In this episode, we look at a recently released segment by Lex Fridman, where he reflects on his interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

We examine Lex’s self-presentation as a Christ-like figure—someone who is willing to suffer, feign naivety and ignorance, and even risk his life in the name of world peace—all while maintaining an eight-hour daily study regimen and enduring relentless, unfair attacks from Ukrainian bot farms and war-loving critics.

Like true sensemakers, we also entertain an outlandish alternative hypothesis: what if Lex is, in fact, an arrogant and biased podcaster—dismissive of criticism, oblivious to his political leanings, and adopting a “wounded bird” persona to elicit sympathy from his audience?

Join us as we sift through the Zelensky's (supposed) failures, the bot farms, and the wounded bird theatrics to determine whether Lex is a hero for peace—or just another podcaster lost in his own narrative.

Sources

• Lex Fridman reflects on Volodymyr Zelenskyy interview
• Supplementary Material 21: The emergency snake, thought = secularised prayer, and Love and War
• Chris' thread on Lex and his wounded bird pose
• Lex Fridman Podcast- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine, War, Peace, Putin, Trump, NATO, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #456

It's 2025, and the Gurusphere shows no signs of slowing down—so here we are, diving into some grim crossovers. This time, the bro-optimiser Andrew Huberman has teamed up with the chaos dragon himself, Jordan Peterson. Meanwhile, the ever-affectionate Lex Fridman finally scored an interview with Zelensky. Bret, however, remains preoccupied with Goliath's ongoing PsyOps.

P.S. Matt broke his dongle so he's on the AirPods, we will be back to proper audio setup next episode.

Supplementary Material 21

00:00 Introduction and Farewell to America

01:43 Memorable Encounters and Experiences

03:48 Oldering & the Destruction of the Self

08:35 The American Understander Issues his Verdict

12:07 The Pageau Brothers, Jesus' Laugh & The Emergency Snake

19:01 Bryan Johnson has concerns about Vaccines

21:48 The High IQ Crowd and Trump's Greenland Plans

27:44 The PsyOps Cyclops Strikes Again

37:15 Huberman X Peterson: Optimising Christianity

39:22 Secret Prayers and Bible Conversations

43:34 Thougt = Secularised Prayer

48:56 Huberman's Intelligent Design Argument for God

55:49 Christian Optimising Stack

01:07:56 Marc Andreessen on Vigor, Pride and Achievement

01:13:30 Faux Heterodoxy

01:19:24 Plain Steaks are the best!

01:24:47 Jordan Peterson's Diet Struggles

01:32:25 Lex Fridman's Interview with Zelensky

01:37:52 Lex plugs Rogan's comedy club

01:41:09 Elon Musk and Trump are anti-corruption!

01:44:27 Critique of Lex Fridman's Interview Style

01:46:07 Lex's dream and Russia's security guarantees

01:53:25 Lex's Strategic Naivety

02:05:12 Lex reads A LOT

02:11:40 Lex and Putin predictions

02:12:39 Lex will endure the attacks against him

02:14:56 Wrapping Up & Patreon Love Bomb

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (2hrs 16 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Sources

• Chris' thread on Lex and his wounded bird pose
• Huberman Podcast- Dr.Jordan Peterson: How to Best Guide Your Life Decisions & Path
• Lex Fridman Podcast- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine, War, Peace, Putin, Trump, NATO, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #456
• The Free Press: Bryan Johnson: How Not to Die in 2025
• Matthieu Pageau's thread on the Emergency Snake

Back once again with the dark art of Gurometry, we turn our sights to the bad boy of Silicon Valley—the mulleted maestro, the edgy eejit, Curtis Yarvin. A legend in his own mind, but how does he rank on the Gurosity scale? Join us as we dissect his essence across 11 factors, from his revolutionarily mundane and incoherent ideas to his dazzling absence of charisma. Tune in as we feed this 'dark enlightenment' thinker into the Gurometer and reveal his true colours.

The full episode is available for Patreon subscribers (34 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Curtis Yarvin: Gurometer

00:00 Introduction to Gurometry

02:27 Curtis Yarvin: The Man, The Myth, The Eejit

04:43 Galaxy Brainlessness

05:48 Cultishness

08:32 Anti-Establishmentarianism

09:55 Grievance Mongering

12:43 Self-Aggrandizement and Narcissism

13:30 Cassandra Complex

16:21 Revolutionary Theories

17:59 Pseudo-Profound Bullshit

19:43 Conspiracy Theories Galore

23:55 Moral Grandstanding

25:50 Gurometer Scores and Analysis

27:56 Bonus Point Attribution

34:03 Final Thoughts on Curtis Yarvin