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Published on:

12th Jun 2026

Gurometer: Iain McGilchrist *Patreon Preview*

In this Gurometer edition, Matt and Chris feed Iain McGilchrist into the sacred instrument to see where exactly refined country-parish-minister vibes land when combined with galaxy-brained hemispheres, civilisational decline narratives, decorative scholarship, and the other features of guruosity.

Iain McGilchrist Gurometer

00:27 Introduction

01:00 Iain McGilchrist Reactions

04:40 Galaxy Brain-ness

06:39 Cultishness

08:28 Anti-Establishmentarianism

11:39 Grievance Mongering

14:30 Self-Aggrandizement and Narcissism

17:21 Cassandra Complex

19:54 Revolutionary Theories

20:48 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit

24:10 Conspiracy Mongering

25:08 Excessive Profiteering

26:10 Moral Grandstanding

27:15 Overall Score

28:47 Bonus Round

33:04 Guru Binary Scores

37:18 Outro

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About the Podcast

Decoding the Gurus
A psychologist and an anthropologist try to make sense of the world's greatest self-declared Gurus.
An exiled Northern Irish anthropologist and a hitchhiking Australian psychologist take a close look at the contemporary crop of 'secular gurus', iconoclasts, and other exiles from the mainstream, offering their own brands of unique takes and special insights.

Leveraging two of the most diverse accents in modern podcasting, Chris and Matt dig deep into the claims, peek behind the psychological curtains, and try to figure out once and for all... What's it all About?

Join us, as we try to puzzle our way through and talk some smart-sounding smack about the intellectual giants of our age, from Jordan Peterson to Robin DiAngelo. Are they revolutionary thinkers or just grifters with delusions of grandeur?

Join us and let's find out!
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About your hosts

Christopher Kavanagh

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A Northern Irish cognitive anthropologist who occasionally moonlights as a social psychologist. Chris has long standing interests in the psychology of conspiracy theorists and pseudoscience. His academic research focuses on the Cognitive Science of Religion and ritual psychology. He lives happily in Japan with his family.

Matthew Browne

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An Australian psychologist and numbers-guy. He does research on all kinds of stuff, but particularly enjoys looking into why people believe the things they do: religion, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine and stuff. He's into social media in the same way people slow down for car accidents.