Havana Helmet Club

Havana Helmet Club

A mysterious energy, so far undetectable, somehow on the attack... US CIA agents and diplomats in Cuba report being assailed in their homes by a strange sound and pressure. When they develop disturbing physical symptoms, fears grow that they are being targeted by a secret directed energy weapon. With no physical evidence, and the highest of stakes as historic US-Cuba tensions begin to thaw, the Americans have to fight to be believed. Acclaimed presenters of the hit podcast West Cork, Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde investigate the strange phenomenon known as “Havana Syndrome” - in a series that delves into the clandestine world of global espionage and considers questions about the reputation of science, the corrosive potential of government secrets and the psychology of whistleblowers. New episodes will be released weekly, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you are in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes a week early, first on BBC Sounds. Credits Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey Editor: Guy Crossman Story editing: Mike Ollove Producer: Larry Ryan Sound designer: Merijn Royaards Additional mixing: Peregrine Andrews Theme music: Tom Pintens, with additional music composed by Merijn Royaards Fact checking: Stanley Masters. Additional reporting: Isobel Sutton, Pascale Hardey Stewart and Stanley Masters Archive producers: Miriam Walsh and Helen Carr Production executive: Kirstin Drybrugh Editorial advisor: Jesse Baker

Episodes

June 9, 2025 2 mins

For nine years, US officials have been experiencing mysterious sounds and pressure and falling sick.

Acclaimed presenters of the hit podcast West Cork, Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, investigate the enduring mystery of ‘Havana Syndrome’ believed by some to be caused by a secret directed energy weapon.

They look for answers from spies, politicians, diplomats, brain and weapons experts, and they keep returning to the enigmatic spy at...

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It takes a certain type of person to be a CIA agent in Havana. Subjected to constant harassment and surveillance, it is a claustrophobic and eerie world to navigate. And when one agent hears a mysterious sound causing him real-world symptoms, it raises fears of a covert weapon. New episodes will be released weekly, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you are in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes a week early, first on...

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June 24, 2025 34 mins

US Marine Jim Tracy returns to Havana to raise the American flag he once lowered in 1961. It marks a hopeful new chapter of US-Cuban relations, created through quiet diplomacy and unlikely backchannels involving senators, spies, and even Pope Francis. But just as the mood shifts toward reconciliation, a young CIA officer lands in Havana and soon begins experiencing something strange and deeply troubling. His illness—and the mysteri...

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July 1, 2025 39 mins

A growing cluster of unexplained illnesses among US diplomats forces a response from the government. One CIA field agent refuses to let the issue be ignored, becoming both advocate and investigator. As more reports surface, the agency sends a medical expert to assess the situation on the ground.

What happens next sends shockwaves through the case. In a story filled with doubt, deflection, and delayed decisions, the line between inve...

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July 8, 2025 38 mins

After a State Department source hands a scoop to a Washington journalist, the Havana situation goes public in spectacular fashion.

A media and political storm gathers around multiple investigations into the alleged sonic attacks in Havana. Figures within the Trump administration push to punish Cuba. With agents dropping like flies, the CIA takes dramatic action.

New episodes will be released weekly, wherever you get your podcasts, ...

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July 15, 2025 28 mins

Little Havana, Miami, is the political beating heart of Havana Syndrome - its own fascinating, often violent history beginning at the Bay of Pigs, becomes entwined with our story when powerful Cuban Americans pick up the issue, and call for an end to the Cuban regime.

Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey Editor: Guy Crossman Story editing: Mike Ollove Producer: Larry Ryan Sound designer: Mer...

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July 22, 2025 39 mins

When the room begins spinning wildly, CIA agent Marc believes he has been hit on an assignment in Moscow. It turns out, an eerily similar phenomena in the Russian capital - affecting US embassy staff – happened before, in the 1970s… Meanwhile, Adam - back on US soil - begins to suspect he is being followed. And the search is on for an untraceable weapon.

Credits Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam...

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July 29, 2025 39 mins

Adam gets a workplace medal for bringing Havana Syndrome to light – but a sceptical new CIA director throws everything back up in the air. Meanwhile, things get heated in Cuba, after US covert operations seemingly provoke rioting across the country. Appalled by what he is seeing, a Cuban scientist decides to take action.

Credits Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey Editor: Guy Crossman Addi...

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August 19, 2025 36 mins

When the Cubans announce an international science conference in Havana, American spies try to nip it in the bud, suspecting a sophisticated disinformation campaign. With politics and bad blood threatening to cloud out the science story, a group of scientists get together and a very different theory for Havana Syndrome is put forward.

Credits Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey Editor: Guy Cro...

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August 26, 2025 37 mins

“A tense environment and a good villain” are the perfect ingredients for mass hysteria, according to psychologist and epidemiologist Professor Simon Wessley. It’s a phrase so toxic, it was removed from the diagnostic manual in the late 1960s. But as neurologist and mystery illness expert Suzanne O’Sullivan explains, “We are all vulnerable. We just need to meet the right circumstance.”

In the penultimate episode of Havana Helmet Club...

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September 2, 2025 47 mins

Arriving into Washington in 2023, Adam plans to officially put his testimony on the US government record – if they will let him – then walk off into the sunset. The past seven years have taken a toll on Adam, progressively broken down by the fight. He is confused as to why his government seems to have turned against him. In his mind, this is his last stand. But as with everything in the story of Havana Syndrome, nothing is strai...

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