The Illuminati in the US

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What do Thomas Jefferson and Beyonce have in common? They have both been thought to be members of the Illuminati.

But what really is this not-so-secret society? And why was it once called the society of the bee? Don chats to author Michael Taylor about the real Illuminati, separating it from modern day conspiracy theories and assessing its impact on the United States.

Michael is the author of Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin, and the War between Science and Religion, and is working on a full length history of the Illuminati.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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1:02.5	Here at Grand Central Terminal in New York City, I'm buying a paper.
1:06.8	I dig into my pocket and pull out a few crumpled singles.
1:09.7	Funny how little I use cash these days.
1:12.3	Feels almost antique.
1:14.2	And yet, holding a dollar bill, there's still something about it.
1:18.8	The texture.
1:19.9	One quarter linen, three quarters cotton, soft and crisp at the same time.
1:25.5	Well, until you put it through the laundry.
1:27.9	A familiar sepia green, Washington's unwavering gaze, the serial numbers stamped in order.
1:34.5	Then one Federal Reserve note, the United States of America.
1:39.2	Basically unchanged since 1963.
1:42.0	Then the obverse, the weird side, the great seal, that unfinished pyramid on a barren landscape,
1:49.7	it's 13 steps rising to nowhere, topped by the ever-watching eye of Providence.
	...

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