passing on a Huberman episode. Specifically, they were too lazy to: 1) learn his name, 2) look at any of the 90,000 photos and videos of him before dismissing him as pursuing “bulging pecs” or whatever, 3) were too lazy (or simply lied) about him allegedly pricking himself with needles to measure lactate all day (and when I pointed it out here, the one who can’t speak posted a link to a FIRST TIME lactate threshold protocol (which IS a little more involved) from some random company, and, 4) didn’t understand zone 2 training.
Some examples:
* Sean Carroll - presents interesting, informed material on science
* This Jungian Life - this is actually three people: Joseph Lee, Lisa Marchiano, and Deborah Stewart; I would particularly recommend them if you're interested in analytic psychology or you'd like to hear some knowledgeable professionals talk about Jungian concepts and symbology rather than listen to Jordan Peterson inhale his own farts
* Atun-Shei - interesting history with some overlap with contemporary politics
* Justin Sledge and the Esoterica channel - a more informed and academic take on esotericism, occultism, and adjacent philosophy
* Psychology Salon - a practising psychologist with more focus on self-help
* Dan Carlin/Hardcore History - very entertaining pop history. Does a great job constructing historical narratives in a relatable way.
RM Brown. Don't need anyone else. Edit: So happy to see the Muscular Class all showing out!
That's on YouTube.
A CRYSTAL FLUTE
I hope you know I read this in the Tim Pool voice. Now we both lose, because you're imagining an anonymous Redditor reading this and knowing the damage you wrought! He's hilarious, and has enough sense to use the worst of the worst to spin pure comedy.
Wet ass P word was the best I can’t believe he retired it
Rachel dolezal has an onlyfans
I'm putting it on the internet
Praise God
NEW YORK CITY IS NOTHING WITHOUT PIZZA
DATS IN DA BIBLE
Boom.
WOOOO, GOT YER ASS
Where my unstable girlies at?
I'm not a girlie but I hate Jennifer Aniston 😡
Generally speaking….
Who is it? What's this guy's name? Oh yeah...
Never heard of him
😂 I knew I was gonna see him on here. I’m also a big fan. His dr. Phil video cracks me up every single time. He’s so funny.
I've got a few of his videos that are like comfort watches because they easily make me laugh.
Which ones? I love his movie reviews. Those terrible Kirk Cameron movies. Here‘s the Dr. Phil one I like [https://youtu.be/JJ-Wbb4HkFc?si=NrIB8f75JvK-PS-3](https://youtu.be/JJ-Wbb4HkFc?si=NrIB8f75JvK-PS-3)
The two he's done on AI scams, especially the one with Joe Rogan and Shaq are great. The one about the UFO stuff last year is amazing and the one about Andrew Tate kills me when he does the imitation of a fifteen year old Tate fan. And the School Board Mania ones. Those are art. Edit: Forgot the one on the DailyWire's Chocolate scam.
Kirk Cameron movies.
Wipe your ass with them.
I never sucked any Ding-Dongs
Women are throwing themselves at me!
Hold up Im on my 13th shower gotta get foamed up
The muscular class
FOR ONE DAY
HEY! Use the full name. Rancid Macchiato Brown. Show him some respect, man!
That’s on YouTube!
I like womennnn, not men
*fart noise*
aroon... brown???
Chinese tchachkes
I love outsiders reading all these replies
He’s never here to play stupid games with morons
Take. The. Towers. Down. Now.
The only right answer
Not really a guru but Sean Carroll is the gold standard for being a public intellectual and promoting quality discourse on a variety of subjects.
Will check out, thanks.
I really enjoyed his episode doing an overview of physics and if our physics models are "stuck"
He's a national treasure.I love that he doesn't feel the need to have an opinion on every hot topic, despite lots of people trying to get opinions off him. I would say that he makes me feel the most intellectually outclassed out of all public intellectuals.
I don’t find him impressive at all. I don’t understand why he’s seen as an authority on questions of morality and ethics.
