The boys unravel the origin story of one of America’s most powerful dynasties — the Rockefellers. From humble beginnings in upstate New York, John D. Rockefeller’s rise from a disciplined teenager loaning out $50 at 7% interest to becoming the richest man in American history is both awe-inspiring and deeply controversial.
Starting with Rockefeller’s early years — a religious, frugal upbringing shaped by his con-artist father and devout mother — and follow his obsessive focus on efficiency and control as he dives headfirst into the oil refining game in Cleveland. By his early 30s, Rockefeller had turned the chaotic oil boom into a ruthless game of consolidation, vertical integration, and railroad manipulation. He built the Standard Oil empire brick by brick, buying out competitors during the infamous “Cleveland Massacre” and pioneering the first true industrial monopoly in U.S. history.
But Rockefeller’s influence didn’t stop at oil. In the second half of the episode, we pull back the curtain on one of the most chilling conspiracy claims tied to his legacy: the hostile takeover of American medicine. We explore how, through the Rockefeller Foundation and the infamous 1910 Flexner Report, Rockefeller helped discredit homeopathy, herbalism, and natural healing — clearing the way for a petrochemical-fueled pharmaceutical empire. Was this philanthropy? Or a calculated campaign to monopolize health the same way he had monopolized oil?
And what about the claim that Rockefeller’s empire merged with IG Farben, forming a global "Drug Trust" that shaped modern medicine, media, and even cancer treatment options in America? We trace how petrochemical byproducts went from industrial waste to everyday ointments, pills, and shampoos — and how the very industry meant to heal us may have been designed from the start to profit off of our sickness.
From dimes handed to children to dimes dropped into drug patents, this episode peels back the layers of the Rockefeller legacy. Innovator or villain? Savior or saboteur? It all depends on who writes the history — or who owns the printing press.
This is The Rockefellers — only on The Conspiracy Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.