Did The CIA Kill JFK?

Summary

The Rest Is Classified

Episode: Did The CIA Kill JFK?
Hosts: David McCloskey (A) & Gordon Corera (C)
Date: October 16, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this special club-exclusive miniseries, David McCloskey and Gordon Corera dive into the enduring question: “Did the CIA kill JFK?” Building on their broader series about President John F. Kennedy’s complex relationship with the CIA—especially surrounding Cuba—this episode sets the stage for a deep exploration of the top theories about the assassination. While acknowledging the ocean of competing conspiracies, the hosts choose to focus the next episodes on three pillars: the CIA, the mob, and Castro. Rich with historical context, cultural reflection, and a dash of insider knowledge, the discussion both demystifies and reanimates the controversies still swirling around Kennedy’s death.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Exploring Public Suspicion and Conspiracy Culture

• Public Belief in Conspiracy:
  • The podcast opens by highlighting the widespread suspicion in the U.S. regarding JFK’s assassination:
    • “One in ten Americans believe that the Central Intelligence Agency killed a sitting US President.” — David McCloskey [00:03]
• Diversity of Theories:
  • There are “almost an infinite array of theories” about who may have killed JFK, ranging from plausible actors (CIA, mob, Castro) to globalist and even extraterrestrial conspiracies.
    • “I’ve seen George H.W. Bush implicated… in collaboration with Henry Kissinger. And aliens, I believe as well in some versions of that theory.” — David [05:27]

2. Setting the Context: Who Had Motive?

• Outline of Three Main Theories:
  • The hosts tee up the series by foreshadowing deep dives into three principal suspects:
    • CIA insiders
    • Mafia/mob connections
    • Cuban/Castro retribution
  • All are considered to have potential motives based on previous episodes covering failed operations against Cuba and tense inter-agency politics.
    • “I think you could argue that the CIA, the mob, and the Cubans all separately may have had motive to kill John F. Kennedy.” — David [06:38]
• Upcoming Guest Announcement:
  • The “mob episode” will feature Anthony Scaramucci as a special guest, lauded for his insider views but met with good-natured skepticism by David.

3. Dissecting the CIA Theory

• Official Denials vs. Disinformation:
  • A guest voice (B) forcefully dismisses the idea of CIA involvement as “massive disinformation,” pushing against conspiracy narratives.
    • “The CIA’s had nothing to do with that hit.” — B [00:23]
• Complex US Intelligence Failings:
  • It’s not about a direct agency plot, but possible intelligence lapses that failed to flag Lee Harvey Oswald as a risk.
    • “The CIA and FBI had information that would have put Lee Harvey Oswald onto the Secret Service’s watch list.” — David [00:27]
• Recounting Oliver Stone’s “Mr. X”:
  • Gordon channels “Mr. X” from Stone’s JFK to add color and skepticism about official narratives [01:30].
  • The segment underscores paranoia, the web of military-industrial interests, and financial motives, echoing Stone’s thesis of shadowy power structures.

4. Parsing the Event Details and “Official Version”

• The hosts agree to begin with the “official version” of JFK’s assassination before deconstructing alternate theories in the miniseries.
  • “It is a story that really matters because the conspiracy theories, or the theories, I should say, are still very prevalent and have played a huge, rich part in American culture right through to today.” — Gordon [05:33]
• Avoiding the Conspiracy Weeds:
  • The podcast promises not to get lost in technical minutiae (like ballistic “magic bullet” arguments) but rather to weigh the plausibility and implication of the big-picture theories.

5. Tone & Interplay

• The co-hosts keep a playful, self-aware tone as they trade barbs and highlight the theatrical, sometimes absurd, folklore around the JFK case.
  • “I know the CIA did it, so I kind of… That’s why I can be quite dismissive of this.” — Gordon (tongue-in-cheek) [07:24]

