1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Here is a classic episode for our fellow conspiracy realist, Ben. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 2: Never never speak against the family ever again in front 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 2: of outsiders. 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 3: You never speak against the family, right. 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: We can't. We don't speak against the family, and I 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: hope you all hear Nol's capital T capital F on 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: the family there. We don't speak against the family really 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: in this episode, but we do ask why things seem 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: so weird in Washington, DC. 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 2: Right, Unless you think this is a story about like 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 2: the LaCOSA Nostra or like the mafia or something, it's 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 2: about a kind of a different mafia, a political mafia, 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 2: one that purportedly pulls the strings on political machinations from 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 2: behind the scenes. 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: And this might also, as I recall, folks check us here, 16 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: this might be one of the episodes where we get 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: super into fundraiser dinners or breakfasts like eggs. 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 2: And issues kind of eggs you remember that came up 19 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 2: because we wanted to see the menu that this conspiracy. 20 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 3: We did discuss that. I believe there were maybe waffles. 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 3: I cannot confirm nor deny that, But now that you 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 3: mentioned it, Ben, this is a real organization, right, and 23 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 3: this is an organization that has a lot of kind 24 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 3: of sinister whisperings about it about to what degree does 25 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 3: it control what goes on in Washington and the kind 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 3: of you know, christianification of politics. Now I don't use 27 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 3: that term to say that's inherently like Christianity is bad, 28 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 3: but there, you know, we did. We do have a 29 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:43,839 Speaker 3: nation that is sort of meant to be founded where 30 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 3: that kind of stuff is a little bit its own thing, 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 3: you know, hence separation of church and state. But there 32 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 3: are organizations. 33 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 2: That would seek to do away with that kind of thinking, 34 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 2: which I don't think is great. 35 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: Let's call this Shadows of Project. 36 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,559 Speaker 3: Twenty twenty five a little bit. Yeah, let's roll. 37 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 4: It from UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History 38 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 4: is riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now 39 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 4: or learn this stuff they don't want you to know. 40 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 3: Hello, and welcome back to the show. My name is Noel. 41 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: Our close compatriot Matt is on adventures but will be 42 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: returning soon. They called me Ben. We are joined with 43 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: our super producer Paul Michigan, controlled decand and most importantly, 44 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: you are you. You are here that makes this stuff 45 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know. In the course of 46 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: the research for today's episode, it hit me and maybe 47 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: it hit you guys as well, that there are so 48 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: many groups that refer to them selves as the family. 49 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 1: The original title for today's episode was going to be 50 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: what is the family? But we had to be more 51 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: specific because you know, different groups call themselves the family. 52 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: Our families call themselves the family, yeah, or not. 53 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 3: Even to mention like bluegrass groups like the Carter family, 54 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 3: or like the Handsome Family or what have you, right, 55 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 3: the Manson family. 56 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: Right, cults as well. For a lot of listening today, 57 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: this kind of Moniker sounds cultish. Today's story is a 58 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: little bit different. It could touch on cults, it could 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: touch on secret societies. It's kind of in the eye 60 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: of the beholder, and we'd like your opinion on it. 61 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: So we are going on a journey strap in. Here 62 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: are the facts. Political influence, right, big money, A lot 63 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: of stuff happens with it. It comes from a plethora of organizations, 64 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: some of which are more transparent than others. Plethora, by 65 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: the way, means an overabundance, so much of something that 66 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: it's too much. And here in the United States, special 67 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: interest groups use lobbyists to gain legislative support and I 68 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: can't believe it. No, we still have not done an 69 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: episode on lobbyists or lobbying, even though it's a weird thing. 70 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 3: It's come up, for sure, piecemeal here and there, but 71 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 3: I think it might be time for a deep dive. 72 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: And some of our fellow listeners on our Facebook community 73 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 1: page Here's where it Gets Crazy also pointed out we 74 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: have yet to do an mk Ultra episode. 75 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 3: That's not possible. 76 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: I it's maybe it's one of those things where we're 77 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: having a bit of a Mandela effect because it's come 78 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: up in so many things, most recently and touched vaguely 79 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: in the same sphere. In our interview with Russell Targ, 80 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: it also. 81 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 3: Came up with Targ that maybe it'd be fun to 82 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 3: do an mk ultra esque episode with him as a 83 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 3: guest talking about LSD research. 84 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, in general, yep, yep, yep. Was Sydney Gottlieb. That's right, right, 85 00:04:54,880 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: because they they worked together. In the United States this 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: with this lobbying thing. For anyone who's not familiar with that, 87 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: in the US, it is legal for an individual or 88 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: a group of people, whether that's whether that's a local 89 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: community activist group or whether it's something big like the 90 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: Koch brothers. It's legal for them to try to convince 91 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: members of Congress to vote for things that they think 92 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: will make themselves or the country better off. 93 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 3: And since mind control is not really a universally accepted thing, 94 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 3: it's technically legal for them to use that as well. 95 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 3: I guess. 96 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: So now some people will falsely claim that one lobby, 97 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: now there are hundreds and hundreds of these, Some people 98 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: will say that one lobby or another in particular exerts 99 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: undue influence on the United States government. Typically, these claims 100 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: are meant to paint the agenda of given group as 101 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: inherently corrupt, smear tactics, smear tactics exactly somebody, And this 102 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: goes across the political spectrum. Somebody will say, well, you know, 103 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: the NRA secretly runs the US government, or they'll say 104 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,720 Speaker 1: APAC secretly runs the US government. But if we talk 105 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: about pure traceable that's important funding. The biggest lobbies as 106 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: of twenty seventeen are not geopolitical, and they're not really 107 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: pushing a lot of the hot button issues that are 108 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: so popular and divisive in the public eye. You know, 109 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,039 Speaker 1: it's not gun control or gun rights, it's not pro 110 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: life or pro choice. As a matter of fact, it's 111 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: not anything about partnerships with the foreign country. The biggest 112 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: lobbying dollars come predominantly from the medical industry. 113 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like that great quote from the Wire. You 114 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 3: follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers, but 115 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,119 Speaker 3: you start to follow money and you don't know where 116 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 3: that rabbit hole is going to take you. 117 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: Oh, perfect, yes, and in so astute, honestly, the top 118 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: five we have a list. The top five are the 119 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: US Chamber of Commerce. And you recognize the Chamber of Commerce. 120 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: It's a business trade group. You probably have one in 121 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: your city, right, There's one even here in Atlanta, the 122 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Then there's the National Association 123 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: of Realtors, which is a little surprising, but there's a 124 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: lot of money in real estate. And then the other 125 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: three are all healthcare or medicine related. 126 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 3: You got your Blue Cross, Blue Shield, he got your 127 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 3: American Hospital Association, and you've got your Pharmaceutical Research and 128 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 3: Manufacturers of America, all very innocuous sounding names. 129 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: And people who have listened to our previous episode on 130 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: the opioid crisis will we'll probably look as scance at 131 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: that last one, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. 132 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 3: That's what I'm saying. They're so straightforward, innocuous sounding names 133 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 3: that have the potential to be the top of the 134 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 3: umbrella of some very nefarious activities. Not a conspiracy theory, 135 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 3: absolutely a fact people are going to jail or at 136 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 3: least paying serious money for crimes there. 137 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: Then yeah, yeah, And the big question is will they 138 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: be the right people? 139 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 3: Right? 140 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: Will they be the brains of the operation? Just some 141 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: Patsy's and justin patsy some scapegoats. We also see the 142 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: emergence of super PACs. These are political action committees. They've 143 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: opened the door for massive amounts of money, but again, 144 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: for the most part, without making an entire episode about 145 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: lobbying just yet. For the most part, this is all 146 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: very legal and very cool. There are other more secretive groups, however, 147 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: influencing American politicians. These groups have agendas that may be 148 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: unfamiliar to most American citizens. Their cash and their influence 149 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: are also much more difficult to trace. They're not necessarily 150 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: filing a lot of reports. It's tough to follow the money. 151 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: And this might sound like a fanciful conspiracy theory. But 152 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,079 Speaker 1: according to journalist Jeff Charlotte, at least one of these 153 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: shadowy groups is very much real, incredibly effective, and quite 154 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: possibly dangerous. Let's meet the Family after a word from 155 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: our sponsor. 156 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 3: Why not, Here's where it gets crazy. 157 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: So the Family. They've got another name. 158 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 3: Too, right, Yeah, they're called like the what is it, 159 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 3: the Fellowship? Not of the Ring necessarily low hanging fruit there, Yeah, no, 160 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 3: the Fellowship. They are in fact a nonprofit evangelical Christian organization. 161 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 3: But the issue is their members regularly deny that this 162 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 3: group exists in the first place. In a book called 163 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 3: The Family, The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, 164 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 3: Jeff Charlotte really digs deep into the secret and puts 165 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 3: it as such quote. They believe they are most effective 166 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 3: if they don't seek publicity and they minister to those 167 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 3: who they consider what they call the up and up 168 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 3: or key key men in positions of influence, if they 169 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 3: minister to them privately, beyond the public eye. So to 170 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 3: hear Charlotte describe their tactics, they tend to mins do 171 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 3: direct ministry as opposed to open, publicly observable ministry directly 172 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 3: to folks who they consider. They have these terms like 173 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 3: up and out or key men, in other words, people 174 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 3: in positions of influence or power. If they minister them 175 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 3: in private, beyond the public eye, that gives them. It's 176 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 3: a weird situation. It's like a direct line to these 177 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 3: individuals as opposed to them having to attend a church 178 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 3: that could be observed and reported on elsewhere. Is that right, Ben, 179 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 3: which you said, yeah, yeah, absolutely, because it depends on 180 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 3: who we It depends on the key man in question, 181 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 3: and again these overwhelmingly going to be dudes, key dudes. 