April 15, 2025 • 24 mins
Beneath the surface of American democracy and free-market capitalism lies a hidden architecture of power—conspiracies not as fringe anomalies, but as fundamental mechanisms of control. From the founding fathers' secret meetings to global financial manipulation, Aaron Scott reveals how coordinated deception shapes our world.
The podcast traces how "conspiracy theory" transformed from neutral description to weaponized label after JFK's assassination, when the CIA strategically discredited Warren Commission critics by framing conspiracy belief as psychological defect. This linguistic sleight-of-hand continues to protect powerful institutions by shifting focus from content to character, effectively shutting down critical inquiry.
Not all conspiracy claims are created equal. While the podcast examines several major "theories" later proven true—the secret US-Saudi petrodollar deal, the banking elite's covert creation of the Federal Reserve, Big Tobacco's cancer cover-up, Purdue Pharma's deliberate downplaying of OxyContin addiction risks, and Operation Paperclip's Nazi scientist recruitment—it also acknowledges how pattern illusion and unfalsifiable claims lead many astray.
The most provocative argument? Our entire global economy depends on carefully maintained illusions: meritocracy despite systemic inequality, infinite growth on a finite planet, artificial value through manufactured scarcity, and the facade of consumer freedom while algorithms shape our choices. Without these coordinated deceptions, "the entire cathedral collapses."
Rather than inducing paranoia, recognizing these patterns can elevate consciousness, sharpening our discernment and reclaiming our sovereignty from institutional conditioning. By seeing beyond surface narratives, we develop the intellectual, emotional, and energetic resilience needed for true liberation. Join The Evolved Podcast weekly to continue unveiling the world that exists right under your nose and accessing higher levels of consciousness through truth and knowledge.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Manhattan
Prophet Podcast.
I am the Manhattan Prophet.
As a reminder, I'm here toensure that all knowledge I give
you finds meaning and apractical place in your everyday
lives.
It's only through properlydigesting knowledge, in this
case of ourselves and the worldaround us, that we see things
clearly enough to break oldpatterns of behavior and begin a
(00:28):
new path forward to aheightened state of
consciousness.
Conspiracies have alwaysexisted, not as fringe anomalies
, but as a core feature of powercontrol and expansion,
especially within the Americanproject and global capitalism at
large.
From the founding of the UnitedStates, rooted in secret
(00:48):
meetings, backroom deals andelite negotiations, to its rise
as a global superpower throughcovert interventions, corporate
collusion and manufacturedcrises, conspiracy has
functioned as an essentialmechanism for shaping outcomes.
While preserving the illusionof freedom and fairness, the US
has orchestrated coups to securemarkets, propped up dictators
(01:11):
to protect corporate interests,manipulated financial systems
through central banking schemesand hidden economic exploitation
behind patriotic narratives.
In capitalism broadly, successoften stems not from
transparency or open competition, but from covert coordination,
insider knowledge and controlledperception.
(01:31):
Conspiracies aren't theexception.
They're the architecture behindempires disguised as
democracies and controlledmarketplaces disguised as
meritocracies.
Let's examine the origin of acommonly known phrase conspiracy
theory.
Everyone, after all, has aninternalized association with
this phrase.
The term conspiracy has longbeen used in legal and political
(01:54):
contexts to describe secretplots by two or more individuals
, where conspiracy theory simplyrefers to a hypothesis that
explains an event as a result ofa covert group acting in
concert.
Interestingly enough, beforethe 20th century it wasn't
inherently pejorative.
It wasn't until after PresidentJohn F Kennedy was assassinated
(02:16):
in 1963, where many Americansquestioned the official Warren
Commission report, which claimedthat Lee Harvey Oswald acted
alone, questioned the officialWarren Commission report, which
claimed that Lee Harvey Oswaldacted alone, that dozens of
alternative theories emerged,involving the CIA, the mafia,
foreign governments, evenelements within the United
States government itself.
Where public trust in theofficial story eroded rapidly,
(02:39):
it was the CIA document 1035-960.
That was the smoking gun.
In response to growing publicskepticism, the CIA issued an
internal dispatch titledCountering Criticism of the
Warren Report.
The memo instructed CIA assetsin media and academia to
discredit dissenters byassociating them with
(03:01):
quote-unquote conspiracytheories.
They were to promote the ideathat such theories were
anti-American, irrational ormotivated by financial interests
or political extremism.
They were also to frame beliefin a conspiracy as a
psychological defect, not alegitimate critique.
This is when the termconspiracy theory began to take
on its modern, dismissive tone.
(03:23):
It became a tool ofdelegitimization, not
clarification.
Labeling something a conspiracytheory was so effective because
it immediately places it outsideof respectable discourse.
It protects powerfulinstitutions by shifting focus
from content to character ieyou're crazy instead of you
(03:44):
might be right.
It also short-circuits criticalthinking by associating
curiosity with instability orparanoia.
It became a sort ofthought-stopping phrase designed
to create cognitive dissonancein those who dared to question
power.
Today, the term is often usedto shame, silence or censor
narratives that challengemainstream consensus, even when
(04:07):
those narratives turn out to bevalid.
And, ironically, the very useof the term conspiracy theory
can itself be a form ofmanipulation, a defense
mechanism, a power masqueradingas rationality.
Today, all too often, it's usedto shut down critical inquiry,
even when history has shown thatmany conspiracy theories turned
out to be true.
(04:27):
Let's have a look at some ofthe conspiracy theories that
turned out to be true wherepeople were vilified and deemed
insane for uttering these truthsat some time in the recent past
.
We have the secret US-Saudi dealforged after the 1973 oil
embargo.
It was originally thought to bea conspiracy theory until it
(04:48):
was proven that the USnegotiated with Saudi Arabia to
price oil exclusively in USdollars.
In return, the US offeredmilitary protection and weapons.
All other OPEC nations thenfollowed suit.
This agreement had far-reachingimplications globally then
followed suit.
This agreement had far-reachingimplications globally.
For one, it created universaldemand for the US dollar,
(05:12):
reinforcing it as a globalreserve currency.
We all know it as today.
It allowed the US to runmassive deficits without
devaluing its currency.
It also tied oil, and thereforeenergy in general, to US
economic dominance.
This agreement artificiallypropped up American economic
power and shaped global tradestructures.
Then we have the conspiracy thatthe US Central Bank, or the
Federal Reserve, was designed insecret by banking elites.
(05:34):
This was again proven to betrue.
A covert meeting indeed tookplace in 1910 on Jekyll Island
between major banking figuressuch as JP Morgan, paul Warburg,
among others, and SenatorNelson Aldrich.
They crafted the blueprint forwhat would become the Federal
Reserve Act of 1913.
This has had a global impact.
(05:56):
It gave private bankinginterests control over US
monetary policy.
It enabled a sort of boom-busteconomic cycle profile, wartime
financing and inflationaryexpansion.
It cemented centralized,non-transparent control over the
money supply.
Another well-known example of aconspiracy theory proven true is
(06:18):
the big tobacco cover-up ofhealth risks At tobacco.
Companies knew cigarettescaused cancer and hit it.
This was proven throughinternal documents released in
lawsuits during the 1990s, whichrevealed that these companies
suppressed research, manipulatedscientists and marketed smoking
as healthy.
All these CEOs testified beforeCongress in 1994 that nicotine
(06:41):
wasn't addictive, despiteinternal proof otherwise.
The economic impact wasastounding, as these actions
built one of the largestconsumer industries in modern
history on fraud.
It delayed regulation andprotected profits at the cost of
millions of lives.
It set a precedent forcorporate deception in public
health sectors, with big pharmaand big food using the exact
(07:04):
playbook years later, a textbookexample of conspiratory
economic development throughdeception.
Then there's the well-knownconspiracy theory that Purdue
Pharma, owned by the Sacklerfamily, intentionally downplayed
the addictiveness of OxyContinto doctors and the public, which
ended up creating the opioidepidemic in this country.
This was proven true.
Court documents andwhistleblower reports showed
(07:27):
Purdue knew how addictiveOxyContin was.
They aggressively marketed itas safe using fake data, paid
experts and incentives fordoctors.
This helped trigger a nationalopioid academic, fueling a
crisis that devastatedcommunities while the Sacklers
made billions.
Purdue even pleaded guilty in2007 and again in 2020.
(07:50):
It revealed again how corporategreed and regulatory capture
can shape entire health andlabor markets.
Capitalism built on addiction,enabled by collusion and hidden
science.
And then there's the sickeningconspiracy theory known as
Operation Paperclip, againproven true.
This was when the US secretlybrought over 1,600 Nazi
(08:13):
scientists after World War II,including war criminals, to
develop US military space andtechnology programs.
Declassified documentsconfirmed the US sanitized Nazi
records to bypass war crimeaccusations.
These scientists contributed toNASA weapons programs and
pharmaceuticals.
They directly contributed toAmerica's post-war dominance in
science, tech and military.
(08:34):
This laid the groundwork forCold War economics and defense
spending, even shaping globalmilitary industrial development.
Behind the sanitized lie, inthe end, wartime morality was
quietly traded for Cold Wardominance.
While many conspiracies takeplace, it is important to
recognize that many people cometo conclusions that are
factually incorrect, poorlyevidenced or built on
(08:57):
misinterpretation.
These individuals can leadpeople away from truth rather
than toward it.
At our core, humans are wiredto see patterns, sometimes even
when none exist.
These peddlers of false truthsoften connect dots that may be
unrelated, drawing conclusionsfrom coincidences or
correlations without causalevidence.
(09:18):
As an example, the idea that 5Gtechnology caused COVID-19 is
based on timing and proximity,not science.
There is zero biological basisthat the narrative spread widely
.
Due to pattern illusion, someof these individuals rely on
out-of-context quotes,manipulated videos, anonymous
sources or misunderstoodscientific data.
(09:38):
They may cite real documentsbut twist their meaning or
cherry-pick information, whileignoring contradictory evidence.
A great well-known example isthe Flat Earth Theory, where
people use distorted physics andphotographic misinterpretation
despite overwhelming evidencefrom aerospace, gps and
planetary science.
(09:58):
Many of these individuals createfalse narratives that are
designed so they can't bedisproven.
When evidence contradicts thetheory, believers often say
quote-unquote that's what theywant you to think.
This makes the theory immune tologic or verification, which is
the opposite of truth-seeking.
For example, the claims thatevery major event is a false
(10:20):
flag, from mass shootings tonatural disasters.
These can't be falsified andoften cause harm by spreading
doubt and re-traumatizingvictims.
Also, they create a sort ofunderbelly of paranoia.
These are created in many waysby people who do not understand
how systems or the world works,and thus these individuals often
simplify complexities byblaming a small group of evil
(10:41):
masterminds like Jews or asingle billionaire, while power
is concentrated.
Real-world systems involvebureaucracy, incompetence,
conflicting interests anddecentralized actors.
When you spread lies anddisinformation, you are doing
just as much damage as those whoare perpetrating real
conspiracies that injure thepublic.
These falsities exploit fear,grief or trauma, drawing people
(11:05):
into deeper rabbit holes thatisolate them from reality and
community.
Recognizing that conspiraciesexist doesn't mean every
conspiracy theory is true.
Critical thinkers must askwhat's the evidence?
Is it verifiable?
Who benefits from this belief?
Am I projecting fear oruncovering truth?
Discernment, not blindskepticism or blind belief, is
(11:27):
the real path to wisdom.
