All language subtitles for IneXplicável - S07E09 - Secret Societies

WILLIAM SHATNER: Strange rituals
in secluded compounds,

esoteric symbols
with cryptic meanings

and blood oaths
that last a lifetime.

For centuries,

secret societies have been
operating in the shadows,

influencing our culture,

shaping our world
in ways we can only imagine.

These mysterious groups
are often rumored

to practice chilling rituals,

and to communicate
using secret codes

and strange symbols.

While the notion of a covert,

oath-bound brotherhood
is intriguing,

could the claims
that have been made

about these secret societies
be real...

or mostly mythical?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
While revelers enjoy

Halloween festivities
across the city,

tucked away out of sight,

a group of men prepare
a deadly serious

initiation ritual.

Michael Franzese is about
to become a member

of America's most infamous
criminal secret society--

the Italian-American Mafia,

or as its members call it--
La Cosa Nostra.

MICHAEL FRANZESE: I don't like
to use the term "Mafia"

here in America.

In America,
it's really "Cosa Nostra."

I grew up in the life.

You know,
my dad was the underboss

of the Colombo family.

I was 24 years old
when I got inducted.

It was Halloween night, 1975.

I was called into a room
late at night.

Stood in front of the boss,
held out my hand,

took a knife, cut my fingers,

some blood dropped on the floor.

He took a picture of a saint,
lit it aflame,

put it in my hands.

And he said,
"Tonight, Michael Franzese,

"you are born again
into a new life,

"into Cosa Nostra.

"Betray your brothers,
and you will die,

"burn in hell like this saint
is burning in your hands.

Do you accept?"

"Yes, I do."

And that's how it started.

NATE HENDLEY:
La Cosa Nostra wants

to make money and amass power.

I would say
they are the deadliest criminal

secret society
in American history.

To join the Mafia,
you have to be pure Italian,

and secrecy is the norm.

You're told
you can join this organization,

and you'll make all sorts
of money, you'll be protected.

But at the same time,
if you reveal any secrets,

you're going to be killed.

SHATNER:
The dangerous secrets

that La Cosa Nostra keeps
revolve

around criminal enterprises like

gambling,

drug trafficking,

counterfeiting

-and murder.
-(siren wailing)

It's been estimated that
at the height of their power,

their crimes earned them
billions of dollars every year.

So how did this criminal,
secret society

become so powerful?

HENDLEY:
The Mafia really starts
to sort of

come together in New York City
in the 1920s,

and there's a few factors
as to why.

Number one-- prohibition,

because banning alcohol
instantly turns

corner-street thugs

into very wealthy,
powerful gangsters.

The underworld realizes

Americans are still
gonna want to drink,

and they will be the ones
to supply the alcohol.

So, it becomes an enormous,
lucrative opportunity

for gangsters.

FRANZESE:
In the early 1900s,

the guys started migrating

from Sicily
into the United States.

And before prohibition,
we were just a bunch of guys

preying on each other,

trying to do these petty
street crimes

and being thugs.

Well, those guys figured out,

"Hey, alcohol.
People want to drink.

We're gonna make 'em happy."

We were good at giving people
what they wanted

when they couldn't have it.

New York state alone,

there were 36,000 speakeasies,

just to give you an idea
of how lucrative this was.

And so, now we start
to get organized

because no organization
is anything without money.

SHATNER:
Prohibition turned common thugs
into kingpins,

and created an opportunity

for La Cosa Nostra
to get organized.

ED McDONALD:
By the 1930s,

Lucky Luciano and some other,
uh, powerful gangsters

formed themselves
into a commission.

They decided
that it would make sense

if these gangsters
were organized,

organized into families.

They designated five people
to be the heads

of five families in New York.

And other people were designated
to be the leaders

of families in other parts
of the country.

HENDLEY:
Lucky Luciano comes up
with the structure

of the Mafia
as we know it today.

You have a hierarchal structure.

You have a boss, underboss,

capo, which is like
middle management.

Capo is in charge
of roughly ten soldiers

who do the actual grunt work.

Underneath the soldiers
are associates.

An associate can be anybody

who just happens
to help the Mafia.

And this really is the birth

of the American Mafia
as we know it.

SHATNER:
A strict hierarchy meant

that only the bosses would know

all the details
of La Cosa Nostra's

criminal operations.

And to show their loyalty,

all members of the family
would be required

to take a powerful oath...

of secrecy.

FRANZESE:
People-- they don't understand
what the oath is.

They think once
you come into that life,

well, you're taking an oath
to lie, steal, cheat, kill.

Now obviously
as part of that life,

you know, those things happen,
but that's not what the oath is.

The oath of omertà
means silence.

We're not even supposed
to admit that the life exists.

We're not supposed
to talk about it.

If you violate policies
and rules,

you can have
serious consequences.

McDONALD:
Omertà was critical
to the success of the Mafia.

In order to stay alive,

in order to stay active,
in order to stay powerful,

you can't have your members
going out and talking

to other people
about what you're doing.

And so,
you have a code of silence.

People were adhering to omertà

because they were afraid
that if they violated the code,

they would be killed.

If your mother
is sick and dying,

and you're at her deathbed,

and the family calls you
to service,

you leave your mother, and
you come and serve the family.

The family comes
before anything.

You have to think that way.

So, unfortunately,
you know, you make a mistake,

it could be your best friend
that pulls the trigger on you.

(gunfire)

During my 20 years in that life,

unfortunately,
I've seen things like that.

SHATNER:
While authorities have known
about the existence

of La Cosa Nostra
since the 1950s,

the power

of this criminal enterprise
has faded with time.

But is the loyalty
and commitment

to the secret society
still strong?

McDONALD:
There are still organizations,

there's still five organized
families in New York,

but they simply
don't have the power

or the impact that they had.

The bosses, the leaderships
of the families,

have been convicted
time and time again,

going back to the 1980s.

The question, is it possible

that there will be a resurgence
of the mob?

I don't think we'll ever see
the La Cosa Nostra

as effective
or as powerful as it once was,

but we don't know.

One can only speculate.

FRANZESE:
We used to be front page news.

We had a lot of control
in this country

for almost 100 years,

under some very difficult
conditions.

We had connections right
into the White House, 100%.

Is it the same
as it used to be? No way.

But it's not going away
in my lifetime,

just take my word for it.

SHATNER:
The future of La Cosa Nostra
is a matter of debate,

and as powerful
as they once were,

their influence pales
in comparison

to another secret society,

one that helped orchestrate
the very founding

of the United States.

SHATNER: In the historic
neighborhood of Shockoe Bottom,

there is a two-story structure
known as "Masons' Hall."

Originally dating back to 1785,

it's the oldest meeting place
in the United States

for a secret society known as...

the Freemasons.

Freemasonry
is the world's largest, oldest

and probably best-known
men's fraternal organization.

It uses the terms
and the symbolism

of the ancient Stonemason Guild

that built the cathedrals in
Europe during the Middle Ages.

Freemasonry openly
advertises itself,

but Masonry does have secrets.

If you watch carefully,

and you're driving into
virtually any American town,

you will notice
there's usually a sign

that has little signs
attached to it,

telling you
what fraternal orders are there.

So the secrecy in Freemasonry is
not the existence of the order.

The secrecy is what goes on
within the order,

the things that you are never
supposed to talk about.

SHATNER:
It's estimated

that there are
about six million Freemasons

around the world today,

all committed
to an ancient organization

whose history and mission

are as mysterious
as its secret meetings.

HODAPP:
There are mysteries
about the origin

of Freemasonry, when it really
started in history.

Legendarily,
we trace ourselves back

to the construction
of King Solomon's Temple,

which was considered this holy
of holy places on Earth.

But historically, we believe

that we may have grown out
of the stonemason guilds

during the Middle Ages,

because there are a lot
of practices that we do

that are similar to the kinds
of things they did

to identify themselves,
for instance,

with secret handshakes
and secret passwords.

ARTURO DE HOYOS:
Freemasonry is

a system of morality
veiled in allegory

and illustrated by symbols.

For example,

the square and compasses

are perhaps
the most famous Masonic emblems.

You see it everywhere.

But what it symbolizes to us is

this square is an angle
of 90 degrees.

It never deviates.

It means you are going
to tell the truth.

SHATNER:
If Freemasonry is
about telling the truth,

you have to wonder,

why do they veil
the organization

in such intense secrecy?

After all, what goes on
behind the closed doors

of a Masonic lodge is only known
to its members.

SPENCE:
If you look at Masonic lodges,

you can't just walk in and say,
"I want to join."

You must be invited.

And traditionally,

every single person
in the lodge must agree

upon the admission
of a new member.

So, it is highly selective.

Then, you are, at every step
in your initiation,

sworn to secrecy.

PICKNETT:
Since it was formally founded

in the 18th century in England,

Freemasonry has attracted
a great deal of suspicion,

largely because
it operates behind closed doors,

it has weird rituals.

And they have all sorts
of grades in their membership,

some of which seem
to be kept very secret.

It's an intense boys' club,

and those boys include
elite leaders

or big businessmen,
police chiefs and so on.

There's always been a rumor

that if you reach
the top echelons of Freemasonry,

and very few do,
there'll be a great revelation

that will stagger and shock you.

SHATNER:
A great revelation?

Is it possible
that those who ascend

to the highest levels
of Freemasonry are privy

to powerful secrets?

It's an intriguing thought,

especially
if you consider the influence

that this secret society is said
to have had

on the founding
of the United States.

The American Revolution begins
with shots fired

at the battles
of Lexington and Concord.

After a bloody eight-year war,

13 colonies win
their independence

from the British Empire.

And some believe

that American Freemasons
were the guiding hand

in this historic conflict.

Freemasonry made a significant
impact on our founding fathers

and those who fought
in the Revolutionary War.

We had 81 generals
in the Continental Army,

33 of which were Freemasons.
That's 41%.

Virtually every English king

in the 18th century on
was a Mason,

with the exception of one,
George III, oddly enough.

I found that very interesting

that an American Revolution
largely populated

by American Freemasons,

rebelled against a king
who was not a Freemason.

Would they have done that

had he been
a fraternal Masonic brother?

That itself is another mystery.

-(men shouting)
-(weapons firing)

SHATNER:
Might the American War
for Independence

have been handled differently

if King George III was a member
of the Freemasons?

We will never know,

but the influence
of the secret society

on the founding of America
may be evident

in a document published
by Benjamin Franklin

40 years before the Revolution

that shares
a striking similarity

to the U.S. Constitution.

One of the great things
that Franklin did for us was,

he published, in 1734,

a copy of The Constitutions
of the Free-Masons.

This book outlined
a separation of powers

like we have
in the American government.

We have a secret ballot.

All members are equal.

Equality of mankind.

These are things
that if you remove them

from a Masonic context would
sound very American.

But I believe

that they influenced
our Founding Fathers

and the young nation.

HODAPP:
Many of the things
the Founding Fathers insisted

on having
in the U.S. Constitution

come directly out
of the Masonic Constitutions.

A trial among your peers,

freedom of religion,

freedom of speech.

Many of these concepts wind up
in the U.S. Constitution.

These kinds of freedoms,

we don't even give
a second thought to today,

but at the time,
these were things

that people
were getting shot over.

SHATNER:
It's incredible to think

that the U.S. Constitution,

the supreme law
of the United States of America,

was largely influenced
by a secret society.

And many have wondered--

do Freemasons wield
the same power and influence

in America that they once did?

HODAPP:
There's a problem asking

somebody like me,

"How influential
have the Masons been?"

When any answer that I give you,
you're going to say,

"Ah, that's exactly
what they would say."

And so, that becomes
chasing your own tail

in terms of how do you get
to the bottom of it.

People will always be fascinated
by the mystery.

The mystery
of a closed door is always going

to charge the imagination.

Freemasons certainly had a hand
in the founding of America,

but might their true purpose be
more nefarious than they claim?

Well, whatever the case may be,

there is another powerful
secret society that was formed

at one of the most prestigious
institutions in the world,

whose shadowy reputation
has given it the name...

The Brotherhood of Death.

