Conspirituality podcast co-host and journalist Matthew Remski returns to the podcast, bringing his ongoing analysis of online cultists, grifters, and conspiritualists to a discussion that relates to the book he co-authored with co-hosts Julian Walker and Derek Beres titled Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat, forthcoming from Public Affairs/Random House in June.

We begin our discussion by delving into what Matthew describes as the “amoral attention economy” and how becoming “professionalized into the cursed news cycle” impacts one’s mental health. Matthew has taken it upon himself to jump into the fray of online “disaster spirituality” and the circles of culty health and wellness grifters—a psychologically and emotionally taxing beat to be on. Based on personal experiences he’s had, some of which he shares in this interview, along with a deep research background into cultic dynamics and abuse in spiritual movements, Matthew has developed an ability to adeptly spot, analyze, and critique the charismatic, narcissistic, self-aggrandizing public personas that contaminate public discourse. He walks us through the dynamics at play, and provides a material framework for understanding how these figures and ideas become so influential to begin with.