Until just a few years ago, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson was an obscure professor at the University of Toronto. The clinical psychologist has since become an infamous intellectual, particularly across the internet and to an audience of young men, thanks to his controversial ideas about gender and the culture of political correctness on college campuses.

His new book, "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos," currently ranks at the tops of the bestseller lists. The book is a mix of pop psychology and self-help, and has prompted a sold-out tour in Canada and the U.S..

VICE News attended Dr. Peterson's talk in New York City, and traveled to his hometown of Toronto to sit and discuss the psychologist's recent work and rapid rise to celebrity.