Shows / Operation Midnight Climax
Operation Midnight Climax
George White ran the CIA brothel. He watched from a hidden room while men were dosed with LSD — and he convinced himself the fate of the nation depended on it.
Episodes
Operation Midnight ClimaxWhat Happened to Sandra Birchmore: Part 3
Stoughton’s police chief orders an internal investigation into Sandra Birchmore’s ties to the department, and to the men inside it. What it…
Operation Midnight ClimaxThe Secret Lives of Snape Wives
Plenty of Harry Potter fans love Severus Snape. A few truly worshipped him. In the early 2000s, these fans found each other online and came to believe…
Operation Midnight ClimaxThe Joyride: Amelia and Eleanor's Excellent Adventure
In 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart ducked out of a White House event and commandeered an airplane. The First Lady and the first lady of aviation…
Operation Midnight ClimaxIntroducing: Free Therapy with Ben & Kevin
We’re two best friends having unfiltered conversations about the modern sh*t we all go through, with a rotating cast of top therapists to help us unpack…
Operation Midnight ClimaxE.T. and Me [from Very Special Episodes]
In 1981, 11-year-old Matt DeMeritt got a call that would change his life. He wasn’t a child actor, or a performer of any kind. He was just a suburban kid…
Operation Midnight ClimaxNicolas Cage, Y2K, and History's Most Unlikely Art Heist
After a party at Nicolas Cage’s Bel-Air mansion, one of the rarest comic books on Earth disappeared. Action Comics #1 — the comic that introduced…
Operation Midnight ClimaxNorth by North Korea [from Very Special Episodes]
When two of the most influential figures in film become the personal hostages of Kim Jong Il, they have two objectives: to elevate North Korean cinema on the…
Operation Midnight ClimaxChaotic Philanthropy: Saint Joan of the Golden Arches [from VSE]
Thanks to her McDonald’s fortune, Joan Kroc was one of the world’s wealthiest people. And she was determined to die nearly broke. * Special thanks…
Operation Midnight ClimaxAmerican History Hotline: Why Were There So Many Serial Killers in 1970s America?
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…
Operation Midnight ClimaxVery Special Episodes: Live From New York, It's Your Grandmother
During its first 50 seasons, Saturday Night Live has welcomed legendary actors, superstar athletes, and notable politicians. But for one memorable night in…
- Operation Midnight Climax
The Climax
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Tripping
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
A Waste of Sin
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
The Window
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Smoking Out Castro
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Uncharter Waters
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
The Pad
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Brainwash
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…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Mayhem and Murder
In the 1950s, the CIA conducted highly controversial research on mind-altering drugs to prepare for brain warfare with global superpowers. But after a…
- Operation Midnight Climax
Introducing: Operation Midnight Climax
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