WEBVTT - Project Acoustic Kitty: How Did the CIA Make a Cat a Spy?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here a little bit of a

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<v Speaker 1>warning on this one. It's the story of Cold War

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<v Speaker 1>experiment patient on a cat that did not wind up

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<v Speaker 1>going well for the cat. That we don't get graphic,

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<v Speaker 1>but I wanted to give you a head step. Okay, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>The Cold War made people do some pretty wild things.

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<v Speaker 1>The United States government was so desperate to defeat Communism

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<v Speaker 1>that it threw money at pretty much any half baked

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<v Speaker 1>scheme that might give Americans an advantage over the Soviet menace.

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<v Speaker 1>Today we're talking about Project Acoustic Kitty, a top secret

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<v Speaker 1>Central Intelligence Agency research program that tested whether house cats

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<v Speaker 1>could be used to spy on Soviet operatives. If that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like the plot of a bad movie from nine six,

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<v Speaker 1>well it was just with a dog instead of a cat.

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<v Speaker 1>It might also remind you a bit of the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventies TV show The six Million Dollar Man, in which

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<v Speaker 1>a badly injured test pilot was rebuilt with mechanical parts

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<v Speaker 1>and transformed into a cyborg superhero. But Project Acoustic Kitty

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<v Speaker 1>was a real thing that really happened, and we have

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<v Speaker 1>the heavily redacted CIA documents to prove it. Back in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen sixties, the CIA wanted to create a cyborg

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<v Speaker 1>superspy out of a cat. The CIA's Office of Technical

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<v Speaker 1>Research and Office of Research and Development spent five years

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<v Speaker 1>and an estimated twenty million dollars on Project Acoustic Kitty.

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<v Speaker 1>The high price tag came from the high degree of

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<v Speaker 1>technical difficulty in that era, before microchips and digital devices.

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<v Speaker 1>The CIA scientists had to figure out how to discreetly

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<v Speaker 1>equip a cat with a microphone, antenna, transmitter, and battery.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, they implanted a three quarter inch or

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<v Speaker 1>two centimeter transmitter into the base of a cat's skull,

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<v Speaker 1>uh stitched a microphone into its ear canal, and wove

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<v Speaker 1>an antenna into the fur of the cat's tail. The

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<v Speaker 1>CIA team, who didn't seem to know much about feline behavior,

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<v Speaker 1>spent months trying to train the cat to follow simple instructions.

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<v Speaker 1>The problem is that it would wander off when it

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<v Speaker 1>was bored or hungry. Eventually, though, the training and implanted

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<v Speaker 1>equipment seemed to be working, and the CIA was satisfied

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<v Speaker 1>that Acoustic Kitty was ready for a field test. It

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<v Speaker 1>was your typical spy movie set up. The CIA guys

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<v Speaker 1>pulled up to a park in an unmarked van. They

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<v Speaker 1>slid open the door and gave their feline operative its

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<v Speaker 1>mission slink over to those two guys on the bench

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<v Speaker 1>and eavesdrop on their conversation. But it didn't quite go

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<v Speaker 1>as planned. When the cat crossed the road toward its marks,

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<v Speaker 1>it was hit and killed by a taxi cab. The

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<v Speaker 1>team was left to cover remains not reconnaissance. Not only

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<v Speaker 1>did the poor Frankenstein's technical monster of a cat lose

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<v Speaker 1>the last of its nine lives, button Project Acoustic Kitty

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<v Speaker 1>was also put to rest that day. In redacted CIA documents,

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<v Speaker 1>the agency was surprisingly upbeat about the twenty million dollar flop.

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<v Speaker 1>The authors of the reports that it was a remarkable

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<v Speaker 1>scientific achievement to learn that cats can indeed be trained

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<v Speaker 1>to move short distances, and they lauded the CIA scientists

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<v Speaker 1>for their pioneering work. But in the end, the CIA

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<v Speaker 1>concluded that given the quote environmental and security factors in

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<v Speaker 1>using this technique in a foreign situation, it would not

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<v Speaker 1>be practical. However, it certainly wasn't the last time the

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<v Speaker 1>US government has tried to create cyborganimal soldiers. DARPA, the

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<v Speaker 1>Defense Research Agency, has also messed about with attack dolphins,

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<v Speaker 1>spite her les, and remote controlled sharks. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on the article Acoustic Kitty, the CIA's not so

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<v Speaker 1>perfect plan to make a cat a spy on house

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<v Speaker 1>toff works dot com, written by Dave Bruce. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of i Heeart Radio and partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot Com, and is produced by Tyler Klang

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<v Speaker 1>and Ramsey Yamp. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit

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