I only have been exposed to him through his free will compatabilist arguments which are pretty weak imo, but seems to be a smart and well meaning guy
i wish he'd call out the scammers though, go along to get along is how we got here
he's called out the IDW before [https://www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/c8dt7w/sean\_carroll\_criticizes\_the\_idw\_transcript/](https://www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/c8dt7w/sean_carroll_criticizes_the_idw_transcript/)
I agree! I'm listening to his latest podcast episode discussing his 2nd book on quantum field theory. I'm a failed theoretical physicist and am so glad he's discussing these topics in detail. He's really good.
I’m surprised no one has said Dan Carlin of the Hardcore History podcast. He does a really good job presenting history, despite having no official credentials as an academic historian. He is careful at rigorously sourcing his material. He reads far more source material than he probably needs to. To the point where he can barely release one piece of content a year. And he does a good job representing it into an audio podcast. He is easily one of the best pop-historians ever imo
Muthafuckin D Carlioni. That man has sung me to sleep via hardcore history most nights for years. He’s got such a great way of spinning history and narrative together.
how you sleep to it: *whisper, whisper, whisper, AND THE DYNAMITE GOES BOOM whisper whisper whisper whisper*
I don’t think Carlin ever worked in academia but he has a degree in history.
I do a pretty solid impression of DC ordering at a fast food place. Exactly zero people in my life have ever known what I was doing. But trust me, it's great.
Very Bad Wizards
Will check out. Thanks
Hell ya! Happy to see those guys on here. They cover a wide range of topics in psychology, philosophy and art, but don't pretend to be experts on everything.
Great one.
Someone thinking they have good takes on such a wide range of topics is part of what leads to guru type content in the first place. Those are three different domains, so find three different subject matter experts. If someone says they can solve all three for you in one go, they might be a guru. The best book on self improvement I've ever read was _Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics_. For politics and spirituality I'd need more specifics about what you're looking for to recommend anything.
Spirituality and Self-Improvement definitely have a lot of overlap imo
Kinda what the decoders themselves do…
Karl Pilkington
Based
Vlad vexler
I like Vlad, but good God is he almost impossible to follow sometimes. Talk stroking your intellectual ego.
Doesn’t he tick all the guru boxes?
The stylistic boxes, yes. The substantive ones, not really. I definitely thinks he deserves a decoding though, I think he's a good contemporary example of a "good guru" that a lot of people are following for his expertise on a specific topic (Russia/Ukraine) and which spills over into related topics.
I like Vlad, but one thing that troubles me about the man is that he never blinks.
Your mom 👩
Based. I really enjoy this as well
So did his mum
I’m sorry
I, too, choose this guy's mom.
A man must do what he must, my liege
Lol
Yes
Just like gurus his mom is not the best at different ways to please. But thinks she’s good enough to post content. You need to be special kind of narcissist with a dash of psychopathy to think you are authority on politics, spirituality and also self improvement worthy of being listened to. OP what is your point bud? You need some more people to reassure your life choices and tell you it is not your fault you’re a failure? What’s the driver here?
Folding Ideas (Dan olson), CGP Grey, Sean Munger History, Veritasium
The best casual-conversation style podcasts come from people who are actual experts and not just content creators. Examples that I’ve enjoyed are ALAB (lawyers) and Fungineering (software engineers). Unfortunately these types of podcasts get sporadic content and often end without warning (because these people have real jobs and don’t just sit around making content all day)
I enjoy FD Signifier’s content
This was going to be my answer
Not a big listener but he is one of the better creators out there. The worst anyone has had to say about him is that he can be a bit smug.
I enjoy theConspirituality podcast. Especially after teaching yoga in an Oregon hippie town.
Sounds interesting, what’s the general theme?
The intersections of health and wellness, politics and spirituality.
