Podcast Summary: Stuff You Missed in History Class – "SYMHC Classics: COINTELPRO 1"

Podcast: Stuff You Missed in History Class
Hosts: Tracy V. Wilson & Holly Fry
Episode Date: February 14, 2026 (Original Air Date: July 20, 2020)
Episode Theme: An in-depth historical exploration of COINTELPRO, the FBI’s covert series of counterintelligence programs primarily aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.

Overview of the Episode

In this first of a two-part classic episode, Tracy and Holly examine the origins and early operations of the FBI's COINTELPRO programs. They trace the roots of domestic counterintelligence in the U.S., discuss the intersection of federal agencies and anti-communist sentiment, and provide a special focus on "COINTELPRO White Hate"—the FBI’s somewhat anomalous campaign against violent white supremacist groups.

This installment sets up the historical and political context for COINTELPRO, details the expansion of FBI surveillance and disruption tactics, and explains how these measures affected a broad range of American political and civil organizations, especially those advocating for systemic change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Context

• Episode Motivation: A listener (also a history teacher) requested the topic due to a resurgence of COINTELPRO discussion on social media.
• The hosts note the relevance of historical counterintelligence to current events and ongoing issues of state surveillance and social movements.
• Historical Context: The original episode was recorded in July 2020 amid global protests following the murder of George Floyd.

Quote:
“...not needing to go back very far in history to find precedence and things that resonate with things that are happening now.”
— Holly Fry [02:55]

2. FBI Origins & Early Priorities ([05:30]–[11:14])

• FBI’s roots as the Bureau of Investigation (1908), tasked with federal law enforcement and counterespionage.
• Expansion during World War I with the Espionage and Sedition Acts, both cracking down on antiwar activists, socialists, and immigrants.
• Entry of J. Edgar Hoover (1917) and his eventual directorship (1924), shaping the Bureau into a modern surveillance state.
• The "Palmer Raids" (1919) emerged from bombings attributed to anarchist groups and resulted in mass arrests and deportations.

Quote:
“These raids, incarcerations and deportations... became known as the Palmer Raids, and they were part of the first Red Scare...”
— Holly Fry [07:41]

3. Anti-Communist Escalation & Legal Landscape ([10:38]–[14:35])

• Post-WWII era's deepening paranoia about communism (second Red Scare).
• Introduction of the Smith Act (1940) and the Communist Control Act (1954), which criminalized advocacy and membership in organizations deemed subversive.
• The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s role in stoking broad societal fear.
• The net of suspicion expanded to encompass activists advocating labor, civil, and women’s rights.

Quote:
“The Communist Party had advocated for things like labor rights, civil rights and women's rights. And that made it really easy to brand anyone who fought for these same causes as a communist.”
— Tracy V. Wilson [13:54]

4. FBI’s Shift to COINTELPRO ([15:07]–[22:52])

• As HUAC lost prominence, the FBI escalated its own covert operations.
• Launch of the first formal COINTELPRO in 1956, targeting the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).
• Supreme Court decisions in the 1950s–1960s (e.g., Yates v. United States) limited federal prosecution for radical speech, prompting the FBI to pivot to covert action.
• COINTELPRO operations rapidly expanded, eventually encompassing—and labeling as subversive—organizations tangentially or ideologically aligned with communism.

Quote:
“The definition of communism expanded to include pretty much anything that the Bureau considered to be subversive.”
— Holly Fry [22:52]

5. Expansion to Civil Rights Groups ([23:25]–[25:58])

• Civil rights activists came under COINTELPRO scrutiny, whether or not they had links to communism.
• Notorious FBI actions included harassment, office break-ins, IRS audits, and attempts to destroy personal reputations (e.g., by sending blackmail letters to Martin Luther King Jr.).

Quote:
“In 1964, the FBI sent an anonymous letter to Martin Luther King Jr.... The implication was that King should take his own life.”
— Holly Fry [24:09]

6. COINTELPRO’s Structure and Scope ([25:58]–[34:56])

• Five main named COINTELPRO operations were identified: Communist Party USA, Socialist Workers Party, White Hate, Black Nationalist/Hate Groups, and New Left.
• Tactics included surveillance, disinformation, snitch-jacketing (planting suspicion of informants), sowing distrust, harassment via third parties (employers, landlords, universities), and psychological warfare.
• The programs disproportionately targeted left-leaning and rights-advocating groups, often expanding the definition of "threat" far beyond violence or espionage.

Memorable Description:
“The FBI started using [wartime counterintelligence techniques] in the US against its own citizens.”
— Holly Fry [28:07]

Church Committee findings:
“The techniques were adopted wholesale from wartime counterintelligence... to the dangerous, encouraging gang warfare and falsely labeling members of violent groups as police informers.”
— Read by Tracy V. Wilson [28:38]

7. COINTELPRO White Hate: An Outlier ([36:03]–[43:34])

• Establishment: COINTELPRO White Hate started on July 30, 1964, targeting white supremacist groups, especially the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
• Pressure to act came from outside the Bureau, particularly after a string of hate crimes and murders.
• White supremacist organizations were different from other COINTELPRO targets: they defended the status quo, were often tacitly supported by local authorities, and the FBI’s aim was to curb their violence—not destroy the groups.
• Notable tactics: leaking Klan leaders’ identities, sending postcards to stoke paranoia and expose membership, spreading rumors of Communist infiltration among these fiercely anti-communist groups, and publicity highlighting criminal acts by Klan membership.
• Mixed effectiveness: While Klan membership dropped and public perception shifted, the actual success in reducing violence is unclear.

Notable Moment:
“The FBI was criticized for failing to prevent or intervene in any of this, something that the Bureau had argued was not part of its jurisdiction.”
— Holly Fry [38:46]

Dark Humor & Irony:
“The FBI... tried to undermine Klan membership by... spreading rumors that Communists had infiltrated the organizations. The organization itself was fiercely anti communist.”
— Tracy V. Wilson [41:30]

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On expansive FBI definitions:
  “And then the definition of communism expanded to include pretty much anything that the Bureau considered to be subversive.”
  — Holly Fry [22:52]

• On targeting civil rights leaders:
  “This letter was accompanied by an audio recording purportedly documenting evidence of King's extramarital affairs. It ended by saying that there was... only one thing left for you to do.”
  — Holly Fry [24:09]

• On tactics of division and distrust:
  “One specific tactic used to breed distrust was called snitch jacketing... to make it seem like a loyal member of an organization was really an FBI Informant.”
  — Tracy V. Wilson [29:48]

• On the FBI’s focus:
  “In all of this, the FBI's focus was on whether what it was doing was effective, not on whether these tactics were constitutional or otherwise legal.”
  — Holly Fry [33:50]

• On the exceptional nature of COINTELPRO White Hate:
  “Unlike with the other COINTELPROS, the FBI's goal wasn't to totally neutralize these groups. It was just to curb their violence and prevent that violence from spreading...”
  — Holly Fry [37:00]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:14] — Introduction of topic, COINTELPRO in the news
• [05:30] — FBI’s origins and early expansion
• [10:38] — Legislative background—Smith Act and Communist Control Act
• [15:07] — HUAC, McCarthyism, and early surveillance overlap with the FBI
• [22:52] — Expansion of COINTELPRO scope beyond communism
• [24:09] — FBI harassment and psychological warfare (MLK example)
• [28:38] — Breakdown of COINTELPRO tactics (Church Committee findings)
• [33:50] — Effectiveness over legality: FBI’s operational focus
• [36:03] — The unique case of COINTELPRO White Hate and targeting the KKK
• [42:05] — Example of bizarre tactics (delivering remnants of a burned cross)
• [43:34] — Episode wrap-up and preview of Part II

Notable Moments & Tone

• The hosts maintain a tone of clarity and measured skepticism, emphasizing both the complexity and moral ambiguity of COINTELPRO’s legacy.
• They repeatedly highlight the tendency of security programs to expand their definitions and targets over time—illustrating the danger of unchecked secret power.
• Holly and Tracy inject empathy for the people harmed by conspiracy, surveillance, character assassination, and extralegal harassment.
• Instances of irony (the FBI accusing the Klan of communist infiltration) underline the absurdities inherent in the operations.

Next Episode Teaser

Part two will cover the targeting of Black liberation organizations and the “New Left,” plus the dramatic story of how the COINTELPRO programs were exposed to the public.

For listeners new and old, this episode delivers an engaging, thorough historical account of how anti-communist, counterintelligence operations became powerful tools used against a wide swath of American social movements, not just violent radicals—and why that history remains so relevant today.