Dispatch Live: Michael Weiss Talks Havana Syndrome

Join us tonight at 8 p.m. ET for our weekly livestreamed conversation.

By
6

On tonight’s episode of Dispatch Live, Mary Trimble will interview Michael Weiss, editor of The Insider and author of the joint Havana syndrome report, about the yearlong investigation into Russia’s alleged involvement in these unexplained health incidents. Later, John McCormack, David Drucker, and Charles Hilu, the newest Dispatch Politics reporter, will join. 

On the Agenda:

  • A breakdown of Havana syndrome and its victims;
  • Russia’s alleged involvement and the mechanics of the supposed weapon behind the health incidents;
  • The U.S. government’s position on Havana syndrome;
  • The state of Florida’s six-week abortion ban and its implications for the presidential race;
  • The Arab voting bloc in Michigan; and
  • Why Charles joined The Dispatch and highlights from his first week on the job.

Show Notes:

Grab a drink, prepare your questions, and join us on YouTube at 8 p.m. ET.

This content is available exclusively to Dispatch members
Try a membership for full access to every newsletter and all of The Dispatch. Support quality, fact-based journalism.
Start Your Free Trial
Already a paid member? Sign In
6
By
Comments (6)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Austin from Atlanta

    I’m worried that the right’s “Havana syndrome” focus is of one piece with UFO fascination. I’ve yet to find much credible here. And, having traveled to Havana often, I find the idea that they secretly harbor advanced sound wave technology to have similar odds to the notion that aliens walk among us.

    The extended anecdote about how a tall man was “positively identified” as the son of a Russian oligarch months months after attacking a nurse practitioner was basically egregious in how similar it is to the tails of UFO witnesses.

    Collapse
  2. Hunter.Hustus

    This was the first time I've been disappointed by The Dispatch. There was no journalist questioning, just a platform for him to float his Hypotheses, a word he used twice. So he has a theory, but no proof. It may be a quibble, but claiming that a GS-12 is a senior official is risible and they do not get paid $120,000/year. I've followed this story since it first came out and agree with a previous post, the claimed symptoms are all over the map. This "syndrome" is best explained as hysteria - it's the simplest explaination.

    Collapse
  3. Rajivezachariah

    I thought this interview would have been served by a bit more skepticism. As a physician I find that medical journalism inadequately expresses the uncertainty surrounding the issues. The investigative reporting seemed more focused on spy games rather than scientific research to establish a causal relationship between the symptoms and whatever purported cause. One issue is that Havana Syndrome is poorly defined, similar to the problems surrounding the vague criteria for diagnosing long Covid. The symptoms that are described in the interview seem consistent with vestibular disease like Menieres disease, a relatively common condition characterized by tinnitus and vertigo (commonly associated with headache and nausea). Symptoms are expected to be unilateral with vestibular issues, so it is ridiculous that such a pattern would imply that they were hit by a ray gun hit. This is not to say that they are making up their symptoms either. The same might be said of a mother who's child develops autism. You can accept their symptoms as valid without accepting a vaccine as a cause of their autism.

    Collapse
  4. Avatar photo
    Faraday

    Looking forward to some technical discussions of this.

    Collapse
  5. John

    These reports are several years old or more and my memory is limited. But there was was a detailed investigation into these events, and there were hundreds of them, and nearly all could be explained by “everyday events”. There were a few left that could not be easily explained away. My recollection from a couple years ago. I’m sorry but I cannot participate in this event tonight. I will listen to the audio. Thank you.
    Additional curious point: My wife is a scientist who traveled to Cuba three or four times during this period to interact with the cancer center there. She did suffer permanent hearing loss around that time. The reason was later determined to be unrelated and she has since received a cochlea implant.

    Collapse
  6. Kmsinatra

    Excited for this! I won't be able to attend live but looking forward to the audio! Thanks Dispatch team!

    Collapse