episode-header-image

Sep 2024

1h 2m

Episode 367 - MKUltra - Part 1: Cold War...

Wondery | RedHanded

About this episode

In the wake of an Allied victory, the threat of a communist New World Order loomed over the West. Desperate to beat the Soviets at their own game, the USA gave the secret service all the money and drugs they needed to create a real-life Manchurian Candidate.

Left with their minds in tatters and their relationships all but destroyed, the subjects of the CIA program ‘MKUltra’ were unwitting lab rats in the USA’s never-ending search for a truth serum.

Exclusive bonus content:

Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHand

Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus Episodes

Follow us on social media:

Visit our website:

Sources available on redhandedpodcast.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next

Unit 731: Japan’s Secret Human Testing Program | #420

One of WWII’s lesser-known horrors, Japan’s secret biological warfare testing program is so brutal and inhumane that it’s hard to believe it could ever happen. And at its helm was a twisted microbiologist Shiro Ishi. Victims, known inside as “logs”, were injected and exposed to c ... Show More

ShortHand: Hell

Boiled in blood, hacked at by knives, torn apart by iron dogs… the world’s religions differ on what exactly might await sinners in the afterlife. But one thing they can all agree on is that if you were naughty on Earth, you are in for one hell of a horrible time.We take a quick t ... Show More

Arne Cheyenne Johnson: The Devil Made Me Do It | #419

In 1981, nineteen-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed his landlord to death – but claimed he wasn’t guilty. Why? Because he was possessed by the literal Devil.With a wild alibi starring a possessed tween, budget exorcisms and even a cameo from America’s most notorious spooky g ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

38. CIA Mind Control: America’s Secret Cartel (Ep 4)

How did Cold War paranoia fuel the CIA's mind control experiments? What did popular films like The Manchurian Candidate have to do with the agency's secret programs? And did the CIA really help shape the counterculture of the 1960s? In the shadowy world of espionage, the line bet ... Show More

37. CIA Mind Control: Sex, Drugs, and Mysterious Deaths (Ep 3)

From LSD-fuelled hallucinations to medically-induced comas, the CIA explored every avenue in their search for mind control. But how did they justify these gross violations of human rights? And what does it reveal about the hidden history of the Cold War? In the clandestine world ... Show More

35. ⁠CIA Mind Control: The Birth of MK Ultra (Ep 1)

What if the government knew how to control your mind? Could a secret program unlock the secrets of the human psyche? And how far would the CIA go to win the Cold War? In the shadowy world of espionage, the line between science and sinister experiments blurs. As the Cold War gripp ... Show More

NEW SERIES: The Redefector

It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a ... Show More

Former CIA Spies on America’s Decline, The Potential of WW3, & What’s Really Happening Behind the Scenes in the US Government

What’s REALLY Going On Behind the Scenes of the CIA, the Media, and the U.S. Government? On Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, former CIA agents and intelligence officers Andrew & Jihi Bustamante (creators of the EverydaySpy podcast, authors of Shadow Cell: An Insider Account of America’s ... Show More

Part Two: Former CIA Spies on America’s Decline, The Potential of WW3, & What’s Really Happening Behind the Scenes in the US Government

What’s REALLY Going On Behind the Scenes of the CIA, the Media, and the U.S. Government? On Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, former CIA agents and intelligence officers Andrew & Jihi Bustamante (creators of the EverydaySpy podcast, authors of Shadow Cell: An Insider Account of America’s ... Show More

Marilyn Monroe (Part 1): JFK, RFK, and a Conspiracy Theory that Won't Quit

Marilyn Monroe is one if not the greatest Hollywood stars of all time. She rose from orphan to icon by creating an on screen character America could not peel their eyes away from. And she did it all while battling anxiety, depression and addiction. Along the way she bedded, marri ... Show More

Fatal Neutrality: Lumumba, the CIA, and the Cold War

In 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba was elected prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu president. Within a year, Lumumba was deposed and assassinated. This week on Deconstructed, executive editor of Foreign Affairs and author Stuart Reid joins Ryan Gr ... Show More

76. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: From Narco to Global Terrorist (Ep 3)

By the late 1980s, Pablo Escobar’s grip on the cocaine trade was unmatched. But a new threat loomed: extradition to the United States. To Escobar, it was a fate worse than death. His answer was brutal - declare open war on the Colombian state. In this episode, Gordon and David tr ... Show More

NEW SERIES: The Redefector

It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami