The CIA cat spy
Real or rumor: the CIA tried to turn a cat into a spy. The memo is real. The best parts of the story aren't in it.
Partly documented
Conspiracies, cover-ups & strange history
The stories off
the main road.
A short, skeptical letter on the theories people can't stop talking about. What's on the record, what's still rumor, and where the trail goes cold.
Free. Every other week. Unsubscribe anytime.
Latest files
Operation Northwoods
In 1962 the Joint Chiefs put a plan for staged attacks in writing. It's declassified. It was never carried out.
Documented
MKUltra
The CIA really did run a secret behavior-control research program. Here's what the files show, and where they stop.
Documented
What you'll get
The record
What the declassified files, hearings, and archives actually say. Primary sources, linked, so you can check our work.
The rumor
Where the story came from, who spread it, and why it stuck. The folklore is half the fun.
The verdict
Every story gets filed: documented, partly documented, or unproven. No hype, no hand-waving.
How we file it
Documented
On the record. Confirmed by official documents, hearings, or solid reporting.
Partly documented
A real core, with a lot of embroidery stitched on later.
Unproven
A good story. The evidence isn't there, and we say so.
About
The Side Street Co. is for the curious. Some of history's wildest claims turned out to be true. MKUltra, for one, ended up in a Senate hearing. Plenty of others fall apart the moment you pull the file. We read the sources so you don't have to, and we keep fact and speculation in separate drawers.
Our ground rules: we cite primary sources, we never present a theory as proven, and we skip medical, election, and hate-based conspiracies. Curious, never gullible.
Take the side street.
One story, every other week. Read it with a raised eyebrow.