Tech billionaires want Christians to believe in AI For Peter Thiel and JD Vance allies, the tech right is framing AI as a moral—even divine—mission.

‘“What becomes incredibly useful for these people to do is to present their products as the answer to the meaning of life,” Epstein told me.’
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

We are once again asking you to make sure the Royal Commission hears from diverse Jewish voices!

Public hearings for the Royal Commission start on the 4th of May so it's not too late to have your voice heard. Read our guide and make a submission today: www.jewishcouncil.com.au/2026/03/ensu...

Let's Talk About Sects - Soulful Journey Special Guest: Fai West

Fai was just 10 when she was first introduced to the Soulful Journey. As a teenager she found herself sleep deprived from late-night classes and channelings of an omniscient being known as ‘G’, and learning about her own presence in a future dimension called The 99. www.ltaspod.com/54

Government Workers Say They're Getting Inundated With Religion “This has never happened before,” one government employee tells WIRED. “I have never gotten a message like this from anyone.”

“This has never happened before,” one government employee tells WIRED. “I have never gotten a message like this from anyone.” www.wired.com/story/govern...

If watching so many great minds fall for the grand claims of AI messiahs with apocalyptic visions and clear records of deceit doesn’t showcase how any one of us is susceptible to seduction by a cult, I don’t know what does.

“What's different in the case of somebody like Pete Hegseth is just how extreme his ideas are, how far outside of what we could call mainstream American Christianity he is,” Professor Taylor said.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04...

Many things are striking in this piece, but the apocalyptic framing that SA harnessed to attract (and retain) talent and investment is a key one for me. Altman “used apocalyptic rhetoric to explain how A.G.I. could destroy us all—and why, therefore, he should be the one to build it.”

It was so interesting to speak with Ruwan some 5+ years after our first interview, and to find out how his perspective has shifted over that period.

My chat with former OneTaste member Ruwan Meepagala is out on the LTAS feed now.

www.ltaspod.com/orgsm

The energy and environmental impact of AI and how it undermines democracy - Greenpeace International The AI boom is not progress if it deepens extraction, environmental harm and attacks on democracy. From Ireland to New Jersey, people are resisting a model of AI development that concentrates profit a...

Pretty persistently frustrating that enviro opposition to data centres get clumsily dismissed as "NIMBY" when, as you can see here, it's well-evidenced and packed to the brim with real-world examples of material harm.

And GP goes further than most in pointing out the end-goals of the system:

The Subprime AI Crisis Is Here Hi! If you like this piece and want to support my independent reporting and analysis, why not subscribe to my premium newsletter? It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newslet...

Free newsletter: The Subprime AI Crisis is here. I explore the disturbing parallels between the run-up to the global financial crisis and the heavily-subsidized AI bubble, and how Anthropic and OpenAI's rush to IPO accelerates the crisis further.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-subprime-ai-crisis-is-here/

How Homeschoolers Plan to Take Over the World The Global Home Education Exchange may be the most consequential right-wing organization in the world. But it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.

"Their agenda involves the elimination of public education and any government regulation of ‘parents’ rights,’ including dismantling child welfare agencies, departments of children and families, and child protective services."

NYTimes Headline: The Women Who Believe That Women Should Lose the Right to Vote Subhead: Adherents to biblical patriarchy support household voting: One household, one vote--the husband's. They say the idea is catching on.

The New York Times rolling up its sleeves to do the hard work of normalizing the idea that women should not have the right to vote.

Modern Slavery Information Session This session aims to provide information for people impacted by cults and high-control groups to understand modern slavery and support pathways

For Australian cult survivors:

Survivor Connections is running a free online info session about modern slavery frameworks in Australia, and how they could potentially be an avenue for accountability with cults.

events.humanitix.com/modern-slave...

‘If my boyfriend did what my pastor did, I believe police could investigate’. The campaign to close a serious gap in UK law | Barbara Speed England and Wales pioneered the criminalisation of coercive control, but it doesn’t apply outside of intimate or family relationships. Why stop there, asks deputy head of Guardian Opinion Barbara Spee...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Founder of 'orgasmic meditation’ company gets 9 years in prison in forced labor conspiracy The leader of a sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for federal forced labor conspiracy.

