Skip to main content
Spotify for Podcasters
the baby in the bathwater

the baby in the bathwater

By Annie McCasland-Pexton

Are you disillusioned with the new age/wellness/spirituality/holistic/yoga/self-help/personal development world after its recent merging with right wing ideology and conspiracy theories? I am! But I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. What (if anything?) is worth saving? I'm a lifelong hippy/lefty but I'm also a scientist, lawyer, craniosacral therapist and animist witch. Join me as I unpack why the new age wellness crew was so susceptible to far right propaganda to begin with and explore what's worth salvaging in the world of wellness. www.consciouslycreatingchange.com
Available on
Google Podcasts Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Anke Richter - Author of "Cult Trip: Inside the world of coercion & control"

the baby in the bathwaterNov 01, 2023

00:00
01:26:09
Anke Richter - Author of "Cult Trip: Inside the world of coercion & control"
Nov 01, 202301:26:09
Episode 9b: Culty Behaviour in Spiritual Circles with Freya Vajra
Oct 31, 202301:08:07
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament with Daniel James

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament with Daniel James

Welcome to Season 2 of The Baby in The Bathwater Podcast. Exciting things are coming! Stay tuned for chats with Taylor Lorenz, Anke Richter, Mangala Holland, Darrin Drda and more. In this season opener Annie talks with award-winning writer and broadcaster Daniel James. Daniel is a Yorta Yorta man based on Wurundjeri land in Naarm/Melbourne. They discuss the upcoming Australian Constitutional Referendum which seeks to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Sadly, this issue has become a hotbed of disinformation and conspiracy theories from the far right, including influences from far beyond Australia's shores.

Daniel’s work explores notions of empathy, intergenerational trauma, hidden history and the political landscape that continues to shape the lives of Aboriginal people across Australia. You can hear him on the radio on 3RRR FM on Tuesdays at 7pm (AEST) and read his weekly column in The Monthly. Daniel has also done a series of podcast episodes about the Referendum with the 7am Podcast,


You can find Daniel's work here:

https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/the-mission

https://www.themonthly.com.au/author/daniel-james

https://7ampodcast.com.au/episodes/reporter:Daniel%20James

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/contributor/daniel-james

https://www.danieljames.com.au/

https://www.patreon.com/mrdtjames

https://www.instagram.com/mrdjames/

Follow Annie at www.melbournecraniosacral.com and on instagram www.instagram.com/consciouslycreatingchange/

and www.instagram.com/thebabyinthebathwater/

Sep 20, 202301:00:07
Episode 9a: Culty Behaviour in Spiritual Circles with Freya Vajra
Apr 04, 202201:13:16
Episode 8: Recovering from new age spirituality and cults with Andey Fellowes (part 1)
Feb 16, 202201:05:13
Episode 10: Recovering from new age spirituality and cults with Andey Fellowes (part 2)
Feb 16, 202201:09:00
Episode 7: Sex Workers: Caught in Conspiracy Theory Crossfire with Leilah Vision
Aug 30, 202101:39:56
Episode 6: Analysing Anti-lockdown protests with Tom Tanuki
Aug 14, 202101:38:44
Episode 5: Indigenous Australian Perspectives with Rachel Shields
Jun 09, 202101:08:49
Episode 4: TCM, acupuncture, witchcraft and conspirituality with Melissa Abrahams

Episode 4: TCM, acupuncture, witchcraft and conspirituality with Melissa Abrahams

Annie chats with Melissa Abrahams about life, the universe and everything, including their shared experience of transitioning from lawyers to bodyworkers. Melissa Abrahams is a medicine weaver and an intuitive healer, a Women's Mysteries teacher, and a ceremonial space-holder. With a great capacity for deep listening and bearing witness, Melissa walks between the worlds, weaving her unique witchy wisdom in the service of liberation and freedom. Melissa is a fully qualified acupuncturist, with degrees in Psychology, Law and Chinese Medicine. Melissa has been training and working in the fields of healing and transformation for more than 20 years, and runs a private healing practice in Windsor, Victoria. Melissa facilitates many sorts of ritual spaces including women’s circles, rites of passage circles, seasonal cycle ceremonies and sacred drum journeys.

The podcast referenced is the TCM segment by Derek Beres in Episode 38 of the Conspirituality Podcast, "Natural Hopes, Natural Fallacies".

The study Annie mentioned about placebo knee surgery was probably this one (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12110735/), which was actually about arthroscopy of the knee for osteoarthritis, not a knee reconstruction, but she did not exaggerate the results!

The study Melissa mentioned regarding adverse events from surgery in Australia was probably this one (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12201185/) which stated that the adverse event rate for surgical admissions was 21.9%, of which 13% had permanent disability and 4% resulted in death. 

A quick search on adverse events for acupuncture (https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/12/10-076737/en/) shows that they are mostly very mild and transient and the incidence of serious adverse events (death, organ trauma or hospital admission) was about 0.024%.

You can find Melissa Abrahams on instagram @sunmoonhealing on facebook at Sun Moon Healing and on her website: www.sunmoonhealing.com.

Find Annie McCasland-Pexton on Instagram @consciouslycreatingchange and @thebabyinthebathwater.

Annie's book: Invisible Work: an Ex-Lawyer's Guide to Self-Care is available from Amazon and Lulu Press or via her website: www.melbournecraniosacral.com/links 

May 13, 202101:15:38
Episode 3: Hayla Wong on Disrupting Toxic Spirituality
Apr 28, 202101:26:25
Episode 2: Racism, Conspiracies and Wellness with Annie
Apr 28, 202121:53
Episode 1: an introduction with Annie and Eyenie
Jan 27, 202111:53