EPISODE · Jun 5, 2026 · 3 MIN
The Program Before MKULTRA
from The Cold War’s Secret War for the Human · host Tommy
This episode explores Project ARTICHOKE, one of the CIA’s early Cold War behavior-control programs before MKULTRA became the better-known name. ARTICHOKE investigated “special interrogation” methods, including drugs, hypnosis, isolation, and other techniques meant to test whether a person’s will could be weakened or controlled. In under three minutes, the episode asks what it means when a government does not simply seek information from a human mind, but begins asking how to enter, bend, and use it.SourcesCIA documents describe ARTICHOKE as the agency cryptonym for the study or use of “special” interrogation methods and techniques.The National Security Archive notes that by 1952, CIA officials discussed ARTICHOKE not merely as interrogation research, but as work aimed at “means of control.”Another National Security Archive document describes an internal memo involving ARTICHOKE interrogation of “an important covert operational asset.”
What this episode covers
This episode explores Project ARTICHOKE, one of the CIA’s early Cold War behavior-control programs before MKULTRA became the better-known name. ARTICHOKE investigated “special interrogation” methods, including drugs, hypnosis, isolation, and other techniques meant to test whether a person’s will could be weakened or controlled. In under three minutes, the episode asks what it means when a government does not simply seek information from a human mind, but begins asking how to enter, bend, and use it.SourcesCIA documents describe ARTICHOKE as the agency cryptonym for the study or use of “special” interrogation methods and techniques.The National Security Archive notes that by 1952, CIA officials discussed ARTICHOKE not merely as interrogation research, but as work aimed at “means of control.”Another National Security Archive document describes an internal memo involving ARTICHOKE interrogation of “an important covert operational asset.”
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The Program Before MKULTRA
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