Nicole Daedone sentenced to 9 years (Rachel Cherwitz 6.5) for crimes related to OneTaste’s operations – I should have some thoughts for the pod from a former member soon. apnews.com/article/onet...

My mom, the cult leader: ‘She told us what to wear, when to pray, how we would have sex. We were prisoners’ Deborah Green was a charismatic woman who established a ‘free love ministry’ in California, claiming to be a vessel for God. She was also a controlling, cruel sadist. Her daughter Sarah talks about he...

Deborah Green was a charismatic woman who established a ‘free love ministry’ in California, claiming to be a vessel for God. She was also a controlling, cruel sadist. Her daughter Sarah talks about her upbringing and escape.
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m... by @shattenstone.bsky.social

Thirty Years of Hansonism How the politics of resentment keep finding new excuses.

30 years of Hansonism is not her triumph, its our failure www.thespencerstreetend.com.au/p/thirty-yea...

Former defence leaders say Australia is already in a fight with its biggest threats Australians are already deeply emersed in a global disinformation war about fossil fuels and climate change, former defence leaders say in an extensive new review.

“anti-trust legislation, enforceable regulation of generative AI, and steps to force companies to take responsibility for online disinformation are urgently needed.”
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

If you missed this article when I shared it earlier this week, don’t miss it now. Money shapes which fields are studied and which ignored. Epstein’s crowd funded and pushed the “race” “science” 🙄 and misogyny that has come to be pivotal to the grotesque Right we now endure.

“One percent of taxpayers now own a quarter of all rental properties.” !!!

‘A lot of the hate happened in Australia’: why the Christchurch mosque attack still awaits a full reckoning The Australian terrorist’s propaganda continues to surface in other offenders’ cases, and Muslim leaders say more needs to be done locally to confront Islamophobia

“… the continued reach of the Christchurch attack is at odds with how the man who committed the atrocity – an Australian – is confronted in his home country.

“That is, hardly at all.”

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

‘Worst thing I’ve ever seen’: CSIRO slashes climate modelling jobs Australia’s science agency is cutting more than 100 jobs in its Environment Research Unit, which critics say will crush our capacity to predict climate change.

CSIRO have now lost more jobs under the Albanese Governmet than under the Abbott Government.

We have to do better on research funding and backing our scientists.
www.smh.com.au/environment/...

Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds Australia Institute data finds state and federal subsidies for coal, gas and oil products increased 10% in past year, growing at a faster pace than funding to NDIS

Remember this next time anyone in the govt says they can’t afford to raise the rate.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hearings 62. Private hearings were held pursuant to section 62 of the NACC Act extending over 35 sitting days between 5 August and 3 October 2025. During those private hearings, each of the 6 referred persons and a further 33 witnesses were called to give evidence. See Witnesses. 63. The Deputy Commissioner considered the use of public hearings and applied the statutory test established under the NACC Act. The statutory threshold for public hearings in this investigation was not met. For more

NACC decided it wasn't in the public interest to make its corruption hearings with Morrison, Campbell, Mussolino etc public

I would conservatively estimate that 90% of Australians would disagree

Olive Leaf Network Australia & Stories that Stir® Collaboration- Brisbane - BREAKING FREE | Stories that Stir Feel inspired with six raw and personal stories on the topic of BREAKING FREE, in all its shapes and forms. Please join us for an inspiring afternoon that will make you laugh, cry, and view the world...

Northern Rivers, Sydney & Melbourne based cult survivors who are interested in sharing their story in a live storytelling format, do submit to Stories that Stir: www.storiesthatstir.com/share-your-s...

And for Brisbanites, there's an event on 29 March: www.storiesthatstir.com/event-detail...

it’s incredibly concerning that doomsday believing evangelicals have won control of the government

It was great!

Extreme rhetoric in right-wing political circles deserves more attention The rhetoric in Australia's right-wing political circles is getting more extreme and the media should be paying more attention.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...