This episode is now available for free on Apple, Spotify, and here on Substack— but please note that it comes with a warning: make sure you read our little disclaimer (below, at bottom, in bold italics) before listening to this episode. If you don't think it's for you or that it might upset you, don't listen to it.
This episode was recorded in good faith with someone that I’ve actually spent time with in real life. Besides, I refuse to edit peoples’ words on principle— even if I find them offensive or inflammatory to my point of view or potentially to the point of view of the listener.
And, if this approach to communication (or life more broadly) sounds crazy, let me tell you: it’s awesome. Getting offended is exhausting, and I personally like to hear opposing views so that I can expand my own worldview— if only to then go Google stuff to win the argument the next day!
Besides: we already have all of the vanilla, “safe”, focus-grouped spiritual podcasts we can possibly manage, don’t we? Might as well bring some genuine characters out of the periphery to explore new and novel points of view and, if we’re lucky, take some new insights with us along the way!
Well, well, well...look what we have here! A sweet treat wrapped up in a bonus episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast featuring none other than the final boss of neurodivergence himself: Scott Horton!
Scott is the Director of the Libertarian Institute, Editorial Director of Antiwar.com, and the host of the Scott Horton Show. He’s the author of the 2024 book Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War With Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine;the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism; the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan; and was the editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
And I know what you're thinking: "Rachel...I thought you said you didn't want to make your work at TOTEM or on The Skeptical Shaman podcast political? So, like, what is this bullshi*t?"
The answer is that it's not political, at least not for host Rachel White (Owner of TOTEM Readings). Rather, we wanted to engage Scott, who has recently been featured on Pierce Morgan, Breaking Points and the Tucker Carlson Show, to help us break out of our collective propaganda spell by sharing the tips, tricks and tools (as well as tidbits of researched, footnoted facts) he's picked up from doing more than 6,000 interviews and debates, all while not having a f*cking team.
Yep, that's right. Scott Horton is the "Libertarian's Libertarian", rejecting the binary "uniparty" of United States' politics to, instead, be critical-- and skeptical-- of both. This, in turn, has given Scott a unique-- and very shamanic-- perspective, removing the burden of thought-terminating cliches and thought reform regimes to free him to think and speak for himself.
The results might be a bit abrasive, or even trigger you depending on where you fall in the political spectrum. But, having spent time with and corresponded with Scott over the last two years, Rachel can assert one thing for certain: Scott is kind, human, open-minded, funny, and a very good hang. And here's the best part: he's not trying to persuade you over to his side, because he doesn't have a side.
In this episode, we chat about Scott's anti-war advocacy over the years, how Austin, TX has changed since Dazed and Confused, and how he's trying to contribute to the collective dialogue by just being honest (and insanely researched) about what he really, actually thinks.
Now, you don't have to be a Libertarian or right of center or even anti-war to take something away from this extra-long dialogue that explores the archetype of Prometheus appearing in our New Age-- and what that means for tyranny (spoiler alert: tyranny's f*cked!). You're a human with agency, and this "story" isn't over yet.
Nihilism is just another way to let the real bad guys win, so choose the opposite: stand up tall, speak your mind, and extend a hand to someone that thinks or feels differently from you. The more we converse and team up, the harder it will be to defeat us as a species!
If you want to watch Scott’s very recent interview with Tucker Carlson, you can find it here:
And no, I did not have “watching Tucker Carlson” on my Bingo card for my 40’s. But, we live in strange times— with even stranger surprises!
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
-Rachel
TOTEM Readings is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading TOTEM Readings! This post is public so feel free to share it.
