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Operation Midnight Climax

iHeartPodcasts 13 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

Operation Midnight Climax is a podcast that delves into the secret CIA program where a brothel was used to administer LSD to unsuspecting men, all under the watch of George White. The series explores the moral complexities and national security justifications behind these covert experiments.

Episodes

The Case of the Missing Novelist [from Very Special Episodes] Aug 20, 2026 2336 Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. But her biggest mystery unfolded outside the pages of her books. In this episode, Dana examines the 11 days in 1926 when the beloved author went missing, and the rollicking media circus inspired by her disappearance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

E.T. and Me [from Very Special Episodes] Aug 19, 2026 3040 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 enjoying his summer break. But Matt had something no other kid had. Something Steven Spielberg needed to make his most ambitious movie yet.  * Note: This episode contains discussions of suicide. Please take care while listening. Hosted

American History Hotline: Why Were There So Many Serial Killers in 1970s America? Dec 6, 2025 2016 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 podcast Hell & Gone: Murder Line — Catherine Townsend — to learn why there were so many serial killers in America during the 1970s. From Ted Bundy to the Night Stalker and John Wayne Gacy, we dive into the “golden age&r

Very Special Episodes: Live From New York, It's Your Grandmother Feb 14, 2025 3081 During its first 50 seasons, Saturday Night Live has welcomed legendary actors, superstar athletes, and notable politicians. But for one memorable night in 1977, Lorne Michaels turned the show over to an 80-year-old amateur.  * On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every

The Climax May 12, 2021 2569 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 know the full extent of the CIA’s experimentation with LSD, an unlikely source revealed many of the victims. These breakthroughs came courtesy of George White, who testified from beyond the grave. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://w

Tripping May 5, 2021 2004 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 of the psychonaut — the general public. It’s how White would make San Francisco’s sanity disappear. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Waste of Sin Apr 28, 2021 1915 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 with using LSD as a mind-control drug, now they wanted him to weaponize sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Window Apr 21, 2021 2341 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 of a government employee? For George White, Frank Olson’s death would change everything. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smoking Out Castro Apr 14, 2021 680 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 Fidel Castro. We’ll be back with a new installment next Wednesday. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uncharter Waters Apr 7, 2021 2156 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 reported White by name to the New York Police Department. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pad Mar 31, 2021 2020 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 artist. But it wasn’t long before the wrong kind of people started showing up at his door — including the FBI Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brainwash Mar 24, 2021 2188 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 uncover with the full support of the CIA and a supply of LSD? The world was about to find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mayhem and Murder Mar 17, 2021 1693 In the 1950s, the CIA conducted highly controversial research on mind-altering drugs to prepare for brain warfare with global superpowers. But after a checkered past, George White’s off-the-books Operation Midnight Climax took whatever flimsy rulebook the CIA had and threw it out the window. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for pr

Introducing: Operation Midnight Climax Mar 10, 2021 61 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Operation Midnight Climax

Episodes

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