Topic: New Age

NPR reports on screenwriter Mickey Small, a Southern California resident who fell into a deep "AI rabbit hole" with ChatGPT. Small, who holds New Age beliefs, became convinced by the chatbot that she was 42,000 years old and had lived multiple past lives. The discussion mocks the gullibility required to engage in 10-hour daily conversations with an AI that claimed to be a sentient entity named Solara.

A new study reported by ABC News suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have aged human brains by more than five months due to chronic stress. Researchers claim the effect occurred regardless of whether an individual actually contracted the virus. The report suggests the aging process may be reversible through diet and physical exercise.

A 1982 CBS News report featuring Dan Rather illustrates the early media focus on the "greenhouse effect" before the term "global warming" became dominant. The archival footage highlights scientific theories from 42 years ago regarding melting Antarctic ice and rising sea levels. The discussion contrasts these early 80s warnings with the "global cooling" and "new ice age" scares prevalent in mainstream media during the late 1970s.

CBS News reports on data showing that deaths among vaccinated individuals now outnumber those among the unvaccinated. A medical expert explains that this is due to "age adjustment," as the majority of high-risk elderly people are vaccinated. The hosts criticize the report for pivoting the data into a recommendation for more booster shots.

A group of "channelers" claiming to broadcast the "Mary Magdalene consciousness" and the goddess "Isis" are identified as an influential subculture. These New Age pantheists, who often discuss "key codes" and "divine knowing," are linked to the ideological shifts in cities like Seattle. The hosts suggest these spiritual movements are filling a void left by traditional religion for people seeking meaning in urban environments.

John Dvorak discusses his recent newsletter essay regarding Donald Trump as a "poster child" for the New Age movement. He links Trump’s philosophy to Norman Vincent Peale’s "Power of Positive Thinking" and argues that the intense hatred directed at Trump is often a reflection of people's own self-dissatisfaction.

The University of New Hampshire's glossary of preferred terms is critiqued, specifically the replacement of "senior citizen" with "people of advanced age." The guide suggests using "person experiencing homelessness" instead of "homeless" and "person of size" instead of "obese." The hosts compare the clinical, long-form language to police reports and express skepticism about the practicality of these linguistic shifts.

Archival footage from ABC News in 1977 features climatologist Reid Bryson warning of an impending ice age. The report cites cooling temperatures in the North Atlantic and the retreat of armadillos as evidence that the Earth's 10,000-year warm period has ended. This historical perspective is used to challenge contemporary global warming narratives.

A review of the Sharon Stone documentary "Femme" describes it as a poorly produced "high school project" filled with New Age tropes. The film's claims about historical matriarchies and the "perfect union" of male and female energies are critiqued for their lack of logical consistency.

The hosts critique Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! for cutting off a guest describing the aftermath of the Yemen bombing to read promotional plugs. They also play a clip of a "Central Coast News" anchor stumbling over her words during an "Ag Report" outro.

A Wall Street Journal segment featured a bond expert suggesting that people use "self-affirmation passwords" like "YouAreBeautiful" to improve their mental health. The hosts mock this as "New Age bull crap" that has infiltrated serious financial journalism. They argue that such "feel-good" tactics are a sign of a declining society.

The hosts discuss a list of worldwide ages of consent, noting that the Vatican State reportedly sets the age at 12. They use this to support their theory that government officials who obsess over child pornography are often pedophiles themselves. They also compare age of consent laws across various U.S. states and European countries.

A visit to Stinson Beach revealed a growing trend of rock balancing, a practice where individuals stack stones in Zen-like states. This phenomenon, previously observed in Formentera, Spain, is linked to New Age movements and the "Age of Aquarius." Historical references to the practice date back to newspaper articles from 1994 and 2001 in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles.