Shadows of Laurel Canyon Pt 1

What if the 1960s counterculture wasn’t a spontaneous eruption of peace and love, but a carefully managed psyop?

In this first full-length episode of Convergence Points, we pull back the curtain on Laurel Canyon—the unlikely epicenter of the hippie movement. From Frank Zappa’s Log Cabin to Jim Morrison’s admiral father at the Gulf of Tonkin, the connections between the “faces of rebellion” and the military-industrial complex are too deep to dismiss as coincidence.

We dig into:

Why so many counterculture icons were sons and daughters of high-ranking military and intelligence officials

The hidden role of Lookout Mountain Air Force Station, a secret Cold War film studio in the Canyon

How CIA programs like MK-ULTRA and Operation Mockingbird intersected with the music and art of the 1960s

The actors, freak dancers, and cultural promoters who propped up mediocre bands and shaped an entire generation’s image of “rebellion”

This is Part One of a multi-episode deep dive into the shadows of Laurel Canyon, the manufactured counterculture, and the hidden machinery of control behind the hippie dream.

📖 Much of the groundwork here is inspired by David McGowan’s Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon. My goal is to build on that foundation—focusing on overlooked connections, declassified history, and a streamlined narrative for a modern audience.

If this opened some doors, don’t miss Part Two—where we take on Lookout Mountain, MK-ULTRA, and the War on Drugs.

🔔 Subscribe to Convergence Points and stay tuned.
✉️ Drop your thoughts in the comments—every perspective helps connect the dots.