Military Drug Experiments / Bigfoot Experiences

About the show

From 1955 to 1975, the US Army used its own soldiers as human guinea pigs in research involving powerful, mind-altering drugs. A new film called "Dr. Delirium & the Edgewood Experiments" (trailer) describes this true story and one of the darkest chapters in US history. Nick Brigden, documentary filmmaker, and chemical weapons historian, Reid Kirby, joined George Knapp in the first half to discuss the history of Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland, where the purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of drugs that could incapacitate enemies, as an alternative to traditional mortal combat. Their documentary features some of the uncovered footage of the soldiers under the influence of drugs. The vets who originally signed up for the program thought they were getting a plum assignment that would be less work, Kirby explained.

While the soldiers were tested with hallucinogenic LSD and PCP (angel dust), the experimenters found that the drug BZ worked the best as an incapacitating agent, preventing them from performing military duties. BZ is about 100 times more potent than LSD and causes delirium and nightmarish experiences. It wipes out memories, its effects last from 1-5 days, and it was the drug the military decided to weaponize, said Brigden. The lead experimenter, the late Dr. James Ketchum, defended the experiments in the documentary, saying they offered a less deadly form of warfare (though some of the US vets that were given BZ were still having negative effects and flashbacks some 40-50 years later). In 2013, a federal court case ruled that the Army should inform the still-living Edgewood vets that they're eligible for care from the VA, and are no longer bound by secrecy.

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"A Flash of Beauty: Bigfoot Revealed" is a new documentary (trailer) that presents interviews from researchers and eyewitnesses with extraordinary stories and evidence. The film covers historical accounts of Bigfoot, and the creature's significance within indigenous cultures. In the latter half, Tobe Johnson, Bigfoot researcher, and Brett Eichenberger, filmmaker, shared key findings from the documentary, and why they concluded Sasquatch is not only very real, but is far beyond what most of us would believe. The film explores the emotional impacts sightings have had on the witnesses-- it's like their world was turned upside down, and some have developed PTSD after seeing a Bigfoot, Eichenberger revealed.

Native tribes across North America have had relationships with the creatures for hundreds if not thousands of years, Eichenberger continued, adding that one group from British Columbia believes they actually may have some Sasquatch DNA in them. On the subject of humans' relationship to Bigfoot, he mentioned Arla Williams' testimony of befriending the creatures for decades and using a special language to communicate with them-- a kind of "mindspeak." Noise and commotion in the forest are said to arouse the curiosity of Bigfoot. For example, in an incident nearly 30 years ago in the Northern Oregon coast range, a military worker setting off explosives saw three Sasquatch with their arms swaying back and forth at a smoking crater. Johnson spoke about strange twig and stick structures that have been dexterously woven together, which have been associated with sightings, and could not have been made by other animals.