Conspirituality

Bonus Sample: Michael Parenti Went to a Yoga Ashram

March 9, 2026

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  • The episode introduces a story told by the late Marxist historian Michael Parenti about his experience at a Sivananda-like yoga ashram, where he observed the hypocrisy of a wealthy Swami preaching spiritualism while exhibiting materialistic greed and authoritarian control. 
  • The host, Matthew Remsky, frames this story as a riff on Parenti's 1987 lecture, "The Political Uses of Religion," contrasting Parenti's immediate skepticism with Remsky's own later immersion in similar spiritual spaces. 
  • The transcript provides biographical context for Michael Parenti, highlighting his background as a Marxist political scientist, his academic career, and a notable incident where he was arrested and vilified by the press for confronting police during an anti-war protest in 1970. 

Segments

Podcast Introduction and Context
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(00:00:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Conspirituality investigates conspiracy theories, spiritual influence, cults, pseudoscience, and authoritarian extremism.
  • Summary: Host Matthew Remsky introduces the podcast ‘Conspirituality,’ which focuses on examining the intersections of conspiracy theories and spiritual influence to uncover issues like cults and extremism. Listeners are directed to follow the hosts and the show on various social media platforms, including Blue Sky, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and TikTok under the handle AntifascistDad. The episode is announced as a short bonus sample titled ‘Michael Parenti Went to a Yoga Ashram.’
Parenti’s Ashram Anecdote
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(00:00:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Parenti observed a Swami preaching spiritual detachment while exhibiting extreme attachment to his material wealth, including a yacht and seaplane.
  • Summary: The segment plays a clip of Michael Parenti recounting his experience at a Caribbean yoga ashram where the head Swami preached that spiritual things are everything and material things are nothing. When the Swami’s yacht began floating away, he screamed hysterically for its retrieval, revealing intense hate and ego despite his spiritual sermons. Parenti concluded the Swami was the ‘perfect theocrat,’ using power, enforcing conformity, and accumulating wealth.
Michael Parenti Biography
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(00:02:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Parenti was a recently deceased American Marxist political scientist and historian who taught at universities including Vermont and Illinois.
  • Summary: Michael Parenti, who recently passed away, was an American Marxist political scientist and historian born in 1933 to an Italian-American working-class family. He earned degrees from City College and Yale before teaching at institutions like the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Vermont (UVM). Parenti’s political activism included being injured and arrested during anti-war protests at Illinois before arriving at UVM in 1970.
Parenti’s Arrest and Vilification
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(00:03:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Parenti was convicted and fined after being clubbed by a police officer in riot gear who then falsely claimed Parenti assaulted him during a protest.
  • Summary: While protesting at the University of Illinois, Parenti was struck over the head by a police officer in riot gear, who subsequently claimed the professor had assaulted him. Parenti was convicted and fined, but the local press, including the Burlington Free Press, publicly vilified him before he even arrived at UVM that fall.
Subscription and Ad Break
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(00:04:10)
  • Key Takeaway: The full episode and four years of bonus content are accessible via Patreon or Apple Subscriptions.
  • Summary: The host directs listeners to patreon.com/slashconspirituality to continue listening, access all main feed episodes ad-free, and find four years of bonus content. Support is requested as they are independent media creators. The segment concludes with advertisements for the Mazda CX-5 SUV and Verbo’s early booking deals for vacation rentals.