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Welcome to SpyC, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum.

I'm your host, Sasha Inber, and each week I take you into the shadows of espionage, intelligence, and covert operations across the globe.

Confusion and controversy are growing around the intelligence community's handling of Havana syndrome, what the government

refers to as anomalous health incidents, or AHAs. The mysterious health condition has left a group

of American spies, diplomats, and service members with serious brain injuries. Many believe Russia's hand is at play. But an

intelligence community assessment from 2023 said most agencies concluded it is very unlikely

a foreign adversary was behind the affliction. And it hasn't changed its stance, even as new details come to light.

As I first reported, the U.S. government bought and has been testing a weapon that some scientists believe

is likely the cause of these brain injuries. I reached out to the CIA, which declined to comment then,

and declines to comment now.

Accusations of a cover-up have been mounting from inside the House's Intelligence Committee to journalists who have been covering AHA.

Reporter Michael Weiss is part of a team that uncovered new information, and we sat down together.

Hey, Michael, thank you so much for joining. I know you're in New York. You've got your books.

You've got your aquarium in the background, making some water noises for us.

Yeah, usually it's the birds that I hear the most about on podcast. So you get the fish today, Sasha.

So let's get right into some stellar reporting that you recently put out. Back in early January, I reported a major story on how the U.S. government had purchased and was testing a device that could

direct energy, which was one of the possibilities of what's behind Havana syndrome.

And you expanded on that information with new details.

You brought more to this idea of what this potential weapon could be pulsing microwaves.

Can you explain more about how it's tested, who it was tested on, and where it came from that this purchase even happened?

So this was acquired by the Department of Homeland Security using funds provided by the Department

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