Lyndsey Burr, longtime reality television producer who worked on America’s Next Top Model for years, joins the girls to talk about her experiences working on the now-controversial hit show. She talks about what the team looked for when casting, some of the more problematic challenges the show used, and the time she lost the models in Thailand.

They discuss how it was the wild west of reality TV, with every show in the early days trying to outdo each other and often not considering the consequences for the folks on the show, and Tyra’s own arc and whether she was perpetuating the harmful cycle she’d been trying to stop. Plus, why Lyndsey thinks unscripted television has–hopefully–been getting more ethical.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In part two with Matthew Remski (author and host of the Conspirituality podcast), Matthew shares how he cult hopped from his first guru to his second, the moment that disillusioned him, and the cultural patterns he's seeing—including a resurgence of the Satanic panic—that most alarm him as he follows conspiracies and spirituality on his podcast.

He’ll talk about how the importance of addressing the root economic causes of why so many people are looking to snake oil salesmen for answers, pointers from his upcoming book (Antifascist Dad) for how to navigate this fraught information landscape, and why it’s important to create healthy organizing spaces–since all sides of the political spectrum are susceptible to cultish behavior.

SOURCES

Conspirituality

Antifascist Dad

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s guest is Matthew Remski, author and host of the Conspirituality podcast. In part one, he talks about his own personal experiences with gurus and cultic dynamics, and what led him to the topic of cults and conspiracies. He tells the girls about his own religious upbringing, the mysterious seizures that led to his fascination with spirituality, and what drew him to his first charismatic guru, Michael Roach.

He explains what an average day was like following Roach for three high-demand years, traveling with him and attending his “classes,” what the physical manifestations of his spiritual experiences were like in both that group and the next one he joined, and what led to his disillusionment (with the first one).
Plus, next week: He’ll tell us why he cult-hopped, patterns he sees emerging in the world of cults and conspiracies, how we can keep political spaces healthy, and what Marx has to do with any of it.

SOURCES

Conspirituality Podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.