When Conspiracies Aren't Just Theories with Journalist Tom Risen

American Hysteria

W!ZARD Studios

Society & Culture

4.4 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2024

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and the FBI were involved in from the 50s to the 70s and how, in 1975, one senator finally took these agencies to task, revealing shocking truths that would be used for decades to make the conspiracy theories we know today seem far more plausible. Tom writes about government surveillance and spy agencies and is the co-author of the bestselling book 'The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys—and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy,'" which he wrote with his father, James Risen, another journalist who has spent decades covering intelligence agencies. Get Tom's Book Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline! Head to FACTORMEALS.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your first purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Frained Church in many, many things he did, including the Church Committee,
0:07.4	reasserted the power of Congress to at least know about these things and have the opportunity
0:11.4	to oppose them, including by saying no you can't have money to mass produce LSD.
0:17.0	Tom Rison is a journalist in Washington, D.C. who covers government surveillance and spy agencies.
0:28.0	He's the co-author of the best-selling book, The Last Honest Man, the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the
0:36.4	Kennedy's and one senator's fight to save democracy, which he wrote with his
0:42.2	father James Rison, another journalist who spent decades covering
0:47.2	intelligence agencies.
0:49.7	For this episode, Tom tells me about the history of the early CIA, as well as the FBI, and the real conspiracies they were involved in.
1:00.0	We'll learn about the CIA's attempt at Mind Control through their illegal MK Ultra program
1:08.0	in the 50s and 60s, as well as their violent meddling in governments around the world.
1:14.4	We'll also hear about the FBI's attacks on the leftist groups of the 1970s
1:20.6	as part of their co intel pro offensive.
1:25.0	Tom will show us how in 1975, one senator named Frank Church finally took them to task in an investigation full of shocking
1:36.2	revelations about the real conspiracies that helped pave the way for the
1:42.2	conspiracy theories so popular today.
1:46.0	I'm your host Chelsea Weber Smith and this is American hysteria.
1:53.0	Hi Tom. American Hysteria. Hi, Tom, I am so excited to talk to you and so appreciative that you've wanted to come on the show to talk about this huge topic so welcome.
2:03.4	Absolutely I'm a big fan.
2:04.6	Oh I'm so glad I think we're going to have a lot to cover today so I would love to start by talking
2:11.0	about the book that you co-wrote with James Reisen, with your dad, and that
2:17.7	covered so many major parts of the Cold War, things like MK Ultra, and all of these different things that kind of grew out
	...

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