Beyond the shock machine

While much is known about Stanley Milgram’s Obedience experiments, there’s a missing part of the story – the voices of people who took part.

This documentary takes you on an audio journey to find people who participated in what’s been described as the most widely cited and provocative set of experiments in social psychology.

Beyond the Shock Machine tells the stories of the people who took part – their memories of the experiment and the impact it has had on their lives.

The documentary incorporates original audio recordings made by Stanley Milgram, allowing the listener to hear first hand the drama of the experiment unfolding.

As well as excerpts from the experiments themselves, the documentary features interviews with Herb Winer, Bill Menold, Bob Lee and Joe Dimow, four men who had been subjects in the experiments back in 1961. Bob McDonough, son of Jim McDonough who played the learner in the experiments, shares his insights into his father’s secret second job. Dr Thomas Blass, Milgram’s biographer, provides insight into man behind the research. And Milgram’s former student and now-psychology professor Leon Mann reflects on the relevance of the experiments today.

‘Beyond the shock machine’ co-produced by Gina Perry & Sharon Davis with Sound Engineer Russell Stapleton won the Silver World Medal for history documentary in the 2009 New York International Radio Awards.