Pivoting back now, let's notlose sight of the fact that real
global policy isn't justsculpted around conspiracies.
Modern-day capitalism withinthe United States depends on it
as well.
It is, in fact, a fundamentaltenet of capitalism when a few
know what many do not.
For example, insider trading isillegal, but it happens
(11:49):
routinely in elite financialcircles.
Hedge funds, central banks andmajor corporations move billions
based on knowledge that is inpublic.
Entire asset bubbles are builton concealed truths.
Look at the 2008 housing crisisor Silicon Valley valuations.
Even crypto pumps Conspiraciesin the economic sense are simply
the normalization of hiddenleverage.
(12:10):
Modern economies are not, intruth, shaped entirely by public
will, but by corporate lobbying, dark money and
behind-the-scenes deals.
As we all know, big Pharmawrites healthcare policy and big
tech influences regulationthrough revolving door politics
and something we all feel at thegas pump is when OPEC creates
false scarcity of the oilcommodity through market
(12:32):
manipulation and collusion.
These aren't theories, they'redocumented.
In this sense, policy is aproduct and conspiracy becomes
the negotiation behind closeddoors.
What's worse is that the media,once a watchdog for democracy,
is now complicit in manufacturedconsensus.
The economy depends on consumertrust and trust depends on
(12:52):
narrative control.
We all know that major newsoutlets have corporate owners
and advertisers, many of whomare the very players it should
be scrutinizing.
This new advent offact-checking now acts as a veil
of authority, not an objectiveprocess.
It can be easily hijacked andin fact is Media in many ways
(13:13):
becomes the shield that protectscorporate and deep state
narratives that label anymainstream dissent as dangerous.
A relatively new development ishow economies today rely on
surveillance capitalism, whichin essence is the tracking and
prediction of human behavior, tomonetize attention.
Your phone, browser, car, evenrefrigerator, collect data to
(13:34):
influence your choices.
Without your awareness,algorithms shape not just what
you buy, but what you believe.
This isn't conspiracy in theabstract, it's covert,
psychological manipulation.
Some may even call it warfare.
It's scaled, even automated.
Let's not forget to maintaindominance.
Large corporations must appearcompetitive and benevolent,
(13:55):
while doing the opposite.
Amazon crushes small businesseswhile appearing to or worse,
pretending to support them.
Google rigs search resultswhile claiming neutrality.
Food giants marketpesticide-poisoned GMO produce
or ultra-processed food aswellness.
Some truths central to theinfrastructure of our very
economy, if widely known, woulddestabilize the market.
(14:18):
For example, the debt-basedmoney system is, at its core, a
pyramid scheme.
We print money not based ongold reserves or any store of
value.
The Federal Reserveindependence is illusory.
It is, in truth, a privateentity with no obligation to put
the needs of American citizensor our democracy first.
(14:39):
Pensions and social securitysystems are unsustainable, with
no plan in place to rehabilitatethese broken systems of
security.
As we have seen, under theBiden administration, the social
security system was manipulated, issuing payments to illegal
immigrants and individuals whowere either not born yet or had
passed away years ago.
Financial stability in truthbecomes dependent on mass
(15:00):
delusion, mass delusion fueledthrough the efforts of those few
who are in positions of power.
Our economy and economiesaround the globe run on what's
hidden, not what's known.
Crises, secrets, rigged systemsand psychological manipulation
are not glitches, they'refeatures.
Without conspiracy, the modernglobal economy would unravel,
(15:24):
revealing a structure far morefragile and engineered than
we're led to believe, becausewithout conspiracy, without
hidden motives, concealedagendas and manipulative
narratives, the entire illusionthat props up the global economy
would collapse under its owncontradictions.
Why?
Well, for one, the globaleconomy is built on lies of
scarcity and value.
(15:45):
If the public truly understoodthat money is created out of
debt and thin air by centralbanks, or that natural resources
are artificially limited todrive profit, or that value is
often fabricated throughspeculation, hype and branding,
then the very belief system thatholds up the economy would
crumble.
Markets don't run on reality.
They run on mass perception orvalue based on some decided
(16:07):
forward earnings profile, as wesee in the stock market.
Take away the carefully curatedlie or accepted valuation model
and the markets panic.
Another unwavering fact is thatconfidence, not truth, is the
fuel of capitalism.
The global financial system isbased on faith, not unlike
religion.
People must believe that theirmoney has value, that banks are
(16:29):
stable, that markets will alwaysrebound, that governments have
actual control and the abilityto operate on behalf of its
citizens or represents.
If conspiracy, defined here asdeliberate deception, was
stripped away, the truth wouldreveal that we have extremely
fragile debt cycles, oftentimeswith the central banking systems
as the culprits.
Unintentional or otherwise,they are the disruptor, that we
(16:52):
have unsustainable consumption,that there's institutional fraud
, that there's mass exploitationof workers, children, natural
resources.
You name it.
You see the truth causesvolatility.
Deception preserves order.
Advertising, behavioral scienceand surveillance capitalism all
manipulate your desires.
If people truly understood thattheir choices aren't free, that
(17:15):
their attention is beingharvested, that their self-worth
has been commodified, theywould reclaim agency.
And that's bad for business.
Without manipulation, peopleconsume less.
Without consumption, the marketcontracts.
Without illusion, the machinestops.
Without conspiracy, powerbecomes accountable.
Governments, banks,corporations depend on
(17:38):
coordinated secrecy to maintainorder or, in many cases, control
.
There are lobbying deals, taxevasion networks,
military-industrial contracts,suppressed technologies.
Expose these fully and publictrust vanishes.
Demand for decentralizationgrows.
People may even revolt.
Conspiracy on many fronts is theglue of the modern global
(18:00):
economy.
Pull it away and the cathedralcollapses, not because people
stop working, not becausetechnology fails, but because
the lies that keep us enslavedto illusion no longer hold us
hostage.
Truth is explosive in a worldbuilt on fiction.
What are these fictions, youask?
Well, there is the illusion ofmeritocracy, that if you work
(18:21):
hard enough you'll succeed.
This narrative keeps peoplecompliant, striving, competing
and blaming themselves if theyfail.
But capitalism rewards thosewho already have capital, not
just talent or effort.
Don't believe me.
Let's look at real worldexamples.
There are college admissionscandals, ie Operation Varsity
Blues, which exposed how thewealthy buy their way into elite
(18:42):
institutions while the poorface structural barriers.
Corporations don't innovate.
They purchase IP or othercompanies in order to maintain
supremacy in a market, a sectoror in an entire industry.
Then there's the obvioussystemic wealth gap in the US,
which proves that historicalinjustices still shape those who
(19:02):
get ahead.
This can be explained for manydifferent reasons, all rooted in
the supremacy of capital.
The illusion keeps peopletrapped in the system, believing
failure is personal, notsystemic.
Then we have the ever-presentillusion of infinite growth,
that the economy must and willkeep growing.
Modern capitalism is addictedto exponential growth, despite
(19:23):
us living on a finite planet.
This illusion persists throughdenial, delay and false
technological advancement ratherthan honest recalibration.
Amazon rainforest destructionis driven by the global demand
for beef, soy and mining, whereshort-term profit reigns supreme
at the cost of long-termcollapse.
(19:44):
Technology sold to the generalpublic as quote-unquote new is
in fact developed years inadvance but is rolled out as new
to maximize profit.
This is, at its core, amanufacturing of artificial
growth.
For example, new features ofthe newly released iPhone are
developed years in advance andcould have been released with
(20:04):
older models.
Then we have economists whocall for a 2-3% GDP growth as
healthy, even though it requiresendless extraction, pollution
and consumption.
Supply chains, obscure,slave-like conditions.
If the average person werefully aware of the cold hard
facts behind inhumane workconditions, of what it takes to
(20:25):
make their cheap t-shirt, iphoneor two-dollar burger, conscious
, consumption would slow and thesystem would erode.
To question infinite growth isto threaten stock markets,
investor confidence and nationalprestige, so the uncomfortable
truths are ignored.
(20:45):
Then we have my favorite theillusion of value.
Real prices and markets areoften disconnected from real
world value.
Speculation, hype andpsychological sentiment drive
booms and crashes rather thanproductivity or utility.
Many crypto coins were backedby nothing but branding and
influencer hype, yet peopleinvested their savings.
(21:06):
Diamonds, in fact, are notscarce.
Oil is prevalent all over theplanet.
It's those who control thesupply that create the pricing,
not the actual supply-demandeconomics of efficient markets.
Stability and value hinges onbelief or collusion, or both.
Then there is the illusion oftransparency that we live in a
(21:26):
democracy with checks andbalances, yet the biggest
economic and political decisionsare made behind closed doors,
often by unelected elites.
We have the Federal Reservemeetings, which affect global
interest rates, yet most of theprocess is hidden from public
view.
Then there were the tradeagreements like NAFTA and TPP.
They were negotiated in secret,often benefiting corporations
(21:47):
over workers.
And then one we all rememberquite well the 2008 bailouts,
post-financial crisis, wheretaxpayer-funded bank bailouts
without input or realaccountability.
Meanwhile, not a single CEOwent to jail.
Arguably the worst is theillusion of consumer freedom,
(22:08):
where you can buy anything, soyou're free, but most choices
are shaped by algorithms,marketing monopolies and social
pressure.
What looks like infinite choiceis a carefully curated illusion
.
Some real-world examples Well,google and Amazon dominate
online visibility, favoringtheir own products or
advertisers.
Social media feeds andmanipulates emotion and behavior
(22:31):
, driving what we think we want.
Fast fashion offers thousandsof options, but they're produced
by the same few manufacturersusing the same exploited labor.
Freedom to choose ismeaningless if the options don't
empower you or, worse, if theyare designed to exploit you.
Modern capitalism is notsustained by ethical business,
(22:52):
equitable opportunity ortransparent leadership.
It's held together by astrategically curated
infrastructure of illusions.
These illusions are engineeredthrough media policy, education
and technology to maintain theperception of stability.
If the veil were lifted.
If the public truly saw therigged rules, the fragile
ecology, the manufactured value,the systems would no longer
(23:14):
hold their faith, and withoutfaith, capitalism collapses.
That's why illusion is not justa side effect, it's the
foundation.
Recognizing that conspiraciesexist and have always existed
can be a powerful catalyst fordeveloping a more in-tune,
critical and spiritually awareconsciousness.
(23:34):
It forces us to move beyondpassive acceptance of mainstream
narratives and into a deeper,more discerning relationship
with reality.
When we realize that systems ofpower often operate through
secrecy, manipulation andillusion, we begin to question
not only what we're told, butwhy we believe it.
This questioning is thefoundation of true awareness.
(23:55):
Rather than making us paranoidand acknowledging the presence
of conspiracy and disinformation, we can sharpen our intuition
and discernment.
We become more sensitive tofrequency, less focused on
appearances and more attuned toenergy, motive and coherence.
This expands our consciousnessfrom simply gathering
information to recognizingpatterns, understanding hidden
(24:15):
agendas and listening to ourinner compass.
It reclaims our sovereigntyfrom the conditioning of
institutions and replaces blindtrust with sacred inquiry.
Ultimately, confrontingconspiracy doesn't have to drag
us into fear.
It can initiate us into amaturity of consciousness.
It awakens us to anintellectual, critical awareness
(24:36):
and creates emotional andenergetic resilience.
We seek truth beyond thesurface, beyond a mainstream
narrative, and learn to holdcomplexity without collapsing
into confusion.
In this way, seeing throughdeception becomes an act of
liberation, a gateway to livingmore awake, more grounded and
more aligned with the deepercurrents of truth and justice.
(25:01):
As you continue listening to theManhattan Prophet podcast, I'm
going to unveil the true natureof the world that exists right
under your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
I'm going to provide you withreal-world ways to touch higher
levels of consciousness andunderstanding through truth and
knowledge.
I want to make this clear I donot own these truths.
(25:24):
I do not own this knowledge.
I'm simply extracting it anddistilling it for you in an
accessible form.
I ask you not to follow meblindly, but rather that you
follow me with your open mindand heart.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you believe and want tochange your world for the better
and support this evolution ofconsciousness, please show me by
following and sharing thischannel with those you love and
(25:44):
leaving a review.
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
This effort is dependent uponyour support.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Manhattan
Prophet Podcast.
I am the Manhattan Prophet.
As a reminder, I'm here toensure that all knowledge I give
you finds meaning and apractical place in your everyday
lives.
It's only through properlydigesting knowledge, in this
case of ourselves and the worldaround us, that we see things
clearly enough to break oldpatterns of behavior and begin a
(00:28):
new path forward to aheightened state of
consciousness.
Conspiracies have alwaysexisted, not as fringe anomalies
, but as a core feature of powercontrol and expansion,
especially within the Americanproject and global capitalism at
large.
From the founding of the UnitedStates, rooted in secret
(00:48):
meetings, backroom deals andelite negotiations, to its rise
as a global superpower throughcovert interventions, corporate
collusion and manufacturedcrises, conspiracy has
functioned as an essentialmechanism for shaping outcomes.
While preserving the illusionof freedom and fairness, the US
has orchestrated coups to securemarkets, propped up dictators
(01:11):
to protect corporate interests,manipulated financial systems
through central banking schemesand hidden economic exploitation
behind patriotic narratives.
In capitalism broadly, successoften stems not from
transparency or open competition, but from covert coordination,
insider knowledge and controlledperception.
(01:31):
Conspiracies aren't theexception.
They're the architecture behindempires disguised as
democracies and controlledmarketplaces disguised as
meritocracies.
Let's examine the origin of acommonly known phrase conspiracy
theory.
Everyone, after all, has aninternalized association with
this phrase.
The term conspiracy has longbeen used in legal and political
(01:54):
contexts to describe secretplots by two or more individuals
, where conspiracy theory simplyrefers to a hypothesis that
explains an event as a result ofa covert group acting in
concert.
Interestingly enough, beforethe 20th century it wasn't
inherently pejorative.
It wasn't until after PresidentJohn F Kennedy was assassinated
(02:16):
in 1963, where many Americansquestioned the official Warren
Commission report, which claimedthat Lee Harvey Oswald acted
alone, questioned the officialWarren Commission report, which
claimed that Lee Harvey Oswaldacted alone, that dozens of
alternative theories emerged,involving the CIA, the mafia,
foreign governments, evenelements within the United
States government itself.
Where public trust in theofficial story eroded rapidly,
(02:39):
it was the CIA document 1035-960.
That was the smoking gun.
In response to growing publicskepticism, the CIA issued an
internal dispatch titledCountering Criticism of the
Warren Report.
The memo instructed CIA assetsin media and academia to
discredit dissenters byassociating them with
(03:01):
quote-unquote conspiracytheories.
They were to promote the ideathat such theories were
anti-American, irrational ormotivated by financial interests
or political extremism.
They were also to frame beliefin a conspiracy as a
psychological defect, not alegitimate critique.
This is when the termconspiracy theory began to take
on its modern, dismissive tone.
(03:23):
It became a tool ofdelegitimization, not
clarification.
Labeling something a conspiracytheory was so effective because
it immediately places it outsideof respectable discourse.
It protects powerfulinstitutions by shifting focus
from content to character ieyou're crazy instead of you
(03:44):
might be right.
It also short-circuits criticalthinking by associating
curiosity with instability orparanoia.
It became a sort ofthought-stopping phrase designed
to create cognitive dissonancein those who dared to question
power.
Today, the term is often usedto shame, silence or censor
narratives that challengemainstream consensus, even when
(04:07):
those narratives turn out to bevalid.
And, ironically, the very useof the term conspiracy theory
can itself be a form ofmanipulation, a defense
mechanism, a power masqueradingas rationality.
Today, all too often, it's usedto shut down critical inquiry,
even when history has shown thatmany conspiracy theories turned
out to be true.
(04:27):
Let's have a look at some ofthe conspiracy theories that
turned out to be true wherepeople were vilified and deemed
insane for uttering these truthsat some time in the recent past
.
We have the secret US-Saudi dealforged after the 1973 oil
embargo.
It was originally thought to bea conspiracy theory until it
(04:48):
was proven that the USnegotiated with Saudi Arabia to
price oil exclusively in USdollars.
In return, the US offeredmilitary protection and weapons.
All other OPEC nations thenfollowed suit.
This agreement had far-reachingimplications globally then
followed suit.
This agreement had far-reachingimplications globally.
For one, it created universaldemand for the US dollar,
(05:12):
reinforcing it as a globalreserve currency.
We all know it as today.
It allowed the US to runmassive deficits without
devaluing its currency.
It also tied oil, and thereforeenergy in general, to US
economic dominance.
This agreement artificiallypropped up American economic
power and shaped global tradestructures.
Then we have the conspiracy thatthe US Central Bank, or the
Federal Reserve, was designed insecret by banking elites.
(05:34):
This was again proven to betrue.
A covert meeting indeed tookplace in 1910 on Jekyll Island
between major banking figuressuch as JP Morgan, paul Warburg,
among others, and SenatorNelson Aldrich.
They crafted the blueprint forwhat would become the Federal
Reserve Act of 1913.
This has had a global impact.
(05:56):
It gave private bankinginterests control over US
monetary policy.
It enabled a sort of boom-busteconomic cycle profile, wartime
financing and inflationaryexpansion.
It cemented centralized,non-transparent control over the
money supply.
Another well-known example of aconspiracy theory proven true is
(06:18):
the big tobacco cover-up ofhealth risks At tobacco.
Companies knew cigarettescaused cancer and hit it.
This was proven throughinternal documents released in
lawsuits during the 1990s, whichrevealed that these companies
suppressed research, manipulatedscientists and marketed smoking
as healthy.
All these CEOs testified beforeCongress in 1994 that nicotine
(06:41):
wasn't addictive, despiteinternal proof otherwise.
The economic impact wasastounding, as these actions
built one of the largestconsumer industries in modern
history on fraud.
It delayed regulation andprotected profits at the cost of
millions of lives.
It set a precedent forcorporate deception in public
health sectors, with big pharmaand big food using the exact
(07:04):
playbook years later, a textbookexample of conspiratory
economic development throughdeception.
Then there's the well-knownconspiracy theory that Purdue
Pharma, owned by the Sacklerfamily, intentionally downplayed
the addictiveness of OxyContinto doctors and the public, which
ended up creating the opioidepidemic in this country.
This was proven true.
Court documents andwhistleblower reports showed
(07:27):
Purdue knew how addictiveOxyContin was.
They aggressively marketed itas safe using fake data, paid
experts and incentives fordoctors.
This helped trigger a nationalopioid academic, fueling a
crisis that devastatedcommunities while the Sacklers
made billions.
Purdue even pleaded guilty in2007 and again in 2020.
(07:50):
It revealed again how corporategreed and regulatory capture
can shape entire health andlabor markets.
Capitalism built on addiction,enabled by collusion and hidden
science.
And then there's the sickeningconspiracy theory known as
Operation Paperclip, againproven true.
This was when the US secretlybrought over 1,600 Nazi
(08:13):
scientists after World War II,including war criminals, to
develop US military space andtechnology programs.
Declassified documentsconfirmed the US sanitized Nazi
records to bypass war crimeaccusations.
These scientists contributed toNASA weapons programs and
pharmaceuticals.
They directly contributed toAmerica's post-war dominance in
science, tech and military.
(08:34):
This laid the groundwork forCold War economics and defense
spending, even shaping globalmilitary industrial development.
Behind the sanitized lie, inthe end, wartime morality was
quietly traded for Cold Wardominance.
While many conspiracies takeplace, it is important to
recognize that many people cometo conclusions that are
factually incorrect, poorlyevidenced or built on
(08:57):
misinterpretation.
These individuals can leadpeople away from truth rather
than toward it.
At our core, humans are wiredto see patterns, sometimes even
when none exist.
These peddlers of false truthsoften connect dots that may be
unrelated, drawing conclusionsfrom coincidences or
correlations without causalevidence.
(09:18):
As an example, the idea that 5Gtechnology caused COVID-19 is
based on timing and proximity,not science.
There is zero biological basisthat the narrative spread widely
.
Due to pattern illusion, someof these individuals rely on
out-of-context quotes,manipulated videos, anonymous
sources or misunderstoodscientific data.
(09:38):
They may cite real documentsbut twist their meaning or
cherry-pick information, whileignoring contradictory evidence.
A great well-known example isthe Flat Earth Theory, where
people use distorted physics andphotographic misinterpretation
despite overwhelming evidencefrom aerospace, gps and
planetary science.
(09:58):
Many of these individuals createfalse narratives that are
designed so they can't bedisproven.
When evidence contradicts thetheory, believers often say
quote-unquote that's what theywant you to think.
This makes the theory immune tologic or verification, which is
the opposite of truth-seeking.
For example, the claims thatevery major event is a false
(10:20):
flag, from mass shootings tonatural disasters.
These can't be falsified andoften cause harm by spreading
doubt and re-traumatizingvictims.
Also, they create a sort ofunderbelly of paranoia.
These are created in many waysby people who do not understand
how systems or the world works,and thus these individuals often
simplify complexities byblaming a small group of evil
(10:41):
masterminds like Jews or asingle billionaire, while power
is concentrated.
Real-world systems involvebureaucracy, incompetence,
conflicting interests anddecentralized actors.
When you spread lies anddisinformation, you are doing
just as much damage as those whoare perpetrating real
conspiracies that injure thepublic.
These falsities exploit fear,grief or trauma, drawing people
(11:05):
into deeper rabbit holes thatisolate them from reality and
community.
Recognizing that conspiraciesexist doesn't mean every
conspiracy theory is true.
Critical thinkers must askwhat's the evidence?
Is it verifiable?
Who benefits from this belief?
Am I projecting fear oruncovering truth?
Discernment, not blindskepticism or blind belief, is
(11:27):
the real path to wisdom.
Pivoting back now, let's notlose sight of the fact that real
global policy isn't justsculpted around conspiracies.
Modern-day capitalism withinthe United States depends on it
as well.
It is, in fact, a fundamentaltenet of capitalism when a few
know what many do not.
For example, insider trading isillegal, but it happens
(11:49):
routinely in elite financialcircles.
Hedge funds, central banks andmajor corporations move billions
based on knowledge that is inpublic.
Entire asset bubbles are builton concealed truths.
Look at the 2008 housing crisisor Silicon Valley valuations.
Even crypto pumps Conspiraciesin the economic sense are simply
the normalization of hiddenleverage.
(12:10):
Modern economies are not, intruth, shaped entirely by public
will, but by corporate lobbying, dark money and
behind-the-scenes deals.
As we all know, big Pharmawrites healthcare policy and big
tech influences regulationthrough revolving door politics
and something we all feel at thegas pump is when OPEC creates
false scarcity of the oilcommodity through market
(12:32):
manipulation and collusion.
These aren't theories, they'redocumented.
In this sense, policy is aproduct and conspiracy becomes
the negotiation behind closeddoors.
What's worse is that the media,once a watchdog for democracy,
is now complicit in manufacturedconsensus.
The economy depends on consumertrust and trust depends on
(12:52):
narrative control.
We all know that major newsoutlets have corporate owners
and advertisers, many of whomare the very players it should
be scrutinizing.
This new advent offact-checking now acts as a veil
of authority, not an objectiveprocess.
It can be easily hijacked andin fact is Media in many ways
(13:13):
becomes the shield that protectscorporate and deep state
narratives that label anymainstream dissent as dangerous.
A relatively new development ishow economies today rely on
surveillance capitalism, whichin essence is the tracking and
prediction of human behavior, tomonetize attention.
Your phone, browser, car, evenrefrigerator, collect data to
(13:34):
influence your choices.
Without your awareness,algorithms shape not just what
you buy, but what you believe.
This isn't conspiracy in theabstract, it's covert,
psychological manipulation.
Some may even call it warfare.
It's scaled, even automated.
Let's not forget to maintaindominance.
Large corporations must appearcompetitive and benevolent,
(13:55):
while doing the opposite.
Amazon crushes small businesseswhile appearing to or worse,
pretending to support them.
Google rigs search resultswhile claiming neutrality.
Food giants marketpesticide-poisoned GMO produce
or ultra-processed food aswellness.
Some truths central to theinfrastructure of our very
economy, if widely known, woulddestabilize the market.
(14:18):
For example, the debt-basedmoney system is, at its core, a
pyramid scheme.
We print money not based ongold reserves or any store of
value.
The Federal Reserveindependence is illusory.
It is, in truth, a privateentity with no obligation to put
the needs of American citizensor our democracy first.
(14:39):
Pensions and social securitysystems are unsustainable, with
no plan in place to rehabilitatethese broken systems of
security.
As we have seen, under theBiden administration, the social
security system was manipulated, issuing payments to illegal
immigrants and individuals whowere either not born yet or had
passed away years ago.
Financial stability in truthbecomes dependent on mass
(15:00):
delusion, mass delusion fueledthrough the efforts of those few
who are in positions of power.
Our economy and economiesaround the globe run on what's
hidden, not what's known.
Crises, secrets, rigged systemsand psychological manipulation
are not glitches, they'refeatures.
Without conspiracy, the modernglobal economy would unravel,
(15:24):
revealing a structure far morefragile and engineered than
we're led to believe, becausewithout conspiracy, without
hidden motives, concealedagendas and manipulative
narratives, the entire illusionthat props up the global economy
would collapse under its owncontradictions.
Why?
Well, for one, the globaleconomy is built on lies of
scarcity and value.
(15:45):
If the public truly understoodthat money is created out of
debt and thin air by centralbanks, or that natural resources
are artificially limited todrive profit, or that value is
often fabricated throughspeculation, hype and branding,
then the very belief system thatholds up the economy would
crumble.
Markets don't run on reality.
They run on mass perception orvalue based on some decided
(16:07):
forward earnings profile, as wesee in the stock market.
Take away the carefully curatedlie or accepted valuation model
and the markets panic.
Another unwavering fact is thatconfidence, not truth, is the
fuel of capitalism.
The global financial system isbased on faith, not unlike
religion.
People must believe that theirmoney has value, that banks are
(16:29):
stable, that markets will alwaysrebound, that governments have
actual control and the abilityto operate on behalf of its
citizens or represents.
If conspiracy, defined here asdeliberate deception, was
stripped away, the truth wouldreveal that we have extremely
fragile debt cycles, oftentimeswith the central banking systems
as the culprits.
Unintentional or otherwise,they are the disruptor, that we
(16:52):
have unsustainable consumption,that there's institutional fraud
, that there's mass exploitationof workers, children, natural
resources.
You name it.
You see the truth causesvolatility.
Deception preserves order.
Advertising, behavioral scienceand surveillance capitalism all
manipulate your desires.
If people truly understood thattheir choices aren't free, that
(17:15):
their attention is beingharvested, that their self-worth
has been commodified, theywould reclaim agency.
And that's bad for business.
Without manipulation, peopleconsume less.
Without consumption, the marketcontracts.
Without illusion, the machinestops.
Without conspiracy, powerbecomes accountable.
Governments, banks,corporations depend on
(17:38):
coordinated secrecy to maintainorder or, in many cases, control
.
There are lobbying deals, taxevasion networks,
military-industrial contracts,suppressed technologies.
Expose these fully and publictrust vanishes.
Demand for decentralizationgrows.
People may even revolt.
Conspiracy on many fronts is theglue of the modern global
(18:00):
economy.
Pull it away and the cathedralcollapses, not because people
stop working, not becausetechnology fails, but because
the lies that keep us enslavedto illusion no longer hold us
hostage.
Truth is explosive in a worldbuilt on fiction.
What are these fictions, youask?
Well, there is the illusion ofmeritocracy, that if you work
(18:21):
hard enough you'll succeed.
This narrative keeps peoplecompliant, striving, competing
and blaming themselves if theyfail.
But capitalism rewards thosewho already have capital, not
just talent or effort.
Don't believe me.
Let's look at real worldexamples.
There are college admissionscandals, ie Operation Varsity
Blues, which exposed how thewealthy buy their way into elite
(18:42):
institutions while the poorface structural barriers.
Corporations don't innovate.
They purchase IP or othercompanies in order to maintain
supremacy in a market, a sectoror in an entire industry.
Then there's the obvioussystemic wealth gap in the US,
which proves that historicalinjustices still shape those who
(19:02):
get ahead.
