Show Introduction & Setup

• Technical Difficulties podcast episode of Citation Needed
• Hosts: Tom Scott, Chris Joel, Gary Brannan, Matt Gray
• Live studio audience present
• Topic: Acoustic Kitty project from 1960s

Initial Topic Discussion & Jokes

• Acoustic Kitty wordplay and puns about cats/audio equipment
• References to Bob Dylan electrifying music in 1960s era
• Established it involves actual cats, not silent cats becoming "acoustic"
• Discussion of hypothetical cat communication flags using orange juice carton tabs

Acoustic Kitty CIA Project Details

• 1960s CIA Directorate of Science and Technology operation
• Hour-long veterinary procedure implanting:
  • Microphone in cat's ear canal
  • Small radio transmitter at base of skull
  • Thin wire into foot
• Purpose: Espionage listening device using cats as covert recording agents
• Bypassed cat's hunger sense to improve mission control
• Total project cost: $20 million (1960s dollars)

Mission Deployment & Failure

• Target: Soviet compound in Washington DC
• First mission: Eavesdrop on two men in park
• Cat released from vehicle near target location
• Immediate failure: Cat hit by taxi upon release
• Alternative account: Cat simply walked away (training failure)
• Project deemed total failure and loss

Project Aftermath

• Equipment surgically removed from cat
• Cat lived long, happy life afterward according to CIA director
• Declassified National Archives documents available
• Conclusion: Environmental and security factors made cat espionage impractical
• CIA praised personnel for "energy and imagination"

Related Military Animal Projects

• BF Skinner's Project Pigeon: Pigeon-guided bombs
  • Pigeons trained to peck glass targeting systems
  • Bomb guidance through pigeon behavior
• Bat Bomb project:
  • 1000 bats with small incendiary devices
  • Tested at auxiliary air base
  • Accidentally burned down test facility when bats roosted under fuel tank
• Soviet anti-tank dogs:
  • Dogs trained to run toward tanks with explosives
  • Fatal flaw: Trained on Soviet tanks, ran toward friendly forces instead of enemy
  • Some successful deployments before program ended

Show Conclusion

• Matt Gray declared winner
• Prize: "Sushi Rolls-Royce" (rice, raw fish, seaweed shaped like luxury car)
• Closing credits and thanks to audience