Cold Open. This episode presents a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report on Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, dated October sixth, nineteen sixty‑seven. The document is notable because it offers a contemporary U.S. analytical view of the origins and development of the movement that reshaped China in the 1960s. Provenance. The report was released to the public in May two thousand seven under the authority of Executive Order twelve ninety‑eight, classification exemption two point six, paragraph one. It was uploaded to the public archive at archive.org as part of the Black Vault collection, with the full text available for download. The Document. The report opens with a heading: “Mao’s ‘Cultural Revolution’: Origin and Development,” and identifies itself as a working paper of the Directorate of Intelligence Special Research Staff. The author, Philip L. Bridgham, states that the purpose of the paper is “an attempt to reconstruct the history of China’s great proletari

The record I am reading is a Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report on the People’s Liberation Army and the Cultural Revolution, dated October twenty‑eighth, nineteen sixty‑seven. It is notable because it offers a contemporary U.S. analysis of the Chinese military purges and the role of the PLA in the political upheaval of that period. The document is hosted at archive.org and can be found under the Black Vault’s collection of declassified CIA files. This report was approved for public release in May two thousand seven, under Executive Order twelve ninety‑eight, classification exemption six point two of paragraph two, and was declassified by the CIA’s Director of Central Intelligence. The release appears in the agency’s public archive and was made available through The Black Vault on the date of its declassification. The report begins: “Approved for release date: May two thousand seven. This is a working paper of the Directorate of Intelligence Special Research Staff. It is a

From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief.

Jessica here. August 13th. The news in ten — let's start at home.

Let's get into it.

First, from BBC News (Top). Polls open in Clacton by-election.

Voters will take to the ballot box to elect the next MP for Clacton when polls open from 07:00 BST

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency photographic intelligence report on a probable signals intelligence facility near Kun‑ming, China, dated November nineteen sixty‑seven. The document is notable because it provides detailed imagery analysis of a suspected SIGINT installation during a period of heightened Cold War activity in Southeast Asia. The source is archived at The Black Vault. The record was released through the CIA’s electronic reading room after a declassification review by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the Department of Defense. The review was completed in the late nineteen‑seventies and the material was made publicly available without alteration. The Black Vault hosts the full text for public access. Photographic Interpretation – Kun‑ming Probable SIGINT Facility – China – November nineteen sixty‑seven – Copy one hundred sixteen. Automatic downgrading and declassification. Declassification review by N‑I‑M‑A and the Department of Defense. Approved

The memorandum you are hearing is a Central Intelligence Agency Office of National Estimates assessment titled “The Vietnam Air War and Chinese Bases,” dated November the twenty-seventh, nineteen sixty‑seven. It is notable because it records early U.S. intelligence on the limited use of Chinese airfields by North Vietnamese aircraft during the Vietnam conflict. This document was released to the public through a declassification request filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The CIA approved the release on November twenty‑ninth, two thousand five, and it is now available through the Black Vault archive at the URL https://archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01842/CI01842_djvu.txt. The memorandum reads as follows. “MEMORANDUM FOR THE DIRECTOR SUBJECT: The Vietnam Air War and Chinese Bases 1. Since the United States bombed Phuc Yen airfield in late October, North Vietnamese aircraft have on three different occasions landed at China’s Ning‑ming airfield after flying combat missions a

Cold Open This episode presents a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence cable concerning a reported Taiwanese attack on Chinese aircraft, dated November twenty‑four, nineteen sixty‑seven. The cable is notable because it reflects Cold War era intelligence assessments of guerrilla activity in the Taiwan Strait. Provenance The document was released through The Black Vault, a public‑domain archive of declassified records. It was made available on the archive’s website on an unspecified date, sourced from the CIA’s own declassification process. The file can be accessed directly via the archive link. The Document Outgoing Telegram, Department of State, November twenty‑four, nineteen sixty‑seven, reference number 074403. “UPI report that Hong Kong … story … guerrilla … GRC quote … commandoes destroyed a MIG‑19 jet in raid against Communist mainland airbase, UNQUOTE. Spokesman reportedly said raid carried out QUOTE by our anti‑communist fighters on China … stepped up operations

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency record concerning Taiwanese claims of attacks on Chinese Communist installations, dated November twenty‑eighth, nineteen sixty‑seven. The telegram was sent from the Department of State to the United States Embassy in Taipei and reflects Washington’s assessment of recent events on the mainland. The document was released to the public through The Black Vault, the online repository that publishes declassified U.S. government records. The material was posted without a specific Freedom of Information Act case number, and the declassification authority is the Central Intelligence Agency. The telegram reads as follows: “OUTGOING TELEGRAM – Department of State – ACTION: Embassy Taipei – PRIORITY. Classification: Secret. Origin: Embassy Tokyo. Reference: A. Taipei 1475, B. Hong Kong 3025, C. Taipei 906. The Embassy in Taipei’s careful investigation and appraisal of the recent alleged raid by a GRC commando team against a Chinese Communist airba

The document we are hearing today is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report on Chinese Communist foreign policy, specifically the section dealing with policy toward the United States and the diplomatic isolation of Taipei. It was produced in December nineteen sixty‑seven and was approved for release in May two thousand seven. This record entered the public domain through a Freedom of Information Act request, case number not disclosed, and was released by the CIA’s Office of Information Management. The declassification authority cited Executive Order twelve ninety‑eight, paragraph three point three, subparagraph one and six, covering materials older than twenty‑five years. The full text is available at the Black Vault archive. Now, the report itself. Approved for release date: May two thousand seven. Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. Intelligence Report: Ten Years of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy, Section One: Policy Toward the United S

This is a declassified United States intelligence assessment of the Republic of China’s intentions, transmitted on December twenty‑third, nineteen sixty‑seven. The document originated from the Department of State and was circulated to the Secretary of State, the U.S. Embassy in Taipei, and the Pacific Command. It is notable because it provides a contemporaneous view of Nationalist Chinese strategic thinking during a period of heightened Cold War tension. The record was released to the public through The Black Vault website. It was made available under a Freedom of Information Act request, with the declassification authority identified as the National Security Agency. The release date on the archive is listed as the date of upload, and the document is reproduced in its original text format. The document reads as follows: “TELEGRAM – SECRET – PAGE ONE – TAIPING – 1717 – 2304402 – ACTION – EA 15 – INFO – GPM – 34SC – RSC – GLSUSTA – T2sH – B2sNSC – B1sSP – B2,8S – 20,9AH – O3,10 – I5KRSR

Cold Open: This is a declassified State Department Intelligence and Research Note, dated December 29, 1967, detailing US concerns about a possible Chinese nuclear test failure. The document, released through The Black Vault, suggests that the Chinese nuclear test on December 24 may not have been a success. Provenance: The document was released through a Freedom of Information Act request and is available on The Black Vault's website. The canonical PDF is located at https://archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01847/CI01847_djvu.txt. The Document: To: The Secretary Through: S/S From: INR - George C. Denney, Jr. Subject: Chinese Nuclear Test May Have Been Failure Preliminary technical analysis of Communist China's seventh nuclear test, together with Peking's continuing silence about the event, suggests that the test could have been a failure. Thermonuclear Material Present. The test, which took place on December 24, 1967, in the vicinity of the nuclear test site at Lop Nor, had an estim