Out of the ruins of postwar Germany, hundreds of ex-Nazi scientists were quietly recruited by the U.S. government under Operation Paperclip bringing with them the blueprint for psychological warfare. At the heart of that blueprint: MKUltra, a covert CIA program designed to explore mind control, chemical manipulation, and behavioral modification. From LSD-laced brothels in San Francisco to electroshock treatments in mental institutions, MKUltra used unsuspecting American citizens as test subjects for decades. 

What does this have to do with Jonestown? 

As the world struggled to comprehend the horror of the Jonestown tragedy questions emerged: Was this truly mass suicide or a clandestine experiment gone wrong? Survivors spoke of drugs in their food, electroshock punishments, and psychiatric abuse. Investigators uncovered ties to the Langley-Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, CIA-funded hospitals, and a possible connection between Jim Jones and Dan Mitrione. 

In this episode, we examine the CIA’s influence on cults, the striking parallels between MKUltra and the practices inside Jonestown, and the theory that Peoples Temple was part of a psychological operation aimed at discrediting leftist movements. Was Jim Jones a deranged cult leader or a weapon wielded by the deep state?  

Join us as we investigate CIA mind control programs, Project Monarch, Operation CHAOS, and the dark possibility that Jonestown was a Cold War-era experiment in behavioral control.