One of the biggest problems with talking about something as vast and impactful as the pandemic is to find the right level of analysis. In this epic piece, we look at the deeper religious and theological forces playing out below the surface of our day to day conflicts over topics like vaccines, authoritarianism and safety.
We pull apart the hidden religiosity of "both sides" of the pandemic, that seems to be accelerating, even as the rapid spread of the Omicron variant brings us towards the pandemic endgame.
It features interviews with the cognitive scientist John Vervaeke, Unherd writer Mary Harrington, the author Paul Kingsnorth, emergency doctor Rocky Jedick and many more.
We have recently launched the Rebel Wisdom Substack for all our written content, and to host exclusive videos for members (just $5). The full length conversations with John, Mary & Rocky are available there for subscribers: https://substack.com/rebelwisdom
We are running our groundbreaking Sensemaking 101 course again in February, check the website for more details: https://rebelwisdom.co.uk/courses/sensemaking-101-page
Pieces referenced in the film include:
Joe Rogan with Peter McCullough: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aZte37vtFTkYT7b0b04Qz?si=1f7ce5a6705b463e
Joe Rogan with Robert Malone: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SCsueX2bZdbEzRtKOCEyT?si=5a8207578958440e
Breaking the Polarity Spell of the Covidiots and Covidians, Peter Limberg: https://thestoa.substack.com/p/breaking-the-polarity-spell-of-the
Vaccine purity has infected the West, Mary Harrington: https://unherd.com/2022/01/vaccine-purity-has-infected-the-west/
This Vaccine Moment, Paul Kingsnorth: https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/p/the-vaccine-moment-part-one
Paul Kingsnorth: Why I changed sides in the vaccine wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_uAwsVn10Y
Covid & the Sensemaking Crisis, BJ Campbell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IjW16FCpkA
Covid could still save Boris, Freddie Sayers: https://unherd.com/2022/01/covid-could-still-save-boris/
The Age of Breach, Alexander Beiner: https://medium.com/rebel-wisdom/the-age-of-breach-gamestop-wokeism-and-the-capitol-8e3ac46efaf9
Tortoise, Pfizer's War: https://www.tortoisemedia.com/audio/pfizers-war/
Robert Malone goes full anti-science on Joe Rogan's podcast, Debunk the Funk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjszVOfG_wo&t=1s
Robert Malone & Peter McCullough: A litany of untruths, Decoding the Gurus: https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/robert-malone-peter-mccullough-a-litany-of-untruths
No, Ivermectin Did Not Help Japan Bring Down Covid-19 Coronavirus Delta Surge, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/11/27/no-ivermectin-did-not-help-japan-bring-down-covid-19-coronavirus-delta-surge/?sh=717ea5842938
Ivermectin Didn’t Save Uttar Pradesh From Covid-19, Gideon M-K: https://gidmk.medium.com/ivermectin-didnt-save-uttar-pradesh-from-covid-19-17684f49d8b3
Walking the Talk on Free Speech? With Triggernometry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdGUp0y-bzc&t=1472s
Episode Overview:
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:50 The return of religion and the 'post secular'
00:04:55 The Covid Thesis vs Covid Antithesis
00:05:43 The Religiosity of the Thesis Narrative
00:08:39 The Religiosity of the Antithesis Narrative
00:14:25 Covid Synthesis?
00:16:47 What makes us intelligent leads to self-deception
00:20:24 We're all biased
00:24:48 Mary Harrington, vaccine purity codes & theology
00:33:44 The scapegoat dynamic
00:37:45 Religion, Egregores & 'Mass Formation'
00:44:53 John Vervaeke, suspicion is eating itself
00:48:45 Dialogos & the 'hermeneutics of beauty'
00:56:50 'Pfizer are shitbags'
00:58:53 Responsible heterodoxy vs conspiracy thinking
01:01:25 Making sense of Robert Malone's claims
01:10:44 An ER doctor evaluates Robert Malone, Rocky Jedick MD
01:20:00 Understanding the red flags
01:27:14 Our broken information landscape
01:32:07 Understanding motivation vs ad hominem
01:35:42 Epistemic humility & holding perspectives
01:43:44 The 'uncanny valley' of truth seeking
01:51:00 The incentive landscape for the antithesis, Paul Kingsnorth
01:57:49 The ethics of alternative media
02:06:23 Truth as a sacred value
