A resurfaced set of CIA documents shows how U.S. intelligence agencies explored and funded weather modification as far back as the 1960s.
Two well-funded programs are particularly noteworthy: Project Stormfury and Operation Popeye.
Stormfury attempted to weaken hurricanes by seeding them with silver iodide. That’s not so terrible I suppose. I mean, if the government is going to use my money anyway, then trying to figure out how to make hurricanes less deadly isn’t the worst thing they could do.
Operation Popeye though? This one is pretty bad. (We actually cover it in our Tuttle Twins Guide to True Conspiracies!) Here, they used cloud seeding technology to extend the monsoon season over enemy supply routes in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, triggering floods and landslides to disrupt movement along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Yikes. Because in other words, the U.S. military didn’t just study weather modification; it weaponized it.
And it worked.
New documents show support from President Lyndon B. Johnson who said that, “He who controls the weather will control the world.”
At the time, that probably sounded like space-race era futuristic ambition. But people like you and me have learned that when politicians tell you their plans for you, you should probably take them seriously.
(Ahem, The Great Reset…)
Within a few years, LBJ’s wishful thinking had turned into real-world policy, backed by funding, research, and deployment in a war zone.
Now, to be fair, the existence of these programs doesn’t prove every modern claim you’ll see online. There are still plenty of assertions—about chemtrails, aerosol vaccination, and large-scale atmospheric manipulation—that remain disputed or unproven. All I’m going to say is that if they could successfully manipulate weather for war almost 60 years ago, I don’t think there is any “conspiracy” that doesn’t deserve at least some serious consideration.
But that’s not really the point.
The point is that something widely dismissed as “crazy” for decades turns out to have a very real, very documented foundation.
And that should change how we think about the world a little bit.
Because this isn’t just about weather control; it’s about understanding how the world actually works.
Governments experiment on unwitting populations. They push boundaries, they operate in secrecy, and the public often only finds out years—or decades—later, well after the fact.
Which raises some important questions for us as parents:
Are we raising kids who understand that?
Are we raising kids who know how to think, how to question, how to look into something for themselves instead of just accepting the explanation they’re given? Are they going to be adults who mock “conspiracy theorists” or are they going to go digging for answers for themselves?
Because whether it’s something like Operation Popeye, or economic policy, or media narratives, or “two weeks from a nuclear weapon” or whatever the next story turns out to be… the kids who will be best prepared aren’t the ones who memorize answers and perform well on standardized tests.
They’ll be the ones who know how to reason, research, question, and think for themselves. They’ll be the ones who have a strong understanding of history to frame their view of the present.
And that’s the whole reason we do what we do.
The Tuttle Twins books aren’t designed to tell kids what to think. They’re written to help them understand how the world works—how incentives shape decisions, how power corrupts, how history impacts today—and to give them the tools they’ll need to help them learn how to ask better questions.
Today, we’re making it a little easier (and more fun) for families to start doing just that.
When you pick up our Family Starter Pack, we’re including a free downloadable “Sweet 16” Reading Tracker to go along with it.
It walks your kids through the 16 books and their chapters across two of our best-loved series. It offers a trackable path and a sense of progress as they go. It turns reading into something active—something they can take tangible ownership of.
Our goal is to help parents raise kids who won’t be caught off guard the next time something “impossible” turns out to be true.
Kids who can think.
Kids who can question.
Kids who understand the real history of the world they’re inheriting, and who are ready to lead it.
If this is the future you want for your kids, there’s never been a better time to jump in. We’ve created some of the best resources out there to help in the vital work you’re doing.
Click here to get started today with our Family Starter Pack and our Sweet 16 Reading Tracker!
— Connor
