EPISODE · May 28, 2026 · 56 MIN
The Guru Era is Dead. What comes next? with Dr. Liz Bucar
from Culture Changers with Allison Hare · host Allison Hare, Liz Bucar
How did we go from prophet to profit with Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra... one by one, the curtain got lifted? And we're left asking: who do we actually trust? Religious ethicist Dr. Liz Bucar has spent 25 years studying exactly that question. Her answers will surprise you. What you'll learn in this episode: Why the guru era is collapsing and what a good teacher actually looks like versus a predatory one The hidden Orientalism behind Deepak Chopra and Jay Shetty's appeal — and the latent racism nobody's talking about How a 19th century minister literally named after the Graham cracker gave us our food guilt Why a single question from a tarot card reader reversed years of orthorexia when therapy and church couldn't touch it What happened when a straight-edge religious studies professor did ayahuasca three times a day for three days in an Oregon yurt — and what it broke open about death, grief, and living well What sangha means and why real community requires you to be inconvenienced Prefer to watch on YouTube? https://youtu.be/5kXU5Cf2heE Resources & Links: ORDER Beyond Wellness book: https://amzn.to/4wQJypx Liz's website: https://www.lizbucar.com/books Liz's Substack (Religion, Reimagined): https://lizbucar.substack.com/ Liz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizbucar/ Liz on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lizbucar Work with Allison: https://allisonhare.com/freecall NOTABLE TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Intro: Prophet to profit. The guru era is over. 02:25 — Welcome Dr. Liz Bucar 03:25 — Is the guru era over? Jay Shetty, Deepak Chopra, and what cracked 07:35 — The halo effect: how platform-built gurus get their power 09:23 — Red flags of a bad spiritual teacher 10:57 — What a good teacher actually looks like 11:47 — The Orientalism and latent racism behind the wellness guru industry 13:43 — What is wellness — and why it's too low of a bar 15:05 — Women, optimization, and the anemic version of human life we've been sold 16:22 — What if dying well is part of living well? 17:56 — What a "none" borrows from religion without belonging to it 21:21 — Religion's PR problem and who's controlling the narrative 24:01 — Safety, belonging, and the search for somewhere to land 25:24 — Disordered eating, orthorexia, and the tarot reading that reversed it 30:01 — How bad theology gave us food moralizing (the Graham cracker guy) 34:26 — Ayahuasca: the plan Liz did NOT have 36:58 — Santo Daime, the sacrament of Daime, and a legal ayahuasca church in the US 39:12 — Why the religious container was everything 41:53 — Confronting her father's death in an Oregon yurt 43:18 — Death doulas, dying well, and the epiphany that changed everything 44:01 — Sangha: what community actually means 45:23 — Hope vs. optimism — and why the difference matters right now 48:20 — Rage has good intel. Embrace the ugly parts. 49:05 — Why individualism has done us dirty 50:33 — Biohacking, hustle culture, and inviting friction back in 51:06 — Real community requires showing up, not just extracting 52:46 — Where to find Liz and preorder Beyond Wellness Allison's Offer: Schedule a free podcast clarity call: https://allisonhare.com/freecall Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!Sign up for the free weekly emailAllisonHare.comFollow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording todayReb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.Feedback and Contact:: [email protected]
What this episode covers
Are we done with the guru era? We went from prophet to profit.. Dr. Liz Bucar — religious ethicist, Northeastern professor, and author of Beyond Wellness — joins Allison to talk Jay Shetty, Deepak Chopra, disordered eating rooted in bad theology, doing ayahuasca in an Oregon yurt for research, and why dying well might be the most important wellness conversation nobody is having. EP298.
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The Guru Era is Dead. What comes next? with Dr. Liz Bucar
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