American Criminal: NXIVM & Keith Raniere

Here's a special episode of American Criminal: NXIVM

From our friends at Airship — the studio behind American Scandal, Business Movers, and History Daily — comes an exclusive episode of American Criminal. The show dives deep into the lives and misdeeds of history’s most notorious criminals, as well as some of the wildest crimes you’ve never heard of. Fraud, theft, murder, and worse — whatever the case, whoever the criminal — you don’t know the whole story… until now. Past seasons have covered:

• A series of bombings that shook Salt Lake City, with rare Mormon documents at the center of the mystery.
• The woman who built the modern adoption industry by stealing babies and selling them to desperate parents.
• A serial killer duo who claimed responsibility for as many as 600 murders across the country.
• The shocking assassinations of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and Harvey Milk.

The newest season investigates NXIVM — the modern-day cult disguised as a self-help seminar business. In 2017, NXIVM suddenly hit front pages nationwide. One day, no one had heard of it. The next, it was being exposed as a cult — with stories of a secret society, psychological manipulation, imprisonment, and sexual abuse. At its center was founder Keith Raniere — a self-styled genius his followers called “Vanguard.” For decades, he used his charisma and manipulation to quietly build an empire. But behind the mask of self-improvement was something much darker: Raniere’s obsession with control over the women in his inner circle. When some began to resist, he tightened his grip, resorting to blackmail and coercion to keep them trapped — until his victims finally spoke out. This is the story of NXIVM. Listen to this exclusive American Criminal episode from Airship on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.