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#330 - Harvard's #1 Mind Control Expert Fears MK-Ultra is STILL Active | Rebecca Lemov

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Sep 8, 2025

Guest

Rebecca Lemov

Rebecca Lemov, a historian and author specializing in behavioral sciences, dives deep into mind control and brainwashing. She discusses the unsettling legacy of MK-Ultra and its ongoing implications, revealing how these practices infiltrated various sectors, from military to social media. The conversation also touches on the bizarre connections between past experiments, cult dynamics, and the role of trauma in shaping belief systems. Lemov warns of the shadowy manipulation techniques still lurking in our digital lives and the dangers they pose to individual freedoms.

02:50:12

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insights

INSIGHT

Nudges Trump Hollywood Mind Control

Small behavior nudges at scale are more realistic and potent than dramatic 'mind-control' feats.
Lemov notes MKUltra rarely produced Manchurian candidates but did achieve measurable nudges across populations.

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ADVICE

Guard Against Emotional Contagion

Watch emotional contagion, because platforms and AI exploit unresolved emotions to spread ideas.
Prioritize grounding and trauma-awareness when evaluating viral narratives and persuasive media.

insights

INSIGHT

Algorithms Can Nudge Emotions

The 2012 Facebook experiment proved algorithmic feeds can nudge users' emotions at massive scale.
Facebook altered people's feeds and recorded small but significant shifts in expressed mood, showing large-scale emotional contagion is possible.

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Rebecca Lemov is a historian of behavioral sciences, behavioral micro-control, and brainwashing. Her new book, "The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, Hyper-Persuasion" reveals how the idea of mind control has spread across the globe and penetrated courtrooms, secret labs, military schools, and today’s digital sites.