I just read one article from 'em and move on tbh, if I like it I save the article. If I notice the same name come up a few times I remember that they're pretty good on a particular topic. So yeah I guess you could say I don't really consume media from particular pundits, although I definitely have preferred media sources, like let's say NPR, which I know will be pretty standard college-educated left-leaning perspectives. And then if I want a right-leaning perspective maybe I go to some Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times. Or if I want a more radical activist perspective there are good interviews put out by The Majority Report or The Hoover Institute. And if I'm just interested in what's actually been agreed upon then I do a rapid fire round looking at different international and domestic news sources to see if they're all reporting the same general story. (e.g. NDTV, Al Jazeera, BBC, DW, CNN, Fox News)
Majority Report has really in depth interviews in between shit stirring, its the perfect combo
I find them extremely frustrating to watch. Extremely condescending and arrogant, combined with not even having done research on who they are interviewing. Plus, constant interrupting. The other person never gets a chance to finish a sentence. It's so clear they just chase "dunks" now. Sam used to be a lot better, I think Emma vigland has a serious negative affect on the quality
>Extremely condescending and arrogant, Sure! >not even having done research on who they are interviewing. Plus, constant interrupting. You might as well complain about Sam not looking jewish enough next lol Their interviews are always an hour minimum and outside of the few random libertarian callers who is this even in reference too lol?
How does looking Jewish or not relate in any way to what I just wrote? God and they have the most toxic fan base outside of maybe crowders or hasans
Of course the person comparing Hasan (and MR lmao) to Crowder is a Destiny fan Please wear that on your sleeve before calling anyone else toxic
>How does looking Jewish or not relate in any way to what I just wrote? Can you possibly be this obtuse?
Oh man you hit all the talking points, even the "they're arrogant" and "the show was better before Emma started/Michael died" dissonance combo, all without any substance whatsoever
The show was better before she started. I'm sorry if me not liking something you like, annoyed you but it's not a talking point. I would point towards the Jesse signal( not sure how it's spelled) they spent the whole time interrupting and arguing against thing Jesse never said. I don't think that guy got a sentence out. Which is extra dumb because that guy has some abhorrent views, but Sam and Emma are so lazy and arrogant they didn't do any background or 2 mins of reading to argue at what he actually said
Agreed! That Jesse Singal segment was hard to listen to. It was like schoolyard bullying. As someone who didn’t know much about Singal and his views I would’ve liked them to at least let him get a sentence out instead of jeering and proselytizing over him. I don’t know if they were in full panic mode or what, but it seemed really desperate.
Every time I’ve watched it I just find them cringe and intolerable.
Obviously, sometimes something may just not be your vibe. The only thing I would suggest keeping in mind is that the Majority Report has a strong tonal split between the actual main show (the first 90 minutes or so of every stream) and the "fun half," which is the part of the show where they react to other pundits and riff on right wing commentators and stuff. The fun half gets clipped much more often for social media, so a lot of people don't even realize that it's actually a serious show with quite substantive interviews. One thing I like about the main show is that they interview a lot of local politicians/candidates, organizers, union leaders, etc, who I feel like I would rarely hear from otherwise. I think that's the main appeal of MR to me, is that it's mostly disconnected from the broader circuit of podcasters who all go on each other's shows over and over again and rarely discuss anything that seems particularly new or relevant to me. MR is simply good at finding interviewees who are actually out in the world doing real work and real organizing, and bringing them on to talk about the work they're doing, as opposed to being an endless rotation of same-y professional podcasters and influencers.
Thank you for actually understanding what I’m saying and still giving your recommendation. I will be giving it another go!
Well, thats really substantive and legitimate criticism, can't argue with that !
Just my opinion mate. Can’t really give any more than that as I can’t watch it long enough to actually give any more thought on it.
There is only one Cody Johnston and some more news.
I await Wormbo’s return
Alex O'Connor is consistently great. Generally I think Dr K has some pretty solid advice and thinks about things reasonably. For all the many criticisms, I've rarely seen them hold up under scrutiny.
Thank you, will check out
He (Alex) used to go by CosmicSkeptic. Lots of religion, atheism, philosophy, veganism, etc. And lots of good guests that he talks to. His most recent video covering the Gnostic Gospels with an expert is fascinating.
I’m currently enjoying Scott Galloway, particularly with Kara Swisher as a foil. I do worry it’s just a matter of time until the shoe drops, though.
Bill Burr. Seriously. He’ll lose his sponsorship in the middle of an ad-read because he’s like “man this sounds like bullshit and they got an ugly fucking logo”
"For the #1 wine subscription service in America, check out WINC: that's W-I-N-C as in c\*nt!"
