35 episodes
Conspiracyland Yahoo News
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- News
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4.7 • 23 Ratings
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Conspiracyland's "The Strange Story of Havana Syndrome," hosted by Yahoo News chief investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff, is an investigation into the baffling medical ailments-- headaches, dizziness, extreme fatigue and even brain injuries-- that have been reported by over 1,100 American diplomats and spies in recent years, confounding the U.S. intelligence and diplomatic communities. These symptoms are commonly known as Havana Syndrome because they were first surfaced in Cuba more than five years ago though they have long since been reported all over the world. But what and who was causing them remains a mystery. As Conspiracyland documents, the reports about Havana Syndrome were used as a political trigger to upend U.S. relations with Cuba: They set off a chain of events that led the Trump administration to reverse President Obama's efforts to normalize relations with the island nation, a rollback that has continued under President Biden. It also has led to an endless spate of news stories suggesting these health ailments were the result of targeted microwave attacks by a foreign power, with the Russian intelligence services under the control of Vladimir Putin considered the leading candidate. But as Conspiracyland reveals, the real story of Havana Syndrome is starting to look very different than it did at the time.
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JFK: The Mother of all Conspiracy Theories (w/ Phil Shenon & Jeff Morley)
We talk to two leading experts on the subject of the JFK assassination about the newly released material on the matter, former New York Times reporter Phil Shenon and former Washington Post Reporter Jeff Morley.
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Bonus Episode 3: "A Havana Travelogue"
Host Micheal Isikoff and Producer Mark Seman discuss their wild, surreal experiences in Cuba.
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Episode 3: "It’s Not What We Thought It Was"
This episode recounts how senior U.S. officials became increasingly dubious about sensational claims about Havana Syndrome pointing to the lack of any hard evidence that a secret microwave weapon even exists.
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Bonus Episode 2: "Henry Kissinger's Radiation Treatment"
Peter Kornbluh, of the National Security Archive describes the years of Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union over reports that the Russians were bombarding the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
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Episode 2: "The Mystery of the Moscow Signal"
An examination of the Cold War mystery over suspected microwave attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and how Pentagon fears about such bombardments heavily influenced the initial response to Havana Syndrome.
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Bonus Episode 1: "A Cuban Doctor's Diagnosis"
Mitchell Valdes Sosa, the director of the Cuban Center for Neuroscience, offers his own diagnosis of what is behind the Havana Syndrome symptoms.
Customer Reviews
Consistently brilliant
Another brilliant piece of investigation journalism by the consistently brilliant Mr Isikoff and co
Another great series in the making.
What a start ! Thank you great stuff.
Second series as good as the first
These are tragic stories told with great nuance and respect for the victims. Well researched and structured, they are both compelling listens and masterclasses in how to construct investigative narratives. The subject matter reminds me of how the alien abduction panic of the late '80s operated: credulous members of the public misinterpreting (sometimes wilfully, sometimes not) an event. Without doing any serious fact-checking, their version is then reported as fact by lazy journalists thus ensuring the conspiracy theory spreads like a wildfire in a drought. Throw in a willing roster of cruel but useful idiots to manipulate the narrative and you have achieved the gold standard of contemptible stupidity. I hope this podcast inoculates at least some people against such delusions in the future.