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Published on:

7th Jun 2025

Trump vs. Elon: The Gurusphere Reacts

There’s been a disturbance in the Gurusphere. Two of its central objects of worship are feuding. The guru’s guru, Elon Musk, and the MAGA God-King, Donald Trump, have finally turned on each other, trading blows on social media. In this mini supplementary episode, Matt and Chris survey the shockwaves rippling through the Gurusphere as these titanic egos collide.

It’s more slapfight than substance, but that hasn’t stopped gurus and sycophants from picking sides or admiring the sheer brass balls on display. Look out for Lex Fridman’s outside-the-box solution, Eric Weinstein’s cryptic mutterings, and some hilarious takes from the comedic genius Francis Foster. Strap in. It’s petty, it’s absurd, and it’s all happening.

Trump vs. Elon: The Gurusphere Reacts

00:00 Elon and Trump

00:26 Introduction: Elon and Trump are feuding

07:10 A little bit of context

13:11 The Gurusphere reacts

14:32 O'Fallon & Lindsay saw this coming

16:01 Eric's Trademark - Both Sidesing Obscurantism

20:38 The Big Dog's Take

24:01 Lex suggests we need a podcast!

27:10 Maculinity Hot Takes

29:50 Sensemakers Take Flight

31:17 Taleb's reasonable take!

32:14 Konstantin Climbs the Ladder of Chaos

36:37 The strategic Gaadfather & Scott Adams

37:28 Tech Bros praying for peace

39:25 The Red Scare MAGA Loyalist

40:36 Conspiratorial Narcissists and their Public Feuds

45:48 Sycophantic praise heals everything

47:07 Outro

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (49 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

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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.