Havana Helmet Club

11 Episodes

Reverse

Introducing: Havana Helmet Club

2025-06-0903:25

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 the centre, known as Patient Zero. 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.

1. Psychological Fortitude

2025-06-1739:46

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 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC SoundsOur archive was sourced from: US Department of State KCRW

2. Old Habits

2025-06-2434:501

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 mysterious sound that seems to trigger it—threatens not just his mission, but the entire political thaw. 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC SoundsOur archive was sourced from: NARA

3. This Looks Real

2025-07-0139:46

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 investigator and victim suddenly begins to blur - raising new questions about the nature of the threat, and whether anyone is truly safe.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. 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

4. Sound and Fury

2025-07-0839:02

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, 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC SoundsOur archive was sourced from: NARA WDEL US State Department KCRW KFI KMJ KAJX WBCF KCAA BBC Radio Kent

5. The Lobby

2025-07-1543:32

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: 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson A Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

6. The Thing

2025-07-2241:04

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 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

7. America's Backyard

2025-07-2939:26

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 Additional Editing : Simon Pearce 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson

8. The Cart Before the Flying Donkey

2025-08-1938:32

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 Crossman Story editing: Mike Ollove Producer: Larry Ryan Sound designer: Merijn Royaards Additional mixing: Ger McDonnell 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson Archive sourced from NBC and El Ministerio de Salud Pública de CubaHavana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC SoundsThis episode was edited and updated on 13th August 2025 to correct two factual errors in the original version, namely that we quote Dr Stephen Hampton not Dr Randal Swanson in relation to the first uPenn paper, and that 'Adam' did not attend Walter Reed hospital in relation to his symptoms.

9. Squeaky Fans

2025-08-2638:29

“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, Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey investigate high-profile cases of mass hysteria – now known as mass psychogenic illness or conversion disorder - for clues about Havana Syndrome. Could it be the solution to the puzzle, or a way for the CIA to dig themselves out of a hole?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: Ger McDonnell 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha JohanssonHavana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

10. The 7th Floor

2025-09-0248:58

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 straightforward – with the US government and the intelligence community keen to shut the door on the saga.In this final episode of Havana Helmet Club, Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey try to pull all the pieces of the mystery together.CreditsHavana 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: Ger McDonnell 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 Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha JohanssonHavana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.This episode was edited and updated on 5 September 2025.

#box-pro-ellipsis-175787436015943{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Havana Helmet Club