This can be explained for manydifferent reasons, all rooted in
the supremacy of capital.
The illusion keeps peopletrapped in the system, believing
failure is personal, notsystemic.
Then we have the ever-presentillusion of infinite growth,
that the economy must and willkeep growing.
Modern capitalism is addictedto exponential growth, despite
(19:23):
us living on a finite planet.
This illusion persists throughdenial, delay and false
technological advancement ratherthan honest recalibration.
Amazon rainforest destructionis driven by the global demand
for beef, soy and mining, whereshort-term profit reigns supreme
at the cost of long-termcollapse.
(19:44):
Technology sold to the generalpublic as quote-unquote new is
in fact developed years inadvance but is rolled out as new
to maximize profit.
This is, at its core, amanufacturing of artificial
growth.
For example, new features ofthe newly released iPhone are
developed years in advance andcould have been released with
(20:04):
older models.
Then we have economists whocall for a 2-3% GDP growth as
healthy, even though it requiresendless extraction, pollution
and consumption.
Supply chains, obscure,slave-like conditions.
If the average person werefully aware of the cold hard
facts behind inhumane workconditions, of what it takes to
(20:25):
make their cheap t-shirt, iphoneor two-dollar burger, conscious
, consumption would slow and thesystem would erode.
To question infinite growth isto threaten stock markets,
investor confidence and nationalprestige, so the uncomfortable
truths are ignored.
(20:45):
Then we have my favorite theillusion of value.
Real prices and markets areoften disconnected from real
world value.
Speculation, hype andpsychological sentiment drive
booms and crashes rather thanproductivity or utility.
Many crypto coins were backedby nothing but branding and
influencer hype, yet peopleinvested their savings.
(21:06):
Diamonds, in fact, are notscarce.
Oil is prevalent all over theplanet.
It's those who control thesupply that create the pricing,
not the actual supply-demandeconomics of efficient markets.
Stability and value hinges onbelief or collusion, or both.
Then there is the illusion oftransparency that we live in a
(21:26):
democracy with checks andbalances, yet the biggest
economic and political decisionsare made behind closed doors,
often by unelected elites.
We have the Federal Reservemeetings, which affect global
interest rates, yet most of theprocess is hidden from public
view.
Then there were the tradeagreements like NAFTA and TPP.
They were negotiated in secret,often benefiting corporations
(21:47):
over workers.
And then one we all rememberquite well the 2008 bailouts,
post-financial crisis, wheretaxpayer-funded bank bailouts
without input or realaccountability.
Meanwhile, not a single CEOwent to jail.
Arguably the worst is theillusion of consumer freedom,
(22:08):
where you can buy anything, soyou're free, but most choices
are shaped by algorithms,marketing monopolies and social
pressure.
What looks like infinite choiceis a carefully curated illusion
.
Some real-world examples Well,google and Amazon dominate
online visibility, favoringtheir own products or
advertisers.
Social media feeds andmanipulates emotion and behavior
(22:31):
, driving what we think we want.
Fast fashion offers thousandsof options, but they're produced
by the same few manufacturersusing the same exploited labor.
Freedom to choose ismeaningless if the options don't
empower you or, worse, if theyare designed to exploit you.
Modern capitalism is notsustained by ethical business,
(22:52):
equitable opportunity ortransparent leadership.
It's held together by astrategically curated
infrastructure of illusions.
These illusions are engineeredthrough media policy, education
and technology to maintain theperception of stability.
If the veil were lifted.
If the public truly saw therigged rules, the fragile
ecology, the manufactured value,the systems would no longer
(23:14):
hold their faith, and withoutfaith, capitalism collapses.
That's why illusion is not justa side effect, it's the
foundation.
Recognizing that conspiraciesexist and have always existed
can be a powerful catalyst fordeveloping a more in-tune,
critical and spiritually awareconsciousness.
(23:34):
It forces us to move beyondpassive acceptance of mainstream
narratives and into a deeper,more discerning relationship
with reality.
When we realize that systems ofpower often operate through
secrecy, manipulation andillusion, we begin to question
not only what we're told, butwhy we believe it.
This questioning is thefoundation of true awareness.
(23:55):
Rather than making us paranoidand acknowledging the presence
of conspiracy and disinformation, we can sharpen our intuition
and discernment.
We become more sensitive tofrequency, less focused on
appearances and more attuned toenergy, motive and coherence.
This expands our consciousnessfrom simply gathering
information to recognizingpatterns, understanding hidden
(24:15):
agendas and listening to ourinner compass.
It reclaims our sovereigntyfrom the conditioning of
institutions and replaces blindtrust with sacred inquiry.
Ultimately, confrontingconspiracy doesn't have to drag
us into fear.
It can initiate us into amaturity of consciousness.
It awakens us to anintellectual, critical awareness
(24:36):
and creates emotional andenergetic resilience.
We seek truth beyond thesurface, beyond a mainstream
narrative, and learn to holdcomplexity without collapsing
into confusion.
In this way, seeing throughdeception becomes an act of
liberation, a gateway to livingmore awake, more grounded and
more aligned with the deepercurrents of truth and justice.
(25:01):
As you continue listening to theManhattan Prophet podcast, I'm
going to unveil the true natureof the world that exists right
under your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
I'm going to provide you withreal-world ways to touch higher
levels of consciousness andunderstanding through truth and
knowledge.
I want to make this clear I donot own these truths.
(25:24):
I do not own this knowledge.
I'm simply extracting it anddistilling it for you in an
accessible form.
I ask you not to follow meblindly, but rather that you
follow me with your open mindand heart.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you believe and want tochange your world for the better
and support this evolution ofconsciousness, please show me by
following and sharing thischannel with those you love and
(25:44):
leaving a review.
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
This effort is dependent uponyour support.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
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