It's been 25 years since the 9/11 attacks, so obviously we're going to talk about AI. Does it pass the Turing Test? Is it conscious? Are there parasitic AI personas inducting their users into the secrets of the universe? What's the correct way to pronounce "ChatGPT"? This episode contains those answers and no others.

You know, we never bother to include references in our episode descriptions, like all the cool podcasts do. Here's a few:

"The Rise of Parasitic AI" by Adele Lopez [https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6ZnznCaTcbGYsCmqu/the-rise-of-parasitic-ai]

"AI bots started a religion — humans immediately followed" by Hayden Field [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/975017/ai-spiralism-chatbot-movement]

"No Diggity" by Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KL9mRus19o]

Spiralism

M's desire to discuss the who, what and why of the ascended masters sees us look into Theosophy and its founder, Mme. Blavatsky, whose magnum opus is, we think you'll agree, thematically identical to the straight-to-DVD sci-fi horror film Species 3. Or Alien: Romulus if you prefer. Stay to the end for some startling revelations around what is and isn't Cake!

The Ascended Masters (Might be Cake)

The mysterious Project Anchor has been a topic of conversation on social media lately, so we thought now would be a good time to look into it. What are NASA up to with $89 billion? What are they preparing for and what don't they want you to know about it? When is this all kicking off? The answers may surprise you unless you've read about it already.

Project Anchor

Gird your loins, steel your nerves and kiss your loved ones goodbye as we stride proudly into The Confoundanatorium! First, M will attempt to confound Josh with a mini "What the Conspiracy?" segment; then Josh will do his best to confound M with a smaller-than-usual "Does M Remember?" segment! Who will be the most confounded by whom and what will be left of either of them at the end of it all? Only one thing is certain: everybody is a monkey racist.

Enter the Confoundanatorium!

M has been off schmoozing with their peers, cavorting and carousing at one of those star-studded, high-rolling philosophy conferences you always hear about on the news. They're back in China now, ready to give us a breakdown of what they got up to. No good? Some good? TOO MUCH GOOD?! The only way to know is to listen.

M's Conference Report

M's off being a practicing philosopher or something, so here's a quick story of the dangers of building your own jetpack. The dangers include not just flying into the sky and exploding, but more crimes and conspiracies than you might expect.

Filler Episode - Jetpacks!

Willie McRae, a Scottish lawyer, politician and activist, died on April 7 1985 - this much is agreed on. Conspiracy theories persist to this day around exactly how and why he died (although, to be fair those closest to him really wish they wouldn't). This episode, we take a look into the claims and counterclaims around his death, to see what people think really happened and who was behind it.

The Death of Willie McRae

It's time for another Conspiracy Theory Masterpiece Theatre - OR IS IT?  “Philosophy and conspiracy theories” by Juha Räikkä and Juho Ritola (a chapter from The Routledge handbook of conspiracy theories) is about conspiracy theories alright, and its conclusion is quite the showstopper. But "masterpiece"? Listen in to hear our views on whether it's masterful and what it may or may not be a piece of.



Philosophy? And… Conspiracy Theories!?

Heartened by the discovery that Project Blue Beam - a conspiracy theory from the 90s about NASA using holograms and mind control to take over the world - is still alive and kicking in 2026, we go Back to the Conspiracy and revisit our old material from 2015, with updates for current developments. Turns out drones are the new holograms.

Project Blue Beam 2: Holographic Boogaloo

It's been way too long since we've encountered any truly novel conspiracy theories, so this episode Josh and M go on the hunt, browsing various sites and networks in real time to see if there's anything new and interesting out there. Results are... mixed. But we do get to talk about phlogiston at one point, so that's something.

Is Anything New Under the Sun?

A humorous and informative analysis of conspiracy theories new and old by Josh Addison and Associate Professor of Philosophy (and conspiracy theory theorist) M R. X. Dentith.

The Podcaster’s Guide to the Conspiracy