Why We Crave Gurus: A Skeptic's Reckoning With Belief, Bitcoin, and Burning Man | Vikram Gandhi

Dan Harris

What a fake guru discovered about genuine connection, why ancient wisdom survives even the most rigorous skepticism, and the real reason humans crave spiritual authority.

Vikram Gandhi is an award-winning and boundary-pushing director of fiction and non-fiction film and television. Vikram most recently co-directed The Man Will Burn — a five-part HBO Original Documentary Series on the full arc of Burning Man, from its countercultural roots in San Francisco to the 80,000-person desert event it's become.

In this episode we talk about:

  • Why an experiment built to reject capitalism ended up swimming in it
  • What playing a fake guru taught him about how belief actually works
  • Why people are often more comfortable opening up to a stranger than to those closest to them
  • What religion, cryptocurrency, and Burning Man all have in common
  • How to find meaning in ancient wisdom without needing to belong to anything
  • And much more

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Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

This episode is sponsored by: Jiyu Skin: Our listeners can now get an additional 20% off plus free shipping with our code HAPPIER at jiyuskin.com. Tonal: Right now, Tonal is offering our listeners $200 off your Tonal purchase with promo code HAPPIER. Rosetta Stone: Ten Percent Happier listeners can get 20% off their Rosetta Stone Sapphire subscription when they sign up today. Visit rosettastone.com/happier to redeem your 20% off.

More description

What a fake guru discovered about genuine connection, why ancient wisdom survives even the most rigorous skepticism, and the real reason humans crave spiritual authority.

Vikram Gandhi is an award-winning and boundary-pushing director of fiction and non-fiction film and television. Vikram most recently co-directed The Man Will Burn — a five-part HBO Original Documentary Series on the full arc of Burning Man, from its countercultural roots in San Francisco to the 80,000-person desert event it's become.

In this episode we talk about:

  • Why an experiment built to reject capitalism ended up swimming in it
  • What playing a fake guru taught him about how belief actually works
  • Why people are often more comfortable opening up to a stranger than to those closest to them
  • What religion, cryptocurrency, and Burning Man all have in common
  • How to find meaning in ancient wisdom without needing to belong to anything
  • And much more

Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here

Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

This episode is sponsored by: Jiyu Skin: Our listeners can now get an additional 20% off plus free shipping with our code HAPPIER at jiyuskin.com. Tonal: Right now, Tonal is offering our listeners $200 off your Tonal purchase with promo code HAPPIER. Rosetta Stone: Ten Percent Happier listeners can get 20% off their Rosetta Stone Sapphire subscription when they sign up today. Visit rosettastone.com/happier to redeem your 20% off.

2026-07-17 55 min
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