What Was Havana Syndrome, the Mystery Illness that Hit American Spies?

<p>In 2016, Americans working in Cuba began to experience something strange. Something that is, to this day, unexplained. They felt a pressure in the brain, a ringing in their ear, and in the aftermath … a distressing sense of fatigue. This is Havana Syndrome, a mysterious ailment that felled spies and diplomats.</p><br><p>It remains a mystery to this day, one U.S. government officials have a hard time talking about let alone understanding. Sometimes it sounds like a frightening new weapon, other times like a classic moral panic. But what was it really? Will we ever know?</p><br><p>This is all the subject of a new podcast from VICE World News called <em>Havana Syndrome</em>. Over the course of the show’s nine episodes it unpacks not <em>just</em> the mysterious syndrome, but a history of spy and counterspy, the CIA, and America’s complicated relationship with Cuba.</p><br><p>With me here today to talk about it all is series producer Jesse Alejandro Cottrell.</p><br><p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/havana-syndrome/id1661362245" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Go here</strong></a><strong> to </strong><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5hY2FzdC5jb20vcHVibGljL3Nob3dzL2hhdmFuYS1zeW5kcm9tZQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>check out</strong></a><strong> ‘Havana Syndrome’ from VICE World News.</strong></p><br><p><strong>We’re recording CYBER live on</strong><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/motherboardtv" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> Twitch</strong></a><strong> and</strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/motherboard" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> YouTube</strong></a><strong>. Watch live during the week.</strong><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/motherboardtv/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> Follow us</strong></a><strong> there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.</strong></p><br><p><strong>Subscribe to</strong><a hre