182 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 3: What we found is that until Jeff Charlotte wrote this 183 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 3: expose a, you would be hard pressed to find a 184 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 3: lot of information about the family. But now, thanks to him, 185 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 3: we have it. The family's origin dates all the way 186 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 3: back to the nineteen thirties. Nineteen thirty five. There's a 187 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 3: preacher named Abraham Verde and he experiences what he believes 188 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 3: is a vision from God. So God speaks to Abraham 189 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 3: and says, Christianity has been getting it wrong for two 190 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 3: thousand years. It's been getting it wrong, Abraham, because it's 191 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 3: got an undue focus on the poor and the weak 192 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 3: and the down and out what's all this focus on, 193 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 3: like helping the poor and ministering to the to the 194 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 3: down trodden of the world. No, no, no, no, no no. 195 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 3: I say to you, Abraham, not that, Abraham, Abram. 196 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: Abraham V. 197 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 3: Abraham V. What God actually wants for you to do, 198 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 3: Abraham and those who you deem worthy is to minister 199 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 3: to what he refers to God as the up and 200 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:58,199 Speaker 3: out or the key man. 201 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: Right, the movers, the shake, the geopolitical bakers, as it were. 202 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: So he partners up with a businessman named Walter Douglas 203 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 1: and they begin a weekly breakfast meeting. It starts with 204 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: nineteen executives and during this time they do pray. They 205 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: have breakfast, and they pray for divine intervention to redeem 206 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: Seattle and crush the unions as the true God would 207 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: want them. 208 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 4: To. 209 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: Fast forward a little bit later. Right now, the family's 210 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: most public gathering is the famous National Prayer Breakfast. You've 211 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: heard about this all the time. It happens on the 212 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: first Thursday of every February. It's been attended by multiple 213 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: US presidents every president since Eisenhower's gone. They created this 214 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: as a recruiting device for their organization. Back in the 215 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: nineteen forties and fifties, they were planning it, and their 216 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: goal was to normalize this idea of prayer at the 217 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: center of American political life, specifically Christian prayer, and they 218 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: wanted this to be so normal that people would take 219 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,560 Speaker 1: it for granted. The first National Prayer Breakfast occurred in 220 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three, and Eisenhower attended, albeit reluctantly. He owed 221 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: a debt to Billy Graham because Billy Graham had worked 222 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: with the family to swing the evangelical vote for Eisenhower, 223 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: and that's back when Southern evangelicals didn't vote Republican. So 224 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: he went and his idea was, look, I'm paying off 225 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: a favor, don't want any press. I don't want this 226 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: to become a thing essentially, but become a thing it did. 227 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: You see, the family had tried this before with both 228 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: Truman and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and they both said no. 229 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: But it became a tradition because one president said yes. 230 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: And now it's the family's only public event, and it 231 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: is a pr caval case. 232 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 3: It takes ben one president saying yes. 233 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: No, I mean not really. I guess it's just the 234 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: way that politics work here. Currently, if one president says 235 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: yes to something faith based, especially Christian based, that's right, 236 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: and another president says, I'm not doing it. 237 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 3: But now, wouldn't you say that this is sort of 238 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 3: the beginnings of the power of the evangelical vote that 239 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 3: is now such an important base in Republican circles. 240 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: It's definitely, it's definitely a facet of it. No religious vote, 241 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: the religious vote is not necessarily a uniform block. It 242 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: can swing in different directions, of course, of course. But yeah, 243 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: this is this is a huge, a huge piston in 244 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: the engine of elections. 245 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 3: Not to insult anyone's intelligence, but should we really quickly 246 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 3: define what makes evangelical Christianity sure different than just standard Christianity? Sure? 247 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 3: I mean I've always thought of it as just being 248 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 3: a more strict adherence to the Gospels and just like 249 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 3: a little bit more more of a I don't know, 250 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 3: pedantic sounds like a negative word, but I guess it 251 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 3: just means a little bit almost like strict constructionism of 252 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 3: the Constitution, you know, where you take everything literally and 253 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 3: that face value is that is that your understanding? 254 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: Ben So from an outsider's perspective, it's the difference is 255 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 1: Protestantism is just being in protest against the Roman Catholic Church. 256 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: The evangelical perspective stresses personal conversion, right like being born again? 257 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 3: Aha, right, got it? 258 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: Now, please write to us. I know we have several 259 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: religious studies scholars and experts here in the audience, so 260 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: it'd be great to hear the breakdown of the nuances here, right, And. 261 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 3: I'm sure it's something that has evolved over time, as 262 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 3: has the voting party of choice for this book, as 263 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 3: as mentioned here. 264 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, good point. So the thing about this National 265 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: Prayer Breakfast is that, as the family has described, it 266 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: is a recruiting device. The actual breakfast does happen on 267 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: that first Thursday, but it is surrounded by a. 268 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 3: Week long. 269 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: Deluge of lobbying events. We're talking three thousand dignitaries who 270 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: come from all around the world and from all sorts 271 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: of corporate interests. They all pay. 272 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 3: Get that. 273 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: I thought this was a pretty low price. I think 274 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: we could actually go, you guys all, if we all 275 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: make it a thing. They pay four hundred and twenty 276 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: five dollars each to attend for the breakfast. But it 277 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: comes with a breakfast, right, I know, Yeah, it does 278 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: come with a breakfast. I don't know if it's a 279 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: buffet thing. I don't know if there's like salmon that's. 280 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 3: My Are there eggs, Benedict? Is it going to be? 281 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 3: Is there a bagel bar? Will there be an omelet station? 