Before I interviewed a well-known hitman in Bangalore in 2008 I told my editor at WIRED that if I didn't report back in 12 hours that he needed to call a cop that was known to shoot first and ask questions later because I was already probably dead. This story is not only about the risks that reporters take in the field, but how the changing distribution of journalism is going to fundamentally alter the types of stories that you hear.#mafia #MarhsallMcluhan #media

The largest and most successful empire in history wasn't Rome: it was the Mongols. This week I interview Jack Weatherford the New York Times bestselling author of "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" about what made the Mongolian Empire so successful. . . and what is REALLY hidden in Genghis Khan's grave. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney Investigates...

The filmmaker Vikram Gandhi wanted to expose the fake spirituality of the American wellness movement by impersonating the Hindu priests he grew up around. He invented a fake yoga, intoned Sanskrit chants that were translated from the marketing materials of Nike Sneakers, the US Army and G.I. Joe and told people to trust their intuition. What he didn't expect was that some of his followers started to believe that he really WAS god. #guru #cult #breathwork Watch Kumaré on Amazon: Support...

How do we reconcile the fact that lying is an incredibly effective strategy with our shared desire for truth? In the natural world all sort of creatures lie about how dangerous they are in order to survive. The Allied command lied in WW2 to confuse the Nazis before D-day, and most of us would say that the lying was justified. But lying also erodes the social fabric in general. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my...

What is an expert? For that matter, why don't we trust them? In this week's episiode I interview Jamie Carlin Watson, a bioethicist and professor with a whole host of academic credentials at the end of his name who also happens to be an expert on the very notion of expertise. We discuss the madness that gripped the world during the COVID-19 epidemic, the fall of credenitalism and why both of us have zoom backgrounds full of prestigious looking books to show how smart we are. Find out more...

How does the barbaric history of medicine shed light on the future of artificial intelligence? How will computers transform the way doctors think? Will patients benefit from the placebo effect if they're talking to a robot? Adam Rodman M.D. http://bedside-rounds.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamRodmanMD Bedside Rounds https://open.spotify.com/show/6GcbCZtWqmggsH70qlhaUU Books Mentioned: "Beyond Measure," James Vincent https://amzn.to/3L6KboN "Medical Thinking," Lester King...

The father of the first atom bomb quoted an ancient Hindu scripture when he saw the mushroom cloud exploding over the New Mexico desert. His immortal quote "I am Become Death, destroyer of worlds," framed the dawning of the age we live in today. I recently saw the Chirstopher Nolan's film on Robert Oppenheimer and it got me wondering about the famous passage. It's not just a badass phrase, but a deep philosophical consideration about the very meaning of Duty. In this week's episode I talk...

In 2004 I was invited to join in sexual union with a room full of beautiful people in robes at the Osho compound in Pune. When I arrived there a few days earlier I saw hundreds of people speak in tongues together as they accessed their own spiritual truths. This was my first, by hardly my last, experience from the inside of cultic thinking and practices. This month a new TV show appeared Netflix staring Peter Dinklage called "How to Become a Cult Leader." It was a great show, but I thought...

Do psychedelics actually make you a better person, or do they just make you feel like you're a better person. In this show I begin with the notion that spaceflight fundamentally transforms the consciousness of astronauts who blast off the surface of earth, the tendency for space tourists to snap selfies with the planet, and the marginal utility of getting 1% better every time you take a cup of ayahuasca. David Yaden, The Overview Effect: Awe and Transcendence in Space Flight...

Josiah Hesse memorized his bible, let the Holy Ghost into his heart, and tithed 10% of everything to his evangelical church. It was only later when he realized how wrong it all had been. Now a pioneer of the EXvangelical movement, Denver-Journalist Josiah Hesse explains how it all went down, and what it means for the rest of christian America. More about Josiah Here: Josiah Hesse's Website Runner's High Josiah's Instagram. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS...

Electric illumination changed humanity's relationship with darkness. Clark Strand, author of Waking Up to The Dark wants us to reclaim lost human states of consciousness by turning off the lights. Find out more about Clark Strand. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney Investigates Podcast Books: ⁠The Wedge⁠  ⁠What Doesn't Kill Us⁠ ⁠The Enlightenment Trap⁠ The Vortex The Red...

What is it about being famous that turns people into shadows of their former-selves? And what does that mean for the rest of us who seek micro-levels of fame on social media platforms? Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney Investigates Podcast Books: ⁠The Wedge⁠  ⁠What Doesn't Kill Us⁠ ⁠The Enlightenment Trap⁠ The Vortex The Red Market Social...

