Welcome back to Cult Season, where we continue our sincere attempt to make you feel a little bit worse about the world and everything in it. This week, we turn to Stefan Molyneux, online pioneer, prolific content creator, and self-proclaimed most popular philosopher in the world. Alternatively his wikipedia entry describes him as "an Irish-born Canadian white nationalist podcaster and proponent of conspiracy theories, white supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement." Charming... One thing is for sure: Molyneux is the only man alive who can turn literally any question into a monologue that combines demonic liberals, cutting off friends and family, and female reproductive choices. A true Renaissance man for people who hate Renaissance values. In this first episode we take a brief tour through the Molyneux Expanded Universe™, which includes some infamous clips from his early days as the creator of an online 'philosophy' cult themed around anti-spanking, anarcho-capitalism, and misogyny. We also cover his pivot to MAGA apologetics and overt white nationalism and finally to late-stage Molyneux, where he now lurks in Twitter Spaces, berating callers and insisting the world is populated by demon-ridden NPCs gleefully urinating on their moral superiors. Look forward to learning about his extensive rhetorical techniques, which include thin-skinned narcissism, a penchant for violent metaphors usually featuring urine and anal torture, his constant demand that listeners cut off their families and, of course, his favourite claim: that anyone who disagrees with him is a man-whore NPC who wants to kill you. Also featuring: A Weinstein cameo (because of course) Chris recounting the proto–Decoding the Gurus origin story involving a Facebook post and some early Molyneux content And a rare chance to hear Matt physically wince at a Rocky Horror cold open If you’ve ever wanted to hear a preening narcissist berate his listener for raising entirely reasonable points... well, this is the episode for you. Scott Adams should be careful, a new contender has emerged for his crown... Part 2 coming soon, assuming we survive this one. Links Freedomain Radio 6162: The Most Frightening Fact! (Twitter/X Space) Philosophy student reviews Molyneux’s The Art of the Argument Michael Shermer’s amazing excuse for endorsing Molyneux Former guest discusses Molyneux’s descent into racist pseudoscience (2016) Guardian article (2008) on Molyneux’s online cult & “DeFooing” Daily Mail article (2015) on a family impacted by Molyneux’s community Daily Beast profile on Molyneux during his Trump pivot SPLC profile on Stefan...
