New Books in Psychology John Lisle, "Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKULTRA" (St. Martin's Press, 2025)
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Aug 29, 2025 
John Lisle, a historian and author with a PhD from the University of Texas, takes a deep dive into the CIA’s notorious MKULTRA project. He uncovers chilling details about mind control experiments led by Sidney Gottlieb, including unethical practices like dosing unwitting subjects and torturing mental patients. Lisle shares firsthand testimonies that reveal the dark motivations behind the program and its catastrophic impact on victims. He also discusses the CIA's covert assassination plots and the ethical dilemmas surrounding these historical operations.
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MKUltra's Core Goal
- MKUltra was the CIA's Cold War effort to develop drugs and techniques to manipulate beliefs and behavior.
- The project sought truth drugs, hypnosis, and psychological methods to control people for national security.
Frank Olson's Fatal LSD Incident
- Sidney Gottlieb and colleagues spiked a retreat's liquor with LSD, leading to Frank Olson's breakdown.
- Olson later fell from a New York hotel window and died, a pivotal MKUltra tragedy.
Origins Of The Mind Control Obsession
- CIA fear that communists used mind control drove intense research interest in conditioning and truth drugs.
- Investigators later concluded torture and interrogation, not exotic drugs, explained many wartime confessions.
