Conspirituality – Brief: Does Calley Means Get Anything Right?

Host: Derek Beres
Release Date: November 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Derek Beres takes a critical look at Calley Means—prominent supplement entrepreneur, wellness influencer, and advisor to RFK Jr.—and his persistent, factually-flawed narrative about the origins of modern medicine and "Big Pharma." Through close analysis, Beres addresses Means’ revisionist history, the dangers it poses to public health, and why such misinformation is attractive to—and weaponized by—the burgeoning conspirituality movement. The discussion serves not only as a debunking of Means’ oft-repeated claims but also as a warning about how wellness grifters use false historical narratives for profit and influence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Calley Means’ Version of Medical History (01:45–03:19)

• Means frequently claims that John D. Rockefeller founded the modern pharmaceutical industry to profit from oil byproducts, funded medical education solely to build a drug-based, siloed system, and that Abraham Flexner—portrayed as Rockefeller's (Jewish) lawyer—wrote the infamous Flexner Report to institutionalize these changes.
• Means frames the transition to evidence-based medicine as a conspiracy to eliminate holistic practices in favor of drugs and surgery.

Notable Misstatements by Means:

• Flexner was not a lawyer, nor Rockefeller’s employee; he was an educator hired by the Carnegie Foundation.
• The Flexner Report was published in 1910, not 1909.
• US medical education was not “holistic” but rather “chaotic and often pseudoscientific,” riddled with profiteering and low standards.

2. Systematic Fact-Checking and Historical Context (03:19–13:10)

• Host Derek Beres meticulously corrects Means’ errors and contextualizes what really happened:
  • Flexner & Carnegie, Not Rockefeller: Abraham Flexner was dispatched by the Carnegie Foundation to audit US medical schools; Rockefeller donated later after a fire at Johns Hopkins, and played no direct part in authoring the Flexner Report.
  • US Medical Education Lagged Behind Europe: American medical schools were notorious for poor standards; Europe set the scientific benchmarks.
  • Patent Medicine Parallels: 19th-century “wellness” consisted largely of unregulated, ineffective remedies—akin to today’s influencer peddling.

Quote:

“Means never corrects himself, even on the most basic oversights. But that's not what this episode is actually about. There's something much graver going on with his factually allergic statements.” (04:10)

Quote:

“Europe was eating our lunch when it came to medicine and science in the 19th century... Many schools bestowed a medical degree upon students who simply attended lectures and passed examinations.” (13:00)

3. The Real Reform: Evidence-Based Medicine (13:10–22:15)

• The Flexner Report sought to standardize and modernize medical training, adopting proven European methods rooted in laboratory science and clinical rigor.
• Most US medical schools closed post-Flexner because of economic trends and rising licensure requirements, not a Rockefeller-driven conspiracy.
• The push for research-based practice was a broad movement—doctors, educators, and business leaders (not just capitalists) aimed to elevate the quality and safety of medicine.

Quote (on patent medicine industry):

“Patent medicine makers were responsible for the bulk of newspaper advertising throughout the 19th century. You can kind of consider them their era’s wellness influencers.” (15:40)

4. Addressing Claims About Pharmaceuticals and Profit (22:15–24:30)

• The origin of the pharmaceutical industry was not a monolithic scheme by Rockefeller to sell oil byproducts; diverse advancements (notably in Europe) underpinned its growth.
• Ironically, many wellness supplements—including those Means sells—are synthesized using similar petroleum-derived processes as pharmaceuticals.

Quote:

“The narrative that pharmaceuticals are derived primarily from oil byproducts is completely untrue... many early and current pharmaceuticals are not petroleum based. But yes, there are some—and as I've said on this podcast before, many supplements, including many that Means himself sells...are petroleum based.” (23:50)

5. Why Historical Revisionism Matters (24:30–28:26)

• Wellness grifters’ false histories intentionally undermine confidence in scientific medicine and public health, pushing people towards unregulated, profitable “alternatives.”
• These distortions can impact policy, vaccination rates, and public trust—especially dangerous in the wake of pandemic threats or broader societal crises.

Quote:

"The scientific milestones that I just mentioned completely transform public health. Yet despite these advances, wellness influencers continue to rewrite the story so that they can have their own agenda." (26:30)

• Beres underscores the importance of honest engagement with medical history—even when critiquing the excesses and ongoing problems in for-profit healthcare.

6. Memorable Closing Synthesis (27:00–28:26)

• Beres highlights the cyclical nature of medical snake oil, noting modern influencers rely on the same playbook as their 19th-century counterparts: ascribing all failures to the system while positioning themselves as health’s true champions.
• Concludes that Means’ agenda—and those like him—is transparently self-serving, designed to build an alternative empire at the expense of evidence and progress.

Memorable Quote (from Abraham Flexner, cited at 26:05):

“Accordingly, the business throve—no oversight, a handful of people controlling curriculum, opportunities for anyone willing to pay the entry fee. Sounds exactly like what MAHA is constructing. As with the charlatans of Flexner's time, they blame the system for every failing. And then they position themselves as the real champions of health, and we all suffer from their relentless pride.”

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Means’ recurring narrative:

  "I've now listened to Means talk about Abraham Flexner on at least a half dozen podcasts, and every time he completely flubs the story—so much so you have to wonder if it's intentional." (04:00)

• On how public health benefits from genuine reform:

  "There are so many things I've personally experienced in my 50 years of life that would have killed me far sooner 150 years ago. And this is true for many of us. That's why I call it a blind privilege." (12:55)

• On the motivation for wellness influencer revisionism:

  "If you make it just look like it was Rockefeller and his Jewish lawyer, well, you got a narrative that you can sell people who are definitely not doing their own research." (25:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:45–03:19 — Means’ historical narrative and its immediate problems
• 03:19–13:10 — Derek Beres corrects the historical record, shares personal example (dog bite, medical care)
• 13:10–22:15 — How medical education changed; European advances; rise of evidence-based practice
• 22:15–24:30 — Pharmaceutical industry origins; supplement hypocrisy; the broader movement for reform
• 24:30–28:26 — The dangers of historical revisionism; parallels to past charlatanism; lasting societal impacts

Tone & Conclusion

Derek Beres’ tone is incisive, skeptical, and sometimes sardonic, especially when spotlighting the ironies and hypocrisies of the new wellness grifter class. He stresses the necessity of honest historical context—criticizing profit-driven failures of medicine, but insisting that rewriting history to serve influencer agendas is reckless and harmful.

The episode is a sharp, accessible primer for listeners confused or alarmed by wellness world conspiracy theories, and provides ammunition for resisting revisionist narratives that threaten real public health.