(applause and cheering)

SHATNER:
The incumbent president,

Republican George W. Bush,

narrowly defeats
his political rival,

Democratic Senator John Kerry.

While these two
opposing statesmen

have politics in common,

they also share an intriguing,
lifelong membership

to a highly exclusive
secret society

at Yale University called
"The Order of Skull and Bones."

Amazingly, in 2004,

we were guaranteed that year
to have a Skull and Bones member

as a president
of the United States.

But it's interesting
that neither Kerry

nor G.W. Bush would ever discuss
their affiliation

with the Skull and Bones
secret society at Yale.

And so, you start to wonder,

what kind of blood oaths
did they sign

for the rest of their lives
that nothing leaks?

SHATNER:
The Order of Skull and Bones--

also known
as The Brotherhood of Death--

was originally founded
by six Yale students in 1832.

In 1856, they built
their headquarters on campus,

which is known as "the Tomb."

And with all
of these ominous names,

it begs the question,

what is this secret society
really all about?

MARC WORTMAN:
The name of the society,
Skull and Bones--

it's a mystery
where it came from.

But it certainly reflects
the desire

to carry on
in secret and darkness.

Members are sworn
to such secrecy

that they're not even supposed
to admit

to being members
of Skull and Bones.

Members are the elite
of the elite within Yale.

Only about 1,500
high school students

get into Yale every year.

And then, out of that 1,500,

once they reach
their junior year at college,

only 15 of those get selected,

or tapped, as they say,

to be a member
of this secret society.

The members of Skull and Bones
have become presidents

and various congressmen,

Supreme Court justices,

and many of them ended up
with the CIA.

What's most fascinating to me

about the Skull and Bones
organization is

how incredibly effective
they have been over time

at guarding their secrets.

And over a century more,

they have managed to keep secret
what goes on inside the Tomb.

SHATNER:
What goes on inside the Tomb?

That's the million-dollar
question

that no one is willing
to answer.

But over the years,

rumors have spread

of strange rituals
that take place

inside the Skull and Bones
secretive headquarters.

WORTMAN:
Certainly, part of the rituals

that are rumored to take place
within the mausoleum--

Tomb-- include skeletal remains.

And that members of
Skull and Bones lie in a coffin,

and they bow before the skulls,

and possibly include
kissing of the skull.

Skull and Bones has been rumored

to have taken the skulls
of many different people.

Among them, there are rumors

that they've stolen the bones
of Geronimo.

Geronimo was
an Apache warrior chief.

He was legendary

for his powers
in fighting the U.S. Army.

Some say that the skull
of Geronimo is used

in the initiation rites.

PICKNETT:
Why would they do this?

Is it some kind of sick trophy?
Possibly.

But also, throughout history,
there's been this idea

that's continued
throughout the centuries,

that a head or a skull

somehow still contains
the power of that person,

maybe the spiritual power.

And that to own the skull

or head will give you
that power.

SHATNER:
Do Bonesmen use human remains

in strange,
perhaps even occult rituals?

Or is this all just sensational
rumor and speculation?

Well, remarkably, in 2005,

journalist Marc Wortman
uncovered physical evidence

that suggests
there could be truth

to this dark practice.

WORTMAN:
I was in the bowels

of the Yale University Library
doing research for a book,

and within this stack of letters

about the life
of Skull and Bones,

in 1918, there's one page

that talks about the robbing
of Geronimo's grave.

And it says, "We have Geronimo
the Terrible's skull,

"femurs and horse tack,

and we've brought them back
to the Tomb in New Haven."

I was flabbergasted.

Like, electricity went
through me when I saw that.

There it was in black and white.

When it came out,

members of Geronimo's family,

ancestors,
were immediately appalled,

and they filed lawsuits
to recover the bones.

Skull and Bones refused
to comment on the matter.

SHATNER:
In 2010, the lawsuit

against Skull and Bones
was dismissed on a technicality,

so we may never know the truth,

just like everything else
that goes on

inside this exclusive
secret society.

WORTMAN:
Now, it's certainly true

that these are many
of the most powerful people

in America
and indeed the whole world.

But we'll never know

what secrets lie
within the Tomb.

