The CIA and the promotion of culture during the Cold War
Discover how the CIA secretly operated as America's “hidden Ministry of Culture” during the Cold War, using abstract expressionism as a weapon against Soviet influence. The episode explores the fascinating paradox of how the CIA championed artists like Jackson Pollock abroad as symbols of American creative freedom while this same art movement faced ridicule at home. Learn about the Museum of Modern Art's crucial role in legitimizing abstract expressionism and how this cultural operation was eventually exposed by Ramparts magazine in the late 1960s.
From elaborate funding schemes to Hollywood partnerships today, this story illuminates how intelligence agencies don't just hide information—they actively shape our cultural mythology to serve strategic objectives.
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