{"podcast":{"title":"Conspirituality","slug":"conspirituality-582888","podcast_index_feed_id":582888,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/GLSS1122389842","website_url":"https://conspirituality.net/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/244201b2-c360-11ed-8a91-97e8b69444b5/image/Conspirituality_Show_Art__1_.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker","episode_count":811,"summary":"Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-26T20:20:18.804323+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conspirituality-582888"},"episode":{"title":"314: JD Vance Rebrands as Church Dad for Prez","slug":"314-jd-vance-rebrands-as-church-dad-for-prez","published_at":"2026-06-25T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conspirituality-582888/314-jd-vance-rebrands-as-church-dad-for-prez","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conspirituality-582888","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/swap.fm/track/6bpBPtHL977KJxLX2zPs/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLSS5811809871.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/swap.fm/track/6bpBPtHL977KJxLX2zPs/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLSS5811809871.mp3","summary":"As the gases slowly leak from Trump’s orifices and IV holes, the bright flame of his inspiration to MAGA Christians is fading. Did he drain the swamp? Prosecute the pedophiles? Save the Holy Land? Lower gas prices? Give all the grill dads better health care? What was all the speaking in tongues for? JD Vance has an answer for the MAGA faithful: another memoir, another rebrand that turns to the device that made Hillbilly Elegy a smash hit, and the worst book ever: the gall to turn his personal and familial despair into the diagnosis of an entire culture, in Appalachia. With Communion: Finding my Way back to Faith, Vance plays the same narcissistic trick: turning his lifelong journey through rightwing American Chrisitianity—with a short and shameful detour into New Atheism—to land in the Catholic faith of Leonard Leo, sketching out a redemption plan for every bro seeking their way home. Show Notes Rerum Novarum (1891) — Pope Leo XIII Elizabeth Catte, What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia Appalachian Reckoning — Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll, eds. Battle of Blair Mountain — West Virginia Encyclopedia Hurricane Helene federal aid gap — Associated Press PolitiFact — Springfield \"Lie of the Year\" 2024 Institut Montaigne — JD Vance analysis Randall Balmer, \"The Real Origins of the Religious Right\" — Politico Know Your Enemy podcast — episode on René Girard with John Ganz Laudato Si' — Pope Francis Magnifica Humanitas — Pope Leo XIV Mike Fox, \"JD Vance's Memoir Communion Performs Catholicism for Evangelicals\" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"As the gases slowly leak from Trump’s orifices and IV holes, the bright flame of his inspiration to MAGA Christians is fading. Did he drain the swamp? Pro…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5027,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/conspirituality-582888/episodes/314-jd-vance-rebrands-as-church-dad-for-prez/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conspirituality-582888/314-jd-vance-rebrands-as-church-dad-for-prez.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}