Share

cover art for Are we living in a SIMULATION?

Leaving Eden Podcast

Are we living in a SIMULATION?

Season 2, Ep. 7
•

Today, Gavi FINALLY gets to talk about his favorite topic, Jean Beaudrillard's "Simulacra and Simulation," which explains Hyperreality. "The Matrix" film is allegorical to the postmodern condition of Hyperreality. We discuss examples of simulacra, Hyperreality, and the history of how we (in the western canon) came to view the world this way. We discuss simulated reality as it relates to christian fundamentalism and the US.

If you have any thoughts, opinions, or questions about this topic (or corrections) please let us know either by comment or by emailing us at LeavingEdenPod@gmail.com! We would love to do a listener responses episdoe!


02:00 - Intro

02:20 - Black Mirror San Junipero

03:15 - The Matrix

03:30 - Elon Musk

03:48 - Mark Zuckerberg and the Metaverse

04:10 - Please subscribe to our Patreon!

04:40 - Media Theory and Philosophy

05:17 - I'm sorry for mixing up SimulaCRA and SimulaCRUM

05:47 - Jean Baudrillard's "Hyperreality"

06:04 - Simulacra and Simulation

07:10 - First Order Simulacrum

07:40 - Second Order Simulacrum

07:55 - Third Order Simulacrum, Hyperreality

08:29 - Fourth Order Simulacrum, or Pure Simulation

08:50 - Alexander Hamilton to Scamilton is Hyperreality

11:07 - Christian Nationalism and Hyperreality

12:54 - Hyperreality and Pure Simulation are curated reality

13:30 - Did Sadie grow up in a simulation?

13:50 - Kim Kardashian's butt broke the internet

14:54 - The 6 7 meme is proof that we are living in a simulation

15:30 - Doot Doot 6 7 by Skrilla

15:50 - Lamello Ball

16:00 - The 6 7 kid is Hyperreality and the meme is pure simulation

17:19 - Brainrot is hyperreality

18:50 - Thank you to our patrons!

20:17 - The Civil War and the birth of Modernism

21:50 - Modernist themes, truth comes from struggle and effort

22:17 - Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

22:30 - John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

22:50 - Gone With the Wind

24:00 - Little Women

24:34 - The Civil War, Transcendentalism, Naturalism

25:05 - The birth of postmodernism

25:15 - Dada art movement (dadaism)

25:26 - Anything can be a source of truth

25:30 - The gifts of postmodernism, Civil rights, LGBT rights, Women's Lib movement

25:55 - World War 2 and the nuclear age

27:10 - Love is Blind, Kobe Bryant, Fresh off the Boat, Scottish Independence referendum

28:45 - Absurdism, Memes, and Breadtube Spongebob

29:04 - The drawbacks of postmodernism

30:00 - Hyperreality, 9/11

31:22 - Loss of sense of self

32:04 - Michael Jackson, Prince, Robin Williams, George Carlin, Jesus, AI Deepfakes

32:35 - Leonard Cohen

32:50 - Bag Culture, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, Commercials

34:35 - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

36:28 - Please email us!

37:01 - Our current state of Hyperreality

37:31 - Doctors vs. Anti-Vaxxers and influencers

37:41 - Teachers vs. Homeschoolers

38:07 - Doomerism

38:17 - It's going to be OK?

38:38 - The early church

38:50 - Jesus was a guy (probably?)

39:11 - The Disciples (first order Simulacrum)

39:22 - The Council of Nicaea (Second order Simulacrum)

39:40 - Church Tradition (Third Order Simulacra, or Hyperreality)

40:10 - Culture War/Kid Rock Turning Point USA halftime show

40:45 - Growing up in a cult vs. growing up in a simulation

41:04 - Destruction of the 2nd Temple happened, Revelation is a first order simulacrum

41:35 - Millerism, Adventism, Premillennial Pretribulationism are second order simulacra

41:45 - Protocols of the elders of Zion, A Thief in the Night, and Left Behind are all third order simulacra or Hyperreality

42:12 - The Holocaust, McCarthyism and the Red Scare, Satanic Panic, Q Anon, January 6, 2025 Rapture Hoax, are mass delusion brought on by pure simulation

44:20 - Hyperreality peaked in 2020

44:45 - The end of COVID-19 and the rise of AI

45:04 - What is coming next?

45:45 - AI CEOs are grifters

46:32 - Minor League Baseball

47:10 - 2020, Social Unrest, George Floyd protests, Anti-Mask/Vaxx

48:14 - Transcendentalism, Naturalism, humanity's relationship with nature, Oliver Wendel Holmes, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman

50:29 - The next movement

Subscribe to Leaving Eden Podcast on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4q94gAnsoW2jME4SvVrrQ


Join our Patreon for extended, uncensored, and ad-free versions of most of our episodes, as well as other patron perks and bonus content!

https://www.patreon.com/LeavingEdenPodcast


Join our Facebook group to join in the discussion with other fans!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/edenexodus


Join our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodus

Bluesky:

@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social

@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social

@gavihacohen.bsky.social

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/

https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/

https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 6. Do we live in a Post-Truth society?

