New Show: MindMatters (RIP Truth Perspective)

[Michael B-C]

The latest MindMatters show is a part of our on-going discussion of Ponerology, and there sure has been a number of things to see and notice in recent developments that connect with it almost seamlessly.

MindMatters: Pseudo-realities, Psychopathy and the Origins of Totalitarianism​

Thanks Ennio. Another outstanding show.

Just wanted to say how much we appreciate the incredible work and ground covered by MindMatters team. I don't always have the head space to keep up to speed each week (sometimes, like now, a frightening backlog develops - but I know I plan to watch each and every one despite the stack!)

I was cataloguing all the shows from 2020 and its quite astonishing the breadth and depth of material you guys covered and with such erudition and substantive insight. Talk about the great library of Alexandria, but digital!

As an aside, really valued and enjoyed:

Interview with Dr. James Carpenter: First Sight, Psi, and Consciousness​

Literally mind-awakening in implication. Looking forward now to the follow up (in a sense) on Whitehead.

As one looks at the subjects covered, a pattern and a cohesion to the purpose of MindMatters becomes clearer - and in some way all the shows feed into this growing and deepening sense of the wonder of the universe we inhabit.

Thanks in awe to the whole MM team.

 

[Debra Lynn]

Thank you for these shows! Much appreciated.

 

[Il Matto]

The latest MindMatters show is a part of our on-going discussion of Ponerology, and there sure has been a number of things to see and notice in recent developments that connect with it almost seamlessly.

And what a very insightful and thought-provoking show it was, so I'm very much in agreement with Michael B-C.

I was also very thankful for being pointed in the direction of New Discourses (even if I had to read the linked article twice!). It seems that Dr Lindsay has developed a view of Critical Social Justice as stemming from psychopathy in a really useful way (and has clearly read Political Ponerology..?).

Would Dr Lindsay be a viable candidate for a MindMatters interview in the future? Or if not, certainly a discussion of Cynical Theories would be very interesting and appreciated.

Many thanks again to the whole MindMatters team.

 

[Ennio]

Would Dr Lindsay be a viable candidate for a MindMatters interview in the future? Or if not, certainly a discussion of Cynical Theories would be very interesting and appreciated.

Just know that we are always seeking out very good guests that can help us to explain what it is we are seeing

Also know that we are deeply appreciative of everyone who's been supportive of the show, and has been helping to make the channel grow. So a Big thank you to you all for your comments and feedback

[Just a note that I've been posting many episode notices on the threads with related subject matter, but since they sometimes get lost in the shuffle, and others have been posting links to the same shows here sometimes, I think I'll just post them here.]

And on that note, and because the recently covered subject matter seems to provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of important issues to discuss, our most recent show:

MindMatters: Dystopias Are Really Utopias - For Psychopaths​

The mind-virus of psychopathic thinking is all around us. Day after day, individuals are falling prey to the paramorals and paralogic of a weaponized pathological ideology. It has its own purpose-built language, government polices, and social norms, making it difficult to escape. But it is not real. And the lies only seem to be getting bigger, and more numerous. What is the endgame? Utopia. But for whom? And why do utopias always end up as dystopias?

These answers and more this week on MindMatters, as we continue to delve into the sickest parts of the collective mind and conduct a forensic exploration of what is unfolding. If one is to help heal the mental illness that we see all around us, we'd better understand what exactly we're seeing - as objectively as possible. In order to discard the doublespeak of pseudo-reality being aggressively foisted upon us, the first person it is necessary to assist is oneself.

 

[Ennio]

And on that note, and because the recently covered subject matter seems to provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of important issues to discuss, our most recent show:

The above continues to hold true on the subject of psychopathy and mass pathology, and so we had a chance to drill down further on this topic for our latest show:

MindMatters: Wokeism: From Ideology to Mask of Sanity

Wokeness may appear crazy to its critics, but underneath the surface is something even more sinister than most are willing to admit. As an ideology with wide appeal, critical social justice theory has served its purpose as the lockpick to western civilization, as James Lindsay has put it. It has opened the gates to the highest political power, and every aspect of western culture. But what has entered through the gates?

Today on MindMatters we look at Wokeness through the lens of ponerology (with current examples, e.g., the recent GameStop controversy). For psychopaths, ideologies serve as the perfect trojan horse for taking power, and wielding it. Wokeness - with its cynical views of human nature and explicit authoritarianism - is just another variation on the theme of the twentieth century, which saw the rise of communism and fascism. Once the ideologues have taken power, the ideology ceases to bear any resemblance to its original form. Rather, it becomes a mask for pure pathology. And by that time, it's usually too late to stop it.

 

[Anthony]

That was a great show guys, especially when you broke down how psychopaths use ideologies and how ideologies then further morph and degenerate.

You've mentioned Finian Cunningham as an example of an otherwise intelligent person buying into lies. This seems to be getting more common, as we've seen since the start of the Plandemic. It's sad to see, but it's there nonetheless. Another example is Nassim Taleb, who buys into the COVID pseudo-reality, and is helping to prop it up. It's ironic that he coined the term Intellectual Yet Idiot (IYI) in one of his books, since he himself fits the description.

From Lindsay's essay:

The role paralogic plays in being parallel to logic but for a false reality is crucial to understand. It reliably leads (very) smart, thoughtful people who utterly reject the pseudo-reality — and yet who remain mostly ignorant of its paralogical structure — to carry water for the ideologues inhabiting it by normalizing it while portraying accurate critics as kooks and bad actors. In fact, these (very smart) people are generating the smokescreen to the broader normal public that makes the pseudo-reality look far more reasonable and tethered to reality than it actually is. This intellectual manipulation of (very smart) people is a crucial factor in the establishment of any successful large-scale pseudo-reality, which will only be able to maintain a relatively small proportion of true believers. Of note, nobody is better at this than an educated or credentialed liberal who stands to lose a lot by being branded a kook or bad actor by other useful idiots.

 

[Ennio]

MindMatters' most recent show is a discussion of some of the best books that help describe and explain the psychological underpinnings behind the downward spiral we're witnessing in so many different spheres of influence:

MindMatters: 7 Books to Understand What's Really Going On​

Today on MindMatters we share seven books to understand what's really going on in the world today: in the universities, on the streets, in government; the ideologies running the show, the psychopathy behind them, and the rise of soft totalitarianism.

• The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
• Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy
• Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents
• Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody
• Snakes in Suits, Revised Edition: Understanding and Surviving the Psychopaths in Your Office
• Darkness at Noon: A Novel
• Ukraine over the Edge: Russia, the West and the New Cold War

Time to hit the books!

 

[genero81]

Seven books in seven days. No problem

Nice show guys

 

[Ennio]

In our most recent MindMatters we use a film to deconstruct what we really know about the 'Holodomor famine', and the discussion goes into several different areas of relevant interest...

MindMatters: Mr. Jones and the 'Holodomor' Red Pill - What Happened During Stalin's Famine?​

Based on true events, Agnieszka Holland's 2019 film Mr. Jones tells the story of an English government functionary who, hot off the heels of interviewing Hitler in the early 1930's, tasked himself with going to Soviet Russia to interview Stalin. The story's protagonist, Gareth Jones, seeks to inform Stalin of Hitler's plans for European domination and plant the seeds of an alliance between England and the Soviet Union that could offset the Nazi party's plans. In the process, Jones learns that the Communist nation's rapid development is due in large part to the amount of grain it is extracting from the Ukraine. The scandal drives Jones on an odyssey and discovery of truth and horror as he learns of what later became known as the 'Holodomor famine'.

In this week's MindMatters show, we delve into the surrounding context and facts about Holodomor - and how despite his own shady background, Mr. Jones got the story right, unlike his shameless colleague at the New York Times, Walter Duranty. But like much of how history is presented in art, and elsewhere, the omission of crucial information also threatens to turn a story on its head and make it perfect fodder for contemporary propaganda - even decades after the fact. With that in mind we also discuss the implications of mass collectivization, the realities of a Communist political system, and how the film speaks, perhaps unwittingly, to many detrimental developments that we are now witnessing on the world stage. Historical events are often quite complicated, but with a nuanced examination of how history is told, and the real lessons that may be derived from it, we may better see where we are, and where we're going.

 

[Voyageur]

In our most recent MindMatters we use a film to deconstruct what we really know about the 'Holodomor famine', and the discussion goes into several different areas of relevant interest...

Have not seen the film (Mr. Jones), although the show, with many reference books, brought many things up for discussion, and it was there to see where some views came off the rails. It was a hard time regardless, and it brought something up that I went looking for again.

In this thread (2012), the name Robert Conquest (Russian Historian of British background) was brought up concerning his book 'The Great Terror: A Reassessment by Robert Conquest' - it was one to read that was never read. However, in this thread there was a series done by the same Robert Conquest. The series was from 31-years ago, which at the time had watched each episode (there are 7 episodes). That was a long time ago, and it had shaped a few things that had to be revisited and reevaluated. .