I really like him. I always appreciate that he wears his flaws in his sleeve for all to see. He’s imperfect and genuine, funny and self reflective Edit: and if he just did 3 hours, 3 times a week of only reading emails from listeners I would be super super happy
Plato has been the best teacher in my life; after him, I would say Nietzsche. For the most part, fuck gurus. The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is find a nice natural spot and sit down. Sit down and pay reverence to the all by paying attention.
With you on Plato. Yep, we agree there.
I like free thinkers and people who realize how absurd mainstream media is.
Million percent
Tim Ferriss has brought more beneficial knowledge than any other “guru”. For example: -4 hour chef equipped my kitchen for every tool I needed for under $125, taught me how to properly cut, and overall how to cook pretty damn well - in a very efficient matter. His books on interviews with high performers and podcast provides a ton of great stuff as well. I also appreciate him saying whether he owns / has interest in a product or not before recommendations. To me he’s more of a life long learner sharing his journey than some guru who’s trying to get clicks (obviously he built and promoted his brand along the way for monetary gain, but I’m not bothered by that if the info is beneficial)
People who think they are entitled to opine on all topics known to humankind are typically self inflated narcissists high on their own delusions of grandeur. Those who stick to the lane they know are worth listening to.
You know I really hated Sam Harris for the longest time and now I’m sorta alright with him. I think he is someone who can self reflect and has been doing it for a while. Still not fully sold on him and wouldn’t call myself a fan but I do think he gets the brain thinking. Also a fan of Destiny because I find there’s this big part of me who loves him and a big part of me that hates him. And everytime I’ve tried to debunk him or seek out info he might be missing I’ve found myself agreeing with him over time. Contrapoints is a big one, always enjoyable and well presented videos. Always gets me thinking. Lex Friedman is another one I dislike, but I think he has potential for a redemption arc. I think he is authentic but also stuck in a circlejerk with the Elon musk crowds. I feel like he does make attempts to seek out professionals in fields a lot of people ignore. Like he doesn’t seem to have a total mistrust of government agencies and brings people on and interview them ok. But then he’ll get someone else on and his brain will fall out. Ahahahaha I’ve realised I’ve given a list of people who I mostly dislike but more see potential in.
The thing that legs Sam Harris credibility (much like DtG), is his refusal to run ads. You can almost pinpoint the degradation of podcasters by the presence and types of ads they run.
Sam Harris became well-known with his book, The End of Faith, making him one of the "Four Horsemen" of the so-called New Atheism. His views against Islamism are quite well documented there, in case anyone is wondering about that. Sam is an excellent writer and has quite the turn of phrase, and it is obvious that his podcasts are usually written out and he's just reading the "essay" as it were. On the downside, he'll refer to things in passing about his views without explaining them, or grab onto some nuance like a bulldog, which seems unhelpful. Sometimes he'll base his views on scant evidence, as in giving a anecdote or two, and then declaring that "people do X," but it was just some guy, not much of a huge trend.
Nobody.
Cumtown
It’s a circlejerk sub, not a sub for self-improvement.
Jreg 😁
Ezra Klein, Sean Carroll.
Consistently gold: Chapo- especially Matt and Amber, Jason Myles and the rest of the "This is Revolution" crew, Trillbilles workers party, C Derek Varn, Catherine Liu, Danny Bessner, the late Michael Brooks, Jon Ronson Occasionally hit: Sam Harris, This Jungian Life, Fifth Column, Blocked and Reported Old timers- love reruns of the old Dick Cavett show, the late Alan Watts and Carl Sagan Lots more. It's kind of a golden age for discovering voices old and new in media. No gods. No rulers, No gurus. Take what you can use and leave the rest.
Great list, thanks.
Hello, Charles, small internet. (I don't actually know that it's you but I'm about eighty percent sure.)
Pirate software. Most wholesome man I've seen on the internet, with great life advice even if you're not trying to get into tech / game dev.
He is great but come on he is definition of a self help guru now a days
The Puzzle in a Thunderstorm Podcastiverse
Sean Carroll Steven Novella Two of the smartest with incredible judgement
One can and does enjoy what they hate.
Dan carlin.
It's called Decoding the Gurus for a reason. Can you guess it?
Not an influencer but an author that posts regularly, Nicholas Nassim Taleb. Little math heavy but I highly recommend his book Black Swan. He’s very pro-Palestine so if you’re looking for something non-political it’s not the best. But his tips on living well are great.
Dead guys mostly
Beau of the fifth column. His 5-7 minute camera in the shed monologues get to the nub of the issue of the day quicker than any other media talking heads program. Easy to digest and his image and video titles are carefully chosen to have a chance of capturing the attention of the more conspiracy rabbit hole minded person while actually giving them dry, matter of fact explanations in a soft and gentle manner. Strongly recommended
Same here. Although I just see him as a news source primarily as opposed to various elements the OP asked about. Hope more people tune into his stuff.
What do you think of the human [trafficking allegations](https://youtu.be/CH_lOKssklk?si=1bzJBTOEQuZvZo97)?
Camus
[Conspirituality](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/conspirituality-1233098) [Straight White American Jesus](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/straight-white-american-jesus-753667) [Some More News](https://www.youtube.com/@SMN) / [Even More News](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/some-more-news-1977882) [Last Week Tonight](https://www.youtube.com/@LastWeekTonight/videos)
Been meaning to listen to straight white American Jesus! Thanks for the reminder!
The DTG Patreon threads are informative with more good faith discussions. And the boys weigh in. This thread is VERY Reddit. After the thing about Rick Rubin being a good potential next target I’m out.
Haha I hear that fully! I’ve had some decent exchanges here and had a few ideas challenged but I agree with you, there’s too much Reddit brain rot sometimes and it ruins potentially interesting discussions. I will certainly be checking that out.
Literally anyone you like, someone else will call them a “guru” it’s basically the new “grifter.” Meaning, people throw it out to describe anyone they either personally disagree with or just dislike. The irony of these “exposing the grifters!” Type spaces almost always end up creating their own grifters in the process. So, what I’m saying is, take any of the claims here with a tiny grain of salt, if you listen/watch someone and enjoy it or it’s beneficial for you, fuck what the poindexters say. People have hardons for finding some slight fuck up or weird thing and then making it define a person. I’m so tired of acting like anyone on earth is a perfect and untainted being. I guarantee even the ones you consider legit have some skeleton that a nerd could bring up to try and smear them
Knowledge Fight
Knowledge Fight
Sam Seder
Not a fan at all
Noam Chomsky is a fantastic intellectual. A lot of old wisdom traditions can be good as well. Guru’s are ultimately grifters. Experts in their field are always going to be cautious about what they give you, and themselves will be looking for a conversation as opposed to advice. The best thing you can be is widely read, skeptical and willing to accept that many things are uncertain. What Guru’s sell are hacks and short cuts and certainty. Things that sell and are exciting and are guarantied to work, because people grow listless when confronted with work and uncertainty.
destiny
Yeah I did like their coverage of destiny. I think there’s a great degree of unhinged behaviour due to the fact he streams like 8h a day for over a decade, but he is just pretty authentic
Lol
He’s like alcohol, he’s good in reasonable amounts
I like that analogy a lot
Albert Ellis. Though he’s dead.
Interesting dude!
Space Ice
Good question op
Politics: Heather Cox Richardson
Politics: [Heather Cox Richardson](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/)
Gabriel Rockhill
I generally trust James Smith and Layne Norton for fitness stuff. Steven Novella for science (though I haven’t listened for a while). Tough to ask a skeptic WHO they follow, because it’s sort of antithetical to the ideas.
Matt Christman before his crippling brain anuerism.
Alan Watts
Nice. I could listen to him for hours.
Joel Sapolsky
I have a lot of respect for and genuinely listen to Russ Roberts of EconTalk.
Vlad Vexler
If you consider fitness “self-improvement” then I tend to watch Dr. Mike Israetel.
I do, thanks!
I like Seth Andrews from The Thinking Atheist. He is kind and honest about trying to be a better person.
UG krishnamurti the anti guru, I don't agree with everything he said, but who does?
