NXIVM
EPISODE DETAILS
Written and Hosted by Sarah Steel
Researched by Haley Gray, with additional research by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould
September 18th, 2019
1 hr 12 mins 38 secs
Season 3
Season 3 presenting partner:
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Edgar Bronfman Sr. of the Seagram liquor fortune once wrote a testimonial for a course he had taken through an organisation called Executive Success Programs, or ESP. He said: “If everyone were to go through this training, the world would be a much better and safer place to live.” Seventeen years later, the leader and inner circle of that same organisation, now going under the name NXIVM, were being tried for charges including sex trafficking, forced labour, fraud, extortion and child pornography.
UPDATE: Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison. Allison Mack sentenced to 3 years in prison.
EPISODE LINKS
The Founder of “Nxivm,” a Purported Self-Help Organization Based in Albany, N.Y., Arrested for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
Complaint and Affidavit — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
Jury Finds Nxivm Leader Keith Raniere Guilty of All Counts — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
Founder Of “Nxivm,” a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Five Others Charged in Superseding Indictment with Racketeering Conspiracy — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
Founder of “NXIVM,” a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Actor Indicted for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
Indictment — US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York
FBI raids NXIVM president's house as Raniere appears in federal court — by Brendan J. Lyons, Albany Times Union, 27 March 2018
Rochester woman tells all about life with NXIVM's Keith Raniere, her ex — by Jon Campbell, Democrat and Chronicle, 8 March 2018
Brighton woman is quickly sold on Local Buyline —by Frank Bilovsky, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 22 June 1992
Toni Natalie's Statement —23 August 2011
Leader of NY Group Branded Women, Made Them Sex Slaves: Feds — NBC New York, 26 March 2018
Self-help guru denies enslaving, branding women in sex cult —by Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 5 May 2018
Raniere's High School Graduation —The Journal News (via Frank Report), 29 June 1978
In Raniere's shadows — by James M. Odato & Jennifer Gish, Times Union, 22 February 2012
Cult of Personality — by Michael Freedman, Forbes, 13 October 2003
The Heiresses and the Cult —by Suzanna Andrews, Vanity Fair, 13 October 2010
The making of Vanguard — by Josh Bloch, Kathleen Goldhar, Anita Elash & Dave Pizer, CBC News, 12 September 2018
Escaping NXIVM — by Josh Bloch, Kathleen Goldhar, Anita Elash & Dave Pizer, CBC News, 5 September 2018
The public and private turmoil of escaping a suspected sex cult — by Josh Bloch, Kathleen Goldhar, Anita Elash & Dave Pizer, CBC News, 26 September 2018
NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in case of alleged cult — by Jon Campbell, Democrat and Chronicle, 13 March 2019
Lauren Salzman Pleads Guilty – to one count each of Racketeering and Racketeering Conspiracy — by Frank Parlato, Frank Report, 28 March
Nxivm: Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman pleads guilty in 'sex cult' case —BBC News, 20 April 2019
The Latest: Heiress Clare Bronfman released on $100M bond — Associated Press, 25 July 2018
NXIVM Leader Keith Raniere Has Been Convicted for Keeping Women as ‘Sex Slaves.’ Here Are the Major Players in the Case — by Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 19 June 2019
Seagram’s Heiress Clare Bronfman Pleads Guilty in NXIVM Sex-Cult Case —by Pilar Melendez, Daily Beast, 19 April 2019
Part 1: Branded Slaves and Master Raniere; Sources: Human branding part of Raniere-inspired women’s group — by Frank Parlato, Frank Report, 5 June 2017
A Former NXIVM "Cult" Member Says She And Her Two Sisters Had To Have Abortions After Sex With Keith Raniere — by Michael Blackmon, Buzzfeed News, 28 May 2019
The Founder Of An Alleged Sex Cult Hid In A Walk-In Closet When Officials Raided His Mexican Villa To Arrest Him — by Michael Blackmon, Buzzfeed News, 21 May
6 weeks of testimony in Nxivm case reveal lurid details of alleged sex cult, including branding women and holding them captive — by Nicole Chavez & Sonia Moghe, CNN, 16 June 2019
The rise and fall of NXIVM: How a so-called self-help company crumbled after allegations of being a secretive cult that abused sex slaves led to its leader being convicted — by Kelly McLaughlin & Nicole Einbinder, Insider, 19 June 2019
‘Sex cult’ moves to Brooklyn — and is ready for ‘war’ — by Laura Italiano, New York Post, 21 April 2018
Raniere stands alone — by Brendan J. Lyons, Times Union, 5 May 2019
Cult expert testifies about his dealings — by Robert Gavin, Times Union, 14 June 2019
Unsolved Mystery: Did Raniere murder Kristin Snyder? — by Frank Parlato, Frank Report, 16 April
Cult of NXIVM Series Part 7: “Don’t Call me ‘Papa’” — by Frank Parlato, The Niagara Reporter, 7 January 2016
Religions of Modernity: Relocating the Sacred to the Self and the Digital — Chapter 6: Ethics of Sensitivity – Towards a New Work Ethic, by Kirsten Marie Bovbjerg. Collection by Stef Aupers & Dick Houtman, BRILL, 2010.
The IQ test wars: why screening for intelligence is still so controversial — by Daphne Martschenko, The Conversation, 11 October 2017
Ethical Humanitarian Foundation — Archived website of Keith Raniere foundation, co-founded by the Bronfman sisters
‘I Was in One Mode: Protect Keith’: NXIVM Member Testifies About Naked Meetings, Group Sex, Dungeon Paddlings — by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2019
Allison Mack Biography — TV Guide
Allison Mack Biography — Fandango
How Did Smallville’s Allison Mack Get Involved With A Sex Cult In The First Place? — by Taryn Ryder, Huffpost, 16 May 2018
Allison Mack Extols Women's Self-Help Group Years Before She's Accused of Recruiting Sex 'Slaves' — by Chris Harris, People, 25 April 2018
Her Darkest Role: Actress Allison Mack's Descent From 'Smallville' to Sex Cult — by Scott Johnson and Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2018,
How The NXIVM Whistleblower Uncovered The "Horrible Evil" Of The Alleged "Sex Slave" Cult — by Mary Ann Georgantopoulos, BuzzFeed News, 15 May 2019
Bouchey: The Facts Surrounding Mark Vicente’s Enrollment Into Nxivm — by Barbara Bouchey, Artvoice, 12 May 2019
Edgar Bronfman Sr. Recommendation Letter — "If everyone were to go through this training, the world would be a much better and safer place to live."
"Bleep" of faith — by John Gorenfeld, Salon, 17 September 2004
The NXIVM 'Sex Cult' Story Keeps Getting More Disturbing — by Sarah Berman, Vice, 21 May 2019
Why I Joined a Secret Society That Branded Me — by Sarah Edmondson, Vice, 6 November 2017
Ex-NXIVM Member Recalls Alleged Abuse By Leader Keith Raniere — Megyn Kelly, TODAY, 14 September 2018
Catherine Oxenberg Tells Megyn Kelly Her Daughter Has Left NXIVM, Is ‘Moving On’ — Megyn Kelly, TODAY, 8 August 2018
How People Leave One Cult — and End Up in Another — by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2019
Nicki Clyne's website — Blog entries ending 31 December 2017, visited 27 August 2019.
Kung Fu Monkey blog — by John Rogers – blog post Ephemera 2009 (7), 19 March 2009
Nicki Clyne, Actress - Profile Interview Series Vol. #5 — by Jason White, eFilmCritic.com, 18 October 2004
How NXIVM Ripped Through This Group of Canadian Actors — by Sarah Berman, Vice, 13 September 2018
What It’s Like to Be Surveilled and Sued by NXIVM — by Sarah Berman, Vice, 14 June 2019
A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP — by John Hochman, M.D., February 2003
A Critical Analysis of the Executive Success Programs Inc. — by Paul Martin, Ph.D., 12 February 2003
Robert Jay Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform as applied to the Executive Success Programs — by Paul Martin, Ph.D., 12 February 2003
From Heiress To Felon: How Clare Bronfman Wound Up In ‘Cult-Like’ Group Nxivm — by Will Yakowicz, Forbes, 31 May 2019
NXIVM Official Statement — web archive of ESP website as at 14 November 2017
Patent Application 2007221889: Rational inquiry method — Australian patent application, denied in 2011
'Everything was just lies': how alleged sex cult Nxivm deceived its victims — by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 11 May 2019
Sex Toy Testimony at NXIVM Trial Raises Questions About Kink and Consent — by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2019
How a Strange, Secretive, Cult-like Company Is Waging Legal War Against Journalists — by William D. Cohan, The Nation, 18 November 2014
Journalist on leave after tangle with secretive 'NXIVM' group — by Joe Pompeo, Politico, 26 November 2014
Judge tosses NXIVM hacking lawsuit — by Brendan J. Lyons, The Times Union, 18 September 2015
Stress in the Family — by Chat Hardin, Metroland, 10 August 2006 (the Albany alternative weekly is now defunct, but the Cult Education Institute retains this copy)
A split from NXIVM — by James M. Odato, Times Union, 12 May 2014
Rainbow Cultural Garden needs to be shut down now – before more children are harmed — by Frank Parlato, FrankReport, 16 April 2018
The Knife of Aristotle Isn't Just a Fake "Fake News" Site—It's a Cult — by Brock Wilbur, Paste Magazine, 30 May 2017
Smallville's Allison Mack Married Battlestar Galactica's Nicki Clyne in 2017: Prosecutors — by Chris Harris, People, 4 May 2018
Smallville star Allison Mack pleads guilty to racketeering in Nxivm case — Associated Press, The Guardian, 9 April 2019
The Journey of the ‘Sex Cult’ Heiress: From Reluctant Recruit to Criminal Defendant — by Barry Meier, The New York Times, 11 August 2018
Nxivm Trial Witness: We Hacked Billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr.’s Email — by Will Yakowicz, Forbes, 29 May 2019