From the first link, here was the quote that was added then:

A thorough and intelligently summarized history of the Soviet Union, from the socio-political origins for the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 to the near end of Mikhail Gorbachev's government, immediately prior to the downfall of "real communism" and the splitting of the USSR. Conducted by British historian Robert Conquest, narrative benefits from a careful research of archive footage and from recent interviews with mostly common who participated in the events. Written by Bruno de André

What is of interest (and there were many threads to pull upon), were some of the interviews with both Red and White Russians, and it takes one through the times of what the MindMatters show discussed. Moreover, some of the vintage film included was highly interesting, at least at the time.

Had also mentioned at the time that the documentary was only on VHS after 1990 - so had looked from time to time though the years for not. In 2019 it was published on YT, and so far it has a low view count. If interested, here are the episode rundowns and links:

Red Empire, first broadcast in 1990, is presented by Robert Conquest. The series is narrated by Welsh actress Sian Phillips and consists of seven episodes around 52 minutes each. It takes the viewer from the waning years of the Romanav dynasty to the accession of Gorbachev in 1985. This is a conversion from VHS. Some of the translation subtitles are obscured at times due to this, but it does not stop you enjoying this incredibly informative television documentary.

Have not detailed a great deal under each title, or none at all.

Red Empire Episode 1 Revolutionaries

Concerning the Romanovs, Rasputin (before the revolution) and during.

Red Empire Episode 2 Winners and Losers

Gets into the Whites and the Reds. Lenin/Trotsky and young Stalin entering the picture et cetera.

Red Empire Episode 3 Class Warriors

Stalin's hand and the start of the 5-Year Plans.

Red Empire Episode 4 Enemies of the People
As the title depicts, this episode delves into who where the enemies of the people and the swings back and forth. Stalin is in the middle, and so many more in his orbit. A lot going on here.
Red Empire Episode 5 Patriots

Starts with the death of Trotsky and moves to WWII. Many in satellite countries look to end Stalin. The Ukrainian fascists are featured (still to this day). Hitler strong. Ribbentrop mission. NKVD and WWII continues. Crimea purge (sent to Siberia) and Hitlers end.

Red Empire Episode 6 Survivors

Liberation of countries et cetera. Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago. Liberation from German occupation. Lithuania partisans. Cosmopolitanism the new enemy. Stalin's agra idiocy continues. Death of uncle Joe Stalin. Mining camps killings. Beria arrested. Bloodletting stops. Khrushchev leads and memory of Uncle Joe starts to be officially expunged. Food shortages looks to the East (again), such as Kazakhstan and Brezhnev put in charge. Sputnik takes off.
Red Empire Episode 7 Prisoners of the Past
Starts 1962 - protests. Failed agriculture (Khrushchev), cutting military spending - sidelining many. Khrushchev becomes isolated. Castro and the missile crisis (not much mentioned). Khrushchev's death. Writers arrested. Prague spring and satellite state KGB activities. Corruption trials "They gave out medal's for everything" - nothing else to give. Medal's for 5-year Plans. Brezhnev rises - ballooning consumer goods and crack down on the black markets. Andropov's rise and is gone a year later, replaced by Chernenko who was ill and gone fast. Gorbachev gets the nod and the series ends.

Edit: A few episode descriptions.

 

[Ennio]

In this thread (2012), the name Robert Conquest (Russian Historian of British background) was brought up concerning his book 'The Great Terror: A Reassessment by Robert Conquest' - it was one to read that was never read. However, in this thread there was a series done by the same Robert Conquest. The series was from 31-years ago, which at the time had watched each episode (there are 7 episodes). That was a long time ago, and it had shaped a few things that had to be revisited and reevaluated. .

Looks pretty interesting. And thanks for mentioning it. At the end of our most recent show we bemoan the fact that there are so few films about Communism that give a relatively true picture of it. Even though the above is a documentary, and perhaps less dramatic than a story/narrative usually is, it is bound to have some gems in it.

And speaking of the most recent show, truth be told, we were originally planning to do one about our favorite Sci-fi films - but something happened. After watching the 1984 movie adaptation of George Orwell's book 1984, we were just so blown away by how good it was that we decided to devote a whole show to it. And yes, its THAT good and quite worthy of a viewing - even if you've seen it before - but especially because you'll be seeing it now, with all that we're witnessing unfold.

Towards the end of the show video, you'll hear Harrison mentioning how well and how quickly things aligned towards such an incredibly successful production of the film (according to the director). Knowing this, and given the story's importance and power caused me to wonder a little if the movie might just have gotten a little special 'help' along the way!

