1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Everyone knew 3 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: it simply as the Annex. While it's gone, now replaced 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: by Harvard's Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, it once 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: served as a laboratory for the Department of Social Relations, 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: and in the fall of ninety nine through the spring 7 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: of ninety two, the Annex was home to one of 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: the most disturbing experiments the schools. Psychologists, led by Henry Murray, 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: chose twenty two undergraduates. The researchers felt that telling the 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: students the truth about their experiment would taint the results, 11 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: so naturally they lied. Each student was instructed to write 12 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: an essay explaining their worldview, philosophy, and objectives. Afterward, they 13 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: were told that meet with their fellow test subjects and 14 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: debate their topics. But Murray had other plans. Had come 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: to Harvard after working with the CIA during World War Two, 16 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: had once trained spies, and now he wanted to know 17 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: how to break them. Using intense interrogation methods, the students 18 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: served as stand ins. Each participant was given a code 19 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: name to protect their identity. One student was a seventeen 20 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: year old genius who had entered Harvard at sixteen. They 21 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: dubbed him Lawful. Considered precocious by his peers, a Lawful 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: found himself too young to connect well with his older 23 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: college classmates, and being an outsider may have made him 24 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: an easy target for Murray. Like the others, Lawful finished 25 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: his essay and was taken to the annex instead of 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: the promised debate. Murray and the team put each student 27 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: in a chair facing a one way mirror. The psychologists 28 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: connected electrodes to them and shined spotlights on their faces. 29 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: Lawful could barely see from there. Murray and the psychologists 30 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: subjected him to what was described as broad, forceful, and 31 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: personally abusive interrogations. The psychologists repeatedly and systematically attacked his 32 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: and the other students ideals and beliefs, and the abuse 33 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: didn't stop there. The psychologists recorded every outburst, every fit 34 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,799 Speaker 1: of anger or emotional pain. Then they cruelly played them 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: back for all to see, mocking and belittling the student's reactions. 36 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: Their goal learn which interrogation methods might work best on 37 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: breaking the enemy. If you're seeing a problem here, then 38 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: we agree that These were kids, young adults, not trained 39 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: military or secret agents with the knowledge of how to respond. 40 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: Throughout the two experiment, Murray and the team emotionally beat 41 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: down Lawful and the others, repeatedly subject them to hours 42 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: of humiliation. That kind of abuse undoubtedly left emotional scars 43 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: that students carried for the rest of their lives. It 44 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: broke trust with the school, the teachers, and probably affected 45 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: all of their other relationships as well. There isn't any 46 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: record that the students were offered psychiatric help to overcome 47 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: the trauma of the experiment. For young Lawful, those scars 48 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: ran deep and did eventually resurface. He graduated from Harvard 49 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty two and enrolled at the University of Michigan. 50 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: There he earned a master's and a doctorate in mathematics. 51 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: He remained quiet and kept to himself. After graduation, he 52 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: taught at Berkeley before abruptly leaving in nineteen sixty nine 53 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: without giving an explanation. In nineteen seventy one, he moved 54 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: into a remote Montana cabin, living a life without technology, electricity, 55 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: or even running water. Above all, he avoided human contact. 56 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: By ninety five, he was sabotaging the housing developments that 57 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: had begun to spring up around him, using booby traps 58 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: or arson. To say he didn't like technology would be 59 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: an understatement. He had developed an immense hatred and distrust 60 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: for technological advances between nineteen seventy eight and nine. That 61 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: hatred spurred him to send bombs to people and locations 62 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: that he felt were the biggest threats, resulting in three 63 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: debts and twenty three people injured. On April third of nine, 64 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: police arrested him. He pled guilty and was handed eight 65 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: life sentences without the chance for parole. To this day, 66 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: mental health specialists debate if Theodore Kazynski, also known as 67 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: the Uni Bomber, committed the crimes in part due to 68 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,799 Speaker 1: the experiment at Harvard, from a diagnosis of schizophrenia, or both. 69 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: Whatever the case, one thing is certain, Kazynski's story only 70 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: scratches the surface of psychiatric experiments on unsuspecting America gins 71 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: during the Cold War. In the nineteen fifties and sixties, 72 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: both the government and public believed communist countries were performing 73 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: acts of mind control on American citizens. To the CIA, 74 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: finding out how to stop it became an issue of 75 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: national security. Learning how to do it better, though, became 76 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: something else entirely. