Annie Jacobsen

And so it set off a kind of psychic arms race, which in a weird way, paralleled the nuclear arms race, which we've been talking about, in as much that it led one side to constantly wonder what the other side had.

And so it set off a kind of psychic arms race, which in a weird way, paralleled the nuclear arms race, which we've been talking about, in as much that it led one side to constantly wonder what the other side had.

The CIA most definitely believed, from my reading of the documents, that there was something very legit, shall we say, about ESP. It was uncontrollable, it was unreliable, but nonetheless it existed. And being the intelligence agency that they are, they cared less about why it worked. They just wanted to know how they could use it. And then it got into all kinds of elements of placebo effect.

The CIA most definitely believed, from my reading of the documents, that there was something very legit, shall we say, about ESP. It was uncontrollable, it was unreliable, but nonetheless it existed. And being the intelligence agency that they are, they cared less about why it worked. They just wanted to know how they could use it. And then it got into all kinds of elements of placebo effect.

The CIA most definitely believed, from my reading of the documents, that there was something very legit, shall we say, about ESP. It was uncontrollable, it was unreliable, but nonetheless it existed. And being the intelligence agency that they are, they cared less about why it worked. They just wanted to know how they could use it. And then it got into all kinds of elements of placebo effect.

And, you know, when the military stepped in and got involved in the programs, that was a complete disaster, in my opinion, because the military needs to control everything in a mechanized, systematic way. And so they started, for example, teaching people to be psychic, which is a really, really, really bad idea. I mean...

And, you know, when the military stepped in and got involved in the programs, that was a complete disaster, in my opinion, because the military needs to control everything in a mechanized, systematic way. And so they started, for example, teaching people to be psychic, which is a really, really, really bad idea. I mean...

And, you know, when the military stepped in and got involved in the programs, that was a complete disaster, in my opinion, because the military needs to control everything in a mechanized, systematic way. And so they started, for example, teaching people to be psychic, which is a really, really, really bad idea. I mean...

And, you know, flash forward to where we are today, these programs still exist. There's a Navy program, which is working on, based on a lot of data that came back from the war on terror with certain soldiers knowing that. You know, wait, don't walk down that path. There is an IED there. And they call this the Spidey Sense. And they actually have a program that works from this.

And, you know, flash forward to where we are today, these programs still exist. There's a Navy program, which is working on, based on a lot of data that came back from the war on terror with certain soldiers knowing that. You know, wait, don't walk down that path. There is an IED there. And they call this the Spidey Sense. And they actually have a program that works from this.

And, you know, flash forward to where we are today, these programs still exist. There's a Navy program, which is working on, based on a lot of data that came back from the war on terror with certain soldiers knowing that. You know, wait, don't walk down that path. There is an IED there. And they call this the Spidey Sense. And they actually have a program that works from this.

So these things never go away. They kind of circle around in terms of, you know, being made fun of and then taken seriously and a little of this and of that. My biggest takeaway from writing that book was a quote that I referenced in the beginning, which is the Thomas theorem. And it says, if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. Yes.

So these things never go away. They kind of circle around in terms of, you know, being made fun of and then taken seriously and a little of this and of that. My biggest takeaway from writing that book was a quote that I referenced in the beginning, which is the Thomas theorem. And it says, if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. Yes.

So these things never go away. They kind of circle around in terms of, you know, being made fun of and then taken seriously and a little of this and of that. My biggest takeaway from writing that book was a quote that I referenced in the beginning, which is the Thomas theorem. And it says, if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. Yes.

Does he know the origin story of placebo? We'll have to ask him. We'll have to ask him. But are you ready for this?

Does he know the origin story of placebo? We'll have to ask him. We'll have to ask him. But are you ready for this?

Does he know the origin story of placebo? We'll have to ask him. We'll have to ask him. But are you ready for this?

CIA. Okay. And not only that, I can tell you that Dr. Henry Beecher.

CIA. Okay. And not only that, I can tell you that Dr. Henry Beecher.

CIA. Okay. And not only that, I can tell you that Dr. Henry Beecher.