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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:

S2E14: Episode 3: "The Twitter Dodge" Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

This episode explores how, once President Trump started tweeting about Scarborough and Lori Klausutis, devotees of the QAnon conspiracy theory took up the cause and started spreading even more bizarre and nonsensical conspiracy theories claiming that Klausutis had been “suffocated” after she read secret documents about the 9/11 terror attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. The episode also examines how Twitter has come under pressure over its handling of Trump’s tweets — an issue that the company was finally forced to address after T.J. Klausutis wrote a poignant letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, pleading with him to remove the president’s tweets about his wife from the company’s platform. And it includes an exclusive interview with Lt. Mark Hayse, the chief of investigations at the Fort Walton, Fla., Police Department, rejecting Trump’s call to reopen the case.

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S2E13: Episode 2: "The Blood Feud" Sep 09, 2020

Show notes

This episode traces the conspiracy theories about Lori Klausutis as they evolved over the years, starting with liberal activists such as Markos Moulitsas, founder of the blog Daily Kos, who was once banned from MSNBC for pushing the media to investigate Joe Scarborough’s alleged role in Lori Klausutis’s death. The episode also explores the feud between President Trump and Scarborough. The two were once on friendly terms, with Trump appearing as a frequent guest on “Morning Joe.” “Conspiracyland” includes rare clips of their off-camera coziness during the 2016 campaign: “You know you have me as almost a legendary figure,” Trump tells Scarborough and his MSNBC co-host, Mika Brezezinski. But after he became president, Scarborough and Trump had a falling-out during a lunch at the White House, resulting in Scarborough becoming a relentless critic and Trump reaching deep into the TV host’s past to get his revenge.

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S2E12: Episode 1: "A Death in Florida" Sep 08, 2020

Show notes

This episode explores the life of Lori Klausutis, a vivacious 28-year-old who worked in a tiny office in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as the constituent service coordinator for then-congressman Joe Scarborough. A devout Catholic who wore a “Precious Little Feet” lapel pin, a symbol for the anti-abortion movement. Klausutis was a well-liked woman who served as president of the local Young Republicans club and sang in the church choir. The podcast, relying on detailed police reports and interviews with people directly involved in the case, describes how on the afternoon of July 19, 2001, Klausutis was feeling fidgety and ill moments before she collapsed from an undiagnosed heart condition. While the police found no sign of a struggle or foul play, her death soon spurred speculation and conspiracy theories — many of them pushed by left-wing bloggers who demanded that Scarborough be subjected to the same scrutiny as then-Democratic congressman Gary Condit, who had been having an affair with missing intern Chandra Levy. The rumors that his wife had also been having an affair with her boss infuriated T.J. Klausutis, who reveals Scarborough didn’t even recognize his wife when they encountered each other. “It’s complete nonsense,” he says. “It’s just disgusting.”

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S1E11: Bonus Episode 5 Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

In this final bonus episode, Yahoo News Editor-in-Chief Dan Klaidman, alongside CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga, discuss with Michael Isikoff the final installment of Conspiracyland's look into the unsolved murder of Seth Rich. They explore the political purpose of conspiracy theories, the devastating human consequences, as well as their final thoughts on the case.

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S1E10: Episode 6: “Collateral damage” Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

Even after the discredited story is retracted, the internet, unwilling to let the story go, takes the case in an entirely new direction, targeting Rich’s brother Aaron as a co-conspirator. The D.C. police explain how the conspiracies are hampering the official investigation into the murder, and author Anna Merlan explains why we are living in a modern golden age for conspiracy theories.

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S1E9: Bonus Episode 4 Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo News Dan Klaidman and CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga talk with Conspiracyland host Michael Isikoff about Sean Hannity and his role in peddling the Seth Rich conspiracy and what the consequences have been for Fox News once the story had been debunked.

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S1E8: Episode 5: “Fox News fallout” Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

Sean Hannity heads an extensive campaign on Fox News with an explosive story that quickly crumbles in the face of facts.

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S1E7: Bonus Episode 3 Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Isikoff talks in greater detail about how the Seth Rich WikiLeaks story made its way all the way up the ladder at Fox News. From legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh to Fox News contributor Rod Wheeler, and even with the uncertainty of the story, it still hits the airwaves.

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S1E6: Episode 4: “Fox News fiction” Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

Dallas money man Ed Butowsky decides to change the narrative of Russian meddling in the presidential election, working behind the scenes to get Fox News to go big on a story that Rich was the leaker to WikiLeaks.

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S1E5: Bonus Episode 2 Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Isikoff talks about the role of Washington lobbyist Jack Burkman in fanning the Seth Rich conspiracy flames, staging a filmed reenactment of Rich's murder that distorted reality and horrified the dead DNC staffer's family.

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