Conspiracyland
Yahoo News
1 Creator
1 Creator
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.
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Top 10 Conspiracyland Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Conspiracyland episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Conspiracyland for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Conspiracyland episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
S1E6: Episode 4: “Fox News fiction”
Conspiracyland
07/23/19 • 36 min
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
Conspiracyland
07/16/19 • 12 min
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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S3E23: Episode 6: "Influence Operations"
Conspiracyland
07/01/21 • 40 min
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.”
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S1E8: Episode 5: “Fox News fallout”
Conspiracyland
07/30/19 • 32 min
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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S2E12: Episode 1: "A Death in Florida"
Conspiracyland
09/08/20 • 42 min
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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S3E22: Episode 5: "The Rise of the Bullet Guy"
Conspiracyland
06/28/21 • 36 min
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.
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S4E32: Episode 3: "It’s Not What We Thought It Was"
Conspiracyland
09/16/22 • 38 min
The third and final installment of the series recounts how senior U.S. officials became increasingly dubious about sensational claims about Havana Syndrome pointing to the lack of any hard evidence that a secret microwave weapon even exists. It features interviews with Fulton Armstrong, former CIA analyst, Jim McGovern, U.S. congressman, Mark Zaid, national security lawyer, and John Cohen, former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief.
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12/22/22 • 65 min
In the Pantheon of American conspiracy theories, the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy is the gift that keeps on giving. For nearly 60 years it has been dissected and debated by partisans of countless conspiracy theories. So what does the newly released material on the matter show? And what are they still keeping secret? In this bonus episode of Conspiracyland, we talk to two leading experts on the subject, former New York Times reporter Phil Shenon and former Washington Post Reporter Jeff Morley.
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S1E11: Bonus Episode 5
Conspiracyland
08/06/19 • 17 min
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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S1E9: Bonus Episode 4
Conspiracyland
07/30/19 • 12 min
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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FAQ
How many episodes does Conspiracyland have?
Conspiracyland currently has 35 episodes available.
What topics does Conspiracyland cover?
The podcast is about News, Investigative Journalism, Biden, Trump, Obama, Podcasts, Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theories.
What is the most popular episode on Conspiracyland?
The episode title 'S1E10: Episode 6: “Collateral damage”' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Conspiracyland?
The average episode length on Conspiracyland is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of Conspiracyland released?
Episodes of Conspiracyland are typically released every 3 days.
When was the first episode of Conspiracyland?
The first episode of Conspiracyland was released on Jul 1, 2019.
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