Operation Midnight Climax

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1950s, the CIA conducted highly controversial research on mind-altering drugs to prepare for brain warfare with global superpowers. But after a checkered past, George White’s off-the-books Operation Midnight Climax took whatever flimsy rulebook the CIA had and threw it out the window. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If George White could manipulate the mafia with an old-fashioned wartime truth serum, what could he do with something more potent? What secrets could he uncover with the full support of the CIA and a supply of LSD? The world was about to find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To immerse himself in his CIA role, George White needed a new identity. In Greenwich Village, he set up a safehouse and became Morgan Hall, a struggling artist. But it wasn’t long before the wrong kind of people started showing up at his door — including the FBI Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the CIA’s LSD experiments went increasingly rogue, an aspiring actress realized what George White had done to her. But unlike others who’d complained, she reported White by name to the New York Police Department. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we wanted to share a bonus mini-episode. Here’s how George White’s LSD adventures tied in with the CIA’s increasingly bizarre attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. We’ll be back with a new installment next Wednesday. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 70 years, people have debated what happened to Frank Olson at the Hotel Statler. Did the CIA’s grand experiment with LSD lead to the sanctioned execution of a government employee? For George White, Frank Olson’s death would change everything. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Frank Olson’s death in New York, George White had to move his whole operation to San Francisco. And the CIA added a twist: while they’d been occupied with using LSD as a mind-control drug, now they wanted him to weaponize sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the walls closed in on Operation Midnight Climax, George White took lessons he’d learned from a world-class magician to explore the last uncharted frontier of the psychonaut — the general public. It’s how White would make San Francisco’s sanity disappear. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sidney Gottlieb thought he’d erased all traces of Operation Midnight Climax and MK-ULTRA from the government’s collective memory. While the world will never know the full extent of the CIA’s experimentation with LSD, an unlikely source revealed many of the victims. These breakthroughs came courtesy of George White, who testified from beyond the grave. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During its first 50 seasons, Saturday Night Live has welcomed legendary actors, superstar athletes, and notable politicians. But for one memorable night in 1977, Lorne Michaels turned the show over to an 80-year-old amateur.  * On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. Search 'Very Special Episodes' on your favorite podcast platform. * Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason EnglishWritten by Jake RossenProduced by Josh FisherEditing and Sound Design by Chris ChildsMixing and Mastering by Chris ChildsOriginal Music by Elise McCoyShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producer is Jason English Special thanks to Connie Crawford for sharing her story. And thanks to the great Bill Carter for stopping by! You can read more of his work at LateNighter, or check out his many classic books.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was it the rise of hitchhiking? Lead in the water pipes? Or was it something a little darker in our culture? Bob rings up private investigator and host of the podcast Hell & Gone: Murder Line — Catherine Townsend — to learn why there were so many serial killers in America during the 1970s. From Ted Bundy to the Night Stalker and John Wayne Gacy, we dive into the “golden age” of serial killers to see how difficult it was to catch predators in a world before DNA testing, cell phones, and surveillance cameras. But that also begs the question: Are there fewer serial killers today? Listen, and find out!  GUEST: Catherine Townsend, host of Hell and Gone: Murder Line and Red Collar Listen to Bob Crawford's American History Hotline wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth Swaney fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, defying all odds. But it wasn’t supernatural athletic ability that got her there. And by the time she made it to the 2018 Winter Olympics, a lot of people were rooting against her. Here's the incredible story of a woman who made it to the Games by understanding those odds better than anyone else. Listen to Very Special Episodes wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could a new president ever be carved into Mount Rushmore? It depends on who you ask. We call up historian Matthew Davis (author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore) to learn about the history of the monument and what its future might hold.  It’s a story with a lot of surprising twists and turns, from the hills of Georgia to the sacred mountains of South Dakota. How does Mount Rushmore reflect America’s battles over who and what America chooses to celebrate? In this episode, you’ll learn: Why Mount Rushmore was carved, and who originally inspired the project The forgotten faces and ideas that never made it onto the mountain How Indigenous history and land rights shape Rushmore’s legacy Whether a future president could legally (or physically) be added GUEST: Matthew Davis, author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount RushmoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the winter of 1980, the world turned its eyes to Lake Placid, New York, host of the Winter Olympics. But behind the pageantry, another structure loomed in the Adirondack woods. Built to house 1,800 athletes, the Olympic Village looked less like a dormitory than a detention center — because that’s exactly what it was designed to become. * Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Zaron BurnettSenior Producer is Josh FisherEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Josh FisherOriginal Music by Elise McCoyShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producer is Jason English For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roald Dahl is a beloved children’s author. Turns out, he was also a British spy during WWII! So how does one transition from seducing prominent Americans’ wives to writing Matilda?  Well, we’re glad you asked! We called up the creator of a new docu-series called The Secret World of Roald Dahl to get all the dirt on this famous children’s author.  Aaron Tracy, Creator of The Secret World of Roald Dahl Listen to Bob Crawford's American History Hotline wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.