Shows
The Neurology LoungeEpisode 72. Mass Psychogenic Illness with Robert Baloh– Author of Medically Unexplained SymptomsIn this episode I am in conversation with Dr Robert Baloh to explore his insightful perspective of mass psychogenic illness specifically, and functional neurological disorders generally. Our conversation explored the general principles of medically unexplained symptoms and why most people have symptoms but only in some do these progress to become psychosomatic. We delved into the patterns, expectations and cultural beliefs that predispose to psychosomatic problems, highlighting such concepts as the placebo and nocebo effects.In our exploration of mass psychogenic illness, we reviewed such examples as the Belgian Coca Cola epidemic and Havana syndrome. This discussion...
2025-03-181h 10
Cargo PodcastFunktionelle Lidelser med Eileen ConnellyI denne episode dykker jeg ned i emnet funktionelle lidelser sammen med Eileen, som er i gang med hendes PhD projekt i folkesundhedsvidenskab.Eileen har taget en kanditat og bachelor i folkesundhedsvidenskab på Århus Universitet og har en særlig interesse for funktionelle lidelser.Til lyttere der ønsker at fordybe sig i emnet om funktionelle lidelser, placebo/nocebo og forbindelsen mellem sind og krop anbefales følgende læsning:The Expectation Effect af David RobsonEn fascinerende bog, der undersøger, hvordan vores forventninger kan påvirke både vores mentale og fysiske helbred. Bogen besk...
2024-12-271h 41
Skeptical Inquirer Audio EditionSmoke and Mirrors: The 60 Minutes 'Breakthrough' on Havana Syndrome Exposed by Robert BartholomewThis article critiques how reporting on Havana Syndrome has leaned towards sensationalism, suggesting a narrative of foreign-directed attacks while disregarding crucial scientific studies and alternative viewpoints. By selectively presenting evidence, the media has amplified a theory that contradicts findings from recent NIH studies and intelligence reports, which attribute the symptoms to stress-related disorders and mass psychogenic illness rather than to an external energy weapon. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/06/smoke-and-mirrors-the-60-minutes-breakthrough-on-havana-syndrome-exposed/ About the Author: Robert Bartholomew is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of...
2024-07-0118 min
The Smart 7 Ireland EditionThe Spooky Sunday 7 - The Human-Rat Brain, Nobel Prize winning Weird Physics, NASA vs UFO’s and the Haunted House on AirBnBThe Smart 7 Ireland Edition is the daily news podcast that gives you everything you need to know in 7 minutes, at 7am, 7 days a week… Consistently appearing in Ireland’s Daily News charts, we’re a trusted source for people every day. If you’re enjoying it, please follow, share or even post a review, it all helps… Today's episode includes references to the following guests: Sergiu Pasca - Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford School of MedicineThors Hans Hansson - Member of the Nobel C...
2022-10-3016 min
Uncle Marks AtticEpisode 12: Havana SyndromeToday in the Attic we talk about the Havana Syndrome! This episode focuses on more serious cases from news articles and the book "Havana Syndrome" by Robert Baloh and Robert Bartholomew.
2022-07-111h 05
502 Conversations - Science, Skepticism, Pseudoscience, Philosophy, and more.Medical Sociologist Robert Bartholomew ~ Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and HysteriaThis episode may also be viewed as a video here: 502 Conversations with Medical Sociologist Robert Bartholomew
Robert Bartholomew is co-author of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria. In this conversation, he speaks about Havana Syndrome and its symptoms; mass psychogenic illness (MPI) and its symptoms; historical examples and documentation of MPI; causes; the purported weaponry suggested for Havana Syndrome; the FBI and CIA investigations; the journalistic embarrassment of Scott Pelley and 60 Minutes; and more.
Robert Bartholomew is medical sociologist, writer, journalist, and human rights advocate. Well-known for his...
2022-05-011h 24
New Books in MedicineRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 10
New Books in Sound StudiesRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 08
New Books in Big IdeasRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 08
New Books in the History of ScienceRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 08
New Books in PsychologyRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 10
New Books in NeuroscienceRobert W. Baloh and Robert E. Bartholomew, "Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria" (Copernicus, 2020)It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored acr...
2022-01-041h 08
WarfareMass Psychogenic Illness: Havana Syndrome‘Brain-fog’, dizziness, ringing in the ears, fatigue: everyday symptoms of attacks by a possibly extraordinary weapon. In 2016, a number of CIA agents began to report these symptoms, alongside a possible cause of an unusual sound. Now over 200 Americans and Canadians have reported symptoms, and Kamala Harris, America’s vice president, this August delayed a flight to Vietnam because of suspected cases in Hanoi. But what causes Havana Syndrome? Is it the result of attacks by microwave weapons, or is it something more banal? Robert Bartholomew is on the podcast today to talk to James about reports of Havana Syndrome, and th...
2021-11-0139 min
The Time of MonstersPodcast: A Disease of EmpireSince late 2016, American spies and diplomats posted abroad have been suffering from a mysterious ailment called Havana Syndrome. The first outbreak was in Cuba, but it has since been diagnosed all over the world. What is the cause? One school of thought argues that it is caused by directed microwave attacks made by a hostile foreign government (suspects include Cuba, Russia and China). Writing in Puck, Julia Ioffe strongly articulates that perspective, interviewing various intelligence sources who believe with “moderate confidence” that this is a Russian attack which warrants a response. Ioffe’s article concludes:So far...
2021-10-2659 min
Tales From The Rabbit HoleEpisode 56: Robert Bartholomew – Havana Syndrome and Mass Psychogenic IllnessRobert Bartholomew has a PhD in Medical Sociology, and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He’s an expert in Mass Psychogenic Illness and the co-author with Rober Baloh of the book “Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria”
Havana syndrome is a loose set of fairly generic symptoms that are being blamed on some kind of attack. It started with personnel at the US embassy in Havana, but has since spread around the world...
2021-10-2257 min
I've Been Thinking with Peter FrankopanEP20: James Bond - the real world of MI6, espionage and the fact in the fictionThe 25th Bond film is in cinemas now and in this episode of I've Been Thinking with Peter Frankopan he digs into the real life world of espionage, counter terrorism and the life of Bond creator Ian Flemming.
First up Peter is in conversation with Sir David Omand. He was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, served on the Joint Intelligence Committee, Permanent Secretary of the Home Office, and before that Director of GCHQ. His recent book How Spies Think: Ten Lessons in Intelligence gives a real insight into information gathering.
In part two we hear from Dr Robert...
2021-10-1535 min
Failed State Update54. Havana Affair (feat. the CIA, crickets, and conspiracy theorists)Havana Syndrome is back in the news. On the one hand, it's clearly a psychogenic illness that's being misdiagnosed as the result of commie death rays. On the other hand, by treating it as an attack by America's enemies, politicians can use it to help further their foreign policy objectives. Which side do you think the media is going to take?
Robert E. Bartholomew is a native New Yorker who teaches history at Botany College in Auckland, New Zealand. His many books include The Martians Have Landed! A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes and Outbreak! The...
2021-10-0451 min
Parallax Views w/ J.G. MichaelThe Havana Syndrome Controversy w/ Dr. Robert Bartholomew
On this edition of Parallax Views, the "Havana Syndrome" has been in the news since U.S. diplomats in Cuba described experiencing a strange sickness involving ringing inside the ear among other symptoms. Since the initial reports of the "Havana Syndrome" were reported the idea that it is the result of exotic weaponry, either a sonic weapon or microve-based directed energy weapon, being used by Cuba (potentially with the help of Russia or China, some believe) against U.S. officials. Now reports of the so-called "Havana Syndrome" have spread to the United States, including D.C. Mainstream U...
2021-05-0943 min
RNA Metabolism: Changing Paradigms in NeurodegenerationR. Baloh - Cellular and animal models to understand C9ORF72 repeat expansion in ALS and FTLDRobert Baloh, Cedars-Sinai, Director, Neuromuscular Medicine, ALS Program, Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory, Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion Los Angeles - USA speaks on "Cellular and animal models to understand C9ORF72 repeat expansion in ALS and FTLD - RNA Metabolism: Changing Paradigms in Neurodegeneration” This seminar has been recorded at Area Science Park Trieste by ICGEB Trieste
2014-05-2827 min
NeurobiologyR. Baloh - Deciphering the role of TDP-43 in ALS and other neurodegenerative disordersRobert Baloh, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA speaks on "Deciphering the role of TDP-43 in ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders". This seminar has been recorded by ICGEB Trieste
2011-03-2259 min