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.
In these special bonus episodes, Yahoo Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman and CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga talked to Yahoo Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff about his new six-part podcast series on the 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Isikoff discusses why he delved into his case and what he discovered as he traced how the conspiracy theories about the Rich murder proliferated throughout social media, migrating from obscure websites to alt-right Internet celebrities and ultimately Fox News — with a helping hand from Russian intelligence and the Trump White House. In the first bonus episode, Isikoff talks about the background of Seth Rich, what he actually did for the Democratic National Committee and how Russia's intelligence service planted the original seeds of conspiracy about his death.
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