WTF is on my Mind?!
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?!
WTF is on my Mind?!
MK Ultra: Cults, Trance States, and the Weaponization of Trauma w/ Richard Grannon & Adam Simon
In this episode, I delve into one of the most controversial and misunderstood programs in modern history: MK Ultra. Joined by Richard Grannon and screenwriter Adam Simon, we explore the reality versus the fiction of government mind control experiments, the psychology of brainwashing, and how these techniques have evolved into something far more insidious—mass manipulation through social media and modern media.
We break down the actual MK Ultra program, separate fact from Hollywood fiction, and discuss whether dissociative identity disorder can truly be weaponized. Richard brings his clinical expertise to challenge popular myths about "Manchurian Candidates," while Adam shares insights from his own experience leaving the Mormon church and his research into ongoing government programs.
But this conversation goes beyond historical CIA experiments. We examine how cult psychology, trance states, and trauma-based manipulation are being deployed at scale today—turning millions of people into willing participants in their own programming. From the commitment patterns used by religious organizations to the rage-inducing algorithms of social media, we explore how Chase Hughes acronym: fear, focus, emotion, agitation, and repetition (FEAR) create the perfect conditions for mass suggestibility.
Richard Grannon: https://www.instagram.com/richard.grannon/
Adam Simon: https://x.com/AdamGSimon
ADAM'S SHOWNOTES: www.markvicente.com/podcast/2025/12/21/9ooc5qcrmhi38ixf4hodegkdmbux6i
This conversation gets uncomfortable. We talk about government experiments on children, the normalization of political violence, and how we're all living inside the largest psychological operation in human history. If you're looking for easy answers or comfortable narratives, this isn't that episode.
Chase Hughes on Shawn Ryan Show
Derren Brown: The Assassin with Stephen Fry
The views and opinions expressed on WTF is on my Mind?! do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast or Mark Vicente. Any content provided by guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything.
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