16 episodes
The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome Project Brazen
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
4.6 • 152 Ratings
-
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to http://apple.co/the-sound
In December 2016, a US official in Havana went to the embassy medical centre to report a debilitating and confounding illness. The symptoms included headaches; nausea; hearing loss; problems with memory and vision – and its onset was characterized by hearing… something. A buzzing, hissing, grinding… sound.
Soon, a second official came down with the same symptoms. Then a third. Then a fourth. By the time the story went public in summer 2017, dozens of US diplomats, as well as some Canadians, had come down with what was becoming known as “Havana Syndrome.”
In this deep dive investigation, journalist Nicky Woolf peels back the layers of one of the most bizarre mysteries of the modern age. You’ll hear about how the US agencies failed to agree even on the basic premises. State department said it’s a “sonic device,” then rolled that back. The CIA have hinted microwave radiation might be involved. The FBI said there was no “there” there – now they seem to be rolling that back as well.
We’ll explore the wild and wide variety of theories that have been put forward. Could it be caused by noisy crickets? Or mosquito spray? Or could it all be a mass delusion? We’ll hear from the cast of characters who inhabit this world; diplomats and spies, neurologists and physicists, skeptics and believers – and, with their help, begin to piece the evidence together.
THE SOUND is a story about spycraft, technology, and the brain. It’s a story where, at every turn, you’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s an illusion. It’s a story about how the Cold War, maybe, never really ended.
-
Jericho
There’s a mysterious outbreak of neurological problems among American spies and diplomats in Cuba. Host Nicky Woolf documents the first cases with never before heard accounts from Havana, while parsing through classified intelligence to learn how this mystery began.
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound
www.soundistheweapon.com -
The Immaculate Concussion
Havana Syndrome cases are spreading. Investigators flock to Cuba while politicians start hunting for a culprit. Host Nicky Woolf breaks down the early investigations by the US and Cuban governments while our own search ramps up. Meanwhile, a political narrative starts to take shape.
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound
www.soundistheweapon.com -
Speak of the Devil
When recordings of a strange sound in Havana go public, some wonder if these “Havana Syndrome” health problems are real or imagined. We take a critical look through the research – and enlist the help of a mentalist – to try to answer the question: is this whole thing in our heads?
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound
www.soundistheweapon.com -
The Frey Effect
The Havana Syndrome story is bigger than Cuba now. Cases are being reported on nearly every continent, so some investigators propose a new, strange theory. We wade into the science to see if Havana Syndrome is just the latest in a long pattern of attacks using microwave energy.
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound
www.soundistheweapon.com -
The Great British Nuke Off
Nicky heads to the UK to build a microwave device that could be the key to the mystery of Havana Syndrome. And we take a deep-dive into the American military industrial complex to see what the future of warfare and weaponry looks like. Is Havana Syndrome just the beginning of something much scarier?
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound.
www.soundistheweapon.com -
A Silent Injury
A CIA officer in Moscow gets sick, and his story fundamentally changes the narrative surrounding “Havana Syndrome.” We hear first-hand accounts of Soviet radiation that go back decades, and learn that the Cold War may have never really ended.
For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound.
www.soundistheweapon.com
Customer Reviews
Absolutely Brilliant
Listened to this immediately after listening to VICE’s “Havana Syndrome,” and it was beyond worth it to start this story again from a completely different narrative style and far more access and ethical reporting. I enjoyed both, but this one went much further, didn’t simply elevate a spook and rely on them as a single source. Anyone weighing which one to listen to, choose this one. Although you’ll get something out of both, the other one actually plays the horrific sound so-called “cicada” sound for their intro & ad transition (terrifying), and it’s reporting is far from as thoughtful and thorough and honest as this one.
On this podcast, they got in deep. With whistleblowers, with all agencies, fact-checking, bringing in real experts to give their opinions, and they went to Havana and experienced the sound firsthand. The narrator/reporter’s voice is incredible. The sound design is intoxicating. This is the untapped power of podcasting. I could tell they cared about the victims, about Cubans, and about the truth. They pointed out problems with reporting on the so-called “Havana” Syndrome. The only part I personally believe gets left out of every discussion of the mis-named but very real syndrome, are the intentional placement of people who do no have the Syndrome (i.e. individuals like Trump WH staffers claim to have been “zapped” walking right out of the Capitol) used to discredit the very real victims. The cover-up is real. My only wish for this podcast is that far less time and episodes be given to the offensive “psychogenic” “mass hysteria” conspiracy theory that’s literally “it’s all in your head.” That part was difficult to get thru, and slowed down the incredible pacing before and after this weighty “devil’s advocate” twist placed in the middle.
I hope more people hear about this podcast. I thankfully discovered it while searching for the VICE one… and even the VICE one didn’t have any marketing, so I was lucky to find either.
Unveiling the Hidden Truth
The horrendous effects of migraines, nausea, vomiting, sleep deprivation & tinnitus has plagued my family for years. This documentary is not just for government workers but the families of government or private industry or those who have ties to anyone with enough money to secure this technology. You speak in terms that ‘we’ who don’t want to be named can affirm & agree. Thank you to all the courageous individuals willing to identify themselves & to those sharing this extraordinarily painful experience!
Hauntingly fascinating
This show is sooo well produced, the music gives me goosbumps every time those violins come in. The story is full of twists and turns and it is absolutely my favorite podcast miniseries.