The Lotus Eaters
The Podcast of the English Revival
For several years I had a business on a university campus and witnessed the supervision of the west in real time. I have many stories and accounts to share on this matter but what is important is that most rationalists already knew of the dangers of postmodern philosophy and see it as a kind of dangerous mind virus closely related to cultural marxism.
In 2013, I witnessed a dramatic acceleration of this dangerous philosophy penetrating the student body and faculty at Ryerson University in Toronto. That university has since changed its name to the bureaucratically named Toronto Metropolitan University because Egerton Ryerson, after whom the university was named, was smeared as a racist in a targeted campaign of historical revisionism.
Nonetheless, during my time operating on campus, I observed the daily tactics of psychological brainwashing used effectively through social media and in student groups often funded by foreign extremist organizations targeting younger students. It was quite concerning to see students arrive during frosh week normal, upbeat, and positive in their first 18 months, only to transform into miserable, degenerate victims with grievances against all aspects of society to the point where it mimicked mental illness.
Here we are a decade later, and the underlying postmodern worldview has taken over many of our institutions, including government, in particular, bills C11 and C18, which aim to censor speech, independent journalism, and publicly shared opinions. However, the political right and conservative establishment are guilty of the exact same censorship through blacklists, controlling and co-opting grassroots political movements, and funding partisan platforms that merely spoon-feed conservative opinions, in the same manor as the legacy media.
During my time operating at Ryerson, I would play music or podcasts in our store with the hope of countering the effects of postmodern brainwashing. One of the podcasts I discovered and aired was a YouTube channel called "Sargon of Akkad," referencing the historical Mesopotamian figure believed to be one of the very first emperors dating back to 3500 BCE.
Sargon of Akkad | Youtube Channel
For quite some time, I didn't know the name of the figure commenting on the Sargon of Akkad Channel, who eventually revealed himself as Carl Benjamin, one of the dissidents pushing back against what was then called #GamerGate - the neo-progressive, postmodern push for "wokeism" in video games at the time. I aired Sargon of Akkad as a conversation piece to help persuade students away from victimization indoctrination, and in a strange way, it helped determine which student clients would be problematic constantly requesting refunds, and which students should be given preferential treatment. The market has spoken, and the market taught me that SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) were not good for business. "Get woke, go broke" hadn't yet been popularized, but I already experienced it.
Over the years, Carl (Twitter @sargon_of_akkad), Callum (Twitter @AkkadSecretary), and Jon (Twitter @WGthink) grew the Sargon of Akkad YouTube channel into a podcast platform in Swindon, England, with several employees, two studios and numerous tallented creators.
After seeing my friend Larry Lepard on the excellent macroeconomics show called 'Brokenomics,' where he discussed the collapse of the current financial system and the uncertainty of the US Dollar reserve status, I was connected with the host Dan Taubb, the host of Brokenomics, and asked if I could come on as a guest. I offered to fly to England to do the podcast in person, thinking they would appreciate the gesture.
In addition to appearing on Brokenomics, more on that later, I was also invited to guest co-host an episode of the Lotus Eaters with Dan and Connor, and I titled the segment "WTF is wrong with Canada." It was one of those moments when you meant to say Deputy Prime Minister, but "Attorney General" came out of your mouth. [Listen to CGP Grey’s Podcast Hello Internet | EP1 "Being Wrong on The Internet" to understand this phenomenon.]
Lotus’s Eaters #739 | WTF is Wrong with Canada?
Nonetheless, Dan and I planned to discuss the origins of the Freedom Convoy and the myriad of issues that have arisen since then on 'Brokenomics'.
I spent three days with the Lotus Eaters team, preparing for segments, essentially working out of their office, hanging out, and going to dinner and pub nights. A special thanks to the producer of Lotus Eater, Jonathan, whose purple hair long predates the SJW fashion signal, and my guess is that it's the inspiration for the logos and branding guide for Lotus Eaters, all around the same color. Jon is one of the most genuine people I have met in a long time and always dons an epic anti-woke T-shirt.
