Secret Societies

In East LA, a group of deputies named the Banditos stand accused of running the sheriff’s substation like a gang, institutionalizing a culture of fear and retaliation. And while they’re intimidating civilians and colleagues alike, they may be protected by the very top of the department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Compton Executioners allegedly control every aspect of life at the LASD Compton substation. Gang members have been accused of assaulting fellow deputies and even killing civilians, claiming, often without evidence, that they were acting in self-defense. And although they’ve faced several lawsuits, somehow, the Executioners have evaded prosecution — and any accountability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the 1850s, Los Angeles was one of the most dangerous places to live in the West. Extrajudicial killings, unchecked racial violence, and vigilante groups like the Los Angeles Rangers prevailed. This “Wild West” culture seeped into and was propagated by the Sheriff’s Department — and it hasn't gone away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The community of Lennox in Los Angeles is just one square mile, but it has an enormous problem. Alongside violent gang activity, there’s a secret organization adding terror to the neighborhood. Their symbol? The Grim Reaper. Their ranks? Los Angeles sheriff's deputies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deputy gangs have been embedded in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department since 1971. In the first of our five-part collaboration with Parcast series Kingpins, we delve into the earliest of these violent gangs that shaped the current culture within the LASD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The group staged a violent uprising in 1900, determined to rid Imperial China of foreign influence. It later became known as the Boxer Rebellion. Western diplomats and Chinese Christians were forced to defend themselves against the militants, while an international alliance moved to counter-attack… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 1800s, groups of working-class Chinese citizens became frustrated by their dire economic straits and the rampant Western influence over their country. They formed a revolutionary secret society, and resolved to reclaim China for themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1919, the Thule Society led a revolt against the communist government that had taken control of Munich. In the shaky political aftermath, Thulists joined a new fascist political party, and influenced a burgeoning dictator: Adolph Hitler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before there were the Nazis, the Thule Society sprang up as a secret order dedicated to Aryan superiority. Followers of Thule believed the future of Germany lay in returning to the past and practicing the magic of the old Norse gods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the dawn of the internet, the ONA and it's non-religious counterpart, the Dreccian Way, have exploded across the world. Dozens of white-supremacist groups have adopted the ONA's messages, with deadly results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First founded by a mysterious figure in the 1960s, the O.N.A. has made it their mission to use black magic to create their white supremacist dreamworld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-1800s, the Camorra utilized a time of great political turmoil to raise their stature. But when an Italian minister realizes how much they've infiltrated into Neapolitan society, he begins a war against them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 1800s, a secret society of criminals known as the Camorra formed in the jails of Naples. Once released, they became pivotal players in the Italian struggle for independence from the Bourbon Regime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since they were first founded, the Freemasons' secretive nature gave rise to rumors and conspiracy theories: According to some, Freemasons worship the devil, have a headquarters under the Denver airport, and are planning to rise up and establish a dystopian New World Order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With ties back to the stonemason lodges of the Middle Ages, Freemasons just might be the world's oldest secret society—or as they say, society with secrets. Their arcane rituals, esoteric symbols, and celebrity membership have attracted members—and critics—for hundreds of years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Membership in the Order of the Odd Fellows dwindled after the Great Depression, making it hard for the society to keep their sordid past a secret—like how the Order may have been involved with one of the most notorious murder cases in history. Meanwhile, skeletons are literally falling out of abandoned Lodge closets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dating back as far as 79 C.E., the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows is a society built on charitable efforts. Yet behind closed doors, the Order has dark secrets and rituals that are closely guarded by members to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NYPD Detective Joe Petrosino, an Italian immigrant and master of disguise, led the charge against the Black Hand. When a backlash arose against ALL Italian-Americans, his fight to protect his community transformed into a battle against bigotry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the turn of the 20th century, a criminal group began terrorizing New York’s Italian immigrant population. The Black Hand was insidious, but Detective Joe Petrosino—aka “the Italian Sherlock Holmes”—fought for justice, with a task force known as “the Mysterious Six.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Sicily, the Cosa Nostra acted like a shadow government, controlling local lawmakers, priests, and law enforcement. They ruled the island until the 1980s, when a brave group of magistrates finally put the mafia on trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-1800s, criminal gangs sprang up in Sicily, using violence to extort farmers in the island's lucrative citrus trade. By the end of the century, the gangs organized into the Cosa Nostra: the all-powerful Sicilian mafia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the turn of the century, the Order of the Golden Dawn was born… and then died. In the decades since, several mystics have resurrected the order, founding numerous competing chapters, influencing political elections, and maybe even causing the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1888, three Rosicrucians and Freemasons—William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Wescott, and S.L. Mathers—allegedly found an ancient manuscript detailing rituals of a long lost Golden Dawn. They resurrected the order and perpetuated its magical secrets… but were they really mystics? Or was it all an elaborate hoax? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of America’s most historical figures, from Samuel Adams to John Hancock to Paul Revere, were members of the Sons of Liberty. But their methods for securing independence weren’t always pure. Alternate histories suggest they may have incited the Boston Massacre and sold opium to fund their cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1765, nine middle-class businessmen began meeting under Boston’s Liberty Tree. Over time, merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, even politicians joined the secret society known as the Sons of Liberty. Not only did they orchestrate the Boston Tea Party, they inspired the American Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He inspired the Beatles, sacrificed goats, and faked his own death. Aleister Crowley is one of the most controversial figures in modern history, and his name has become synonymous with the O.T.O. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The occult society of magicians, Ordo Templi Orientis, has divided public opinion since its founding in Germany around 1890. Are they innovative philosophers, or do they worship Satan? Take a walk into the O.T.O.'s world of blood, rituals, and sex magic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knowledge about the Bilderberg Group hit the mainstream in the 2000s. Since then, conspiracy theorists have accused the group of handpicking world leaders, deposing uncooperative governments and even creating implements for mind-control. However, the true danger posed by the group is much more harmful than any wild, unfounded claim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since its founding in 1954, the Bilderberg Group, an association made up of the world's richest and most powerful people, have met in secret in luxury hotels around the world. Nobody knows what these heads of state and CEOs discuss behind closed doors though several journalists have tried to find out... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Hasan-i-Sabbah now dead, the Assassins looked to someone to carry on his legacy. They found it in Rashid al-Din Sinan. With Sinan as Grand Master, the Assassins would become legendary, and their deeds would capture the imagination, and horror, of Christian Crusaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Throughout the history of Islam, schisms led to the formation of different branches or sects. In 1090, after the death of an Imam, a missionary would set out to form his own branch of Islam. In the process, he would create one of the deadliest secret societies in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many historians believe that the last Cathar died in 1321. They had been slaughtered in a decades-long inquisition led by the Catholic Church. But has the religious society managed to keep alive in the shadows? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They first appeared in Europe sometime during the 12th century. But unlike other secret societies, the Cathars didn’t choose to hide—they were forced to. They believed the pain we experience in this world is because we've been trapped here, in physical form, by a sinister God. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They were famous in the coal mining region of Pennsylvania. Before the end of the 19th century, twenty of the Molly Maguires’ alleged leaders would be hanged for their heinous crimes. But the question remains, did this menacing Irish society even actually exist? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1800s, Irish farmers began protesting against greedy landlords and excessive tithes. But before long, these protests turned violent—even murderous. As the Mollies began popping up in coal-mining Pennsylvania, the death toll would only continue to grow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you enjoy the stories told in Secret Societies, check out this episode from our series Dictators: Before he became the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world, Joseph Stalin was an idealistic, but ruthless revolutionary. A Marxist from a young age, he devoted much of his life to overthrowing Imperial Russia. But as his star rose among the Russian socialists, so too did his list of enemies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you enjoy the stories told in Secret Societies, check out this episode from our series Dictators: Now in total power, Joseph Stalin went on to transform the Soviet Union into a modernized country—but at the cost of millions of lives. In order to fulfill his vision of communism, the deaths of peasants and political enemies were required. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recent allegations and revelations about the Rosicrucians have accused them of mind control, ritual suicide, and white supremacy. Some even believe they're part of a global conspiracy to hide the truth about Jesus Christ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Between 1610 and 1614, a series of anonymous letters claimed to reveal hidden knowledge about a mystical secret society. Were the missives divine revelations—or hoaxes? And did a fourteenth-century Christian monk unlock the key to immortality? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Their power allowed them to attain a nearly impossible reach in politics, big business, and the media after the end of World War II. Some have even accused the Council on Foreign Relations of using the U.S. government...to create a New World Order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since its founding in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations has claimed to be an independent political think-tank. But they have had a direct hand in crafting some of the most divisive policies in United States History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From blood rituals to massacres to drug rings, the Triads are still making headlines around the world. A group that was created with a sense of greater purpose has now come to worship one thing: money. And they'll do anything to turn a profit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brotherhood. Political rebellion. Mutual aid. The origin of the Triads in the 17th century is almost virtuous. How, then, has their name become synonymous with corruption, crime, and bloodshed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Knights Templar grew in wealth and power for several centuries, becoming what many have labeled as the first multinational corporation. That is until French King Philip the Fair accused them of practicing secret, heretical rituals behind closed doors. The Knights, he pronounced to all of Medieval society, were not what they seemed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was a Medieval order of Christian warriors, founded on principles of chastity and commitment to the word of God. Their rituals of the Knights Templar were in keeping with their godly public image—on the surface. But even the most honorable of organizations can be corrupted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Francis Dashwood founded the London Hellfire Club, he was primarily interested in partying and starting quarrels. But by the early 1760s, the group's hijinx had destabilized the British Parliament, and threatened the course of England's future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black masses. Human sacrifice. Satanic rituals. Are these the practices of an 18th century secret society, or merely legend? The answer may never be known, as the members of the Hellfire Club cloaked their practices in shadow and rumor from the time it was founded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1820, the Carbonari had enough influence within Naples to launch their long-awaited revolution. However, they soon realized that leading a government was much harder than overthrowing one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 1800s, the Italian Kingdom of Naples fell under the control of a succession of autocratic rulers. Desperate to have a say in their own governance, a group of Neapolitan citizens created the Carbonari—a revolutionary secret society that had their fair share of initiation ceremonies, complex symbols, and hierarchical organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are numerous theories about how actively engaged Yale’s Skull and Bones alumni are in implementing a “New World Order.” The Bonesmen may have already taken control of some of our most influential institutions, including high-ranking positions in government, but just how diabolical are their plans? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices