Top Society & Culture Podcasts

Author, Speaker, Whistleblower and award-winning Director Mark Vicente was behind the sleeper hit “What The Bleep Do We Know?!” Several books have been written about the film’s remarkable grassroots marketing campaign, which led to its unprecedented success.

Mark was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1965. Taking his first photograph at age four, he quickly discovered his passion for being behind the camera. After attending film and drama school in South Africa, he began working his way up the ranks of the camera department, from Assistant to Operator to Cinematographer. His first big break came as Director of Photography on the musical “SARAFINA,” starring Whoopi Goldberg. In 1992, he set his sights on Hollywood and relocated to Los Angeles to shoot his first studio picture for Disney;  “FATHERHOOD,” starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry. At the age of 26, he became one of the youngest cinematographers to shoot a big-budget studio picture. 

Over the next few decades, he went on to shoot an additional 14 feature films and numerous documentaries, music videos and commercials. Mark soon found there were in him, untold stories he desperately wanted to express as a Director. He was driven by the conviction that tales of greatness, nobility and introspection could be exciting and financially successful. 

Perhaps because of the very obvious race and class iniquities in South Africa, he found himself propelled to question certain fundamental assumptions at a very young age. Beliefs about human behavior, cosmology, religion, existentialism and mysticism. Along the way, he stumbled into a few situations where leaders with malignant pathologies (masquerading as saintly philosophers) spoke the talk of self-improvement but did untold damage to their followers... and him. 

Looking back, he can now say he has been in at least two cults. His last foray into personal growth and his defection from NXIVM was chronicled in the HBO series “The Vow”. Mark and a few plucky whistleblowers exposed the criminal activities of the organization, resulting in multiple arrests and indictments. He doesn’t consider himself a cult expert, but by his own admission, “I’m an expert in being screwed over, waking up, and knowing how to spot them.” He’s got a pretty salty approach to most things and is fascinated by the myriad patterns in the human psychodynamic that create the best and the worst in civilization. 

Join Mark as he unpacks a whole range of topics to do with: Psychology, Consciousness, Morality, Narcissistic Abuse, Spirituality, Cults, Propaganda, Science, Filmmaking, and Philosophy.You never quite know what you’re going to get, as it really does depend on… WTF is on his mind?!

Identical twins Jay and Pete Flores, who were once North America’s biggest drug traffickers and El Chapo’s right hand men, turned themselves into the U.S. government with the hopes of starting a new, safer life for their family. But after years of cooperating to get the world's most powerful drug kingpin behind bars, and finally gaining their freedom with a chance to start again, everything for the Flores family began to unravel. In Season 2 of Surviving El Chapo, hosts Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Charlie Webster hear Jay and Pete reveal for the first time what really happened during their turbulent 14-year prison journey and what it was like to come face-to-face in court with El Chapo. Plus, find out the shocking backstory to the prison sentence that the Flores wives are currently facing.
 
Hosted and executive produced by award-winning artist and producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and critically acclaimed broadcast journalist and producer Charlie Webster. Brought to you by Lionsgate Sound as a world exclusive with iHeartPodcasts.

A Superbloom is a rare botanical phenomenon that is associated with an unusually wet, and rainy season. After the rainstorms, seeds of wildflowers that have lain dormant in desert soil begin to germinate and blossom all at once into a beautiful and magnificent superbloom. 

This is what our host, Candice King, wants. Life has felt like one rainstorm after another and now, after laying dormant for a bit, I’m ready for a superbloom. On A Superbloom Podcast host, Candice King is asking others who’ve experienced their own roadblocks, grief, or tough times to share in how their experiences went on to feed their souls. To talk about the events and passions in their life that allowed them to grow and superbloom into their next chapter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Follow along with entertainer, Salice Rose, as she dives head-first into life’s most relatable topics while sharing her own personal experiences and incorporating her own raw and comedic twist. Join Salice as she unlocks the door to a more personal and adult experience as she strips away all social media filters and challenges all of the normative expectations of society. Listen in on exclusive, never-before heard secrets and experiences from Salice Rose, herself, that will include personal relationship details, sexual openness and empowerment, challenging and emotional mental health conversations, perspectives regarding the latest drama, and the most intriguing and all-around organic experience imaginable. New episodes every Thursday. 

A Tradition of Violence is a podcast about deputy gangs that operate within the LA County Sheriff’s Department. Host Cerise Castle wrote the history of deputy gangs in LA for Knock LA, exposing their 50-year reign of terror and murder.

What do you do when you encounter the unexpected? That make-or-break moment that leaves you crying in front of strangers or quitting your job to pursue your true passion. Now What? with Brooke Shields dives deep into the world of redos, resets, and forward fails: From career pivots and personal missteps to moving through grief (or just plain moving on). Join Brooke as she sits down with authors, experts, and celebrity guests to hear their ‘now what?’ moments and learn what they’ve done (or are still doing) to get through it.