#1 New Release · Philosophy of Good & EvilOn Sale July 21, 2026
Mind Viruses
America's Irrational Obsessions
From the New York Times bestselling author John Leake — a gripping diagnosis of how irrational beliefs spread like contagions, sickening "We the People" while enriching the special interests that profit from fear and division.
Carl Jung's "psychic epidemics" Yuri Bezmenov's "ideological subversion" Contrived crises Manufactured fear A house divided Restoring sanity to the public forum Carl Jung's "psychic epidemics" Yuri Bezmenov's "ideological subversion" Contrived crises Manufactured fear A house divided Restoring sanity to the public forum
"A republic, if you can keep it."
— Benjamin Franklin, 1787
The Premise
The enemy isn't at the gates. It's in our heads.
America's decline from Cold War victor to "a house divided against itself" is not the result of external threats — but of irrational beliefs that spread, mutate, and infect like any other contagion.
Carl Jung warned of "psychic epidemics," 1957
In 1957, the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung warned about "subversive minorities" in the West animated by "chimerical wish fantasies" that may rapidly spread and develop into "psychic epidemics." In 1984, KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov warned of "ideological subversion" — changing the perception of reality so thoroughly that, despite an abundance of information, no one can reach sensible conclusions in defense of themselves, their families, or their country.
Critical thinking replaced by mindless slogans and extreme, either-or propositions.
"Exposure to true information does not matter anymore." — Yuri Bezmenov, KGB defector, 1984
In recent years the American public forum has been afflicted with a host of irrational ideas that possess the minds of believers — distorting perception, replacing calm discussion with emotional outbursts, and rendering people unable to think through complex problems. Mind Viruses examines the people, events, and interests that engineered these mental contagions, and what they bode for the future of our constitutional republic.
The Formula
How a Mind Virus Spreads
Division is engineered through three moves — repeated, crisis after crisis.
01
Manufacture the Threat
Propagate fear and loathing of a purported threat to public health and safety.
02
Anoint the Mission
Present a solution whose implementation is cast as a sacred, unquestionable mission.
03
Name the Enemy
Scapegoat anyone who doubts, questions, or opposes the mission.
Devoured From Within
A republic is not conquered — it is consumed from within.
Two centuries ago, Goya painted terror itself: a figure devouring its own child. A republic meets the same end — not at the hands of armies at the gate, but from the inside, by fear, by fervor, by the irrational ideas we are taught to swallow whole.
Francisco de Goya, Saturn Devouring His Son (1819–1823) · Public domain
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed — and hence clamorous to be led to safety — by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary."
— H. L. Mencken
Follow the Money
One (Profitable) Crisis After Another
With no limits on government debt, purported threats to national security and public safety have emerged with increasing frequency.
2001The War on Terror — a generation of open-ended spending2002Color-coded fear — the terror-alert era2003"Weapons of mass destruction" — a war on a false premise2008The bailouts — trillions to rescue the too-big-to-fail2016Russiagate — the collusion narrative that wasn't2019The climate emergency — perpetual crisis as policy2020The pandemic — emergency powers and record spending2020Systemic racism — the new state creed2020The summer of unrest — "fiery but mostly peaceful"2021Gender ideology — medicine as belief2022The Ukraine war — a blank check abroadNowIran — the drumbeat for the next war
Case Zero
The Vaccine as Savior
During the pandemic, the COVID-19 vaccine was idolized as the liberator and savior of mankind — despite its failure to prevent infection. Similar "faith communities" coalesced around racism, transgender medicine, Ukrainian nationalism, and climate change: each demanding belief, each punishing doubt.
The Enemy Within
If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.
The contagions are not accidents. They are cultivated by entrenched interests that profit from fear and division — manufacturing the next crisis before the last one has faded from memory.
The Pentagon · U.S. Department of Defense · Public domain
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Ahead of the July 21, 2026 release
Inside the Book
Twenty-Four Chapters
A guided dissection of the mind viruses of our era — from ancient witch hunts to the war drums over Iran.
·Prologue — A Murder in Moscow
1The Delusions of the Ruling Class
2Witch Hunts and Scapegoats
3War, the Father of All Mind Viruses
4Responsibility Versus Acquiescence
5The Scientific-Technological Elite
6The End of the Cold War and Its Discontents
7Islamic Terror
8Bioterrorism
9Crisis and Bailout Capitalism
10Racism
11Russia
12The Great Pipeline Opera Ends with a Bang
13Climate Change
14The Climate-Industrial Complex
15Debilitating Young People with Fear of Climate Change
16The Coronavirus Disease of 2019
17The Amazing Prescience of Anthony Fauci, Stéphane Bancel, and Bill Gates
18There's No Business Like Pandemic Business
19In COVID-19 Vaccines We Trust
20The US Proxy War Against Russia in Ukraine
21Transgender
22The Death of Charlie Kirk
23Iran
24The Devil and the Great Undoing
Advance Praise
An anatomical precision
“
An invaluable book for anyone who has ever wondered why we've constantly lurched from one "crisis" to the next — and how all of them are related. As a medical doctor, I found the chapters on the COVID-19 vaccines and transgender medicine especially illustrative of how science can be hijacked by special interests. A must-read for all concerned citizens who wish to restore sanity to our public forum.
Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH Cardiologist · Epidemiologist
“
A compelling diagnosis of what has weakened the West, and what we need to do to get our social and political health back. Mind Viruses reveals with anatomical precision how we are constantly being manipulated — and how to protect our minds from the contrived social scourges of our era.
Ryan N. Cole, MD Pathologist
From Cold War Victor —
— to a house divided against itself.
America did not fall to the empire it once stared down across the desert. It is being unmade from within — by fear, by fervor, by contrived crises that enrich the few and bewilder the many.
U.S. Army · Operation Upshot-Knothole, Nevada Proving Grounds, 1953 · Public domain
JL
John Leake · Dallas, Texas
The Author
John Leake
John Leake is a nonfiction author with a lifelong interest in medical history, psychology, and criminology. He studied history and philosophy with Sir Roger Scruton and wrote his master's thesis on Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.
Since 2021 he has worked closely with Dr. Peter McCullough and was the primary author of their New York Times bestsellerVaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality, as well as The Courage to Face COVID-19. His first book, Entering Hades, was a New York Times "Editors' Choice" and the inspiration for The Infernal Comedy, starring John Malkovich.
He writes a daily investigative report for the Focal Points newsletter and is vice president of the McCullough Foundation.
NYT Bestselling AuthorStudied under Sir Roger ScrutonVP, McCullough FoundationFocal Points · Substack
Producers, podcasters, and journalists: request an interview with John Leake or media assets for Mind Viruses. The team typically responds within two business days.
One profitable crisis after another Manufactured fear Follow the money Restore sanity to the public forum Inoculate your mind One profitable crisis after another Manufactured fear Follow the money Restore sanity to the public forum Inoculate your mind
Available July 21, 2026
Inoculate Your Mind.
Know how the contagion spreads — and how to protect yourself, your family, and your country from the irrational obsessions of our era.
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