282 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: Four twenty five is a lot, you know, And I've 283 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: been to some swank buffets. I actually I would prefer 284 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: a buffet if I'm paying foreigner and twenty five dollars. 285 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: You know, it gets how we try to eat four 286 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: and get some crab legs on there. Yeah, so this 287 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: this is just for the ticket to the buffet, And 288 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: for most people the breakfast is just that you have 289 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: some muffins and some praying. But a lot of people 290 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: stay on for days and days of seminars organized around 291 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: the message that they think Jesus Christ, the actual Jesus 292 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: Christ has for particular industries. 293 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, the key industry is no doubt, right exactly 294 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 3: the industry is dujure I suppose. I don't know. This 295 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 3: is interesting. This sure sounds like a central leader who 296 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 3: had this one on one with God and then is 297 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 3: sort of allowing himself to be the conduit to God 298 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 3: between God and his followers and he gets to decide 299 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 3: what God's agenda is. Let's see if that's the direction 300 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,360 Speaker 3: that's going. It sure sounds like it. So we have 301 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 3: the oil industry being a biggie right, and the defense industry, 302 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 3: defense contractors and many others also hold events. We've got 303 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 3: foreign dignitaries that are just thirsty for access to all 304 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,640 Speaker 3: of these powerful powerful men. 305 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 1: Arms, manufacturers, the energy industry. 306 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 3: Let me add them. 307 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: Let's say you're Boeing, right, or you're a working member 308 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 1: of Congress and Boeing is big in the state or 309 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 1: district you represent. But the optics and you want to 310 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: sell some stuff, sure do, But the optics towards your 311 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: voters would would would just be fatal to your political 312 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: career if they saw you selling or facilitating the cell 313 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 1: of some sort of technology. 314 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 3: To like a dictator, the gentleman must remain neutral, right. 315 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: Right, right, right? Do you seed your time? 316 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,920 Speaker 3: The gentleman seeds his time? I do not, sir. 317 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: I love parliamentary procedure est I diging it so hard 318 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: I have tried to pitch it in my personal life. 319 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: I don't think to you guys. 320 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 3: Just in conversation of the bar, it would be a 321 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 3: lot of fun. 322 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would like for the gentleman's time has expired. 323 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: Does the gentleman seed his time? The gentleman does not 324 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 1: seed his time. It would be a lot of fun, 325 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: I say that now, but we'd have to take it 326 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: out on the road and try it, and probably shouldn't 327 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: do it during a live show, which just do it 328 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: we're hanging out. But anyhow, Yes, you're absolutely right. They 329 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: the group's real strength lies in its influential members working 330 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: to facilitate this networking, but also to push their agenda, 331 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: which we'll get to in a second. Critics will tell 332 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: you that the NPB or National Prayer Breakfast, is used 333 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: by the Family to essentially circumvent the State Department. The 334 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:58,719 Speaker 1: meetings read like a rogues gallery. Charlotte called it a 335 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: who's who of nasty figures, people who might not otherwise 336 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: be able to go have a conversation with an arms 337 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 1: manufacturer or a nuclear power a nuclear power con colomerate. Right, So, 338 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: they have this vision as as you as we established earlier, 339 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: they have this vision of Jesus as a strong man, 340 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: as a dictator, Jesus Christ, that is, and of helping 341 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: not the sheep, but helping the wolves because they're more powerful, 342 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: and the family believes that anyone who is in power 343 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: like that, or those those people who are dictators and such, 344 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 1: that they are there because they are supposed to be, 345 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: that they've been anointed by God to be in charge, 346 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: and so they want to broker power. And this is 347 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: this is weird, right, But these dictators and you can 348 00:20:54,600 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: you can find list of suspected and confirmed members these days. 349 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: Taters in many cases are the same people that the 350 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: US publicly shuns, including including the Russian government that came 351 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 1: to head quite recently. It turns out that the National 352 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: Prayer Breakfast is home to a Russian connection. 353 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 3: Do you think they offer a little borsch on the 354 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,400 Speaker 3: on the on the buffet? 355 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: You know what? The hardest thing for me to find 356 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 1: in all the research here, and I don't know if 357 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: you found it yet either. I couldn't find the menu. 358 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: And when we're talking about the buffet, I started. I 359 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: try not to not to mess around too much on 360 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:39,399 Speaker 1: the computer when we're recording, No, but I had to 361 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 1: try to search again and I could not find the menu. Serious, 362 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: and it's haunting me because what if you're paying for 363 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: four hundred and twenty five dollars just for muffins. 