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. 77 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: In times of combat or even tension, like during the 78 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: Cold War, spies have been a key component to collecting 79 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: enemy intelligence, often by any means possible. It's not an 80 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: American invention, of course. Espionage has long been a part 81 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: of any culture In conflict, and captured spies have often 82 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: found themselves tortured, beaten, bribed, whatever it took to get 83 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 1: them to divulge what they knew. So the trick was 84 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: to never get caught. The second trick was to operate collectively. 85 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: During the American Revolution, the Culper Spy Ring, operating out 86 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: of Long Island, worked in plain sight, using codes they 87 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: had learned from the military. The ring had been so 88 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: successful they uncovered an American spy for the British, none 89 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: other than Benedict Arnold. Spies also came into play during 90 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: the Civil War, effectively used by both the Union and 91 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: the Confederacy. They were mostly one offs, though individuals are 92 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: small bands. The government didn't have a dedicated espionage division 93 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 1: until World War Two. The bombing of Pearl Harbor shook 94 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: the public government officials thought the nation had been unprepared. 95 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: Both the general public and federal leaders believed that if 96 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: the country had had better intelligence, the attack may never 97 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: have happened. The thing is, the Navy and the FBI 98 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: had observed odd behavior from Japanese diplomats and the weeks 99 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: before December seven. The Navy had also recently cracked codes 100 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: that the Japanese military were using. They just didn't have 101 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: a way to effectively put the knowledge to use since 102 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: the information was scattered. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 103 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: created a centralized agency to collect, interpret, and organize such 104 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: information during the war. On July eleventh of nineteen forty one, 105 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: he appointed prominent New York lawyer William Donovan to lead 106 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: an agency that would focus on military intelligence and covert operations. 107 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: Donovan had commanded the hundred and sixty five Infantry Regiment 108 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: during World War One and was one of America's most 109 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: decorated military heroes. As the director of this new agency, 110 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: his first undertaking was to create an overseas radio show 111 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: in certain territories abroad. Knowing the power of propaganda, he 112 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: assigned American playwright Robert Sherwood to write the scripts. On 113 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: February one of nineteen forty two, the radio program Voice 114 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: of America premiered. The host opened with the pledge, Today 115 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: and every day from now on, we will be with 116 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: you from America to talk about the war. The news 117 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: may be good or bad for us, we will always 118 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: tell you the truth. Donovan valued propaganda as something tactical, 119 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: while Sherwood was more about public diplomacy. The unending conflict 120 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: between the two men caused Roosevelt to split the Department 121 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: into two factions on June ninety two. He thus created 122 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: the Office of Strategic Services or OSS, and the Office 123 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: of War Information or o w I. The creation of 124 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: the OSS provoked distrust with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover 125 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: and the War Department's Military Division. The men at the 126 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: helm of both agencies detected a bit of overlap and 127 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: responsibilities and favoritism from the President. Roosevelt didn't help alleviate 128 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: their concerns. He gave the OSS the power to run 129 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,079 Speaker 1: special operations that fell just outside of the military normally 130 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: controlled by the Joint Chief of Staff, making matters worse. 131 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: Donovan and the heads of each military branch didn't exactly 132 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: see eye to eye, the military blocked his access to 133 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: certain communications. In response, Donovan recruited people in the States 134 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: and around the world to create a counterintelligence branch called 135 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: X two. In late nineteen forty two, the team traveled 136 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: to North Africa, working as vice consuls and establishing networks 137 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: of locals to covertly collect vital information. With the information 138 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,599 Speaker 1: in hand that would advance Allied troops, OSS officers parachuted 139 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: into Nazi occupied France, Belgium, and the Netherlands before d Day. 140 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: Their mission coordinate air drop supplies, assist resistance groups, and 141 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: begin guerrilla attacks on the German troops. Donovan might have 142 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: gone behind the backs of military divisions, and he hadn't 143 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: been forthcoming with the details on how his men acquired 144 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: their intel, but the President was pleased with the outcome. 