Bonus Sample: The Monetization of MAHA

Summary

---

Episode Overview

Podcast: Conspirituality
Episode Title: Bonus Sample: The Monetization of MAHA
Host: Derek Beres
Date: December 22, 2025

This episode investigates the murky intersection of public health, conspiracy-influenced wellness culture, and the monetization of anti-vax rhetoric through the branding strategy "MAHA" ("Make America Healthy Again"). Host Derek Beres dissects the rise of MAHA as a commercial and ideological force, its tight connections to political power (specifically RFK Jr., Trump, and associated influencers), and the profiteering layers behind the movement's public health messaging.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. CDC's Shift and the Appointment of Dr. Ralph Abraham

• (00:03–01:33)
  • A ceremonial swearing-in of Dr. Ralph Abraham, introduced as a new senior CDC leader.
  • Host sharply critiques Abraham's credentials and history:
    • Former state Surgeon General in Louisiana, notorious for halting mass vaccination campaigns.
    • Beliefs and policy stances considered anti-scientific by mainstream standards:
      • ACA (Affordable Care Act) repeal support.
      • Opposition to Medicaid expansion.
      • Dismissal of masking, lockdowns, and vaccine requirements as "practically ineffective."
      • Claims of vaccine-induced miscarriages, autism, and widespread daily vaccine injuries.
      • Support for unrelated conservative causes (e.g., Keystone pipeline).

Quote:
"Pretty funny that they're refocusing on infectious diseases by announcing Dr. Ralph Abraham, considering he forced the state of Louisiana to stop promoting its mass vaccination campaign when he served as Surgeon General..."
— Derek Beres (01:33)

2. The Club Mentality & RFK Jr.’s Patronage

• (01:33–02:49)
  • Beres elaborates on what he calls “the club” dynamic: if your beliefs align with RFK Jr. and the current administration, you’re rewarded with position and influence.
  • Predicts that RFK Jr. will "be giving out a whole lot of gifts very soon—and then likely financially benefit from it".
  • Reveals that Kennedy personally profited from MAHA trademarks ($100,000 in licensing fees) before transferring the trademark to Dell Bigtree, a known anti-vax propagandist, once gifted a federal appointment.

Quote:
"If your beliefs line up with Kennedy, you get rewarded, which is what I want to talk about today."
— Derek Beres (01:59)

3. The Web of MAHA Trademark Ownership

• (02:49–05:47)
  • Explains the transfer of MAHA™ branding:
    • Dell Bigtree, as controller of MAHA Worldwide, took over from Kennedy and then transferred it to MAHA™ LLC in June.
    • Gavin D. Becker, a security specialist with a storied and controversial past, is now listed as the director.
  • Discusses D. Becker’s history—including defending Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic scandals and substantial financial backing of RFK Jr.’s campaign for "security services."

4. D. Becker’s Critique of Vaccine Campaigns

• (05:16–05:47)
  • D. Becker, in a quoted exchange with Mike Rowe, characterizes the global COVID vaccination effort as "the largest and best funded persuasion campaign in the history of the world," alluding to manipulation via appeals to civic duty and fear of harming the vulnerable.

Quote:
"The persuasion campaign was probably the largest and best funded persuasion campaign in the history of the world. I'm talking about COVID vaccines, mRNA vaccines all over the planet, billions of doses. And it came at you... You'll be helping others... You'll be saving grandma..."
— Gavin D. Becker (05:16)

5. The Commercialization Scope: MAHA As a Mega-Brand

• (05:47–07:58)
  • Beres analyzes the extreme breadth of the MAHA trademark filing—ten categories signaling a vast empire of products and services, not just a mere activist slogan.
  • Many of Kennedy’s public statements as HHS Secretary now align with the potential scope of MAHA monetization.
  • Stresses that this isn’t normal trademark or brand-building—this is an expansive, orchestrated commercial venture closely intertwined with political power and anti-vaccine activism.

Quote:
"From inception, he planned on building an empire of products and services with the name MAHA. And I'm not being hyperbolic about calling it an empire."
— Derek Beres (06:30)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|-------------------|-------| | 01:33 | Derek Beres | "Pretty funny that they're refocusing on infectious diseases by announcing Dr. Ralph Abraham..." | | 01:59 | Derek Beres | "If your beliefs line up with Kennedy, you get rewarded, which is what I want to talk about today." | | 05:16 | Gavin D. Becker | "The persuasion campaign was probably the largest and best funded persuasion campaign in the history of the world. I'm talking about COVID vaccines..." | | 06:30 | Derek Beres | "From inception, he planned on building an empire of products and services with the name MAHA. And I'm not being hyperbolic about calling it an empire." |

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:03–01:33 — Introduction and Dr. Ralph Abraham’s swearing-in, contextual critique
• 01:33–02:49 — The “club” dynamic; RFK Jr.'s financial connections to MAHA
• 02:49–05:16 — MAHA trademark's handoff: Kennedy → Bigtree → D. Becker; D. Becker’s background
• 05:16–05:47 — D. Becker’s vaccine campaign critique (quote with Mike Rowe)
• 05:47–07:58 — Expansive nature of MAHA trademark, the “empire” plan, and host’s analysis

---

Conclusion & Takeaways

• The episode powerfully elucidates how the anti-vax and conspirituality movements monetize both their messaging and policy influence at the highest levels.
• Derek Beres argues that, rather than upholding public health, new leadership at the CDC and HHS are aligned with commercial, conspiratorial, and ideological interests—centered around the lucrative MAHA brand.
• The clubbiness and gift-exchanging behind such movements further entrench their power, making it harder for evidence-based health discourse to break through.
• Listeners are left with a clear sense of how anti-science becomes big business under the guise of "wellness" and freedom.

---

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

Since its founding, CDC has been a gold standard public health agency with faith and reverence from all across the globe. In recent years, it's lost its way. It's become captured in some ways by the industries that it's supposed to regulate. And today we're bringing on an individual. And his wearing in today marks a milestone in the history of cdc.

[Dr. Ralph Abraham]

Ralph Abraham.

[Narrator/Host]

Do solemnly swear.

[Dr. Ralph Abraham]

Do solemnly swear. It is so refreshing to have President Trump and Secretary Kennedy actually leading the health care in America in a good and different direction. It's just a privilege to be among these gentlemen, the team at cdc, and going back to what I've been mandated by Secretary Kennedy and President Trump to do, take care of the people, follow good science and follow good data, that I take this obligation freely.

[CDC Representative]

CDC has turned a corner in the last few months. It is refocusing on its original 1940s mission of infectious disease. It is doing great work at advancing the research priorities that the President and the Secretary have laid out to make America healthy again. And having Dr. Abraham as a senior leader in CDC is going to accelerate and advance the reforms and make CDC the best it's ever been. We're so happy to be working together.

[Narrator/Host]

So help me God.

[Dr. Ralph Abraham]

So help me God.

[Derek Barris]

Welcome up that fucking music. Music. Pretty funny that they're refocusing on infectious diseases by announcing Dr. Ralph Abraham, considering he forced the state of Louisiana to stop promoting its mass vaccination campaign when he served as Surgeon General of the state. And that's kind of important if you want to stop infectious diseases. Dr. Ralph Abraham was a veterinarian for 10 years before returning to medical school to earn a medical degree in 1994. And he is certainly Maha. Abraham believes the ACA should be repealed, which is pretty much gonna happen next year. He opposes the expansion of Medicaid. He thought that masking lockdowns and vaccination requirements were, quote, practically ineffective. Abraham thinks the adverse effects of COVID vaccines have been suppressed and he believes they may be linked to miscarriages and of course, they may just cause autism. He's on record stating, stating, quote, I see now vaccine injury every day of my practice regarding the COVID vaccines. He also supports the Keystone pipeline because obviously climate change has nothing to do with public health. So, perfect person to be the director, the principal, deputy director, specifically of the cdc, because that's what Maha actually is. It's a club. And if your beliefs line up with Kennedy, you get rewarded, which is what I want to talk about today. My feeling is that RFK Jr. Is going to be giving out a whole lot of gifts very soon and then likely financially benefit from it. In fact, before it was announced that he would be appointed secretary of HHS, Kennedy had made $100,000 in licensing fees for the trademark of MAHA or Make America Healthy Again. Only when Trump gifted him with a role in his administration did he give up the trademark. And he handed it to his friend Dell Bigtree, who's been monetizing anti vax propaganda for years now. As controller of the LLC MAHA Worldwide, Bigtree took over control of the trademark last December, which he then transferred to MAHA™ LLC in June. Now, the document lists the director of MAHA™ LLC as Gavin D. Becker. He's a security specialist who donated $10 million to a super PAC that supported Kennedy as a bridge fund, and he eventually had 9.65 million returned to him. D. Becker was providing security services for Kennedy at the time. He's well known for his work in security and for his 1997 book, the Gift of Fear. But his Hollywood career, he's done security for a lot of stars is pretty mixed. In 2006, he took out a full page ad in Hollywood Reporter defending Mel Gibson. This was when Gibson was caught on tape being extremely anti Semitic. And this is what D. Becker wrote, quote, alcoholism cannot be used to prove antisemitism because, you know, alcohol makes you say all sorts of things that aren't already inside of you. Now, if you're wondering how did this man get tied up with RFK Jr. Let's listen to him tell Mike Rowe about the COVID vaccines this past October.

[Gavin D. Becker]

Actually, Mike, it came at you exactly as you describe it, but it came at you in many, many ways. And the persuasion campaign was probably the largest and best funded persuasion campaign in the history of the world. I'm talking about COVID vaccines, MRNA vaccines all over the planet, billions of doses. And it came at you in the form that you just said, which is you'll, you'll be helping others and you'll be meeting your civic duty and you'll be saving grandma and you'll be protecting other people. This is a method that's been used before, right?

[Derek Barris]

A well known method in public health was used for multiple vaccines and infectious diseases over the years. And now D. Becker controls the Maha trademark for some inexplicable reason. So there's a lot going on with this trademark, which is what I actually want to look at today. And to be clear, I'm not against trademarks or people making money from their businesses, but what's going on with Kennedy is something different. From inception, he planned on building an empire of products and services with the name maha. And I'm not being hyperbolic about calling it an empire. Most trademarks for smaller organizations are filed in one to three categories, meaning these are the products and services you're going to offer. Kennedy filed for 10 in his application, and you only do that if you're planning on monetizing in each of them. As it turns out, many of the things Kennedy has said this year as secretary of HHS fall under the products and services the MAHA trademark could be monetized for. That's what I want to go over. I'm Derek Barris, and you're listening to a conspirituality bonus episode, the monetization of maha. Let's get into it. You've been listening to a conspirituality bonus episode sample. To continue listening, please head over to patreon.com conspirituality where you can access all of our main feed episodes ad free, as well as four years of bonus content that we've been producing. You can also subscribe to our bonus episodes via Apple subscriptions. As independent media creators, we really appreciate your support. A new phone for Billy, a necklace for Sam, all the while on the lookout for scams. A swipe here and tap there. Better make it go far. Turns out mom didn't know she needs a new car this year.

[MyFico/Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Stay on top of your credit with the MyFico app. Get your FICO score straight from the people that created it. Plus free credit monitoring and a free credit report every month. No credit card required. So make holiday spending one less stress under the mist. Visit myfico.com free or download the MyFico app today.

[Derek Barris]

And Doug, here we have the Limu.

[Narrator/Host]

Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[MyFico/Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Narrator/Host]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Derek Barris]

Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Savings very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.