39. The Myth of the Magical Child, with Matt Osborne

When Matt was 15 years old, he was told that he was an “Indigo Child” with a special “aura.” Today, he is an atheist who attributes his most mystical experiences to rock’n’roll. In this episode, we compare our observations of how quasi-mystical belief systems can rush to fill the religious voids left by our secular society, leading to magical thinking that idealizes children while neglecting their true psychosocial developmental needs. In what ways are today’s “trans children” similar to the “indigo children” of 30 years ago? 

This conversation covers a lot of ground. Matt assuages my ego, explaining why it wasn’t my fault that history was my worst subject in school. Later, I explain what I miss about being a quasi-Hindu hippie, as we compare my peak experiences drumming in call-and-response kirtan circles with the ecstatic joy he found in mosh pits. We also discuss the elements of ritual, transcendent unity, heuristics, adolescent development, social status, negative partisanship, historiography, subtypes of narcissism, family dynamics, parenting, our disconnection from nature, Jazz Jennings, spectral harms, the vital role of hardship in life, the long term mental health risk factors today’s trans youth are likely face as they age, and what might happen when we realize: the kids aren’t alright. Buckle up!

Matt Osborne is a US Army signals intelligence and electronic warfare veteran, political scientist, and historian. He spent ten years in "netroots" as an online progressive activist. In 2012, he went from covering wonky policy topics and "movement news" to the strangest political "scene" in America upon the death of Andrew Breitbart, becoming the first "blogger" to write about Ali Alexander of 1/6 infamy. Later in 2016, he was one of the first people to write about Cambridge Analytica, Donald Trump, and all things Russia, but with the warning that it was too easy to lose direction in a "wilderness of mirrors." He was featured in the HBO documentary "After Truth" about his role in online information spaces during the 2017 special US Senate election in Alabama. Now disenchanted with the state of liberalism, and a repeat victim of "Cassandra syndrome," he has given up politics and become a conflict historian. His website Polemology.net is focused on the intersection of human minds and military revolutions. As an editor for The Distance, he puts the "gender identity" phenomenon in historical context as an emerging American New Age religious movement.

In this episode, we mentioned Matt’s conversation with Graham Lineman. You can watch that on YouTube here. My interview with Gurwinder Bhogal also came up. Watch episode 18, Gurwinder Bhogal: Hubris, Heuristics, and Human Error, here, or listen to it wherever you get this podcast.

I mentioned Kelly McGonigal’s book, The Joy of Movement. You can find that in my bookshop or directly on Amazon. Your purchases made through my affiliate links help support the show. Thank you!

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

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