#1291 Christopher Kavanagh & Matthew Browne: Decoding the Gurus
RECORDED ON JULY 15th 2026.
Dr. Christopher Kavanagh is an Associate Professor in the College of Contemporary Psychology at Rikkyo University and a researcher in cognitive anthropology at the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology (ICEA) at the University of Oxford. His research interests include East Asian religions, ritual behavior, and the bonding effects of shared dysphoria.
Dr. Matthew Browne is Professor of Psychology at Central Queensland University. He is a research professor working primarily on psychological and health aspects of gambling. His main expertise is in research methods and statistics, and so he often acts as a consulting statistician assisting other researchers and students.
They are the hosts of the Decoding the Gurus podcast (@decodingthegurus).
In this episode, we talk about Decoding the Gurus. We discuss issues with the skeptical and the rationalist communities. We explore the “gurometer”, and what makes someone a guru. We talk about people who have personal grievances with academia. We discuss how certain gurus promote alternative healthcare, diets, and supplements. We talk about the heterodox movement and what it gets wrong. Finally, we discuss the delusions of people like Gary Stevenson and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Time Links:
Intro
How Decoding the Gurus started
Issues with the skeptical and rationalist communities
The gurometer: what makes someone a guru?
People who have grievances against academia
Promoting alternative healthcare, diets, and supplements
The heterodox movement
The delusions of Gary Stevenson and Cristiano Ronaldo
Follow Drs. Kavanagh and Browne’s work!
Decoding the Gurus podcast: https://tinyurl.com/3ksjs2j6
Dr. Kavanagh:
University page: http://bit.ly/3p5e9f7
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/2KaEmdK
X handle: @C_Kavanagh
Dr. Browne:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/mscxmvau
Google Scholar page: https://tinyurl.com/2rxar9pk
X handle: @profmattb