Joshua Kappel helped lead the effort to legalize psychadelic drugs in Colorado, and what happened here might be a model for what happens in the rest of the country. Are we ready for mail order MDMA? Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private discord server:  Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney Investigates Podcast Books: ⁠The Wedge⁠  ⁠What Doesn't Kill Us⁠ ⁠The Enlightenment Trap⁠ The Vortex The Red Market Social...

This week I talk with Patrick Mckeown, the best selling author of The Oxygen Advantage and The Breathing Cure about looming problems in the broader breathwork community as the global movement gains in popularity. Mckeown has studied the Buteyko method for 21 years and worries that some of the more dramatic breathing practices that have gained popularity around the world can lead to serious consequences. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive EARLY ACCESS and access to a private...

Thirteen deaths; a $67 million lawsuit; lies, cover-ups and a near-fatal enema. After being Wim Hof's most public proponent and doing his method for ten years, investigative journalist Scott Carney reveals the story he never wanted to tell about what he thinks might be the impending demise of the Wim Hof method. Get Exclusive Updates, Behind the Scenes Peeks and Advanced Content on Patreon Subscribe to my newsletter Listen to the Scott Carney Investigates Podcast on: YouTube | Apple |...

What does it mean to live in a simulation? Is it a simulated universe that lives on the silicone chips of an alien computer (or a future computer invented by humanity itself)? Is it a simulated universe that runs on the karmic seeds described in ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts? Or are we a Blotzman Brain floating through the ether long after the heat-death of the universe? I think those are all far-fetched ideas in their own ways, but one undeniable truth is that the neurology of our brains...

Probabilistic math makes the same assumption that shamans, Catholics, Mormons, Hindus and every other faith all make--that there's a fundamental force in the world that makes the world what it is. In this podcast I examine the assumption that physicists make that randomness correctly describes the most basic structure of the universe. Some people won't like this. Support this show on Patreon and get exclusive access to some amazing perks. Subscribe to my newsletter Scott Carney...

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is the most important person in the history of North America that you probably know nothing about. If you have any impression at all about the "Napoleon of the West" it's that he executed all of the defenders of the Alamo and Goliad. You might think of him as a murderer and a traitor. Mexicans think of him as one of the most corrupt dictators in their country's history. But the true story of Santa Anna is much more complex--and much more interesting--than you would...

This is the story of the convoluted path that Buddhism took form India Tibet, and Tibet into your yoga studio at home. Get exclusive EARLY ACCESS on Patreon The Enlightenment Trap Theos Bernard, The White Lama of Tibet Drukpa Kunley #buddhism #history #spirituality #tibet

Otto Muzik is best known to me for his research papers on Wim Hof's abilities that connected the iceman's abilities to the mysterious power of the placebo effect. The Wim Hof method website frequently cites the study and there is another paper in the works. But Muzik has a lot to say about the science of brown fat and the organization around him called "InnerFire" that might make you think twice about what Muzik's endorsement really means about the Wim Hof Method. The Wedge Otto Muzik's...

The language that we use to discuss the role that DNA has in creating the proteins that make up our body is incredibly deterministic and not at all what actually happens at the cellular level. When you build a house a single centralized set of instructions makes a lot of sense. But when you consider that DNA exists in every single cell--we have to reassess what it means to build an organism where the parts are calling the shots. Related reading: DNA is not a Blueprint by Sergio...

What makes a good skeptic? Is it dismissing things that don't conform to your own beliefs about how the world should work from a scientific perspective? Or is there a more nuanced approach that allows you to -- occasionally-- change your mind? This episode is about how I think we should all take a step backward and realize that much of what we think we know about the world is probably wrong, anyway. Book Reference: Carl Sagan (1996) "The Demon-Haunted World" #beliefs #science #humility

Depending who you ask, the Wim Hof method either originated out of Hof's mind after he first jumped into ice water, or it's part of an ancient tradition of breathwork and ice bathing that goes back to human pre-history. I've decided to dig into the question to compare Wim's practices to existing Yogic practices as well as listening to Wim's own accounts of where this all started for him. The truth is not quite what you might expect. References: Videos: How Wim Hof Lost his Method Wim...

You've probably heard of the Law of Diminishing Returns where acquiring new skills ultimately tapers off until further gains are harder and harder to achieve. But what if you flipped that logic on its head? The flip side of the same phenomenon is what I call "The Law of Speedy Gains" where you can opt to harvest the easy-upside of taking on new things and then move on to other skills that you might what to develop once you hit the first stages of the plateau.

Western medicine and alternative approaches are a lot more similar than you might think. In fact, every disease state that a person subjectively feels initiates a process of seeking out care, presenting symptoms, identifying signs and leading to diagnosis that is more or less identical whether or not you're going to a start of the art medical facility in Boston or visiting a shaman in a tent in the northern most reaches of Siberia. Patients, no matter where they are, want relief from their...