S407: The Psychic Spy (featuring Uri Geller)

In 2017, The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released more than 12 million pages of declassified documents online. Some of these documents pertained to the self-proclaimed psychic spy Uri Geller.  The documents revealed a CIA funded study at the Stanford Research Institute revolving around psychokinesis. Psychokinesis is the ability for someone to move objects with the power of their minds. Why in the world would the CIA, arguably the world’s most elite spy agency, want to study psychics? I interviewed Uri Geller about his time at the Stanford Research Institute. We spoke about his childhood, discovering his supernatural abilities, his involvement with spy agencies like the Israeli Mossad, and many other unbelievable events. You have to remember, this all took place in the 1970s. Governments were more open to exploring the supernatural. Even the Soviet Union reportedly hired psychics to spy on their enemies. But not everyone was eager to seek the help of psychics. Johnny Carson invited Uri Geller on The Tonight Show and it was a total disaster. Uri Geller could not perform his most basic tricks. What happened? Uri Geller says it was a hit job.  To learn more about Uri Geller, check out The Secret Life of Uri Geller. It's a fascinating documentary. ------- Story idea? If you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at [email protected]. For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org. To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate Theme music by The Chicken Additional music by Podington Bear, Glad Rags, Blue Dot Sessions Written and produced by Javier Leiva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices