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An eye in the shape of the United States.

The Weaponization of Storytelling

The American public is more susceptible than ever to skewed narratives.
A crowd of people holds a up red banner of the Cuban Revolution leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Remember When the U.S. Secretly Built a Social Network to Destabilize Cuba?

U.S.-funded social networks were launched in 2010 with ZunZuneo and Piramideo in 2013.
Members of ARDE Frente Sur in 1987.

The Psyops Manual the CIA Gave to Nicaragua's Contras Is Totally Bonkers

To defeat the leftist Sandinistas, Washington provided aid to the Contras along with a crazy psychological warfare anticommunist manual.
Man and woman testing buttons on machine at Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory

Tomorrow People

For the entire 20th century, it had felt like telepathy was just around the corner. Why is that especially true now?

American Exchanges: Third Reich’s Elite Schools

How the Nazi government used exchange student programs to foster sympathy for Nazism in the United States.
Artistic graphic of two newcaster superimposed on the image of protesters in a Guatemalean city

The (Literally) Unbelievable Story of the Original Fake News Network

In Guatemala, the CIA hired an American actor and two radio DJs to oust a president.

Strategic Long-Term Propaganda

A new book considers the mid-century authors who were – and weren't – willing to have their work deployed in the service of the Cold War.
Seal of the CIA nestled against a background of modern art.

Was Modern Art Really a CIA Psy-Op?

The number of MoMA-CIA crossovers is highly suspicious, to say the least.
Cover of "Cold Warriors" book.

Before Oprah’s Book Club, there was the CIA

‘Cold Warriors’ traces how the U.S. and Soviet government used writers like George Orwell and Boris Pasternak to wage ideological battles during the Cold War.
Children in a classroom in the 1950s.

How the Cold War Defined Scientific Freedom

The idea that liberal democracies shielded science from politics was always flawed.

Washington Has Meddled in Elections Before

The hidden hypocrisy within American outrage over Russian election meddling.
Margaret Mead and Joe Rogan.

Turn on, Tune in, Write Code

How psychedelics went from counterculture to grind culture.
Photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald and of George Joannides.

What Really Happened to JFK?

One thing’s for sure: The CIA doesn’t want you to know.
A balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on Feb. 4, shortly before it was shot down.
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Panic Over Spy Balloon Echoes Misguided Alarm Over Sputnik

In this case, freaking out makes even less sense because spy balloons are historically a sign of weakness.
Crowds at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

The Largest Human Zoo in World History

Visiting the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
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The Year The World Almost Blew Up – And Nobody Noticed

On November 9, 1983, the Soviet Union nearly ordered a full pre-emptive nuclear strike against the US and Western Europe.

How One Man Helped Burn Down North Korea

The story of one of the most effective and brutal spymasters in U.S. history, and the beginning of an infamous love affair with napalm.

Iran/Contra Was the Prototype for Post-Vietnam Imperial Adventure

On the 30th anniversary, we can see that it was an ideological project, with the New Right reasserting the righteousness of militarism and markets.

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