And those bones may
or may not be there,

but we'll never get
to the bottom of this mystery.

You know,
it's interesting to consider

that there is a long list
of powerful world leaders

who share
the very secret experience

of being a Bonesman.

But there's another
influential group

that meets
in Northern California.

It began as a small social club,

and has grown
into a strange gathering

of the global elite.

SHATNER:
75 miles north of San Francisco

lies an ancient redwood forest.

And nestled deep within its
protective canopy is the home

of a mysterious,
privately owned sanctuary

known as "the Bohemian Grove."

The Bohemian Grove is
a remarkable place.

It's 2,700 acres
of old-growth redwood forest.

Some of them are
over a thousand years old,

as high as 300 feet tall.

And it's shrouded,
kind of jungle-like

with a compound
of over a hundred camps.

Some are quite rustic
and spartan,

and others are quite elaborate,

and there are lakes and streams
running through it.

It's really quite beautiful.

SHATNER:
While the Bohemian Grove
might appear

to be a welcoming oasis,

uninvited guests
are definitely not welcome.

Because this secluded enclave
belongs to a secretive group

of billionaires that
appropriately call themselves...

"the Bohemian Club."

SPENCE:
The Bohemian club is
for rich guys.

That's the easiest way
to think of it.

There are usually somewhere

between about 2,200
and 2,500 members.

What do millionaires
and billionaires do

secluded in their private
summer camp in the woods?

LEVY:
You've got mega billionaires,

you've got political donors,

you've got former presidents
who are all members.

So, when you start
to see this confluence of power

and influence at this place,

you start to wonder,
what's going on?

SHATNER:
While whatever is happening
within the seclusion

of the Bohemian Grove
may be private,

it's not exactly a secret

that something intriguing
may be taking place there.

But who are its members?

And why are they so protective
of their privacy?

Perhaps a clue might be found
by examining the club's origins.

The Bohemian Club was started
in San Francisco in the 1800s.

And it was originally started

for theatrical people
and writers,

poets, men of letters.

But they found out
pretty quickly

that most of those people
don't make a lot of money.

And so, in order
to keep the doors open,

they would also start
inviting in

moneyed patrons of the arts

who would like to rub shoulders

with these writers
and poets and actors.

SPENCE:
And then,

around 1929 or 1930,

President Herbert Hoover
becomes a member of the club.

Being a president,
he wanted more secrecy.

And eventually,

the old journalist artsy crowd
pretty much fades away.

And you get millionaires,
billionaires and politicians,

as it is today.

SHATNER:
Over the decades,
prominent names

such as newspaper tycoon
William Randolph Hearst,

financier David Rockefeller

and diplomat Henry Kissinger
have all been linked

to the Bohemian Club,
adding to its reputation.

But what could society's elite

and influential members
be hiding

from the outside world?

Buddy Levy is an investigative
journalist who was arrested

while attempting to infiltrate
Bohemian Grove in 2010.

And according to him,

its members go to great lengths
to keep their secrets.

LEVY:
I had been doing some research

into the Bohemian Grove,

and I wanted to get
a really close personal look

at the grounds themselves.

Initially, I went up
to the front gate,

and was quickly confronted
by security people who said,

"This is private property,
and you can't get in here."

I subsequently decided
to trek up the perimeter

of the grove itself.

And within minutes,

there was
a police officer there.

I was being cuffed and stuffed
in the back of a squad car,

and there was very little said,
except, "You're going to jail."

The Grove members don't really
want you to see what's going on.

It's sort of like
what goes on in the grove

should stay in the grove,
you know?

SHATNER:
Various leaks over the years
have led to speculation

that the members of the Bohemian
Club are doing everything,

from making illegal
backroom deals,

to selecting
U.S. presidential candidates.

But some experts believe

that there's something
even more nefarious

occurring within the confines
of the Bohemian Grove.

And as evidence,
they point to footage

that was leaked online in 2024,

taken from inside

the dense forest location.

SPENCE:
In 2024,

some enterprising folks snuck
into Bohemian Grove,

and caught video
of the opening ceremony

of that year's
summer encampment--

the Cremation of Care ritual.