    37:42||Season 2, Ep. 6
    In this episode, Sadie takes us through two different theories of truth, and what it means for a statement to be true or not true. In using these two theories of truth, we discuss how anti-trans crusaders like Matt Walsh or Christian fundamentalist biblical literalists use bait-and-switch tactics to distort what their followers perceive as the truth. These bad faith arguments can be avoided by avoiding circular logic traps.00:00 - Intro00:47 - Patreon.Com/LeavingEdenPodcast is where the bonus content is!01:30 - Is a hot dog a sandwich?01:50 - We support trans people02:05 - What is a post-truth society?02:20 - Authoritarian populists like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin03:00 - Postmodernism03:44 - The Philosophical Definition04:39 - What is a woman?05:00 - Caitlyn Jenner05:30 - The correspondence theory of truth06:45 - The coherence theory of truth08:30 - Thank you to our wonderful patrons!10:00 - Truth conforms to the entire ecosystem of other things that are true10:10 - What is a sandwich?10:54 - Matt Walsh argues in bad faith12:45 - Bioessentialist transphobia does not hold up to scrutiny13:22 - The King James Bible15:15 - Hateful comments on social media16:10 - The Bible is true because the bible says that the bible is true16:20 - Cult control tactics and brainwashing19:30 - Atheism vs. Religion debate20:00 - Is personal experience evidence?20:55 - Realism and Anti-Realism22:22 - anti-realism23:58 - Big questions24:38 - Color theory25:18 - Berlin and Kay's theory of Basic Color Terms26:58 - WHAT COLOR IS SADIE'S HAIR?28:27 - Sadie is the proof30:03 - John Calvin profile pic30:53 - Sadie once had a man31:08 - Capitalism is the root of all christian misogyny (not actually)33:38 - What is proof?36:04 - Are we living in a simulation?

  • 5. The Insane Reason Why Fundies ONLY Use The King James Bible

    57:46||Season 2, Ep. 5
    In this episode, Sadie takes us through the bizarre reasoning behind Fundamentalism's stipulation that the King James version is NOT ONLY the "best" version of the bible in English, but that it is actually not a translation, but God's own words, just as valid as the original texts in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. We also discuss how this belief leads to other fundie beliefs like quiverfull, and women wearing only skirts and no pants.Support the show by going to Patreon.Com/LeavingEdenPodcast!Join our discord server!https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit!Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialTikTok:@LeavingEdenPodcast@SadieCarpenter1Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • The Purity Culture Fundie Dating Manual MORE EXTREME Than I Kissed Dating Goodbye

    53:40||Season 2
    In this episode, we review "Dating With a Purpose," which is an IFB purity culture dating manual targeted at teens and young adults in the IFB and at Hyles-Anderson college. It was written by Jack Schaap, who later went to prison for sexually abusing a child who was a student at the high school where he was chaplain.We also discuss Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family's appearance in the Epstein files, and why abusers love purity culture so much.Support the show by going to Patreon.Com/LeavingEdenPodcast!Join our discord server!https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit!Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialTikTok:@LeavingEdenPodcast@SadieCarpenter1Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • 4. Winning McDonald's to Jesus

    01:01:12||Season 2, Ep. 4
    Sadie Carpenter tells us all about Soul Winning, the IFB practice of knocking on doors in order to witness to people and to get them to join your church. She tells us stories of trapping kids in the McDonald's PlayPlace, getting guns pulled on her, and we read through a soulwinning textbook that teaches how to witness to a Jewish person! We hope you enjoy!Support the show by going to Patreon.Com/LeavingEdenPodcast! Join our discord server! https://discord.gg/aneFkUJu Join our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodus Bluesky: @leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social @hellyeahsadie.bsky.social @gavihacohen.bsky.social TikTok: @LeavingEdenPodcast @SadieCarpenter1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/ https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • 3. Fundies YEARN for the year 100 AD

    44:24||Season 2, Ep. 3
    In this episode, we discuss what the early church actually was, and how Christianity was formed as much by Paul as it was by Jesus.Citations for claims about the authorship of the bible:Tabor, J. D. (2013). Paul and Jesus: how the Apostle transformed Christianity. Simon & Schuster.Tabor, J. (2025, June 10). The quest for the historical paul. Biblical Archaeology Society. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/the-quest-for-the-historical-paul/Join our discord server! https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • 2. What Is Fundamentalism?

    58:18||Season 2, Ep. 2
    In this episode we discuss the history of (small f) fundamentalism and how it became (capital F) Fundamentalism that we see today.Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/@leaving_edenJoin our discord server! https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • 1. How Do Cults Work?

    54:18||Season 2, Ep. 1
    In this reintroduction episode, we discuss how cults work with examples from Sadie's life.Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/@leaving_edenJoin our discord server! https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/

  • The Mary Cosby Jim Jones Connection (Mary Cosby Part 3)

    01:24:40|
    In Part 3 of our series on Mary Cosby, we discuss the theological reasons why people believe that she is god. We discuss the direct link between Mary Cosby and Jim Jones. We also discuss the sketchiness surrounding the businesses owned by her and her church, the church's organization, and how its hard turn into a coercive cult was inevitable.Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/@leaving_edenJoin our discord server! https://discord.gg/aneFkUJuJoin our subreddit! Reddit.com/r/EdenExodusBluesky:@leavingedenpodcast.bsky.social@hellyeahsadie.bsky.social@gavihacohen.bsky.socialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenpodcast/https://www.instagram.com/sadiecarpentermusic/https://www.instagram.com/gavrielhacohen/