About this season
The Crazy Rulers of the World is the extraordinary, never before told story of what happened when chiefs of US intelligence, the army, and the government began believing in very strange things. Three years in the making, Jon Ronson's Crazy Rulers of the World explores the apparent madness at the heart of US military intelligence.
Episodes (3)
1. The Men Who Stare at Goats
Aired 7 November 2004 • 50 min
Charts the history of a secret US military unit founded in 1979, the First Earth Battalion. The program uncovers the truth about the unit's involvement with paranormal activities that defy accepted military practice, including mind reading and out of body experiences.
2. Funny Torture
Aired 14 November 2004 • 50 min
We learn how the New Age movement of the 1980s has influenced interrogation at Guantanamo Bay and in post-war Iraq.
3. Psychic Foot-Soldiers
Aired 21 November 2004 • 50 min
Addresses the US Armed Forces' experiments with mind-control and extra-sensory perception.