Who's your guru?

Who's Your Guru? (and is Slavoj Žižek any good?) Sam, Joe and Ali discuss gurus, including the online type: our times are thick with public intellectuals, influencers, and self-proclaimed experts Sam's frequent references to Slavoj Žižek, and Joe's conclusion that he doesn't make much sense, and isn't much chop intellectually. Sam on literal guru worship in the Hare Krishnas - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness should we just speak for ourselves, rather than filter our thoughts or present them in relation to influential figures? figures like Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray the resort to online gurus during times of uncertainty, about how to know and think (the so-called epistemological crisis) A few of Joe's past figures get a mention: Stephen Pinker, Michael Shellenberger, how problematic it can be when these gurus leave their area of expertise many people will detect that guru lane drift, but many others still trust their Guru's every word, which is perhaps the whole point of gurus the power of dialogue with other humans in understanding our own internally competing perspectives, and helping us evaluate information and perception striving for clarity amidst an overload of information. Useful sources: The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (peer reviewed) - Zizek entry https://iep.utm.edu/zizek/ Zizek Wikipedia Zizek wikiquote Some key Zizek ideas from The Conversation Creators & Guests Ali Catramados - Host Joe Loh - Host Sam Ellis - Host (00:00) - Introduction and Hosts (00:28) - Topic inro: Online Gurus (00:41) - Slavoj Žižek (02:52) - Growing up with guru worship in the Hare Krishnas (04:22) - The Dangers of Guru Worship (05:57) - The Influence of Public Intellectuals (11:31) - The Impact of Social Media on Gurus (15:33) - The Crisis of Trust in Modern Media (28:13) - Capitalism and Media Coverage (28:34) - The Search for a Reliable Source (29:01) - Disappointment in Trusted Institutions (29:53) - The Role of Institutions and Individual Sources (32:08) - The Struggle with Information Overload (32:48) - The Burden of Individual Choice (34:42) - The Quest for Understanding and Trust (36:09) - The Fear of Uncertainty and the Search for a Guru (38:15) - The Dangers of Single-Source Reliance (40:16) - The Role of Dialogue in Understanding (44:19) - The Challenge of Finding Clarity in Chaos 00:00 Introduction and Hosts 00:28 Topic inro: Online Gurus 00:41 Slavoj Žižek 02:52 Growing up with guru worship in the Hare Krishnas 04:22 The Dangers of Guru Worship 05:57 The Influence of Public Intellectuals 11:31 The Impact of Social Media on Gurus 15:33 The Crisis of Trust in Modern Media 28:13 Capitalism and Media Coverage 28:34 The Search for a Reliable Source 29:01 Disappointment in Trusted Institutions 29:53 The Role of Institutions and Individual Sources 32:08 The Struggle with Information Overload 32:48 The Burden of Individual Choice 34:42 The Quest for Understanding and Trust 36:09 The Fear of Uncertainty and the Search for a Guru 38:15 The Dangers of Single-Source Reliance 40:16 The Role of Dialogue in Understanding 44:19 The Challenge of Finding Clarity in Chaos