Introducing: Optophobia

In 1965, the U.S. Army Security Agency began a secret U.S. intelligence project on a shuttered military base in the Horn of Africa called Kagnew Station. The project — codenamed STONEHOUSE — included two 15-story parabolic antennas that made for optimal for stable military radio communications during the Cold War. Declassified Defense Department documents show, however, that for the next decade the true purpose of STONEHOUSE was to intercept Soviet space research data. But is that all the U.S. was keeping secret at Kagnew Station? The world is demonstrably not the way it’s portrayed to us. On this podcast, we’re in search of facts obscured by a web of “official” narratives pushed by shady organizations intent on attaining obscure, malevolent goals. Each season, we’ll tackle a new investigation into what many dismissively call a “conspiracy theory.” Our co-hosts are experts on each season’s investigation. And every week, a new guest — scientists, historians, ex-dictators, intelligence officers and everyday people — will join us to discuss their startling, often groundbreaking, research. Our first stop: Kagnew Station outside of Asmara, Eritrea and about 50 miles from the Red Sea. See you there, on September 30.CREDITS:Featuring the vocal pizzazz of Liz Sanders, Jamal Newman, Erin Murray, Eva Lewis, Saleh Karaman and Kristina MartinezMusic by Bart WarshawCover art by Claire Smalley