It's a big show.
This is a production.

Everybody's all gotten
dressed up in their robes.

You've got hundreds of onlookers

and orchestral accompaniment.

Then you've got the boat,
which is sort of

carrying this wicker effigy,

which is placed at the foot

of this 40-foot
pseudo-stone owl,

and it's burned.

(applause and cheering)

SHATNER:
While the recent footage
is largely obscured by trees,

there have been other leaked
photographs over the years

that clearly show
this strange ceremony.

And many have wondered,

what is the true purpose of
what looks like a pagan ritual?

ISAAC WEISHAUPT: The Cremation
of Care ceremony is interesting.

They burn an effigy of a child
to this seemingly owl god.

You've got this class of elites
doing pagan activities

and having a strange
or unexplained sort of version

of religious belief systems.

SPENCE:
The explanation of the club
certainly is that,

"We're just playing around.

The ceremony is all part
of the fun."

Now others have argued that, no,

there's no such thing
as a mock human sacrifice.

Is this a sinister,

malevolent recreation
of a pagan sacrifice,

or is it just playing
at doing that?

The real meaning is only known

to the people
who are participating in it,

but maybe not even them.

And that's
the true secret part of it.

We may never truly know
what goes on

inside the top secret gatherings
at the Bohemian Grove,

but based on its elite
membership and high security,

it does spark the imagination.

But there's
another secret society

of a very different kind,

one that's said to protect

something
extremely controversial

and profoundly sacred--

the secret bloodline
of Jesus Christ.

(bell tolling in distance)

SHATNER: This quiet church
is believed by some

to date back
to the eighth century.

And according to folklore,

it may also be connected to
a thousand-year-old conspiracy

surrounding a secret society
known as the Priory of Sion.

The idea of the Priory of Sion
is that it was

a bloodline conspiracy

to protect the descendants
of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Because they claimed
that Mary Magdalene and Jesus

were in a relationship
and married and had children,

and their bloodline
becomes the founding dynasty

of the royal families of France.

And the belief is
that Mary Magdalene came

to Rennes-le-Château
because of that

and created communities
in this place.

ANDREW COLLINS:
The idea that Jesus and Mary
Magdalene were either married

or that she was his concubine

was something that was seen
as heresy by the Catholic Church

and indeed had
to be stamped out.

(crying)

But the knowledge

of the existence
of this secret bloodline

was preserved
by the Priory of Sion,

keeping it quiet
across the centuries.

SHATNER:
Could there be a secret society

that protects the possible
bloodline of Jesus Christ?

It's certainly
a controversial notion.

But many are convinced
that it's true.

And as evidence,
they point to a local legend

about a 19th-century priest
stationed in Rennes-le-Château

named Father Bérenger Saunière.

COLLINS:
Father Bérenger Saunière

was the parish priest
of Rennes-le-Château,

and it's long been believed
that Saunière discovered

some kind of secret

during his renovations
of the church.

It was said
that he found documents

inside a very ancient pillar

and that these documents
contained various ciphers

and long lists of members
of the Priory of Sion

and ancient genealogies

that came through Jesus
and through Mary Magdalene

-into France via a child
that was born to the couple.
-(baby giggles)

PICKNETT:
Although to some people it
might be a nice romantic story,

no one knows what
Bérenger Saunière discovered

in his church.

But the interesting thing is he
became extraordinarily wealthy

virtually overnight.

And there is
this persistent idea

that Bérenger Saunière was
working with the Priory of Sion

or that they recruited him

to help them preserve
and protect

the sacred bloodline of Jesus.

SHATNER:
Was this humble priest's
newfound wealth

proof of his involvement
with the Priory of Sion?

While the idea persists,
no one can say.

What is known, however,
is that years later, in 1967,

another set of documents
related to the Priory of Sion

was allegedly discovered by a
Frenchman named Pierre Plantard.

The Priory of Sion
comes to our awareness

because of a man
named Pierre Plantard.

He comes forward and claims
to be a leader of this society,

claims to be one
of these bloodline descendants

who should be on the throne.

And he found documents in the
Bibliothèque Nationale in France

that support his arguments.

It's a real sensation
until it comes out...

...that all of these documents
are forgeries

and that Plantard's claims
are a hoax.

The whole thing was made up.
None of it's real.

SHATNER:
In 1993,

Plantard admitted under oath

that he forged
the Priory documents

and planted them
in the Bibliothèque

to support his outrageous claim.

But despite his deception,

many believe that there
really is a secret society

sworn to protect
the descendants of Jesus Christ.

McGOWAN: The reason
that what Plantard did

worked so well is
that he couched this idea

of the Priory of Sion
in some real information.

And so this has always been
the mystery of Rennes-le-Château

and Bérenger Saunière.

Was there a Priory of Sion

that was really
a legitimate secret society?

COLLINS:
Although the Priory of Sion
could be seen as a fabrication,

it's quite clear that there is
a genuine mystery here.

So did the Priory of Sion
really exist?

Ultimately, we don't know.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
The global research firm
Statista

publishes the result
of an eye-opening survey.

Approximately 21% of adults
in the United States

believe that a shadowy,
anonymous group

runs the entire world.

And it highlights one
of the most enduring

conspiracy theories
of the modern age--

that our reality is controlled

by a sinister secret society
known as the Illuminati.

WEISHAUPT:
The Illuminati is
a secret society

established on May 1, 1776,

by Adam Weishaupt in Germany.

And one of the main components
and structures of the Illuminati

was secrecy and anonymity,

with the idea that
you could never shut it down

or destroy this organization

because it didn't
technically exist.

HODAPP:
The Illuminati

wanted to create
this New World Order,

which is this idea of creating

this special governing order
of super smart elites...

...that kings had
no divine right to rule,

that Popes were picked
by man, not by God.

And so this New World Order

that the Illuminati
wanted to create

was a democratic society,
sort of,

as long as they could be
in charge.

SHATNER:
As far as we know, the
Illuminati disbanded in 1787,

after one of its leaders
exposed the society's existence.

So why do so many people believe
that the secret organization

not only still exists
but also rules the world?

Many believe the answer
is in plain sight--

on the U.S. dollar bill.

HODAPP:
The Great Seal on the back
of the dollar bill

has lots of images packed
into a-a pretty small space.

They picked a pyramid

because the pyramid is the most
enduring building project

in human history.

It's stood there
thousands of years

and probably will continue
to stand for thousands of years.

The all-seeing
Eye of Providence,

people think that that's some
sort of an evil representation

of an all-seeing eye
looking over its citizens.

The Latin phrase says
"new order of the ages."

WEISHAUPT:
"Novus ordo seclorum"

was added to
the Great Seal to mark

that America was going to be
the New World Order.

The Illuminati is
a pervasive theory today

because many believe
the Illuminati is

a variety of CEOs,
politicians, and elites

that are making plans to steer
the wills of the masses

towards their will.

Whether or not
the Bavarian Illuminati

was actually disbanded
doesn't necessarily matter.

A lot of their ideas
are still present to this day.

SHATNER:
Is the Illuminati still pulling
strings behind the scenes today?

Millions of people
certainly believe they are.

But like every secret society,

it's possible the whole truth
will never be revealed.

Secret societies
are fascinating,

and they have been
for a really long time.

And I think
they're going to be forever.

They trade in symbology,

and they have
secret communicative signs.

There's a fascination
with what we can't know

but even more so with what
we aren't allowed to know.

It just makes us want
to pry deeper and deeper

and try to uncover
what is the truth.

WEISHAUPT:
We have this idea
of a secret society of elites

making plans for the masses.

What they do
is hidden in secrecy.

We don't know if the truth
is being suppressed.

I think, ultimately,
it's a good thing

to start questioning
the nature of reality.

The idea of a secret society

with the power to control
the world anonymously

is both compelling

and deeply concerning.

There have been many conspiracy
theories about the reach

these clandestine groups
may have

and the dark rituals
they are said to practice.

But while some stories
feel a bit far-fetched,

there does seem to be
actual secret organizations

with known members

who really do wield
incredible power and influence.

Perhaps time will tell

the true intent
of these secret societies.

But for now, they remain...

...unexplained.

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