After the third and final day at the Lotus Eaters studio, I arrived back at my hotel at night and was packing up to leave Swindon for London when a video from Carl on his old Sargon Of Akkad YouTube Channel popped up on my laptop, where he discussed the Lotus Eaters vision as an honest alternative media not tied to any political party. Carl addressed the importance of philosophy and reexamining our personal philosophies, something I know I have done throughout the years, particularly when I first encountered wokeism on the Ryerson University campus. It was as though Carl, many in his audience went on a journey of philosophical discovery as did many of us in politics as we could see the storm of encroaching extremism on the horizon. No surprise, then, that Carl and his vision for an honest alternative media space is similar to that of many clamouring for change, but the ability of the Lotus Eaters to execute and not be corrupted by any political establishment is admirable.
Brokenomics | Canadian Truckers
Now, a few words about Carl Benjamin specifically because many people have privately DM'd me asking about him.
Carl Benjamin is one of the most genuine and, I believe, incorruptible people I have met in quite some time. While I'm sure we have things we disagree on, we clearly share a philosophical framework, (as do many of you who supported the Freedom Convoy and this Substack) regarding the importance of unfettered free speech and open discourse, specially with those with whom we disagree. Carl is very kind, very open, and exactly what you see on screen, although in person, there is less of an edge; a calmness that is quite surprising. He is willing to engage with absolutely anyone on any topic without malice and with extreme authenticity. I did see something in Carl I never imagined, and I share it with him.
As someone who has hired and administered many staff throughout my career, Carl Benjamin has a unique gift for spotting talent. His ability to spot the perfect talent is weapons grade and of all the business owners, managers and executives I’ve worked with over the years, his ability to spot talent is the best I’ve ever seen. No one else comes close. I asked him what his secret is, and it turns out it’s just instinct. Regardless the method he uses, the entire Lotus Eaters team, including Connor, Dan, Callum, Stelios, Beau, Tom & the others are all shockingly talented without the egomaniacal attitude or arrogance that many talented people in the public space emanate. Harry was away and we didn’t have the chance to meet but I can't say enough good things about all of them and how they all personify the virtues of proper British etiquette and class particularly Josh.
Their individual desire to lay outside the control and influence from the political establishment and in the case of Connor who left the Conservative Party because it had joined the uniparty is in my opinion one of the primary reasons they are so credible in their assessment of the legacy media and philosophical changes in the west, concerns most of us share.
During my time at the Lotus Eaters headquarters, I had some of the most intellectually stimulating conversations I have had in quite some time. From Dan, the one who invited me and the host of Brokenomics—an economist, former investor, and venture capitalist, to Connor, an unapologetic Vatican I social conservative with experience in political policy, who recently went public to steelman feminist Helen Joyce on points he vehemently disagreed with but would not allow his audience to take her comments out of context, thereby forcing intellectual honesty, something we rarely see in legacy media or politics.
Stelios is a philosophy professor and the host of The Symposium, concerned with helping to revitalize the institution of thought around classical liberalism and how such a philosophy can interact with conservatives to combat the woke mind virus. Josh, a psychological researcher and scientist turned Lotus Eaters contributor, is the libertarian on the team and has an amazing sense of humor and is as quick-witted as Dan. I wish I had more time to speak with Beau, a brilliant historian, and Callum, who has been there since the beginning, as I understand. However we were all quite busy working, and there were only so many hours in the day. To say the entire team works extremely hard is a massive understatement, and it's reflected in their vast archive of excellent content.
As I have mentioned in numerous interviews and earlier articles on this substack I produce podcasts and work with my own small team when I’m not on the road trucking, and I sympathize with the many daily small business struggles that Carl and his team push through every day. It is for that reason I ask you to please check out Lotuseaters.com and consider a monthly subscription for as little as 5 pounds a month. I promise you will find it enlightening, and we need to help amplify our allies who are not tainted with the cancer of political party partisanship. In my opinion the Lotus Eaters team will be a power voice in reviving English culture. Help them.
It was a surreal experience to be among Carl and his team 10 years after I first stumbled upon his Sargon of Akkad youtube channel, and I never would have imagined I would help contribute to their platform. However, as Scott Adams, someone I connected with Dan Tubb while I was in the UK, would say, “it’s just more evidence that we are living in a simulation.”
Thank you gentlemen and Godspeed.
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