190 – NXIVM: Inside the Self-Help Celebrity Sex Cult

Mike Huberty • April 3, 2018

News just came this week that they arrested Keith Raniere in Mexico City. Keith was the founder and leader of the NXIVM organization which started as a series of self-help seminars attended by people as successful as Richard Branson, a former US Surgeon General, the daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., the Seagrams billionaire, two children of Mexican presidents, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, and many more. In 2009, Raniere even sponsored a visit to Albany, New York from the Dalai Lama.

Which made it all the more shocking this week when he was arrested for sex trafficking and it was alleged that former  Smallville star Allison Mack was his second-in-command for luring women into a special branch of his Executive Success Programs (ESP, get it?). In this special “sorority”, there was a hierarchy of women who performed slave labor and sexual acts for their master (Raniere made everyone call him “Vanguard”.)

nxivm
Who wants to join a sex cult? Superman will be there!

Now, there’s been rumors of NXIVM basically being a cult since at least 2003 with an article in Forbes magazine  and in this episode we go through a newspaper article written  by Rick Ross (no, not the rapper!) about the tell-tale signs of a cult and we compare those signs to the reports about what was going on inside the NXIVM organization. Who knew that the real secret to a successful Multi-Level Marketing downline was blackmail? Keith Raniere did!

So what does MKUltra, A Clockwork Orange,  L. Ron Hubbard, The Manchurian Candidate,  and Dionysus have to do with the NXIVM cult? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out!

One of the nastiest stories about the NXIVM cult is how the women thought they would be getting a tattoo when they joined his secret sex organization and instead they were branded. There were also reports of extremely restrictive calorie diets (because the Vanguard liked ’em thin), forced labor, and sick experiments showing women scenes of violence while observing their brainwaves. One of the aspects of a cult is that “you’re never good enough for the leader” and that’s what Raniere was certainly doing to these women.

That’s what this week’s song is about, when a man just can’t handle a woman as she is and thinks that he can tame her like his pet. Like he can swat her with a newspaper and say “Bad Girl”…

I’m sick of dealing with your lack of basic reason
you say that you don’t have to care because you’re bleeding
I bet you wish you were hitched
to a guy that was rich
G$%d%^# you love to b!#$%

Bad bad bad bad girl
you’re going to obedience school
You’ve been bad my pet and it’s time to tame this shrew
Bad bad bad bad girl
I’m gonna housebreak you

Your changing moods
your attitudes
the way you look at other dudes
gimme time I’ll change you
just a little more I’ll change you

your overbite
your cellulite
the way you dress on Friday night
I’m gonna change you
don’t you worry now I’ll change you
I’ll mother^&*!# change you

You’ve been a bad bad bad bad girl
You’ve been a bad bad bad bad girl
You’ve been a bad bad bad bad girl
I’m gonna ride you like a mule
You’ve been bad my pet and it’s time to tame this shrew
Bad bad bad bad girl
I’m gonna housebreak you

Milwaukee Paracon 2025 logo
By Mike Huberty September 3, 2025
Experience Milwaukee Paracon 2025 on October 18 at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center—an all-day, free paranormal conference featuring ghost stories, urban legends, UFO sightings, Wisconsin folklore, expert speakers, and unique vendors. Register now for Brew City’s top supernatural event
Jeffrey Dahmer in court
By Mike Huberty September 2, 2025
Explore the chilling legacy of Jeffrey Dahmer from true crime horrors to paranormal legends. Haunted hotels, cursed graffiti, and the Oxford Apartments haunting keep the Milwaukee Cannibal’s story alive in Wisconsin folklore.
ghost of Marilyn Monroe
By Mike Huberty August 28, 2025
Explore the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, her ghost sightings in Los Angeles, and the surprising UFO conspiracy theories linked to her story.
Ghost hunters in Dillinger Alley behind Chicago’s Biograph Theater
By Mike Huberty August 27, 2025
Discover the chilling story of John Dillinger’s death at Chicago’s Biograph Theater and the ghostly legends that followed. Explore Dillinger’s Alley and see it for yourself on the Original Chicago Hauntings Ghost Bus Tour.
ghost tours for bachelorette parties
By Mike Huberty August 23, 2025
Looking for a unique bachelorette party idea? Ghost tours are fun, spooky, and unforgettable, perfect for brides and their best friends.
magic in the night sky
By Mike Huberty August 19, 2025
Discover why real magic is more than fantasy. Drawing on Dean Radin’s Real Magic and decades of parapsychology research, this blog explores telepathy, psychokinesis, rituals, and the role of consciousness in shaping reality.
Roberto Clemente sliding into a base
By Mike Huberty August 18, 2025
Celebrate Roberto Clemente’s birthday by exploring his baseball greatness, Puerto Rican pride, humanitarian legacy, eerie assassination threat, and haunting premonitions of his own death.
Tempest Oyster Bar in Madison, WI
By Mike Huberty August 15, 2025
Explore the chilling past of Tempest Oyster Bar in Madison, WI—once a funeral home, now a top seafood restaurant and one of America’s most haunted bars. Funeral home history, Heaven’s Gate legends, and personal encounters await.
The Sunset Strip Killers: The True Story of Doug Clark and Carol Bundy’s Murder Spree
By Mike Huberty August 11, 2025
Discover the chilling true story of the Sunset Strip Killers, Doug Clark and Carol Bundy, whose 1980 murder spree terrorized Los Angeles.
Jim Lovell Astronaut F UFO
By Mike Huberty August 9, 2025
Remembering Captain Jim Lovell, the Milwaukee-born astronaut who led Apollo 13 to safety, piloted Apollo 8, and witnessed the famous Gemini 7 UFO sighting. Explore his Wisconsin roots and space legacy.