The Guru Era is Dead. What comes next? with Dr. Liz Bucar
The Guru Era is Dead. What comes next? with Dr. Liz Bucar  
Podcast: Culture Changers with Allison Hare
Published On: Thu May 28 2026
Description: How did we go from prophet to profit with Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra... one by one, the curtain got lifted?  And we're left asking: who do we actually trust? Religious ethicist Dr. Liz Bucar has spent 25 years studying exactly that question. Her answers will surprise you. What you'll learn in this episode: Why the guru era is collapsing and what a good teacher actually looks like versus a predatory one The hidden Orientalism behind Deepak Chopra and Jay Shetty's appeal — and the latent racism nobody's talking about How a 19th century minister literally named after the Graham cracker gave us our food guilt Why a single question from a tarot card reader reversed years of orthorexia when therapy and church couldn't touch it What happened when a straight-edge religious studies professor did ayahuasca three times a day for three days in an Oregon yurt — and what it broke open about death, grief, and living well What sangha means and why real community requires you to be inconvenienced Prefer to watch on YouTube? https://youtu.be/5kXU5Cf2heE Resources & Links: ORDER Beyond Wellness book: https://amzn.to/4wQJypx Liz's website: https://www.lizbucar.com/books Liz's Substack (Religion, Reimagined): https://lizbucar.substack.com/ Liz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizbucar/ Liz on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lizbucar Work with Allison: https://allisonhare.com/freecall NOTABLE TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Intro: Prophet to profit. The guru era is over. 02:25 — Welcome Dr. Liz Bucar 03:25 — Is the guru era over? Jay Shetty, Deepak Chopra, and what cracked 07:35 — The halo effect: how platform-built gurus get their power 09:23 — Red flags of a bad spiritual teacher 10:57 — What a good teacher actually looks like 11:47 — The Orientalism and latent racism behind the wellness guru industry 13:43 — What is wellness — and why it's too low of a bar 15:05 — Women, optimization, and the anemic version of human life we've been sold 16:22 — What if dying well is part of living well? 17:56 — What a "none" borrows from religion without belonging to it 21:21 — Religion's PR problem and who's controlling the narrative 24:01 — Safety, belonging, and the search for somewhere to land 25:24 — Disordered eating, orthorexia, and the tarot reading that reversed it 30:01 — How bad theology gave us food moralizing (the Graham cracker guy) 34:26 — Ayahuasca: the plan Liz did NOT have 36:58 — Santo Daime, the sacrament of Daime, and a legal ayahuasca church in the US 39:12 — Why the religious container was everything 41:53 — Confronting her father's death in an Oregon yurt 43:18 — Death doulas, dying well, and the epiphany that changed everything 44:01 — Sangha: what community actually means 45:23 — Hope vs. optimism — and why the difference matters right now 48:20 — Rage has good intel. Embrace the ugly parts. 49:05 — Why individualism has done us dirty 50:33 — Biohacking, hustle culture, and inviting friction back in 51:06 — Real community requires showing up, not just extracting 52:46 — Where to find Liz and preorder Beyond Wellness Allison's Offer: Schedule a free podcast clarity call: https://allisonhare.com/freecall Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!Sign up for the free weekly emailAllisonHare.comFollow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording todayReb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.Feedback and Contact:: allison@allisonhare.com