Conspiracyland - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Conspiracyland — Government & Organizations
Conspiracyland

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.

Copyright: © Yahoo News

Latest Episodes:

S3E24: Episode 7: "A Tale of Two Women" Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

As Khashoggi moves to the United States to live in exile, he becomes more outspoken in his criticisms of the new Crown Prince’s harsh crackdowns on dissent, writing columns for the Washington Post one of which compares MBS to Putin. But as he does so, his personal life becomes more complicated. He proposes to one woman in the United States — an Egyptian flight attendant who he marries in an Islamic ceremony in northern Virginia. Then, just months later, he proposes to another woman in Turkey, leading to his efforts to retrieve his divorce records from Saudi Arabia that results in his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E23: Episode 6: "Influence Operations" Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

The Saudis launch covert influence operations on U.S. soil. Just weeks after the 2016 election, Saudi lobbyists arrange to fly hundreds of American veterans to Washington — and put them up at Trump hotel — ostensibly to lobby against already enacted legislation to allow the families of the victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi government. In fact, it was also a backdoor scheme to funnel Saudi cash to the new president’s business. The Saudis also launch an espionage plot to recruit Saudi spies at Twitter to steal personal data on regime critics, including a collaborator of Khashoggi. As he maneuvers to become Crown Prince, MBS boasts of his role in overseeing the Twitter spy plot, allegedly telling an associate: “That was us. We did that. We have our guy at Twitter.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E22: Episode 5: "The Rise of the Bullet Guy" Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

This episode tells the story of the rise of Mohammed bin Salman, the brash impulsive son of King Salman who is initially embraced by U.S. officials as a change agent and reformer despite troubling episodes in his past. The episode recounts how the young prince wowed the highest leaders in the U.S. government — playing the “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano in John Kerry’s living room. But when the young prince, as the country’s new defense minister, launches a savage war in Yemen, slaughtering thousands of civilians, U.S. officials start having doubts about the dark impulses of this new Saudi leader.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E21: Episode 4: "A Revolution Crushed" Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

This episode recounts the story of the Arab Spring — a wave of pro-democracy protests that swept through the Middle East and a cause that Khashoggi enthusiastically embraced. But Saudi leaders feared the protests and backed a military coup that overthrew a democratically elected (but Muslim Brotherhood dominated) government in Egypt, creating the first rift between Khashoggi and the leaders of his own country.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E20: Episode 3: "Jamal and Osama" Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

This episode recounts the story of Jamal Khashoggi’s years-long relationship with Osama bin Laden. As a young journalist, Khashoggi was invited by bin Laden — a friend through their mutual involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood — to cover the war by Arab fighters against the Soviet Army occupying Afghanistan. Khashoggi’s stories championed the role of bin Laden in the first, giving him his first burst of publicity. Khashoggi never condoned bin Laden’s later terrorist career, but he retained some sympathy for him right up until the Al Qaeda leader’s death.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E19: Episode 2: "The Arms Dealer's Harem" Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

The episode recounts the story of Adnan Khashoggi, a billionaire arms dealer and Jamal Khashoggi’s cousin, whose flamboyant lifestyle and sybaritic tastes made him the most conspicuous public face of Saudi Arabia. Yet he played a crucial role in nurturing the U.S.-Saudi alliance, serving as middleman for billions of dollars in weapons deals between U.S. defense contractors and the kingdom. As a special bonus, the episode includes insights from one of his “pleasure wives” — recruited while she was a 20-year-old model — as well as an account of how Khashoggi’s later financial troubles lead to Donald Trump getting his first introduction to Saudi luxury and largesse.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E18: Episode 1: "The Henchman" Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

The episode focuses on the role of Saud al-Qahtani, the right hand man and enforcer of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the intimidation of Saudi dissidents, including journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Qahtani was known for his ruthlessness: He supervised the torture of a prominent women’s rights activist. He also met and supervised the Tiger Team of assassins who flew to Istanbul in Oct. 2018 to assassinate Khashoggi — a shocking crime that is reconstructed in this episode based on notes of secret Saudi interrogations and an interview with Agnes Callamard, the former United Nations special rapporteur for extrajudicial killings, who investigated the murder.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S3E17: Season 3 Trailer: The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

Conspiracyland Season 3 — "The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi" — is an eight episode series, hosted by Yahoo News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff, that investigates the grisly state-sponsored assassination of Saudi Arabia's most prominent journalist after he dared to criticize the country's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS. Isikoff has uncovered new details about the murder, including notes based on confessions by the assassins during secret Saudi interrogations. The series also presents new evidence of MBS' role in directing a global campaign of surveillance targeting Saudi dissidents, including a plot to plant spies inside Twitter to steal personal details about his critics.

Coming Monday, June 14th.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S2E16: Bonus Episode 2: The Strange Roots of Q Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

Zach Dorfman, Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this special bonus episode of Conspiracyland presented by "Skullduggery." The group discuss Larry McDonald, a former member of the United States House of Representatives that represented Georgia's 7th congressional district. McDonald, who was killed on board Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by Soviet interceptors, eerily anticipated conspiracies now held by the QAnon movement which is currently plaguing the American political dialogue. A conspiracy theorist himself, his life story is at times unbelievable - but true.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S2E15: Bonus Episode 1 - "QAnon Enters the Mainstream" Sep 26, 2020

Show notes

NJ Congressman Tom Malinowski and National Correspondent for TIME Charlotte Alter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a special bonus episode of Skullduggery's "Conspiracyland." Malinowski reacts to the recent unfounded ad attack against him straight from the QAnon playbook. Then, Alter weighs in having just written an in-depth piece about the fringe supporter group and how it's slowly working its way into the mainstream.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Related Podcasts