We get to the bottom of the illness known as Havana syndrome.

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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023

Hello! In this issue:
* A mysterious set of painful symptoms has been striking U.S. officials around the world.
* Police have been using a controversial tactic to reduce their liability after a police killing.


** THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
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** Havana Syndrome
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The Russian Embassy in Havana. Credit: Ramón Campos Iriarte

A sharp sound. Body numbness. Difficulty speaking. Extreme head pain.

Since 2016, U.S. officials across the world – in Cuba, China and Russia – have reported experiencing the sudden onset of this eerie array of symptoms. Reporters Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson try to make sense of this confusing illness that has come to be called Havana syndrome in this update of an episode that originally aired in April 2023.

The reporters begin by tracking down one of the first people to report Havana syndrome symptoms, a CIA officer working in Cuba. This “patient zero” explains the ways Cuban intelligence surveil and harass American spies working on the island and his own experience of suddenly being struck with a mysterious, painful condition. When he reports the illness to his bosses at the CIA, he learns that other U.S. officials on the island are experiencing the same thing.

A CIA doctor sees reports from the field about this strange condition happening in Cuba. He’s sent to Havana to investigate the cause of the symptoms and whether they may stem from a mysterious sound recorded by patient zero. But during his first night on the island, the CIA doctor falls ill with the same syndrome he is there to investigate.

The reporters take us to Havana to visit the sites where people reported the onset of their symptoms, looking for answers.
Listen to the episode ([link removed])
🎧 Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , Google Podcasts ([link removed]) or wherever you get your podcasts.


** A Quote to Remember
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“As I look back, I sang like a canary. … You think they're your friends and you think that they are there to help you. … Soon thereafter, they stopped the questioning, and said what happened.”

Police in San Jose, California, shot and killed Jim Showman’s 19-year-old daughter in the summer of 2014. Instead of telling him what happened, they interrogated him about her mental health – and used what he said against him when he later filed a lawsuit against the police department.

Reporter Brian Howey found ([link removed]) that several police departments in California adopted this tactic of using death notifications to gather intel after police killings.

Listen: We Regret to Inform You ([link removed])


** In Case You Missed It
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🎧 Locked Up: The Prison Labor That Built Business Empires ([link removed])

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🎧 In Bondage to the Law ([link removed])

This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Kate Howard and edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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