This week, we explore the history, power, and conspiracy theories surrounding the Freemasons.

We’ve had a large listener request to elaborate on our Illuminati episode by covering different “factions,” and this was the first one since they are one of the biggest secret societies in the world. We start by talking on the facts about Masons, the Shriners, and their philanthropic hospitals and charity work (good on them). We then turn to the history of the Freemasons, but it is hard to do since the reports of when/how/where/why they started varies more than anything we’ve encountered. They could have started in ancient Egypt, at the temple of King Solomon, in the 1500s, or in the 1700s. It depends on who you ask.

Who are the Freemasons, and what secrets do they keep? Well, we don’t know, but we try our best to get at some of it. Dave recounts a tour he took of a local Masonic Lodge, and then the conversation turns to some of the key conspiracy theories. We look at Captain William Morgan’s masonic abduction and the resulting birth of the Anti-Masonic political party from the 1800s. We look at “The Banker of God” and his supposed murder at the hands of the Masons. From a secret group of cops in Southern California called the Masonic Fraternal Police Department to the dark lord demon Baphomet, we check it out. Jack the Ripper, Mozart, Devil Worship, General Albert Pike and the Three World Wars, hoaxes placed in the British Museum of London, it’s all in this episode.

Episode Ending Song: Ab Soul - Gone Insane