Capitalism's Invisible Army (CIA) - Bill Yarborough on MKUltra, Operation CHAOS, Nixon & the Plumbers, the 40 Committee, Operation Gladio, Paperclip Nazis, Stranger Things, and Healing from Torture

For Hemlock #41 on the History of Philosophy Audio Archive I am joined by MKUltra survivor Bill Yarborough to discuss government secrecy, Cold War hijinks, the refinement of torture techniques over the years, and the history of domestic covert operations in the United States.

This episode contains descriptions of torture and child abuse, so please be forewarned.

Bill has recently published a book (a work of fiction inspired by real experiences) about MKUltra. We dug in deep on the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, the Third Reich, movies about Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy, and the origin of US torture programs in Latin America and elsewhere.

NOTES

Books Referenced on the Show:

Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control by Stephen Kinzer. (Highly Recommended / Excellent Author)

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA & Mind Control by John D. Marks

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein (also highly recommended. Klein is a marvelous journalist and writer).

The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) by Thomas Pynchon (see the bit about "Dr. Hilarius" from Wikipedia:

Dr. Hilarius – Oedipa's psychiatrist, who tries to prescribe LSD to Oedipa as well as to other housewives. Toward the end of the book, he goes crazy and admits to being a former Nazi medical intern at Buchenwald concentration camp, where he worked in a program on experimentally-induced insanity, which he supposed was a more "humane" way of dealing with Jewish prisoners than killing.

JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died & Why It Matters by James W. Douglass (2008). Very good Kennedy assassination book. Includes an interesting discussion of Thomas Merton's (possible) assassination as well, along with rich connections to liberation theology.

Movies Referenced on the Show:

Secret Honor (Robert Altman, 1984)

Thirteen Days (Roger Donaldson, 2000)

Nixon: Director's Cut (Oliver Stone, 1995)

Historical Events and Other References:

Lead article in the Canadian Press about MKUltra lawsuits

Operation Paperclip (OSS/CIA Operation to bring Nazis to US)

Hemi-Sync (Project Stargate developed guided meditation album for out-of-body experiences, one friend called it 'DIY MKUltra')

Operation Sea-Spray (Domestic US Navy biological warfare experiment in SF)

Operation Sunrise (OSS/Allen Dulles attempt to negotiate separate peace with Heinrich Himmler, AKA the Berne incident)

Otto Ambros (Nazi concentration camp chemist, developer of Sarin gas and thalidomide)

Otto Skorzeny (Waffen SS officer, rescued Benito Mussolini from prison, GLADIO operative)

Unit 731 (Japanese Imperial Army biological warfare unit)

Mike Mansfield (Senator, called for CIA oversight committee)

Project Plowshare (theoretical nuclear terraforming of landscapes)

Operation Gladio (stay-behind paramilitary network in Europe of far-right gangsters and mercenaries)

40 Committee (Assassination program established under Eisenhower and headed by VP Nixon, responsible for planning Castro's assassination)

Operation Midnight Climax (subproject of MKUltra, sex and interrogation)

E. Howard Hunt (CIA agent, White House "plumber" under Nixon, prolific author)

Happy nightmare reading...