From 1953 to 1973, the CIA carried out a massive operation, the ripples of which are still felt today and the extent of which is, frankly, unthinkable. Coming as a reaction to the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War 2, MK Ultra contained over 100 subprojects which took in drug smuggling and drug testing plus unethical and illegal human experimentation, both on military personnel and civilians.

These are the stories of Frank Olson, of Harold Blauer and of Lana Ponting plus many more, of the hypocrisy of a psychiatrist so terrified of the Nazis he adopted their methods to prevent them from happening again, the lack of scruples in certain CIA personnel as they tortured American citizens and of the shameful lengths they would go to in order to cover it up.

This is the story of how evil, despite what you may want to hear, isn't always at a safe distance...

______

If you're new to Mystery on the Rocks, hosted by award-winning comedians Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner, the podcast is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails! The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them.

The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

This is a specially edited, bumper omnibus re-edit supercut of our entire MK Ultra series. Exclusive extended, ad-free versions of each 'chapter' with bonus extra chat can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our MK Ultra series comes to a close with a look at ongoing court cases, alleged subjects and attempts to seek justice over the years.

While justice is yet to be served, could a current court case offer some light at the end of the tunnel?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with almost 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about stuff such as the Great Storm of 1987, Cora vs Reddit, Peter Jackson's Beatles documentary and gaming advancements of the 1990s and more can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1973, director of the CIA Richard Helms orders all records of MKUltra destroyed and the project is wound down. Nonetheless, thanks to a report by the New York Times, a couple of years later some of what the CIA got up to came to light, kickstarting a slow trickle of information being exposed to the public...

But what is the Mosaic Effect and how does it stand in the way of justice?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 10 minutes of bonus extra chat can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our MK Ultra series continues with one of the more eccentric subprojects...

Known as Operation Midnight Climax, the lengths the CIA begin to go to when dosing unsuspecting American citizens with various drugs reach new, seedy lows...

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 10 minutes of bonus extra content including more Limp Bizkit stuff, more beat-em-up chat, thoughts on Tropic Thunder and more can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter of our ongoing MK Ultra series is all about MK CHICKWIT!

Not only the most fun-named of the MK Ultra subprojects, but also what sounds like the most fun full stop. Spy games! Espionage! Gap year!

And did MK Chickwit change the 20th Century more than we might have thought?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 5 minutes of bonus extra chat can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owing to lots of stupid stuff, our MK Ultra series will be back next week with Part 7 but for this week please enjoy an excerpt from a recent Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. You can hear the full 97 minute bumper bonus episode over on our Patreon, where episodes drop a week early in extended, ad-free form. Which means, that's right, an extended version of next week's Part 7 of our MK Ultra series is already over there.

There's also an extensive back catalogue of bonus episodes, minisodes and other fun stuff so if you've been hearing us wank on about our Patreon but haven't checked it out yet then do go check it out!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When MK Ultra was given the greenlight, Sidney Gottlieb enlisted Donald Ewen Cameron (Part IV's hypocritical psychiatrist) and renowned pharmacologist Harris Isbell, director of research at Addiction Research Center.

Having already studied the effects of certain drugs, Isbell was clearly the right man for the MK Ultra job. But where his methods also questionable enough to qualify?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with almost 20 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things, including snooker documentaries, the recent film Nuremberg and what the hell Jonathan Lipnicki is up to these days can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The episode Sooz has been waiting for!

For the fifth instalment of our MK Ultra series we sidestep ever so slightly to take a look at the life of prominent Nazi Rudolf Hess and how it intersected with (and maybe even inspired) the CIA's diabolical experiments of the 1950s and 60s.

But in addition to these crossovers with our ongoing story, Hess and his life were cuckoo bananas so strap in! And exactly what did he like in his sandwiches?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with 10 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things, including more of our thoughts on the Greens' sensational win in the Gorton and Denton by-election, can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 4 of our MK Ultra series introduces us to Donald Ewen Cameron, a psychiatrist of world renown whom Sidney Gottlieb recruited to MK Ultra. Born in Scotland, Cameron made huge waves in setting up mental health services in Canada before settling in America where he found himself enlisted to psychoanalyse some real bad dudes.

However, his ideas to fight the evils of the 20th Century were (at best) misguided and (at worst) insane.

So he'd fit right in with MK Ultra...

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with 10 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our trawl through the CIA's appalling MK Ultra project takes in the stories of two men - bacteriologist Frank Olson and professional tennis player Harold Blauer. Both men were born in 1910 and both died in 1953.

But how and why?

And what are their links to our ongoing story?

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including the worst meals we have ever cooked for ourselves plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we chart the shifting from Project Artichoke to MK Ultra following the appointment of Allen Dulles to Director of Central Intelligence and his hiring of Sidney Gottlieb to bring da scienz to Project Artichoke.

Alongside these two rotten eggs, we discuss the very tangible link from the Nazis' horrific experiments and what MK Ultra would ultimately be responsible for in two equally rotten eggs - Nazi scientist Kurt Plötner and American intelligence officer Boris Pash...

______

An exclusive extended, ad-free version of this episode with over 15 minutes of bonus extra chat about all manner of things including EVEN MORE about 1990s sci fi police procedural Space Precinct plus loads more can be found over at our Patreon!

Extended episodes drop over there usually 3-7 days early and with zero ads so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!

Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them. The format's malleable though and occasionally we deep-dive into a One Hit Wonder or play a game we invented called VHGuess...

You can follow us on Bluesky and Instagram too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.