All language subtitles for oracles.and.prophets.s01e09.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

(bright music)

- [Narrator] For millennia,
humanity has sought guidance

from some of the most
unexpected sources.

Seemingly divine phenomena,

(thunder booms)
both natural and contrived,

have ignited imaginations
and shaped civilizations.

A self-proclaimed messiah
weaves a web of prophecy

and divine revelation,

promising to finish the work
of Jesus Christ himself.

His words inspire
a global movement

but leave a trail of
skepticism in their wake.

(bright music)

A psychic predicts the
Kennedy assassination,

the Six-Day War in
the Middle East,

and Chicago's paralyzing
Blizzard of 1967,

amongst countless
other eerie prophecies.

(bright music)
In the heart of ancient Rome,

the fate of empires
hangs on the appetite

of a humble bird.
(bird clucking)

(people speaking faintly)
Can the mere peck

of a feathered prophet truly
hold sway over human destiny?

(bright mysterious music)

(bright music)

On a crisp Easter
morning in the mid 1930s,

a teenage boy kneels in
prayer on a mountainside

in Japanese-occupied Korea.

His name is Sun Myung Moon,
(birds chirping)

and he is about to
experience a vision

that will alter not only
the course of his life,

but the lives of millions.

- Moon claims that on this day,

Jesus Christ appeared
to him in a vision.

Jesus asks him to
complete the work

that he was unable to do
due to his crucifixion.

- [Narrator] This
supposed encounter
sparks a transformation

that will birth one of the most
divisive religious movements

of the 20th century.

(crowd cheering)

- Within the Unification Church,

Moon claims that he
is the perfect father,

that he has the capacity to
create the perfect family,

really the perfect relationship

that is free from original sin.

- [Narrator] His church
will grow to claim millions

of members worldwide

and amass over 1
billion US in assets.

His influence will
extend beyond religion,

his cause cultivating support

from some of the most
influential members of society,

including US Presidents
Richard Nixon,

Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.

But as a young Moon begins

to share his message,
(Moon speaking faintly)

he finds himself
mired in conflict

with the Japanese occupiers,
(gentle music)

established Christian churches

and, following World War II,

the encroaching North
Korean communist regime.

- Moon's growing
evangelical following

comes to the attention of the
North Korean communist regime

(Moon speaking faintly)
who seeks to close down

his work with an iron fist.

Things get even worse for Moon

when he's accused of being
a spy for South Korea

and he's sent to a labor camp.

Moon always predicted that
he would be liberated,

and this came true in 1950,

when UN troops
liberated the camp

before Moon was
about to be executed.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Moon's suffering
and subsequent escape

to South Korea only
strengthens his conviction

in his divine mission.
(Moon speaking faintly)

But is this truly a miraculous
fulfillment of prophecy,

or a fortunate
coincidence reframed

through the lens of faith?

Is Sun Myung Moon a
divinely inspired prophet

or a master of manipulation

destined to build
a global empire

that would influence politics,

media and international affairs?

(bright music)

In 1920, in the
rural countryside

of North Pyongyang Province,

Sun Myung Moon enters the world,

the second son of
a farming family

living under Japanese
colonial rule.

- His family converts to
Christianity in the 1930s,

and he himself becomes
a Sunday school teacher

who's really well-known for
his religious conviction

and his spiritual inquiry.

- He grew up in poverty.

It's not surprising that he
might be drawn to a religion

which was aimed at
empowering people.

(bright music continues)

- [Narrator] In 1941, Moon
moves to Tokyo to study.

But as World War
II comes to an end

and Korea gains independence
from Japan in 1945,

the young leader decides
that the time has come

to begin his divine work.

- This is war torn Korea,

and so it is a moment

when people need stories

that allow them to believe

in things like
leadership, futurity.

People need blessings, and
he's tapping into that need,

(bright music)
(Moon speaking faintly)

- [Narrator] According
to some sources,

he is involved with
two Seoul-based
quasi-Christian groups

that practice ritual sex

as part of blood
purification rites.

In 1946, Moon is charged
with sexual immorality

and expelled from the
Korean Presbyterian Church.

- Being cast out of the
church is this moment

where he has to find out whether

he can carry the credibility
(Moon speaking faintly)

of a charismatic
spiritual leader

without the endorsement
of an institution.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] In the same year,

Moon claims that God suddenly
issues a command to go north.

He heads across the 38th
parallel into North Korea,

just under Soviet control.

- He wants to sow the seeds
in communist North Korea

of his new religious movement,

and he says that he wants to
create the Kingdom of Heaven

in what he considers to be
the kind of depths of hell.

- [Narrator] In 1948,
as tensions between

North and South Korea escalate,

Sun Myung Moon's
religious teachings

began to draw the attention

of the North Korean
communist regime.

- According to the
Unification Church,

Moon was arrested twice
for disturbing the peace.

(birds chirping)
(bright music continues)

- We know from Moon's own
account of his life that he says

that one of the most
formative experiences

on his path to becoming
a religious leader

was the long time he
spent in a prison camp.

Here, he describes
having suffered

enormous abuse in
the form of torture,

of having been near death,

and that he emerged
from this convinced

that he had a special path.

(water splashing)

- [Narrator] Despite
the inhumane conditions

and constant threat of death,
(gentle music)

Moon's spirit remains unbroken.

- Moon always predicted
that he would be liberated,

and this came true in 1950

when UN troops
liberated the camp

before he was about
to be executed.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] After his release,

Moon reportedly spends
40 days searching

for the members of his
scattered flock in Pyongyang

before finally making the
treacherous journey south.

- Moon comes back
to South Korea,

and in a small house
in South Korea,

he starts the beginnings
of his religious movement,

and very few could imagine
(Moon speaking faintly)

that from these
humble beginnings,

he could start a movement

that both captivates
and divides millions.

- [Narrator] In 1954, four years

after reaching the relative
safety of South Korea,

Moon formally establishes
the Unification Church.

(bright music)

The teachings of the
Unification Church

promise worldwide
peace and unity

through a radical
reinterpretation
of Christianity.

- Well, Moon reports that he
actually had a conversation

with Jesus Christ, who visited
him when he was 15 years old.

And this is the origin

of Moon's own spiritual mission

as he presents it to people.

Christ comes to him

and explains that he has
(birds chirping)

identified Moon as the person

who has to complete
the work of salvation

that Christ himself
left unfinished

2000 years earlier.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Moon
describes the encounter

as both terrifying
and awe-inspiring.

Overwhelmed by the weight
of this cosmic task,

he initially resists the call.

- Anybody would probably be wary

of someone who says
Jesus has chosen him

to be their follow
up act, so to speak.

But the way Moon does it
is kind of interesting.

In his vision of his
interaction with Jesus,

he falls to Jesus's feet,
weeps, and says, you know,

"Why would you choose me?"

And that's a moment of humility

and a moment of vulnerability,

but then, of course,
Jesus responds,

"No, no, this is
something you must do.

You are my choice."
(birds chirping)

And so, in a way, now
Moon can present this

to the followers
and say, you know,

it's not me that's
saying I'm the one.

It's him.

And that makes the message, I
think, a little more palatable

and a little less
open to skepticism.

- Traditionally in Christianity,

the idea is that Jesus Christ
will return on Judgment Day

to judge the living
and the dead.

So this idea that
Christ would reincarnate

into somebody in Korea

to set up a new cult
really isn't in line

with mainstream Christianity

and, not surprisingly,
was completely condemned.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] At the
core of Moon's teachings

lies a radical claim, one that
positions him and his wife

at the center of a
new spiritual lineage.

- The theology of the
Unification Church

centers around the concept
of the Divine Principle.

This theology posits
that God's original plan

was thwarted with the
fall of Adam and Eve,

and that Jesus Christ's mission

to fulfill God's
purpose was cut short

because of his crucifixion.

- Within the Unification Church,

Moon claims that
he has the capacity

to create the perfect family,

really the perfect relationship,

that is free from original sin.

This new religious movement
really is based in marriage.

(bright music continues)

- The church believes
that matching by Moon

or church leaders
helps to fulfill

and create a holy family.

Matched couples are seen
as restoring the connection

between Adam and
Eve before the Fall,

creating sinless marriages

and new, pure lineages,
fulfilling God's work.

(gentle music)
(people chattering faintly)

- [Narrator] As Moon's
influence grows,

so too does his penchant
for grand ceremonies,

where thousands of
couples simultaneously
pledge their lives

not just only to each other,

but to a greater cosmic purpose.

- After Moon's own
marriage in 1960,

he begins hosting these
mass marriage ceremonies.

The first one is
in Seoul in 1961.

There are 36 couples involved.

These engineered
(laughs) ceremonies,

they tap into

kind of long-standing methods

of organizing societies

under a consolidated leader.

- Moon argued that
these marriages

were intended to
create communities

that transcended national
and political boundaries

and race boundaries.

Often, these couples
had never met before.

They may come from different
countries or different regions,

different races.
(crowd cheering)

- International and
interracial matches

are seen as overcoming
national barriers,

creating unified,
pure, sinless families.

- It wasn't necessarily a
wedding of two people anymore.

It was a wedding of those
two people to the church

and to the community.

Because you're accepting
Moon's choice of partner, etc.,

you are showing,
really, a faith to him.

(people chattering faintly)

- [Narrator] But it would
take until the 1990s

(crowd singing)
for these ceremonies

to truly reach their zenith,

both in size and notoriety.
(crowd cheering)

By 1992, a ceremony at
Seoul's Olympic Stadium

united 30,000 couples,

with another 300,000
participating via satellite.

(dramatic music)
In 1999, the church claims

that a staggering
360,000 couples

are blessed globally that year.

The ceremonies themselves
are elaborate affairs,

full with symbolism and ritual,

but perhaps most controversial
are the practices

that follow the ceremony.

- There are these
post-marriage rituals

that all of the couples
are expected to observe.

They include a 40-day
period of celibacy.

(crowd chattering)
Then, to add the next layer

of when you do have sex,

I'm going to tell you
exactly how to do it,

of course, there's a
narrative that justifies this.

He says this is a
way of making sure

that their most
intimate practices

are not tainted by original sin.

But just in terms of
social engineering,

it is this way of testing

just how much he can
control the people

under his leadership.
(crowd cheering)

(bright mysterious music)

- [Narrator] Since the 1960s,
Sun Myung Moon's vision

has poured beyond
the borders of Korea.

With missionary zeal, his
followers spread the message

of the Unification
Church across continents,

igniting both fervent devotion
and fierce controversy.

- Moon is sending missions
to the US and to Japan,

these kind of
influential nations,

in order to gain
footholds there,

and, eventually, there's
this expansion of the church

to South America, to Europe,
to other parts of Asia,

and in the 1970s, there's
over 3 million members

in over 100 different countries.

(bright music continues)

- [Narrator] But as the
church's influence grows,

so does public
scrutiny and alarm.

(dramatic music)

Parents watch in horror as
their children abandon careers

and education to
devote themselves
fully to Moon's cause.

With the church's
unconventional practices,

particularly its mass weddings,

capture global attention
and fuel public unease,

the Unification
Church finds itself

at the center of a growing
anti-cult movement.

- The Unification Church,

which was known more
colloquially as Moonies

by the time we get to the '70s,

became a phenomenon
that actually generated
enormous amount

of controversy in the
States and elsewhere.

And that's because,
on the surface,

it looked very much like a cult.

There was enormous concern

that they were
brainwashing children,

convincing people
to go join them.

And this became such a concern

that it was attracting the
eyes of the law as well.

- There's a lot of concern,

especially among populations
like middle-class Americans,

that their family members, and
particularly their children,

(children shouting)
are being overly influenced

by sinister forces.

And in this context,

Moon starts to come under
particular scrutiny.

(dramatic music continues)

- [Narrator] Despite
the controversy,

or perhaps because of it, the
Unification Church continues

to expand its influence,

extending into
business and politics.

- By the time we
get to the '70s,

he has involvement in
everything from ginseng

to arms manufacturing.

He is also becoming
increasingly political,

active and influential globally,

and this is related to his
anti-communism activities.

(bright mysterious music)

- [Narrator] As Sun Myung
Moon's influence grows,

so does the audacity of
his prophetic claims.

He boldly predicts
that communism

would begin to fall in 1978.

- If you're someone like Moon,

who is fashioning themselves
as the next Jesus,

then you want some
of those things, too,

and predicting the
fall of communism,

with some level of accuracy,

is one of these things that
maybe nobody else saw coming,

and it allows him
to kind of suggest,

"Yeah, I have some powers

that go beyond what
the average human has.

Everything you've heard about
me, you can believe it."

(gentle mysterious music)

- [Narrator] Never one to
shy away from politics,

Moon's most visible
business venture

in the United States
becomes a powerful voice

in conservative media.

- In 1982, we see that Moon
buys "The Washington Times".

- Why would he do this?

Well, here he's now
bought a newspaper paper

that gives him a
public voice in affairs

at the center of power
in the United States.

- [Narrator] Moon's growing
influence doesn't come

without scrutiny
and controversy.

(dramatic music)
In 1978,

a congressional
investigation implicates Moon

in a South Korean
intelligence operation

attempting to
influence U.S. policy.

Later, in 1982, Moon is
convicted of tax evasion

and serves 13 months in prison.

- When you've built a
community like this,

you really want an
us-versus-them dynamic.

One of the ways of suggesting
that is persecution.

If they, either the congregation

or the leader of
the congregation,

is persecuted and has
to suffer in that way,

that's almost evidence to
the congregation that, "See?

There's us and there's
them, and they're after me,

but they're not going to win."

(bright choral music)

- [Narrator] Moon's political
connections continue to grow,

reaching the highest
levels of government.

- We know that Moon had
direct access to some

of the most powerful American

and European
leaders of the time.

These included not only
several Republican presidents,

including Gerald Ford
and George H. Bush,

but also Mikhail Gorbachev.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] When the
Soviet Union falls in 1991,

(crowd chattering)
Moon's followers point

to these fulfilled predictions

as evidence of his
prophetic insight.

But were these truly
divine revelations

or a display of
strategic foresight?

- When you make predictions
and prophecies of various sort,

the question always
is how divine

or how unexpected is that?

Or is this something that
somebody could sort of foresee

on other grounds?
(crowd chattering)

Anyone who understands
human behavior well,

and especially someone who
believes there needs to be

this sort of top-down
force, which Moon was,

kind of holding the
community together,

they may look at communism
and say, "Nice idea.

It just won't work.
I'll give it 20 years."

And so a sort of
an informed guess.

(bright music continues)

- [Narrator] On
September 3rd, 2012,

Sun Myung Moon passes
away at the age of 92,

leaving behind a complex legacy.

- With the passing of Moon,

the administration of the church
is taken over by his wife.

But since that time,

the church's size had
started to shrink.

This seems to be the
result of many factors,

including in-fighting, losing
appeal amongst young people,

and we should also
mention that the loss

of this charismatic figure
also would have played a role,

because he had drawn
people to this church.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] As with
many prophetic figures,

the true nature of Moon's claims

remains a subject of debate

long after his death.
(Moon speaking faintly)

Was he a divinely
appointed messiah,

a charismatic charlatan,
or something in between?

- Moon stands out

because he presents
himself as the Messiah.

He really kind of sets a mold
(gentle music)

for tapping into people's
spiritual beliefs

and spiritual needs
(birds chirping)

to climb the hierarchy
of social power

and political power
that exists in the world

beyond your church.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] While Sun
Myung Moon's prophecies

and controversial teachings
captivate followers

across the globe,
(intense music)

in the summer of 1966,
(water splashing)

a seemingly ordinary
American woman

makes a startling prediction

that would bring her
to national attention.

(gentle mysterious music)

On January 26th, 1967,
(wind whistling)

a blizzard slams into
the state of Illinois,

paralyzing the city of Chicago.

Thousands are stranded
in offices and schools.

Tens of thousands of abandoned
vehicles litter the city,

and 26 people lose their lives.

Almost no one sees it coming,
except for one person.

- Irene Hughes really
had the good fortune

to become a media
figure at a time

when TV was reaching
the height of its power.

- And now to tune in on the
belongings of our visitor,

here is our clairvoyant,
Irene Hughes.

- [Host] Irene, what
vibrations do you pick up?

- Well, I feel that this man

loved the out-of-doors
very much.

- And she came out with
an astonishing prophecy

that a huge snowstorm was
going to hit the Chicago area

on the 26th of January, 1967,

and lo and behold, it happened.

(dramatic music)
And this

sparked her media career as
a nationally known psychic.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] However,
her snowy prediction

comes to her earlier,

during a hot and
humid August evening

at a gathering to commemorate

the 1887 Great
Chatsworth train wreck

that killed dozens.

Suddenly, Irene is
overcome with shivers

and visions of snow.

She feels

a strong wind against her.
(wind blowing)

She sees a ticker tape

in front of her that reads
January 26, 27, 28 and 29.

- We often think of
psychics and mediums

as going into a trance

where they receive messages,

but they can also occur

through sensory
experiences involving,

for example, seeing a
vision or hearing a voice.

(gentle choral music)

- [Narrator] The
snowstorm arrives

on the exact day Irene predicts
and lasts for two days,

with an accumulation
of 23 inches.

- A blizzard in Chicago is not

out of the realm of the
ordinary, by any means,

but just two days before,

the city had been experiencing
record warm temperatures.

(train rattling)
So in this particular moment,

the expectation of a blizzard
did seem out of the ordinary.

- Anything about the winter?
Is it going to be tough?

- Oh, it's going to be
a very tough winter,

and that's in one of my books,

where I said that after a
most unusually warm September,

that we'd better look out
for a very hard winter

that will go up through March.

- [Narrator] The blizzard dumps

a staggering 23 inches
of snow in just 29 hours,

bringing the bustling metropolis

to a complete standstill,
(wind whistling)

trapping thousands.

Its ferocity is amplified
by wind gusts reaching

up to 53 miles per hour
(sirens wailing)

with vehicles abandoned
all over the city

and claiming over 60 lives
in the Greater Chicago Area.

(gentle music)

This remarkably
accurate prediction

catapults Irene into stardom,

bringing the world to her door.

(audience applauds)
- Here's our clairvoyant,

Irene Hughes.

- At this point, Irene really
is on the national stage.

- Well, our next guest may

make a believer out
of her and out of you,

if you don't believe already.
(host laughs)

Irene Hughes is joining us.

Welcome, Irene.
(gentle music)

- Welcome.
- Thank you.

It's a pleasure
to be here today.

- She's on talk shows,

and she even gets
acknowledged by the Pope.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Irene has a
humble upbringing in Tennessee,

and discovers her gift of sight

at a young age.
(birds chirping)

- Irene's story begins when
she has this experience

where she is drawn to a ladder
that leads to the attic,

and she hears a voice
calling her name,

so she follows it,
(footsteps taping)

and she hears what she
believes is the voice of Jesus.

- The voice says to
her mind will be open

and she will know many things.

- [Narrator] This
experience sets the stage

for Irene's lifelong journey

into the metaphysical.
(wind whooshing)

- As she gets older,

her visions become a part
of her everyday life,

and her premonitions tend to
involve people close to her,

family members, friends,

people that she knows very well.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Irene
spends her early career

as a reporter for a local
TV news station in Chicago.

It isn't until 1961 that she
has her first profound vision

of the fate of a family

with which she will
become inextricably tied.

- Irene begins to
make predictions
about public figures,

particularly political leaders.

(gentle music)
- She has a very clear vision

where she sees John F. Kennedy
(crowd chattering)

in a room shrouded in white,

suddenly shot.
(eerie music)

(gunshot pops)

And this vision occurs again.

She confides in a friend

and predicts that in a
couple of weeks time,

he'll be shot dead.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Kennedy
is assassinated
November 22nd, 1963.

- In November 1963,
an event happened

that really scarred the 1960s,

the shocking assassination
of President John F, Kennedy

on a visit to Dallas, Texas.

While driving through
Dallas, he was gunned down

from the Book Depository
building by Lee Harvey Oswald.

(gentle mysterious music)

- [Narrator] This is not the
last vision Irene will have

about a Kennedy.

Next, a vision of his
younger brother, Robert.

- [Narrator] In
early May of 1968,

she tells a reporter for
Chicago Sunday American Magazine

that Robert Kennedy would
be shot within six weeks

while on the campaign trail.

- Robert Kennedy is the
younger brother of JFK,

and he served as attorney
general in his administration.

In 1963, after the
assassination of JFK,

Robert continued
his public service

as a senator from New York,

but he also began to have
political aspirations

to run for president himself.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Five weeks
later, on June 5th, 1968,

Robert Kennedy is shot while
leaving a Los Angeles hotel.

Irene's predictions continue
to haunt the Kennedys,

with one final vision,
this time of Ted Kennedy.

- Irene runs into
Senator Ted Kennedy.

She warns him that she's
seen something terrible,

and he replies, "I think
my family is cursed."

(gentle music)

- [Narrator]
Several weeks later,

Ted Kennedy accidentally
drives off a bridge

into the ocean strait of
Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts.

He survives, but his companion,
Mary Jo Kopechne, is killed.

- Irene begins to
gain a reputation

for having a
preternatural ability

to predict the death
of important people.

- My prediction
about Ted Kennedy

is that he will leave politics.

Irene's prediction
stuns politicians

from all levels of government.

However, one of her most
accurate political revelations

is not for America.

(bright music)
- In 1970,

the province of Quebec in Canada

is on the verge of a crisis.

A terrorist group known

as the Front de libération
du Québec, the FLQ,

is increasingly
becoming radical.

Now, the FLQ seeks the
independence of Quebec.

They are the culmination of
building nationalist sentiment

that had been going on for
decades in the province.

However, by 1970,

they are increasingly
taking a violent turn.

They start to begin to place
bombs in military installations

and in the mailboxes of
English neighborhoods.

They attack the symbols

of what they consider
English colonialism,

which is oppressing the
Francophone population

in the province.

(dramatic music)
(water splashing)

- [Narrator] On
October 5th, 1970,

the FLQ kidnaps British
diplomat James Cross.

Five days later, Quebec Minister
of Labor, Pierre Laporte,

is also taken hostage.

- This puts the
country into crisis.

- In 1970, Irene appears

on Robert Cumming's
radio show nine times

to offer her take

on the FLQ crisis that
is playing out in Quebec,

based on the visions
that she's having.

- Irene predicts that British
Trade Commissioner James Cross

will be found alive,

but that Labor
Minister Pierre Laporte

will be killed by his captors,

and these predictions
turn out to be true.

(bright mysterious music)

- [Narrator] On
October 17th, 1970,

the body of Pierre Laporte is
found in the trunk of a car

near a Montreal airport.

James Cross is freed
on December 3rd, 1970.

- When you're
suggesting that somebody

is going to be found alive,

or somebody is
going to found dead,

we understand how many people
are hanging on those words,

and when those predictions
turn out to be accurate,

that's about as
dramatic as one can get.

She had the world's attention.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] It's not
unusual for psychics

to assist in criminal
investigations.

Throughout her career,
she lends her skill

to law enforcement agencies
across the United States,

assisting in over 2000 cases.
(people chattering faintly)

- Irene keeps her work on
murder cases very private,

aware that the police are
always shy of the press

revealing that they
use psychic mediums.

And her way into a case
is through tactile means,

feeling a photograph, requesting
the clothing of the victim.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] Irene then
turns the photos face down,

touching the photos
with her fingertips,

and within a few days, may
have a feeling or vision

she shares with investigators.

(birds chirping)
Irene considers her ability

to see death as one of
her most powerful gifts,

but she's cautious about
sharing what she sees.

- Irene makes an exception

in the case of one
of her clients,

(dramatic music)
who is Helen Brach,

the heiress to a
massive candy company.

Helen is a client of Irene's,

and in their work together,

Irene tells her
that something bad

is coming for Helen.

- [Narrator] Irene reveals
that she sees her murder.

Helen tells Irene she's
planning a trip to Minnesota

for a medical appointment.

Irene warns her to be careful.

Helen Brach never returns.

(eerie music)

- Helen eventually
becomes involved

with a gigolo named
Richard Bailey,

who seems to have
seen an opportunity

in Helen.

She has no living
family members,

she has no heirs,
and she disappears,

and her body is never found,

but there is a palpable
amount of evidence

that is used to convict
Richard Bailey of her murder,

and Irene is involved
in the investigation

and is aiding the
investigation with her visions.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Richard
Bailey is charged

with conspiracy to commit murder

and spends 24 years in prison.

(bright mysterious music)

A litany of Irene's
uncanny projections

through the latter part of
the 20th century come true,

some unfathomable and fatal.

- Irene claims to foresee
a number of major events

in the United States,

from the failed
Apollo 13 mission

to the stock market
crash of '87,

to the 2001 anthrax attack
that killed five people.

- Circling back to the
Kennedy connection,

she also predicts
that Jackie Kennedy

will remarry in 1969

to a much older man.

That man is never named.

We know now his name
was Aristotle Onassis.

- The 1970s and 1980s, Irene
does this talk show circuit

and really becomes known
then as "America's Psychic."

(audience applauds)
- Our clairvoyant

is Irene Hughes.

- [Narrator] In the
1990s and 2000s,

Irene moves out of
the media spotlight,

but is no less active,
dedicating her time and skill

to various social
causes and charities.

She passes away on
December 7th, 2012.

Irene believes that
everything and anything

that anyone experiences is part

of the universe's master plan,

and her gift, a window
into its predestined plots.

Irene is part of a long
lineage of human soothsayers

which have captured the public's
attention for centuries.

(gentle music)

But these prophets have
not always been human.

(bright music)

In ancient Rome, an
unusual form of prediction

proves popular among
both ordinary citizens

and the ruling elite.

(birds clucking)

Roman naval commander
Publius Claudius Pulcher

stands on the deck of his ship,
eyes fixed on the horizon.

- The Roman Republic was locked

into a life and death struggle

against the Carthaginian Empire,

in what we call the Punic
Wars, and one of the leaders

was Publius Claudius Pulcher.
(waves crashing)

He was in charge of a
ship that was engaged

in a naval battle with
the Carthaginian fleet.

- At this point, the Romans
have already suffered

a major defeat against
the Carthaginians at sea.

Pulcher is in command
of a Roman fleet,

and this time he wants
to take the battle

to the Carthaginians at Sicily.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The Carthaginian
fleet lies ahead,

(wood creaking)
and Pulcher's blood boils

with the desire for battle.

But before he can give
the order to engage,

an ancient ritual
must be observed, one
that involves fowl.

(dramatic music continues)
(chickens clucking)

- The practice of
consulting sacred chickens

before major
military engagements

was a crucial aspect
of Roman divination.

The Romans were very careful

not to give out
false omens drawn

from the sacred chickens,
(chickens clucking)

as the consequences
could be dire.

- He had to do what every Roman
would do in this situation,

get some sacred chicken
on the deck of the ship

to eat some grain.

- The question is whether

they're going to
eat the feed or not.

If they eat the feed,
then you go one direction.

If they don't eat the feed,
you go another direction.

(dramatic music continues)
(chickens clucking)

- [Narrator] Sacred
chickens are presented,

and grain is
scattered before them,

but to Pulcher's dismay,

the birds refuse to eat,
(chickens clucking)

a clear sign that the gods
do not favor battle this day.

- The chickens don't give
him the answer that he wants,

because he wants to attack,

and the chickens are
indicating that he should not.

(people speaking faintly)

We find him at this place
where the power vested in him

as the leader is
coming into conflict

with the authority of
the sacred chickens.

(people speaking faintly)

- [Narrator] Enraged by the
chickens refusal to eat,

Pulcher allegedly utters words
that will live in infamy:

"If they will not
eat, let them drink."

With that, he is said
(waves crashing)

to seize the sacred birds
and hurl them overboard

into the churning seas.
(eerie music)

This act of sacrilege, born
of frustration and bloodlust,

will have far-reaching
consequences,

not only for Pulcher, but
for the entire Roman fleet.

- It's the cultural power

that is vested in
them that he violates,

and it comes with
very bad consequences.

(chickens clucking)

- [Narrator] These seemingly
ordinary birds are believed

to hold a power far beyond
their humble appearance,

but what role do
they really play

in shaping the destiny
of Ancient Rome?

(mysterious music)

In the heart of Ancient Rome,

where mighty rulers reign
and legions conquer,

a peculiar practice holds
sway over the fate of empires.

From the humblest resident
to the most powerful general,

(birds chirping)
all turn to the mystical arts

of divination to glimpse
the will of the gods.

- Divination was central
to Roman society.

Romans practiced many
different forms of divination,

such as augury, which was
interpreting the signs of nature

such as the flight of birds

to determine the future.
(birds chirping)

- A lot of ancient people
were obsessed with signs,

and divinations, really,
I think, for two reasons.

One is a genuine belief that
there were forces out there.

But in another way, what
they also do is allow us

to kind of manipulate
the morale of the troops.

If we're about to go

into some dangerous situation
(soldiers shouting)

and we do these rituals and
they tell us everything's great,

then we're going to go into
that with a little more vigor

and a little more confidence.

(gentle choral music)

- [Narrator] The practice
isn't mere superstition,

but an integral part of Roman
law and decision-making,

deeply embedded in religious
and political systems.

- Even Rome's mythic
founding involved divination.

According to legend, the twin
brothers Romulus and Remus

used augury and bird sign

to determine the location
for the future city of Rome.

According to legend, Remus
saw six birds on one hill

and Romulus saw 12
birds on another hill.

The 12 birds was considered
more significant,

and thus, that was where
the city would be built.

- [Narrator] But among the
myriad of forms of divination,

the method that stands out most

for its sheer peculiarity
(chickens clucking)

is the sacred chickens of Rome.

- A popular method of
divination in the Roman Empire

was known as alectryomancy,

and this essentially involved
chickens or sacred chickens.

(chickens clucking)

- [Narrator] The humble
chicken could determine

the fate of battles,
(soldiers shouting)

(swords clashing)
the rise and fall of leaders,

and the very course
of Roman history.

(dramatic music)

- What they did was
that they would bring

the sacred chickens before them

when they needed to make a
decision about going to war.

(chickens clucking)

- A priest, known
as a pullarius,

would put grain on the ground

and observe chickens
eating the grain.

If the chickens ate it
enthusiastically and quickly,

this was considered a
very favorable omen.

If they didn't, it
was the opposite.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] The sacred
chickens played a role

in some of Rome's
most pivotal moments,

extending from battlefields

to halls of power.
(chickens clucking)

Their influence dictated
not only military strategies

but political appointments.

- During the reign
of Emperor Valens,

which lasted from
364 to 378 C.E.,

a group of Roman courtiers
employ divination

to uncover the name
of Valens' successor.

- [Narrator] The courtiers
prepare an elaborate ritual,

drawing a circle on the ground

and dividing it into segments.

- There are letters
spread out on the ground

and then seed is scattered,

and the chickens are brought in

and based on where

they choose to feed,
(chickens clucking)

the letters are then taken
in a particular order

to spell a name.
(chickens clucking)

- [Narrator] As the chicken
moves about the circle,

the courtiers watch
with bated breath.

- Three letters emerged which
began to spell the name T-H-E,

and then there was an
O as well, so Theo.

- [Narrator] But the
consequences of this divination

would prove dire.

- For some reason,

this causes much distress
with the emperor.

He goes literally mad.

He orders the execution
of several people

who have that name, even all
of the people who were there

to witness the divination.

- It is Theodosius I who
does succeed Emperor Valens.

So the chickens seem to
have gotten it right.

(dramatic music continues)
(chickens clucking)

- [Narrator] Theodosius'
ascent to power

is just one instance prophesized
by those sacred birds

that spurs paranoia.

(chickens clucking)

(water splashing)
Six centuries earlier,

in 249 BC as dawn breaks
over the Sicilian coast,

the Roman fleet under
Publius Claudius Pulcher

approaches the
harbor of Drepana.

Despite the
unsuccessful blessing

from the feathered prophets,

the element of surprise is lost,

as Carthaginian lookouts
(people speaking faintly)

spot the advancing ships.

- Pulcher's decision to
launch a surprise attack,

in theory at least, wasn't bad.

The problem was,

is that it was night time
(waves crashing)

and the Carthaginians
were renowned sailors,

much better than the Romans.

Pulcher's fleet very
quickly became disorganized

in the dark.

This gave the Carthaginian
commander, Adherbal, a chance.

He managed to maneuver his fleet

around the Romans at night
and attack them from behind.

The result was devastating.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] Pulcher's fleet,
pinned against the shore,

begins to falter.

As the day wears on, the
Roman fleet crumbles.

Pulcher flees with
only 30 ships,

leaving the remaining
93 to their fate.

- The Battle of Drepana stands

as Rome's greatest naval
defeat in the First Punic War.

It exposes the vulnerabilities

of Rome's naval strategy

and highlights the
risks of overconfidence.

(people speaking faintly)

- At least 20,000 Roman men
were killed or captured.

- This defeat would force Rome
to reassess its naval tactics

and lead to a period,

where they all but abandoned
major naval operations.

(gentle choral music)
(birds chirping)

- [Narrator] Pulcher's
infamous chicken incident,

paired with the
defeat at Drepana,

is regarded as a cautionary
tale of hubris and impiety.

- In that moment,
just before battle,

Pulcher shows a strongly
emotional reaction.

He basically loses his temper,

and does something that's
essentially sacrilegious.

That can make it hard for troops

to then follow that
man into battle.

Those are not the attributes
we look for in a leader

and may have actually
helped to contribute

to their lack of success.

- Pulcher was forced to
return to Rome in disgrace.

- [Narrator] Rome's sacred
chickens reveal that even

the most unassuming creatures
(chickens clucking)

can wield immense influence,
(dramatic music)

even when their
omens are ignored.

This skepticism has
echoed through centuries

from the self-proclaimed messiah

that sparked
controversy worldwide,

to a psychic superstar

whose powers enticed
believers and cynics alike.

Prophecy will always
leave its mark

on those willing to listen,

and perhaps even more
so on those who refuse.

(bright mysterious music)