145 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: By late nineteen forty four, thirteen thousand men and women 146 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: worked for the OSS, with just more than half stationed overseas. 147 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: Instead of military types and uniforms, Donovan's teams were designed 148 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: to blend in with society. Their ranks included some Americans 149 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 1: who were or would become fairly prominent, such as Supreme 150 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, baseball player and coach Moburg, and 151 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: even a young Julia child. Roosevelt's pet agency came to 152 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: an end when Harry S. Truman became president. To him, 153 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: the OSS no longer had a purpose once the war 154 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: ended in nineteen forty five. However, he couldn't ignore the 155 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: agency's methods of accomplishment, even if they weren't fully sanctioned. 156 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: Truman decided to keep the Secret Intelligence and X two 157 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: branches while the war was over. By ninety seven, Americans 158 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: feared a new threat, communism that witness Hitler's reign and 159 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: occupation of other countries during the war, and increasingly worried 160 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: that a similar horror might arise at home. Fostering those 161 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: fears was Congress's newly minted National Security Council. To the public, 162 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: if the threat wasn't real, then why create such a council, 163 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: but anti communist propaganda high. Truman rolled the two former 164 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: OSS branches into a new organization, the Central Intelligence Agency. 165 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,440 Speaker 1: The president envisioned the CIA as his eyes and ears. 166 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: They had report back on potential threats. Their focus would 167 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: be to act as a news agency of sorts to 168 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: get the information Truman wanted. The CIA found that clandestine 169 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,199 Speaker 1: maneuvers and often less than ethical methods were both highly 170 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 1: effective and essential. Compared with Russia, Americans were behind in 171 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: all manners of espionage. To keep Americans safe, the CIA 172 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: believed they needed to match the Soviet Union's methods. After 173 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 1: World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union 174 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: engaged in numerous political and economic disagreements, otherwise known as 175 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: the Cold War. The clashes and rivalry between the two 176 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: superpowers became so intense that another war of real war 177 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: seemed to loom on the horizon, and the fear of 178 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: communism skyrocketed. When a Miami Daily News headline in nineteen 179 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: fifty shocked the nation brainwashing tactics forced Chinese into ranks 180 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: of Communist Party. Journalist Edward Hunter's story detailed how the 181 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: Red Army was using an ancient and terrifying method of 182 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: brainwashing to convert the country citizens into mindless communist robots. 183 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: The article warned Americans of the dangers of mind control. 184 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: Edwards hinted that liberals and socialists were using these methods 185 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: in schools and libraries to convert Americans, and citizens across 186 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 1: the nation were terrified. Something had to be done. They 187 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: called it Operation Paper clip, a combined effort between the 188 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: CIA and the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, wherein special agents 189 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: sought out German scientists and engineers still living in post 190 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: World War two Germany. The operation's primary goal was to 191 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: give the US an advantage over the Soviet Union in 192 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:27,199 Speaker 1: military espionage and the space race. The fear of a 193 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 1: Communist takeover was growing. On March twenty one of ninety seven, 194 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: German issued Executive Order nine three five, the Loyalty Order. 195 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: It's specified that to determine loyalty to the US government, 196 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: all federal employees were to be analyzed. As you might imagine, 197 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: those citizens valuing personal liberty and privacy didn't take to 198 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: the order very well, and it didn't do much to 199 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: tamp down conspiracies regarding a Communist takeover either. By the 200 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: early nineteen fifties, Senator Joseph McCarthy alleged to the Communists 201 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: had infiltrated every part of the U. S government. He 202 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: had no proof, no names, just allegations masquerading as fact. 203 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: His use of intimidation and hearsay to garner power in 204 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: a fading political career was reckless, without ever producing a 205 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: single investigation that uncovered a single Communist plot back in 206 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: his claims, he managed to whip the American public into hysteria. 207 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: He painted opponents or of those who spoke against him 208 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: as Communist sympathizers. In public speeches, he strongly implied that 209 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: communists were coming to take over every aspect of American 210 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: life and freedom. Americans panicked, and conspiracy theories and suspicions spread. 211 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: Newspapers and networks featured emotionally charged headlines and stories. The 212 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: people began to conspiracy shop, a method of looking for 213 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: sources that fed their fears. Political leaders like McCarthy went 214 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: on tour, telling the crowd that communists could be lurking 215 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: anywhere a school, teachers, journalists, neighbors, and that they were 216 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: singularly focused on spying on and converting Americans. Although McCarthy 217 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: was debunked time and again, those who already believed hailed 218 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: him as an expert. In turn, his fellow party members 219 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: found him useful. His riled up fan base was likely 220 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: to vote them into office, so they helped the senator 221 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: fuel his conspiracies for their political gain. Once Dwight D. 222 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: Eisenhower took office in nineteen fifty three, McCarthy's reign was 223 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:40,320 Speaker 1: nearing an embarrassing end for the CIA, though public fear 224 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: of communism allowed them to acquire funding for more projects, 225 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: especially when it came to gathering intelligence. Soviet Union spies 226 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: had a reputation of being tough when it came to interrogation, 227 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: both in extracting information and in keeping quiet. They weren't 228 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: the only concerned, though Americans shifted their worry just a 229 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: hundred and three miles off the Florida Keys, Cuban leader 230 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: Fidel Castro had turned against the United States and sided 231 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: with the Soviet Union. The CIA recruited Cuban exiles to 232 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: effectively invade their homeland and overthrow Castro, but the plan, 233 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: poorly executed, didn't take root, leaving the CIA to figure 234 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: out another way to eliminate the Cuban leader. From nineteen 235 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: sixty to nineteen sixty five, they used agents and attempts 236 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 1: to assassinate Castro. Several of their plots sounded like something 237 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: straight out of a spy movie. Exploding cigars, poisoned pills, 238 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: ballpoint pens full of lethal drugs, and even a fungus 239 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: laced wetsuit in an exploding seashell. Since the leader enjoyed diving. 240 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: Other concepts were stranger. A One plot was to fill 241 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: Castro's shoes with thallium so that his iconic beard would 242 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: fall out, theoretically making him lose popularity among his supporters. 243 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: There were other odd projects too. In N seven, Operation 244 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: Acoustic Kitty, the CIA spent millions of dollars trying to 245 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 1: train domestic cats to spy on Russian diplomats. Yes, cats, 246 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: the cats were fitted with listening devices, but as anyone 247 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 1: who's ever met a cat knows, they have their own agendas. Ultimately, 248 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 1: the project was scrapped. Additionally, the CIA operated Air America, 249 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: an airline that allowed operatives access to Cambodia, allows and Vietnam, 250 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: where they could better track China's influence. It also allowed 251 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: the agency to traffic drugs into the areas and attempts 252 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: to destabilize them. The idea of mind control resurfaced in 253 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: the public eye when five thousand prisoners of war petitioned 254 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: the United States government to end the Korean War based 255 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: on war crimes. Twenty one men refused to be repatriated. 256 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: Many Americans thought the soldiers had turned against America because 257 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: they had been brainwashed. The more the Democratic Party denied 258 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: the brainwashing, and the more people believed the conspiracies to 259 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: be true. For them, any denial was proof of a 260 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: cover up. Though most political powers felt certain the men 261 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: hadn't been brainwashed, the CIA decided to do their own 262 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: experiments in the study they argued might be beneficial in 263 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 1: times of warfare. In three, CIA director Alan Dulles authorized 264 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 1: a series of psychological experiments using hallucinogens, sleep deprivation, and 265 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 1: electric shock. Of course, the CIA kept the study a secret, 266 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: so secret that most of the participants were unaware that 267 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: they were about to take part in it, and they 268 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: called it mk Ultra. When we think about experiments, we 269 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: think of highly controlled laboratories and appropriately informed subjects. The 270 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: CIA's mk Ultra project took a more direct and insidious 271 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: route the American public. No labs required. The project ran 272 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: from nineteen fifty three until nineteen seventy three and included 273 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 1: over a hundred and fifty different subjects. The experiments were 274 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: carried out across eighty different institutions, including hospitals, prisons, and 275 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: universities like Harvard. In fact, Henry Murray, who