364 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,200 Speaker 3: I just typed in who caters the National Prayer? Oh good, 365 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 3: that's a way to go at it. Let's see. Ah, 366 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 3: now we've got who attends, who spoke. I don't care 367 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 3: about any of that. I want to know who caters it. Nope, Man, 368 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 3: that is the most closely guarded secret surrounding this entire event. Man, 369 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 3: we should do an episode entirely the menu at the 370 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 3: National Prep breakfast. Well, i'llt us have to use our imagination. 371 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 3: I'm hoping that it's a little bit a cut above 372 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 3: like Shawney's breakfast buffet. Yeah, you know, And I'm hoping. 373 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm hoping for seafood. 374 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 3: And I'm hoping they have some international choices for their 375 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 3: foreign dignitaries, because that would only be fair. 376 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 1: That would only be fair. Yeah, yeah, especially when considered 377 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: cultural dietary restrictions and so course. 378 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 3: And also the fact that like our idea of breakfast, 379 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 3: I mean, I have to get it on a high 380 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,159 Speaker 3: horse here. But we've had this conversation. Breakfast food, you know, 381 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 3: here is such a specific thing in other countries they 382 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 3: eat like regular food for breakfast. In an Asian country especially, 383 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 3: it's all like, you know, rice and noodles and things 384 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 3: you eat any other time of the day, And I 385 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 3: support that wholeheartedly. 386 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, me too, Me too. I mean, if Edward Brenez 387 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: had not come along, breakfast in the US would be 388 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: a much different affair. But let's get back to this 389 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 1: Russian connection. So remember Marie Buthina recently came up in 390 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: the news as being an agent of a foreign government. 391 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: According to the affidavit from the Department of Justice, she 392 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: used the National Prayer Breakfast twice to set up some 393 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:20,680 Speaker 1: backdoor diplomacy between members of the US government and members 394 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: of the Russian power structure. She even brought Prayer Breakfast 395 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,359 Speaker 1: organizers with her to Moscow, where Charlotte suspects that they 396 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: brainstormed the guest list for the Russian delegation. They saw 397 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: her as access to and from the Family's perspective, we 398 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,199 Speaker 1: have to understand this is sort of the work that 399 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,679 Speaker 1: they pursue. They feel they are right. 400 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 3: In doing this. 401 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 1: Tensions are high between the US and Russia, and the 402 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: Family sees itself as a power broker but also a peacemaker. 403 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: So they think these two strong men, for lack of 404 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,880 Speaker 1: a better phration, meet and hammer things out, and that 405 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 1: then Jesus Christ or God will shape these things to 406 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,920 Speaker 1: what is appropriate and Christian. So as far as they're concerned, 407 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: they were not helping a Russian spy. They were helping 408 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: bring peace between two worthy and strong leaders. They again 409 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: believe that if you were in power, you are supposed 410 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: to be there. You are in power because God put 411 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: you there. Never mind the voters. It's a dangerous attitude. 412 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 3: It really is in a slippery slope, my friend. 413 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: So we mentioned their agenda right now, what exactly is there? 414 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: Is their agenda? 415 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 3: Well, according to our writer Pal Charlotte, the family believes 416 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 3: that most Christians tend to misread, misinterpret the New Testament, 417 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 3: and that at the heart of Christ's message was a 418 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 3: message of not not peace, not kindness to the poor 419 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 3: and downtrodden, but power, pure, abject unbridled power. Not love, 420 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 3: no power, right right. Love through power is very aggressive read, 421 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,680 Speaker 3: very aggressive read of Christ because we think of Jesus 422 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 3: as this kind of barefoot hippie. Well, I mean, we 423 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 3: know he had a temper with like flipping over the 424 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 3: tables and the money changers and all that, and we 425 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 3: knew that he meant business, but he's always been like 426 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,439 Speaker 3: kind of made out to seem like more of a 427 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 3: you know, affecting change through non violence kind of way, 428 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 3: and more like changing hearts and minds, rather than wielding 429 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 3: some sort of iron fist. 430 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: Right right, helping the poor and downtrodden, the lepers, those 431 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: outcasts from society. No no, no, no, no, no, no no no, 432 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: say the members of the family. And then, according to 433 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,639 Speaker 1: an article by Lisa Getter in The La Times, the 434 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: group wants to take this family global, a family of 435 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: friends that will spread their agenda across the world. And 436 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,439 Speaker 1: when we see a global family of friends, we have 437 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 1: to realize that, like many organizations, we can think of 438 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: it being arranged in concentric circles or domains. So, according 439 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: to former Nixon aide and Watergate fell in Charles W. Coulson, 440 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: the family numbered in nineteen seventy nine, family numbered about 441 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: twenty thousand people, although the number of dedicated associates around 442 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: the globe was much smaller, maybe as much as three 443 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty in two thousand and six. 444 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 3: So you can buy a ticket to the Prayer breakfast 445 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 3: and doesn't make you like a member of the organization, 446 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 3: right exactly? I would imagine do you apply to become 447 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 3: a member? Do you have to be invited? Is it 448 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 3: very closed door policy. 