Havana Helmet Club

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.

In this final episode of Havana Helmet Club, Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey try to pull all the pieces of the mystery together.

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Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey

Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

This episode was edited and updated on 5 September 2025.

“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?

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Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

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.

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Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

This 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.

Adam gets a workplace medal for bringing Havana Syndrome to light – but a sceptical new CIA director throws everything back up in the air.

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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…

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Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

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

A Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

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.

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Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

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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

Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

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.

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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.

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