Episode 123

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Published on:

29th Mar 2025

Mini Decoding: Back in the K-Hole

In this very special episode, Matt and Chris, despite swearing off any further Dr. K content after their previous three-part series, find themselves bleary-eyed and once again tumbling into the familiar depths of the K-Hole.

Yes, they’re back with Dr. K, everyone’s favourite enlightened Twitch non-therapy therapist, now emerging from a self-declared midlife crisis with some powerful new revelations. Chief among them: while enlightenment may not technically be for sale, you can certainly pay to “level up your propensity for it.”

After years of humble-bragging about undercharging for his mental health guides, Dr. K has boldly pivoted to defending high-priced spiritual initiations. If you thought enlightenment involved effort, introspection, and maybe a bit of humility, think again—it turns out you can outsource your spiritual growth to a guru, who will do the grinding for you. Great news for Elon Musk.

Join Matt and Chris as they machete their way through a jungle of surreal analogies—landscaping contracts, parental down payments, Bluetooth enlightenment, and monetised spiritual energy transfer—all in service of a worldview where the real obstacle to self-actualisation is your reluctance to wire $10,000 to a spiritually enriched craftsman for a golden amulet.

So fill up your chakras, empty your critical thinking cup, and enjoy this trip through the mystic marketplace—where your spiritual awakening is just one overpriced relic away.

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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.