449 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: I think you need to be in power for them 450 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: to have interest, and you got to be a key people. Yeah, yeah, 451 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,639 Speaker 1: it's not for somebody who just came for the salmon, 452 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: which is again would be me. 453 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 3: That's right. So it's almost more of a Builderberg or 454 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 3: Trilateral Commission kind of situation, right close. 455 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's similar. So they have a closely 456 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,920 Speaker 1: guarded database of these associates members in Keyban, but they 457 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,679 Speaker 1: don't issue cards, they collect no official dues, and members 458 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 1: are asked not to speak about the group or its activities. 459 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,479 Speaker 1: A member of the family's inner circle once said to 460 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: the group's chief South African operative, the movement is simply 461 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: inexplicable to people who are not intimately acquainted with it. 462 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 3: First rule of breakfast club. You don't talk about breakfast. 463 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: Club literally, the first rule. 464 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 3: Yes. 465 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: Yes, So they say that their initiatives have always been 466 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,360 Speaker 1: misunderstood by outsiders, and that they learn the hard way 467 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: to never commit to paper any discussions or negotiations. There 468 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,440 Speaker 1: are no such things as confidential memos, because if you 469 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: write something down, it will inevitably leak, so they urge 470 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: people not to put anything relating to any of the 471 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,360 Speaker 1: work they're doing on paper unless you know the recipient 472 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: well enough to put. Please destroy after reading at the 473 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: top of the page. Not exactly free and clear transparency. 474 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 3: See they ought to do it in Spectra Gadget style, 475 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 3: this mass edge well self destruct. Yes, that'd be pretty cool. 476 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: Yes they should. 477 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 3: I'd be fun. 478 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: So they are longtime leader Doug co who ministered in 479 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: private and led the organization kind of behind the scenes. 480 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: He had a pretty rare interview in two thousand and 481 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: one and he said, if I told you who has 482 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,159 Speaker 1: participated and who participates until this day, you would not 483 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: believe it. You'd say, you mean that scoundrel, that despot. 484 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 1: He passed away in twenty seventeen, but the practice continues, 485 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: the institution exists. And this leads us to a question 486 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: is this legal? I mean, on the surface, it's not 487 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: necessarily illegal. 488 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 3: Right. 489 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: People should be able to get together and at breakfast 490 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: have a chat, and people constantly network, and I'm sure 491 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: the secrecy is creepy, but there are hundreds of religious 492 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: groups working to bring their values to a wider audience. 493 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: You know what I mean, there's you know, they're all. 494 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: There are spaghetti dinners across the world. There are breakfast 495 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,720 Speaker 1: meetings in and at churches all the time, and a 496 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: lot of nonprofits and charities have religious roots as well. 497 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: With this in mind, the Family's not really unique, right. 498 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I have a question for you man. 499 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 3: You mentioned the name of Coulson, right, is the name 500 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 3: of their their high level Are the names of their 501 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,120 Speaker 3: high level people, their board or whatever you want to 502 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 3: call it. Is that public information or do they keep 503 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 3: that pretty under wraps too? 504 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: They keep a lot of it pretty tight. We do 505 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: know that membership includes people are serving in the US government, 506 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: like Pence is a member being Commander in chief. Donald 507 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: Trump and Barack Obama and Bill Clinton all attended the 508 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: National Prayer Bakfast. But how intimately involved were they? We 509 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: know that Hillary Clinton for a long long time received 510 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: personal ministry services from Doug co. So that's the part 511 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: that we have to emphasize here. The family itself, their 512 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: mission feels politicized, with a trend toward you know what 513 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 1: they see as strong, powerful authoritarians, but their fan club 514 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: goes across all sides of the political. 515 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 3: Right and My question is, what does this personal ministry business? 516 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 3: What does that look like? Is that like hitting a 517 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 3: house call? 518 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 4: They? 519 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know, man, it's a closed door thing, 520 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 1: you know, and come into my office. Close the door. 521 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: Let's pray together about the best way to help raytheon 522 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: make a sale. You know, I don't know, I don't know. 523 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: I'm being a little oglib, but we should talk about 524 00:30:55,480 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: what the critics say and where this institution operating. After 525 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor, we're back. So here's the thing, Noel. 526 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: A lot of critics say, what's your take on this? 527 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: A lot of critics say that there's more than breakfast 528 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: going on. It's not just some mag's benedict. 529 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 3: They are you saying they have lunch items as well? 530 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 3: Then not in public behind the closed doors though there 531 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 3: could be sandwiches. There could be like a deli tray, 532 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 3: some soups, some fruit and cheese. I'll bets are of barbecue. 533 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 3: I love the idea of this being exclusively food based organizations. 534 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,480 Speaker 3: I love that too. 535 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: So the fear is that they may be influencing politicians 536 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: and voters have no control over their behavior whatsoever. That's 537 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: what that's what the critics say, but I. 538 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 3: Mean, isn't that like we were talking about lobbying. Isn't 539 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 3: that what lobbying is in general? 540 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:54,240 Speaker 1: Right? 541 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 2: Right? 542 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 3: We don't have access to the lobbyist because they're paid 543 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 3: by the corporations to interface directly with politicians, and we 544 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 3: can sort of say, hey, politicians, please let me write 545 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 3: your letter my congressman, please don't be swayed by the 546 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 3: siren song of lobbyists. But that's only gonna take you. 547 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 3: I don't know, I see. 548 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: Exactly what you're saying, though, Like if we if we 549 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: got together and we crowdfunded five dollars from each of 550 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: us and everyone listening, then we we could make a 551 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: donation to a politician and then get their attention to 552 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: say here's what I think you should do about a 553 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: certain issue. 554 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, but Ben, even you saying that it requires a 555 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 3: donation goes against the entire system. It's they're supposed to 556 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 3: listen to our phone calls, whether we give them money 557 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 3: or not. Sure, that's what I'm saying. I think we're 558 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,880 Speaker 3: on the same pitch. I think our glibness, our glibnesses 559 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:45,480 Speaker 3: are aligned. 560 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 1: We've earned the citizens, and I think, so where where 561 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: do they operate though. Do they do they just stay 562 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 1: in DC? 563 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 3: No, I think not, ben because they need to branch out. 564 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,160 Speaker 3: They need to wield these powers beyond Washington, d C. 565 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 3: And where do they do this. That's a very important question, 566 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,680 Speaker 3: especially in a modern nation that prizes the separation of 567 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 3: church and state. We haven't even talked about that yet 568 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 3: because that's the thing too. Lobbying is one thing, but 569 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,440 Speaker 3: at least that doesn't necessarily go against the separation of 570 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 3: church and state. This, on the other hand, very very 571 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 3: weird gray area, especially when it has such across the 572 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 3: aisle kind of support, you know, at least in terms 573 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 3: of like the optics of it. So here the question 574 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,160 Speaker 3: to the families supporters, this organization has an ability to 575 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 3: bridge political gas and unite antagonistic groups through a mutual 576 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 3: spiritual understanding. 577 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's that's the thing. We have examples of 578 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: the kind of scandals they've encountered. They're most well known 579 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: probably for now. It came about in two thousand and nine. 580 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 1: Some investigators claimed the family had, through they're key men, 581 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 1: influenced u Ganda's anti homosexuality legislation. This was this is 582 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:14,319 Speaker 1: a series of laws that allowed the death penalty for 583 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: people who were attracted to the same sex or also 584 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:26,000 Speaker 1: for quote harboring a known homosexual. So let's say you've 585 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,640 Speaker 1: got a friend or a family member and they are gay, 586 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,640 Speaker 1: and you live in Uganda, and they say they're coming 587 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,279 Speaker 1: to kill me because of my sexual orientation, and you say, 588 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:40,880 Speaker 1: that's fine, just hide here and we'll wait till the 589 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: soldiers leave. If they are found, then the way the 590 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: law was written or the way the law was proposed, 591 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,840 Speaker 1: then not only the person they were searching for, but 592 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,240 Speaker 1: the person hiding that person would be put to death. 593 00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:00,239 Speaker 3: That legislation was recently changed, I believe. 594 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,439 Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, yeah, they were instrumental in pushing it through. 595 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:05,839 Speaker 3: Not to mention that if I just typed in. There's 596 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,320 Speaker 3: a website called Focus on the Family. I don't know 597 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 3: if it's their direct website, but it's definitely affiliated with them, 598 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,320 Speaker 3: and they have a resource page called when a loved 599 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 3: One Says I'm Gay Research List, and it has things 600 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 3: like titles like bringing Home the Prodigals, Is God Anti gay? 601 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,080 Speaker 3: And other questions about homosexuality. The Secret Thoughts of an 602 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:31,200 Speaker 3: Unlikely convert An English Professor's journey into Christian faith. It 603 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:36,359 Speaker 3: feels largely like there is a negative, inherently negative spin 604 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 3: on the treatment of LGBT individuals in the church. Yeah. 605 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: Absolutely. The thing is that because they're pushing this power 606 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:55,880 Speaker 1: based authoritarian agenda, of course they will naturally tend to 607 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: gravitate toward despots, toward dictators, but they see this as 608 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:08,280 Speaker 1: an effort of reconciliation. They also, for instance, in nineteen 609 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:13,879 Speaker 1: ninety four, they helped persuade South African Zulu chief Buthalse 610 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 1: to avoid civil war with Nelson Mandela. And their defenders 611 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 1: such as former President George W. Bush, have praised their 612 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,800 Speaker 1: work and they say, yeah, they're out of the public sphere, 613 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,439 Speaker 1: but they're making the world a better place because they're 614 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,000 Speaker 1: stopping war. And this leads us to the question just 615 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:35,240 Speaker 1: how much influence does the family wield in Washington, DC? 616 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,399 Speaker 1: You know, like you said, The supporters say it can 617 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: bridge political gaps and unite antagonistic groups. But to the critics, 618 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:51,520 Speaker 1: this kind of combination of political power and religious zeal 619 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,440 Speaker 1: historically leads to disaster, and there are some very strong 620 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: precedents for that throughout human civilization. And for critics, the 621 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:06,440 Speaker 1: most important and most frightening part of the entire equation 622 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: is that citizens everywhere it can be affected by this 623 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 1: secretive legislation process without having any input upon it, Like 624 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 1: Uganda may just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. 