Stephen Kinzer - MKUltra, Sidney Gottlieb, and the CIA’s Hunt For Mind Control
Summary
Hosts Lola Blanc and Megan Elizabeth interview historian Stephen Kinzer about his book *Poisoner in Chief*, detailing CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb’s leadership of Project MKUltra. They explore how Cold War fears of Soviet mind control led to horrific experiments on unwitting subjects, including prisoners and refugees, often utilizing former Nazi and Japanese war criminals. The episode examines the destruction of records, the irony of the CIA inadvertently fueling the 1960s LSD culture, and the disturbing duality of Gottlieb’s personal benevolence versus his professional brutality.
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