was in 276 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: charge of Harvard's experiment, had been one of the agency's 277 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: former employees tasked with mentally stressing recruits. Under the supervision 278 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: of Sydney Gottlieb, the CIA began to test the effects 279 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: of l s D on their subjects. The agency funded 280 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 1: research on the drug at Columbia and Stanford, among a 281 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: few other schools. They also began testing mescalin, heroin, and psilocybin, 282 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 1: sometimes known as magic mushrooms. College students weren't the only 283 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: test subjects, though, The CIA tested their own agents, and 284 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,679 Speaker 1: like the students, they were completely unaware until after the fact. 285 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:10,399 Speaker 1: Frank Olsen had always loved science. A graduate with a 286 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: doctorate in bacteriology, he found work with the U S 287 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: Biological Warfare laboratories while serving during World War Two. After 288 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: his time in the army, he continued his work as 289 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: a civilian at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, as part 290 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: of the CIA's Special Operations Division. His work entailed creating 291 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: new ways to spread germs and toxins among enemies during 292 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 1: wartime and to come up with ways to prevent similar 293 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: attacks on Americans. Biological warfare was fast becoming a worldwide threat, 294 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: and Olsen worked on several highly classified projects, with some 295 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,960 Speaker 1: particularly lethal vectors. In a short time, he developed a 296 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 1: wide range of discrete aerosols neatly disguised as shaving cream 297 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: or insect repellents. The contents were designed to cause food poisoning, 298 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: staff and actions, or encephalitis. Olson worked with materials ranging 299 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: from toxins to anthrax. Delivery methods included lipstick that killed 300 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: on contact and a cigarette lighter that released deadly gas. 301 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 1: Working on such projects often took him to Plumb Island, 302 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: as some materials were too deadly to bring to the mainland. 303 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: His hard work paid off, and within a year Olson 304 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: was promoted to chief of the Special Operations Division, but 305 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: the pressure was too great and Olson stepped down in 306 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: early The CIA asked him to join them directly. It 307 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 1: was an odd switch since he would still be at 308 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,120 Speaker 1: Fort Detrick doing almost the same work, and Olson learned 309 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 1: the hard way that his job with CIA would be 310 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: even more stressful. He worked with Gottlieb and Robert Lashbrook, 311 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: who were just getting the mk Ultra project underway. Gassing 312 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 1: animals began to wear Olson down. Every morning had walk 313 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: into the lab to find several monkeys dead in their cages. 314 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: The job also took him to other countries and locations 315 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: where he was asked to supervise the use of experimental 316 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: drugs and gases on human subjects. The use of hallucinogens, 317 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: along with physical torture, caused a few debts. Olsen's coworkers 318 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: seemed bless, upset that the attempts at brainwashing people to 319 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 1: extract information weren't working, and while he noticed their lack 320 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: of compassion and empathy, they noticed his reluctance to participate 321 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: in the experiments. In November of ninety three, Olsen and 322 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 1: several others were invited to a retreat at a cabin 323 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: deep in western Maryland. The first night, the attendees conducted 324 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: business and discussed key projects. The second night, the men 325 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,480 Speaker 1: all but Gottlieb and Washbrook drank heavily. Not long afterward, 326 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: the men all felt off, many, including Olsen, began to hallucinate. 327 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: Got Lieb admitted drinks had been spiked with LSD. The work, 328 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: the pressure, and the betrayal were too much for Olson. 329 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,639 Speaker 1: On top of the hallucinations, he experienced a nervous breakdown. 330 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: The next morning. After he felt slightly better, he fled. 331 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: He showed up to work a day later and informed 332 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: his boss that he was thinking about quitting. Knowing that 333 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 1: Olson was privy to a lot of confidential information, his 334 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: boss did his best to convince Olsen to stay at 335 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: least for a while. Olson complained that the LSD had 336 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: really messed him up. Even days later, he felt disoriented 337 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: and had difficulty with simple everyday tasks. Gott Leap sent 338 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: him to see a doctor closely tied to the mk 339 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: Ultra project in New York. Dr Harold Abramson listened carefully 340 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: as Olson complained that he couldn't focus, had difficulties sleeping, 341 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: and that at times he forgot how to spell. He 342 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: said that the job had gotten to him and that 343 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: the betrayal of being doped at the cabin had been 344 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: the last straw. Abramson assured him he'd be perfectly fine 345 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 1: and gave him some medication to help steady his nerves. 