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Conspiracy Saturation:
  • “You can get lost in the ballistic details of the magic bullet and its exact trajectory and how possible it was to travel through JFK and Governor Connolly, you know, and you can get slightly lost in some of the kind of deep details of this story.” — Gordon [05:33]
• On The Legacy of JFK’s Assassination:
  • “It is a story that really matters because…theories...have played a huge, rich part in American culture right through to today.” — Gordon [05:33]
• Sarcastic Dismissal of Outlandish Claims:
  • “And aliens, I believe as well in that, in some versions of that theory… Even though we love our aliens. I think we’ve done UFOs so we’re not going to do them here.” — David & Gordon [05:27–05:33]
• Dark Humor About Historical Inevitability:
  • “If you haven’t listened to all six yet, we have spoiled the ending slightly by telling them that JFK gets assassinated. But they might have worked that one out already.” — Gordon [04:50]

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:03 — Opening statistic: 1 in 10 Americans believe the CIA killed JFK.
• 00:27 — Debate about whether CIA/FBI should have flagged Oswald.
• 01:30 — “Mr. X” monologue from Oliver Stone’s JFK; focus on military-industrial motives.
• 02:24 — Introduction of hosts and setup for miniseries spin-off discussion.
• 04:50 — Acknowledging the official history before exploring deeper theories.
• 05:33 — Explicit dismissal of getting lost in technical “magic bullet” details; focus on theory plausibility.
• 06:38 — Laying out the three main suspect groups (CIA, mob, Castro) and their motives.
• 07:14–07:24 — Announcement of Anthony Scaramucci as guest for mob theory episode; hosts’ playful skepticism.

---

Structure & Next Steps

• This episode serves as the introduction to a three-part miniseries:
  1. Did the CIA kill JFK?
  2. Did the Mob kill JFK? (with guest Anthony Scaramucci)
  3. Did Castro kill JFK?
• The hosts stress they will weigh motive, plausibility, and the enduring legacy of these different narratives, not just rehearse lurid details.
• Their approach is accessible but thoughtful, careful to challenge outlandish claims while probing the historical ambiguities.

---

Summary

This opening installment of the “Did The CIA Kill JFK?” miniseries sets the stage for an in-depth, good-humored, and critical look at the theories linking the CIA to the Kennedy assassination. Rather than deep-diving into fringe ideas or getting mired in technical forensics, McCloskey and Corera promise to focus on motive, culture, and the ongoing relevance of the debate—making the series essential listening for true crime fans, history buffs, and anyone fascinated by the shadowy world of espionage and conspiracy.

Transcript

[A]

For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes ad free listening, early access to series first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter and discounted books. Join the Declassified [e-mail] One in ten Americans believe that the Central Intelligence Agency killed a sitting US President.

[B]

It was all massive disinformation. The CIA's had nothing to do with that hit.

[A]

It's not that the CIA did it or that the mob did it or even that Castro did it. The CIA and FBI had information that would have put Lee Harvey Oswald onto the Secret Service's watch list.

[C]

He's still a Communist, isn't he?

[A]

His Marxism compels him to get a visa to visit the Soviet Union. He would have seen a map of the route that John F. Kennedy is gonna take.

[B]

You have distraction shots, then you have a kill shot. Oswald was a patsy and he was shooting distraction shots. Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner. This is the most wanted fugitive in the United States in John Wilkes Booth. Do you mean to tell me a nightcl owner with a loaded gun is sauntering into the basement of the Dallas Police Department. He's going to put three holes in his stomach and kill the suspect on national television?

[A]

We should say that Anthony does claim to have some information from his time.

[C]

In the White House.

[B]

All I'm going to talk about is what's available in the public domain.

[C]

Don't underestimate the budget cuts that Kennedy called for in March of 1960. Nearly 52 military installations in 25 states, 21 overseas bases. Big money. You know how many helicopters have been lost in Vietnam? Nearly 3,000 so far. Who makes them? Bell Helicopter. Who owns Bell? Bell was nearly bankrupt when First national bank of Boston asked the CIA to use the helicopter in Indochina. How about the F111 fighter? General Dynamics of Fort Worth, Texas. Who owns that? Find out the defense budget since the war began. $75 billion. Going on $100 billion. Nearly $200 billion will be spent before it's over. In 1949, it was $10 billion. No war, no money. Well, welcome secret squirrels, to the rest is classified. I'm Gordon Carrera.

[A]

And I'm David McClarsky.

[C]

And that was Mr. X, the mysteriously named character from Oliver Stone's film JFK. Now, of course, in our regularly scheduled programming, we have been looking at JFK and the CIA. And we hope you've enjoyed that remarkable series looking really at the relationship between jfk, the President and the CIA, and especially over Cuba. And we ended, didn't we, David, with the dramatic moment of Kennedy being Assassinated. And here for secret squirrels. Secret squirrels even. We've got a. We've got a special treat. I've gone into my shadowy mix, Mr. X mode.

[A]

Yes, you look very shadowy too if you're watching this, Gordon.

[C]

I do.

[A]

Gordon looks as though he's speaking from an undisclosed location with a strange purple sort of metallic background behind you there and just nothing else to identify where you might be.

[C]

When I'm actually in the Gohanger offices.

[A]

You'Re actually a goal hanger towers. Now we should say, Gordon, that if you are listening to this episode after having just listened to the first two jfk, the CIA and Cuba episodes, you may want to hold off on starting this very special miniseries until you've gotten to the end of that six part series looking at really the misadventures of the John F. Kennedy administration, the Central Intelligence Agency and Cuba. You don't have to, but this is a special miniseries available only to club members where we are going to kind of tease out some different theories about who killed John F. Kennedy. Theories that come really straight from the story we told on the main pod and they specifically relate to the Central Intelligence Agency. Just teed up in your wonderful reading, Gordon, by, by Mr. X from Oliver Stone's JFK. Did. Did a secret cabal of sort of CIA insiders kill the President? Did the Mafia kill the President? Gordon? We talked in the main pod about the CIA's collaboration with the mob to go after Castro. Did, did those guns get turned on the President? And then finally in our last episode, we'll be looking at whether John F. Kennedy may have been actually killed by Castro himself.

[C]

I mean if you haven't listened to all six yet, we have spoiled the ending slightly by telling them that JFK gets assassinated. But they might have worked that one out already. But we, we kind of did lead up to some of these theories. But this is a chance to kind of explore the theories in a little bit more detail to try and understand it. I mean we should say there are loads more theories. There are almost an infinite array of theories of about who might have done it and how, which range from a kind of globalist conspiracy. I mean, I've seen George H.W. bush implicated in it. So the later President of the United.

[A]

States in collaboration with Henry Kissinger. And aliens, I believe as well in that, in some versions of that theory.

[C]

Yeah. And so sadly we're not going to look at every one of those. Even though we love our aliens. I think we've done UFOs so we're not going to do them here. So we are going to kind of follow really closely on these kind of three different theories in three episodes. And we're not going to kind of go deep into every detail because as I've been looking at it, as I'm sure you have, David, you can get lost in the ballistic details of the magic bullet and its exact trajectory and how possible it was to travel through JFK and Governor Connolly, you know, and you can get slightly lost in some of the kind of deep details of this story. And we're not going to try and do that, but rather kind of set out, I guess, first the official history of what happened and then try and understand these theories, look at how plausible they are, and actually look at some of the kind of implications of them and how they've played out and why they matter today. And I think in that way, it is a story that really matters because the conspiracy theories, or the theories, I should say are. Are still very prevalent and have played a huge, rich part in American culture right through to today.

[A]

You know, I think, as is apparent, if you've listened to all six episodes on the main pod coming out of that story, I think you could argue that the CIA, the mob, and the Cubans all separately may have had motive to kill John F. Kennedy. We should say also, Gordon, that when we look at the. Bob, we'll be joined by a very special guest, Anthony Scaramucci. The Mooch from the Rest Is Politics, US Fame, who has his own theories about the mob and claims to have insider information.

[C]

I believe you sound almost skeptical about that.

[A]

I'm slightly skeptical. I will. I will attempt to be. To be cordial and polite, but I. I'm gonna disagree with the Mooch.

[C]

I'm only skeptical about the Mooch because, you know, I. I know the CIA did it, so I kind of. That's why I can be quite dismissive of this.

[A]

You've made it in the main series, Gordon. Gordon Carrera.

[C]

I will get the chance to explore that and reveal what I really think.

[A]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. So I think it's probably worth, though, Gordon, setting up the quote, unquote, official version of what happened.