Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"The octopus of Malice has many tentacles. It's more than eight. Probably, I believe they said it's 149 sub-projects that are officially underneath the umbrella of MK Ultra." — Ben
"The CIA did not want this to happen. Oh, no, no, no, no, this is an entire, this is, this is an accident." — Henry (referring to the counterculture's embrace of LSD)
"The problem is that we will never recover those seven boxes of documents destroyed by the CIA in the 70s, nor will we ever see the personal files destroyed by Sydney Gottlieb." — Ben (regarding the enduring mystery of MKUltra)
This episode delves into the final segments of the MKUltra program, exploring its alleged involvement in political assassinations, such as those of Rafael Trujillo, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Patrice Lumumba, with a particular focus on the CIA's attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro through various methods, including poison cigars and aerosolized LSD. The narrative highlights Sidney Gottlieb's eccentric and often bizarre approaches to these operations, underscoring the program's descent into questionable methodologies. The discussion then shifts to the significant, albeit often accidental, impact of MKUltra on the 1960s counterculture, particularly through the CIA's distribution of LSD, which influenced music, literature (e.g., Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), and broader social movements. This section also touches upon the CIA's development of surveillance technology, exemplified by the "Acoustic Kitty" project, which, while technically functional, highlighted the impracticality of their methods.
The latter half of the episode addresses the enduring and evolving conspiracy theories surrounding MKUltra, particularly the "Project Monarch" narrative, which posits a deeply entrenched deep state using mind control for nefarious purposes, including child sex slavery and satanic rituals. While acknowledging the possibility of trauma experienced by individuals making such claims, the hosts emphasize the lack of concrete evidence and the potentially harmful nature of these theories, especially in their connection to modern conspiracy movements like QAnon. The episode concludes by reflecting on the lack of definitive proof due to the destruction of key documents and the ongoing ambiguity surrounding the true extent and success of MKUltra, leaving a legacy of speculation and distrust.