Welcome to The New Gurus

Everywhere you look on the internet, people are giving — and receiving — advice. Advice that promises to transform our lives. How to eat. How to think. How to get rich. How to manage our time.

Across 8 episodes, Helen Lewis travels through the strange, powerful and sometimes hidden digital spaces created by these new gurus. Where did they come from? How much power do these charismatic individuals wield? And why are so many of us turning away from the mainstream — mainstream medicine, mainstream politics and the mainstream media - and embracing the power of charismatic individuals instead?

Along the way, she considers the dubious benefits of ‘butthole sunning’, seeks help from some productivity gurus, meets a crypto millionaire who bought a football team, and wonders if the architecture of the internet will always drive us to extremes.

This is The New Gurus, a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world.