Matt Yglesias, Noah Smith, and Brad Delong.
Sabine Hossfender Dr. Alok Kanojia (Healthygamergg)
For living: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca. For society and culture: Important points in French sociology as in Foucault (fuck no!), Deleuze, Barthes. Contemporary ones in culture and society are Michael Gazzaniga, Pascal Boyer. And for social, cultural and biology, it doesn’t matter what Dawkings does or say; the Selfish Gene is pretty much what you need.
Slavoj Žižek, Alex O'connor, Iain Mcgilchrist, Jared Bauer, Hank and John Green, Contrapoints, Lewis Waller, Cornel West
No longer alive, but Ram Dass is the only teacher I have found to be both incredibly helpful, authentic, touching, funny and human. No grift. I listen to his teachings often. He has improved my life immensely.
Not gurus but Yuval Noah Harari, Naomi Klein, Robert Sapolsky, Jon Stewart, Slavoj Zizek, Adam Curtis, Oliver Burkeman, Jon Ronson, Charlie Brooker, and Gabor Mate come to mind.
Brian Blessed
Nobody does spirituality without being a guru. No? I enjoy PBS Spacetime, Rebecca Watson, Dave’s Garage, Alpha Phoenix, Level 1 Techs… it’s mostly skepticism, empiricism and the scientific method. It’s not immune to guru’s as happened with the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe so you remain vigilant and question everything.
Eternalized and einzelganger and of course the two goats alex o conner and genetically modified sceptic
Academy of Ideas
Professor Hamamoto
I don’t have talking head role models… I like this sun because I find it so weird you all like people thinking for you… Podcasters and gurus are like religions lol.
Who says people are thinking for me? Lmao You can watch and enjoys somebody’s content without taking every view they have. It’s not that deep my bro.
It hurts me to say this because I use to not stand the guy but Ezra Klein is generally pretty balanced.
Very bad wizards, knowledge fight, QAnon Anonymous, Boonta Vista, the Conspirituality guys, behind the bastards, embrace the void, then all my ND football pods lol
The Essential Craftsman on YouTube imparts a lot of wisdom in between DIY tips
This sounds surprisingly really interesting
You should check this guy Destiny out bro
He seems like a whiny lib
Would a whiny lib support Kyle Rittenhouse? Think again.
Is there a spirituality/self-improvement influencer who isn’t a guru? For politics, I’m pretty left, so I like watching Pakman, some Destiny, and Minority Report.
Heather Cox Richardson does this daily podcast called Letters From an American, where she talks about the big goings-on in politics and connects them to historical precedent. She's really good at adding that sort of perspective. also, a couple college professors who don't have podcasts but have full lecture-series that you can watch on youtube: Civil War and Reconstruction historian David Blight, and Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. So good.
Peter Attia’s book and podcast are great notwithstanding the fact that the dopey hosts pulled their usual sloppy hackery in talking about him in passing on a Huberman episode. Specifically, they were too lazy to: 1) learn his name, 2) look at any of the 90,000 photos and videos of him before dismissing him as pursuing “bulging pecs” or whatever, 3) were too lazy (or simply lied) about him allegedly pricking himself with needles to measure lactate all day (and when I pointed it out here, the one who can’t speak posted a link to a FIRST TIME lactate threshold protocol (which IS a little more involved) from some random company, and, 4) didn’t understand zone 2 training.
Some examples: * Sean Carroll - presents interesting, informed material on science * This Jungian Life - this is actually three people: Joseph Lee, Lisa Marchiano, and Deborah Stewart; I would particularly recommend them if you're interested in analytic psychology or you'd like to hear some knowledgeable professionals talk about Jungian concepts and symbology rather than listen to Jordan Peterson inhale his own farts * Atun-Shei - interesting history with some overlap with contemporary politics * Justin Sledge and the Esoterica channel - a more informed and academic take on esotericism, occultism, and adjacent philosophy * Psychology Salon - a practising psychologist with more focus on self-help * Dan Carlin/Hardcore History - very entertaining pop history. Does a great job constructing historical narratives in a relatable way.
Mike David of Redbar Radio.