The Sickness of Pont-Saint-Esprit

In the summer of 1951, a French town became ground zero for a mysterious illness that caused hallucinations, convulsions, and in some cases, death. For decades, the most popular explanation was ergot poisoning via contaminated bread. Another theory emerged in 2009: the CIA’s mind-control experiments had gone international.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices