In this episode, we explore a shocking contrarian view of psychedelia & the 60s counter-culture.   According to our guest Robert Forte -- who personally knew many of the "Founding Figures" of psychedelia -- the hippy acid revolution may have been more shaped by the CIA than we realize. While everybody knows that "The Agency" dabbled massively with LSD and other psychoactives (Project MKUltra), the accepted story is that it turned out not to be useful as a "truth serum."  "Acid" was just too unruly for their needs, and ultimately "escaped" into the hands of professors and beatniks, who then popularized its use. Or so the story goes, ...til today.  Robert worked closely with Timothy Leary, Albert Hoffman,  R. Gordon Wasson, and studied in their archives.  So he's not just sniping from the sidelines here, he knows the historical details and personas inside out.   Forte has also: written and edited ENTHEOGENS AND THE FUTURE OF RELIGION; TIMOTHY LEARY: OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, and THE ROAD TO ELEUSIS; played a role in early therapeutic applications of MDMA; and is critical of the current wave of medical commercialization of psychedelics; has a brand new website, AlteredStatesofAmerica.net.  Check out the episode, and subscribe! More on the way...