The most mythical and powerful secret society in the history of the world is believed by

many on the internet to still be running everything today, all the world's governments and

all the financial systems.

Today we're going to find out if the Illuminati are indeed a real thing.

Do they still exist and do they truly wield the kind of power the conspiracy theorists believe

they do?

The Illuminati are today Unskeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Illuminating the Illuminati.

It is a devious path indeed that which connects 18th century Bavaria to the 20th century

United States, but it is an important one because it traces the origins of one of the

most prominent denizens in modern conspiracy theory mythology.

The Illuminati, a shadowy cabal of powerful and influential people worldwide who secretly

pull the strings of world governments and economies.

From its surprisingly humble beginnings to its even more surprising modern rebirth, today's

topic is the Illuminati.

You may be surprised that after more than 650 Skeptoid episodes about urban legends

and conspiracy theories of all types, I've still never gotten around to talking about

the Illuminati.

It's not because the idea never occurred to me.

It's because the Illuminati is so vague.

...