MindMatters: 1984: Doubleplusgood Prolefeed You Must Watch!​

​

Want to avoid the joycamps? Afraid of being unpersoned? Then be a goodthinker and watch 1984! There's a reason the term "Orwellian" is used so often today. From the news to politics, the novels and allegories of writer George Orwell help explain how and why the Big Lies are disseminated, and with good reason. Orwell grokked the true nature of totalitarianism, and how its pathological twisting of reality perception helps it achieve and maintain power. In the year 1984, and in recognition of the the work's importance, filmmaker Michael Radford adapted the famous novel to the big screen with resounding results. True to the spirit of Orwell's text, it stands on its own as bleak glimpse at a Britain under the grip of Soviet-style pathocracy.

This week on MindMatters, we discuss Radford's insightful re-telling of the book and what makes it utterly worth the time and effort to watch. We delve into what makes 1984 even better than we remember it and required viewing for those seeking to understand the societal and political developments unfolding before our eyes. Exceptionally quotable, we also review the many gems of the script and book that distill and deconstruct the thinking and intentions of what a full-blown and truly psychopathic political system looks and sounds like. Few books and films get so close to describing reality as well as 1984 does.

 

[Ageeva]

Thanks for the latest show guys, and it's great you brought attention to Orwell's 1984, as you say, so relevant to our current situation. I have watched the film version a few times, and it's a brilliant and faithful representation of the book. A few months ago I found an audio narration of the book and listened to it on the way to work over a couple of weeks. The narration was excellent and really conveyed the horrifying nature of Smith's dystopian reality. I've always found the ending so incredibly heartbreaking, 'He loved Big Brother'

 

[Voyageur]

Looks pretty interesting. And thanks for mentioning it. At the end of our most recent show we bemoan the fact that there are so few films about Communism that give a relatively true picture of it. Even though the above is a documentary, and perhaps less dramatic than a story/narrative usually is, it is bound to have some gems in it.

Just caught the 1984 show, a good one, and all these matters from Stalin to Hitler and Mao are in Orwell's story, sharing such commonality. This includes things that Harrison brought up in the show some time ago on Mao, which can be seen in the pathocracy that existed in this documentary - people just thinking we need to do it this way - criminal minds. Like then and now, the focus on how people became mesmerized in hope and desperation plays out, just as the methods that dealt with those not adhering to the party line are there to see - brutal.

After 30 years, went through the documentary (7 episodes in 14 parts) again to see what eyes then and now would think (still thinking on it). There are a lot of nuances added, loads of propaganda (on all sides) and staged reenactments for propaganda purposes and the worker class. Most of the interviews were done with people (White and Red sides), including true believers/workers and partisans. The documentary ends just as Gorbachev rises (the darling of the west), and people know what happened between then and now when the west sunk their claws into the state years later and raided her coffers - building back since.

Concerning the "Holodomor famine" from the fist show here, more of or less, it enters the documentary in terms of general famines (multiple times in history) with some added Stalinist policy issues of planting crops which should never have been planted, and also the Kulak issues being raided by strong-arm tactics to feed the cities. At different points, both Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells show up praising the systems while saying, no one is dying - all grand and to be modelled.

Updates information on a few of the episodes based on the review.

Back to 1984, thanks for quoting as you did between the book and ponerology - what a fit, and what an emerging mirror to our current times.

 

[Ennio]

We had an opportunity to chat with a very interesting guest for the latest show - and though the length of it (almost 2hrs) is probably one of our longest - it really felt, to me, like we spent only half that amount of time talking to him; it was that good. Think something like Brandon Straka meets James Lindsay and you get Joshua...

MindMatters: Joshua Slocum: We're Living in a Cluster B World​

Joshua Slocum hosts Disaffected - the best new podcast on the market. Our society isn't just getting crazier - it's getting Cluster B crazy: borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders and their traits are off the charts. In the universities, media, social media, and the Democratic establishment - something is happening, but few can put there finger on it. Josh can and does, and he's not afraid to tell it like it is. He can see it because he has lived through it, and we can all learn from his hard-won experience and painful disillusionment at what his political party has become.

Disaffected liberals, horrified observers of the state of North American social trends and ideology, and those just wondering what is going on should tune in, and check out Josh's podcast and videos. Check him out on Twitter and subscribe to his show. You won't regret it.

Disaffected Podcast:

• On YouTube
• On Rumble
• On Apple Podcasts
• On Twitter

 

[genero81]

Holy smokes! What a great show! I have to admit I don't watch every show. Maybe I should, but I'm doing a lot of different things all the time. However, I'm so glad things synched in such a way that I was able to watch this whole nearly two hour episode. Anything that has the effect of clarifying reality is invaluable so I can't recommend this enough. It's well worth the time. Great job!