05-07-2025
What the makers of the greatest true crime podcast did next
Few podcast series have been as deservedly successful as West Cork. A critical smash and word-of-mouth phenomenon seven years ago, like Serial it dealt with a historic murder, one that still haunts a community.
In December 1996 the body of the French film-maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier was discovered outside her Irish holiday home. She had been bludgeoned to death. More than two decades later, nobody had been convicted of her murder. Yet for locals and the Irish garda there had always been one prime suspect, another 'blow-in', an Englishman still living amid neighbours who reviled him.
What marked out West Cork was the thoughtfulness of the reporting of its husband-and-wife narrators, Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde. This was true, twisty crime with journalistic integrity, a painterly sense of place and sensitivity to a community. Louis Theroux said it was 'possibly the best ever true crime podcast'. Patrick Radden Keefe hailed it 'a masterpiece'. It reportedly remains Audible's most successful podcast. If you haven't listened, do.
So what have Bungey and Forde got up to since? In May 2021 there was a follow-up episode relating to court proceedings. But that was more than four years ago. It turns out the pair were recruited by the BBC to explore one of the deepest rabbit holes of our times: Havana syndrome.
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If the term 'Havana syndrome' is a mystery to you, then Forde and Bungey offer a clear explainer in the ten-part Havana Helmet Club (four episodes on BBC Sounds and now airing on Radio 4). But for me the puzzle is why this promising podcasting pair chose to tackle a subject that is as well trodden as it is highly disputed.
Still, it is a doozy of a story. To recap: in December 2016 American diplomatic personnel in Cuba began to report a wave of weird ailments. All said that symptoms had begun with stabbing head pressure. Most also experienced a sonic assault: a head-splittingly intense grating noise that often led to nosebleeds and nausea. When sufferers started comparing notes, they referred to the noise as 'the Thing'.
In the weeks afterwards many began to experience vertigo, brain fog, migraine with aura and debilitating exhaustion. Quietly the embassy began to fly sufferers to the United States to undergo medical investigation, where scans showed signs consistent with brain trauma when there had been no injury. Meanwhile, the CIA sent a medic to investigate — who also became ill.
Rumours grew about some kind of hostile action, possibly using microwave technology. But who would be the perpetrator? The US and Cuba had only just restored full diplomatic relations after decades of hostility. The Obamas' visit in spring 2016 was meant to have ushered in a more neighbourly, also potentially capitalist era. The Cubans denied any wrongdoing, but the US repatriated all but essential staff.
Two rival podcasts, fronted by respected investigative journalists, went head-to-head in 2023. Havana Syndrome, from Vice, was presented by Jon Lee Anderson and Adam Entous, whose reporting for The New Yorker first brought this story to a wider audience. Their podcast investigated subsequent claimed incidents around the world and reported on CIA efforts to shut the story down — deemed gaslighting by those still struggling with long-term health needs.
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The Sound, presented by Nicky Woolf (Finding Q: My Journey into QAnon; Fur and Loathing) opened in bravura style using spiritual music to invoke the Bible story of the Israelites' trumpets' blast tumbling Jericho's walls. 'Sound … as a weapon,' Woolf surmised. There was also an endearing gonzo episode in which he roped in a physicist pal to help him build a microwave device.
So what does the well-narrated Havana Helmet Club have that these do not? Well, the advantage of following up. Also, for UK audiences, potentially arriving fresh at this story, an informative grounding in US-Cuban relations.
This compelling podcast is well executed, but halfway through I am questioning whether there will be a smoking gun — most of their talking heads, including the wired-sounding Anglo-American they identify as 'Adam' and 'Patient Zero', have featured in others' reporting. While it is great to have Forde and Bungey back, this is not a podcast series that feels as original, or uniquely their own, as West Cork.
What podcasts have you enjoyed recently? Let us know in the comments below
