Episode 145

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Published on:

21st Nov 2025

Stefan Molyneux, Part 1: A fun guy, who is here to help...

Welcome back to Cult Season, where we continue our sincere attempt to make you feel a little bit worse about the world and everything in it.

This week, we turn to Stefan Molyneux, online pioneer, prolific content creator, and self-proclaimed most popular philosopher in the world. Alternatively his wikipedia entry describes him as "an Irish-born Canadian white nationalist podcaster and proponent of conspiracy theories, white supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement." Charming...

One thing is for sure: Molyneux is the only man alive who can turn literally any question into a monologue that combines demonic liberals, cutting off friends and family, and female reproductive choices. A true Renaissance man for people who hate Renaissance values.

In this first episode we take a brief tour through the Molyneux Expanded Universe™, which includes some infamous clips from his early days as the creator of an online 'philosophy' cult themed around anti-spanking, anarcho-capitalism, and misogyny. We also cover his pivot to MAGA apologetics and overt white nationalism and finally to late-stage Molyneux, where he now lurks in Twitter Spaces, berating callers and insisting the world is populated by demon-ridden NPCs gleefully urinating on their moral superiors.

Look forward to learning about his extensive rhetorical techniques, which include thin-skinned narcissism, a penchant for violent metaphors usually featuring urine and anal torture, his constant demand that listeners cut off their families and, of course, his favourite claim: that anyone who disagrees with him is a man-whore NPC who wants to kill you.

Also featuring:

  • A Weinstein cameo (because of course)
  • Chris recounting the proto–Decoding the Gurus origin story involving a Facebook post and some early Molyneux content
  • And a rare chance to hear Matt physically wince at a Rocky Horror cold open

If you’ve ever wanted to hear a preening narcissist berate his listener for raising entirely reasonable points... well, this is the episode for you.

Scott Adams should be careful, a new contender has emerged for his crown...

Part 2 coming soon, assuming we survive this one.

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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.