625 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: There are other things like the Youth Core, which is 626 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,960 Speaker 1: a network of Christian youth groups that attract teenagers and 627 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 1: then later steer them to Jesus. And this youth Core 628 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 1: is active in places like Russia, Ukraine, Romania, India, Pakistan, Yuganda, 629 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: of course, Nepaul, Bhutan, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru. This is 630 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:48,480 Speaker 1: big stuff. We might not hear about it a lot 631 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,320 Speaker 1: here in the States other than that national prayer breakfast, 632 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 1: but powerful geopolitical things are happening outside of the public eye. 633 00:37:57,760 --> 00:37:59,640 Speaker 1: And at this point we know the family is still 634 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,400 Speaker 1: working quietly behind the scenes in the US and abroad, 635 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:07,359 Speaker 1: but on what specifically for now, that's something they don't 636 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: want you to know. I have to ask you, though, Noel, 637 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,280 Speaker 1: do you think this kind of thing should be legal 638 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:17,280 Speaker 1: or illegal? It's tough. 639 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:19,480 Speaker 3: It feels like a loophole to me. I mean, it 640 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,239 Speaker 3: feels like extra legal in a lot of ways, because 641 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 3: lobbying is not leg is not illegal, but we are 642 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:28,120 Speaker 3: supposed to have separation of church and state, and it 643 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:32,600 Speaker 3: feels like hiding behind the guise of like this feel 644 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,800 Speaker 3: good kind of let's bridge the gap between the aisle, 645 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,960 Speaker 3: when it also has this legacy that sort of forces 646 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:44,280 Speaker 3: participation because of not wanting to offend the evangelical voter base. 647 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 3: And it just feels kind of inherently like dirty money. 648 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,440 Speaker 3: I don't like it. I don't like it one bit, 649 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 3: especially when you consider their ideology and their very exclusionary 650 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 3: attitude towards LGBTQ or or the poor exactly. I mean, 651 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,279 Speaker 3: it's it's just it feels like a very like Tom 652 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:12,000 Speaker 3: Cruise's character in Magnolia kind of pyramid scheme reinterpretation of 653 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,960 Speaker 3: something that you know, say what you will about Christianity, 654 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 3: I think at its heart there is goodness. There is 655 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 3: a sort of do unto others' mentality, and people use 656 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:22,879 Speaker 3: it in all kinds of horrible ways, But I think 657 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,400 Speaker 3: at its heart there's a good message there. Some in 658 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,040 Speaker 3: some parts of the Bible, it feels to me like 659 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:29,680 Speaker 3: a little bit of a bastardization of that and turning 660 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:34,719 Speaker 3: it into a tool to manipulate people more than even 661 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,239 Speaker 3: some forms of Christianity. Well tell us what you think. 662 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 1: We hope that you enjoyed this episode and we want 663 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 1: to hear from you. Have you encountered other secretive organizations 664 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: like this and how much influence do they actually wield? 665 00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 1: You can let us know on Instagram. You can let 666 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,200 Speaker 1: us know on Facebook. You can let us know on Twitter. 667 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:57,280 Speaker 1: Find the favorite part of our show our fellow listeners 668 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:00,480 Speaker 1: on our Facebook community page. Here's where it gets crazy, 669 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: and you can follow our shenanigans personally on Instagram. I'm 670 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 1: at Ben Bollen. 671 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 3: I am at Embryonic Insider and our friend Matt these days, 672 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:15,359 Speaker 3: as I believe, operating under the account Kylie Jenner. Yep, 673 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:16,680 Speaker 3: that's it, Kylie Jenner. 674 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:19,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I had no idea that was It's true, but 675 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 1: it makes sense when you think about it. 676 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:22,279 Speaker 3: Do you have any idea how much money he gets 677 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:24,959 Speaker 3: for one single Instagram post? It's outrageous. 678 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,680 Speaker 1: That's what he's doing right now, He's off negotiating Instagram posts. 679 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:30,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, some kind of facial cleanser. 680 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,200 Speaker 1: So if you would like to call us directly, we'd 681 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:36,280 Speaker 1: love to hear from you. We have a phone number. 682 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:43,840 Speaker 1: It's one eight three three std WYTK. That was beautiful 683 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,360 Speaker 1: and please do remember that has a three minute cutoff, 684 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:51,200 Speaker 1: which I can tell you from personal experience. We'll sneak 685 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:51,640 Speaker 1: up on you. 686 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:52,000 Speaker 3: Yep. 687 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:54,799 Speaker 1: Also, if you do not want us to put that 688 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:57,880 Speaker 1: message on the air, if it's just something private, please 689 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: explicitly say that in the message it's very true. 690 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:05,080 Speaker 3: Otherwise you know. And again if even if you don't mind, 691 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:06,319 Speaker 3: if we use it and you want us to keep 692 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:09,160 Speaker 3: your identity anonymous, we've in the past used them and 693 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 3: disguised voices and stuff. The people have given us the 694 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,920 Speaker 3: inside scoop for companies they work for. Don't want to 695 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,480 Speaker 3: jeopardize their relationship with their employers, but do want us 696 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:20,080 Speaker 3: to get the info. We totally respect that and treat 697 00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:20,480 Speaker 3: it with care. 698 00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:25,040 Speaker 5: And that's the end of this classic episode. If you 699 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:29,200 Speaker 5: have any thoughts or questions about this episode, you can 700 00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:31,840 Speaker 5: get into contact with us in a number of different ways. 701 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:33,600 Speaker 5: One of the best is to give us a call. 702 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:38,400 Speaker 5: Our number is one eight three three std WYTK. If 703 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:40,239 Speaker 5: you don't want to do that, you can send us 704 00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 5: a good old fashioned email. 705 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:45,919 Speaker 1: We are conspiracy at iHeartRadio dot com. 706 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 5: Stuff they Don't Want You to Know is a production 707 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:52,799 Speaker 5: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 708 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:55,760 Speaker 5: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.