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Most everyone has heard of MKUltra, the CIA’s top-secret mind-control research program that started in the 1950s. But one of the more interesting and scandalous sub-projects that fell under the MKUltra umbrella was Operation Midnight Climax, which began in 1954. This “study” sought to determine the effects of LSD on unsuspecting individuals, and particularly the outcome of the administered drug when mixed with sex. During the experiment’s tenure, sex workers were paid by the CIA to lure random patrons off the street, dose them with LSD and various other substances without their knowledge, have sex with them, and then see if they could get the men to confess their deepest and darkest secrets, or even persuade them to engage in illegal activity. The encounters were all monitored by CIA operatives from behind two-way glass. Join Tom and Jenny as they travel down another disturbing conspiratorial rabbit hole on this trippy and troublesome episode of 13 O’Clock.

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Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy & Videvo.

After World War II, the CIA became intensely interested in finding out whether individuals could be mind controlled or forced into confessions using means such as drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, and other techniques. From 1953 to 1973, Project MKUltra, as well as several other related programs, engaged in many illegal activities, including dosing unknowing subjects with LSD, erasing the memories of psychiatric patients under the auspices of “treatment,” generally trying to alter the mental states of individuals who oftentimes had no idea what was being done to them, and being responsible for at least one death, if not many more. Follow Tom and Jenny down the rabbit hole of these creepy CIA mind control experiments, plus enjoy a few amusing drug-related stories in our current events segment. Hang onto your brains and listen in to the soothing, hypnotic tones of episode 81. YOU WILL LOVE 13 O’CLOCK. YOU WILL LOVE 13 O’CLOCK. YOU WILL LOVE 13 O’CLOCK.

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Clip at the beginning taken from the trailer of the Netflix miniseries Wormwood.

Song at the end: “MK Ultra” by Muse.

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13 O’Clock is hosted by Jenny Ashford & Tom Ross. Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy.