Jeff tells the story of Ruth Ellis, an African-American LGBTQ+ rights activist and one of the oldest surviving openly lesbian women, living to the age of 101. Though she considered herself ordinary, her quiet courage, lifelong advocacy, and support of Detroit’s queer community made her extraordinary. From operating one of the few safe gathering spaces for LGBTQ+ people in the mid-20th century to inspiring generations of activists, Ruth’s legacy is one of resilience, dignity, and unapologetic authenticity.

Sam shares the story of Project MKUltra, an illegal human experimentation program designed and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War. The program sought to develop techniques and drugs that could alter human behavior, including experiments involving LSD and other substances—often conducted without the knowledge or consent of participants. Decades later, declassified documents and testimony revealed the disturbing scope of the project and its profound ethical violations.

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Jeff’s Sources (Ruth Ellis):

• https://www.globalsociety.earth/post/a-century-of-courage-activism-and-legacy-ruth-c-ellis
• https://bentley.umich.edu/news-events/magazine/living-with-pride/
• https://pridesource.com/article/how-ruth-ellis-inspired-my-early-activism-helping-queer-at-risk-youth
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ellis_(activist)

Sam’s Sources (MKUltra):

• MKULTRA: How the CIA Used the Cold War to Commit Horrors on US Citizens by Dawson M.
• https://safe.menlosecurity.com/doc/docview/viewer/docNBFC8F817A722e7b2e98174f84e8f35b0224aae7515b4ca0358577a181726d9320a24538f2a6f
• https://research.unc.edu/human-research-ethics/resources/ccm3_019064/
• https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/dnsa-intelligence/2025-10-30/top-secret-testimony-cias-mkultra-chief-50-years-later