346 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: Olson took one of the pills before his flight back 347 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: to Maryland, and at first they seemed to work. He 348 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: felt calmer once back home, though he became belligerent to 349 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: everyone around him. Later, he apologized for his behavior, though 350 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,880 Speaker 1: he didn't recall all of what he had said and done. 351 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: His boss and Gottlieb sent him back to New York 352 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 1: once more, suggesting he needed some time away from the office. 353 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: Lashbrook accompanied him, and the two checked into the Statler Hotel, 354 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: Room ten eighteen A. When Olson talked to his wife 355 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: on the morning of November, he told her he was 356 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: feeling much better. At two forty five that afternoon, though, 357 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: Olson went out the window and fell to his death. 358 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:02,639 Speaker 1: By three, the mk Ultra project had come to a halt. 359 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 1: The scrutiny over the Watergate documents had the CIA feeling 360 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: a bit uncomfortable with the project's details. Aside from the 361 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:15,239 Speaker 1: psychoactive drugs, electric shocks, torture and sensory deprivation, agents had 362 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 1: employed hypnosis, isolation, and verbal and sexual abuse. Richard Helm, 363 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: then Director of the CIA, ordered most of the records 364 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: destroyed most but not all, in nive. President Gerald Ford's 365 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: Commission on CIA activities, also known as the Rockfeller Commission, 366 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: got under way. The sudden destruction of the documents brought 367 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: mk Ultra into the commission's focus. With so many files missing, 368 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,959 Speaker 1: the investigation had to rely heavily on key testimonials from 369 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: the victims and participants. The testimony was then matched to 370 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:56,119 Speaker 1: the twenty or so remaining documents, One of them, written 371 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: by a field agent, Pigott Leab in ninety one, stated 372 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: that it had been fun, killing, cheating, and stealing, all 373 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: under the sanction of his superiors. One of those victims 374 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: named in the remaining documents was Frank Olson. Within days, 375 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: his family sat in the Oval office. President Ford apologized 376 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: for the decades long smear campaign that had tarnished Olson's name. 377 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: The family had insisted all along that he would never 378 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,159 Speaker 1: have jumped from the hotel window, nor would he have 379 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: accidentally fallen as was recorded in the CIA's report. Testimony 380 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: and a paper trail also showed that Olson hadn't been 381 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 1: drugged just once. His anxiety and problems functioning hadn't been 382 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,719 Speaker 1: entirely due to job stress that CIA had repeatedly and 383 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 1: covertly dosed him after he threatened to quit. During the investigation, 384 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: the CIA denied that Olson's death had been anything other 385 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: than an accident or suicide, but after his death the 386 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: family had paid for a second autopsy. Evidence suggested that 387 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: Olson had suffered injuries before his fall, though until now 388 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: that report had been dismissed. Aside from Lashbrook being in 389 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: the room at the time of the supposed accident. The 390 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: investigation revealed a second agent had been involved, Sherfield Edwards, 391 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 1: was known for cleaning up messes during botched missions. Records 392 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: show that both Edwards and Lashbrook had strongly persuaded New 393 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: York police to not investigate Olson's death. In the end, 394 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: the Rockfeller Commission reports stated that Olson hadn't died due 395 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 1: to a bad reaction to LSD. They determined that had 396 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,399 Speaker 1: died because of the concern that he might divulge information 397 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: about the CIA's interrogation programs. In other words, it wasn't 398 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: the drug that killed him, after all, it was secrets. 399 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,640 Speaker 1: There's more to the story. Stick around after this brief 400 00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 1: sponsor break to hear all about it. Black limos and SUVs, 401 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,280 Speaker 1: men and women in black suits surrounding the President and 402 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: the First family wherever they go. The Secret Service employs 403 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:18,120 Speaker 1: some of the best trained bodyguards in the world. Yet 404 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:23,160 Speaker 1: the Secret Service didn't even exist until after the Civil War. Now, 405 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:27,120 Speaker 1: you'd think Lincoln's assassination might have spurred the agency's creation, 406 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:30,880 Speaker 1: but their original purpose wasn't to protect the president or 407 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: any high ranking official. In eighteen sixty five, when the 408 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: agency was founded, the Secret Service worked with the Department 409 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: of Treasury. The rise in fraudulent banknotes and counterfeiting was 410 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: the new agency's focus. All of that changed in one 411 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: that year, Americans flocked to Buffalo, New York for the 412 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: Pan American Exposition. The fair, held from May first through 413 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: November two that year, showcased a nine pound elephant and 414 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: the eighty nine ft tall electric power powered by Niagara Falls. 415 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: One of the biggest attractions, though, was President William McKinley. 416 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: The President liked to make himself available to the public 417 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 1: every day except Sundays. That was his advisers were less 418 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: fond of his appearances for safety reasons, but McKinley insisted 419 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: he had been touring the country with his wife, and 420 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: speaking at the exposition had been in his plans for months. 421 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: Over a hundred and sixteen thousand people crammed into the 422 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 1: expo on September five to hear the President's speech and 423 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: watch the patriotic firework display and pyrotechnics spelled out Welcome 424 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: President McKinley, Chief of our Nation and our Empire. On 425 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: September six, people lined up for the meet and greet 426 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: with the President. The summer heat was sweltering, but McKinley 427 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: still wore a dark suit and hat as he climbed 428 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 1: the stairs to the Temple of Music inside a box 429 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: sonata play. As people passed in line, they shook the 430 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: president's hand. McKinley's staff was nervous, and with good cause. 431 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: Two presidents had been assassinated in recent years, Lincoln and 432 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: James Garfield. Near the front of the line stood Leon 433 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: Joel Gosh. The twenty eight year old scanned the room, 434 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: shuffling from one foot to the other. He noted the 435 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: extra policeman, soldiers, and presidential staff standing nearby, and before 436 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: he left his job as a steelworker, co workers had 437 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: described Leon as shy, quiet and brooding. He had arrived 438 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: in Buffalo two days previous, bringing with him a thirty 439 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 1: two caliber revolver. He nervously eyed the crowd. If he 440 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,480 Speaker 1: went through with the assassination, he didn't think he would 441 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: walk off the fair grounds alive. Yet, as he watched 442 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: person after person greet the president, he felt rage rising 443 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: inside him. The people treated McKinley like a ruler, and 444 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: that couldn't stand. A self described anarchist, Leon didn't believe 445 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: in rulers. In his mind, McKinley had to be dealt 446 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: with right then and there. He decided he'd go through 447 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: with it. At four oh seven pm, when it came 448 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,400 Speaker 1: his time to shake the president's outstretched hand, Leon withdrew 449 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: his pistol from his waistcoat and shot McKinley at point 450 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 1: blank range twice. For a fraction of a second, there 451 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:26,680 Speaker 1: was silence as everyone registered the shots. Then a bystander 452 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: punched Leon before he could fire off a third shot. 453 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: Police and soldiers tackled Leon to the ground. McKinley lay 454 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: bleeding on the music Halls floor. His secretary rushed to 455 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: his side. The president's last orders were to take care 456 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: with how they broke the news to his wife, but 457 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: his prognosis seemed good at first. Rushed to a nearby hospital, 458 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: the surgeon noted that one bullet had ricocheted off a 459 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: jacket button and done only minor damage. The second shot 460 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: had gone cleaned through the president's stomach. This urgent stopped 461 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: the bleeding and sutured McKinley up, and for several days 462 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: he appeared to be making an excellent recovery. Relieved that 463 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: the president was doing well, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt went 464 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: on a camping trip, but within the week McKinley took 465 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 1: a turn for the worse. Infections set in At two 466 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: fifteen in the afternoon on September, McKinley died with his 467 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: wife at his side. Roosevelt returned from his trip to 468 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: be sworn in as president in two Following McKinley's death, 469 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 1: Congress tasked the Secret Service with protecting presidents in their families, 470 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 1: as well as visiting diplomats and other political leaders. It 471 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,480 Speaker 1: took the assassinations of three presidents to spur Congress into 472 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: taking this action. To date, four American presidents have been assassinated. 473 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: Attempts have been made on others as well, though how 474 00:32:54,360 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: many you might wonder, according to government archives, all of them. Yeah. 475 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was 476 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,440 Speaker 1: written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced 477 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,800 Speaker 1: by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 478 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 479 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 1: visit Grim and Mild dot com. From more podcasts from 480 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:30,240 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app Apple podcasts, or 481 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:31,960 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts