Episodes
We talk to two leading experts on the subject of the JFK assassination about the newly released material on the matter, former New York Times reporter Phil Shenon and former Washington Post Reporter Jeff Morley.
Published 12/22/22
Published 12/22/22
Host Micheal Isikoff and Producer Mark Seman discuss their wild, surreal experiences in Cuba.
Published 09/16/22
This episode recounts how senior U.S. officials became increasingly dubious about sensational claims about Havana Syndrome pointing to the lack of any hard evidence that a secret microwave weapon even exists.
Published 09/16/22
Peter Kornbluh, of the National Security Archive describes the years of Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union over reports that the Russians were bombarding the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
Published 09/15/22
An examination of the Cold War mystery over suspected microwave attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and how Pentagon fears about such bombardments heavily influenced the initial response to Havana Syndrome.
Published 09/15/22
Mitchell Valdes Sosa, the director of the Cuban Center for Neuroscience, offers his own diagnosis of what is behind the Havana Syndrome symptoms.
Published 09/14/22
Host Michael Isikoff and his producer Mark Seman travel to Cuba to talk find out how the reports of Havana Syndrome were viewed by the country's leadership.
Published 09/14/22
In the fall of 2017, Jamal Khashoggi secretly met with a former FBI agent working for the legal team suing the Saudi government for alleged complicity in the terror attacks of 9/11. Although he had for years been a loyal defender of his government, Khashoggi now suggested he might be willing to help the families of 9/11 victims demanding accountability from the Saudi regime. Did the Saudis know about his surprise offer? And what are the questions still unanswered about the role of some Saudi...
Published 07/10/21
This special bonus episode of Conspiracyland explores how the Trump White House covered up evidence that a U.S. security firm helped train members of the Saudi Tiger Team that flew to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi. When Louis Bremer, a managing director of Cerberus Capital Management, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Aug. 2020 at a confirmation hearing to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations, he was questioned by Sen. Tim Kaine about reports that a...
Published 07/08/21
In the aftermath of Khashoggi’s brutal murder, the Saudis launch a bungled cover-up, denying any knowledge of what happened to him inside their consulate while destroying key evidence. The hard drives on the consulate security cameras are removed, smashed and deposited in dumpsters throughout Istanbul. Khashoggi’s body parts are burned in a tandoor oven in the yard of the consul general’s residence. But despite the CIA’s conclusions that MBS ordered the operation that killed the journalist,...
Published 07/08/21
As Khashoggi moves to the United States to live in exile, he becomes more outspoken in his criticisms of the new Crown Prince’s harsh crackdowns on dissent, writing columns for the Washington Post one of which compares MBS to Putin. But as he does so, his personal life becomes more complicated. He proposes to one woman in the United States — an Egyptian flight attendant who he marries in an Islamic ceremony in northern Virginia. Then, just months later, he proposes to another woman in Turkey,...
Published 07/05/21
The Saudis launch covert influence operations on U.S. soil. Just weeks after the 2016 election, Saudi lobbyists arrange to fly hundreds of American veterans to Washington — and put them up at Trump hotel — ostensibly to lobby against already enacted legislation to allow the families of the victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi government. In fact, it was also a backdoor scheme to funnel Saudi cash to the new president’s business. The Saudis also launch an espionage plot to recruit Saudi spies at...
Published 07/01/21
This episode tells the story of the rise of Mohammed bin Salman, the brash impulsive son of King Salman who is initially embraced by U.S. officials as a change agent and reformer despite troubling episodes in his past. The episode recounts how the young prince wowed the highest leaders in the U.S. government — playing the “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano in John Kerry’s living room. But when the young prince, as the country’s new defense minister, launches a savage war in Yemen, slaughtering...
Published 06/28/21
This episode recounts the story of the Arab Spring — a wave of pro-democracy protests that swept through the Middle East and a cause that Khashoggi enthusiastically embraced. But Saudi leaders feared the protests and backed a military coup that overthrew a democratically elected (but Muslim Brotherhood dominated) government in Egypt, creating the first rift between Khashoggi and the leaders of his own country.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Published 06/24/21
This episode recounts the story of Jamal Khashoggi’s years-long relationship with Osama bin Laden. As a young journalist, Khashoggi was invited by bin Laden — a friend through their mutual involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood — to cover the war by Arab fighters against the Soviet Army occupying Afghanistan. Khashoggi’s stories championed the role of bin Laden in the first, giving him his first burst of publicity. Khashoggi never condoned bin Laden’s later terrorist career, but he retained...
Published 06/21/21
The episode recounts the story of Adnan Khashoggi, a billionaire arms dealer and Jamal Khashoggi’s cousin, whose flamboyant lifestyle and sybaritic tastes made him the most conspicuous public face of Saudi Arabia. Yet he played a crucial role in nurturing the U.S.-Saudi alliance, serving as middleman for billions of dollars in weapons deals between U.S. defense contractors and the kingdom. As a special bonus, the episode includes insights from one of his “pleasure wives” — recruited while she...
Published 06/17/21
The episode focuses on the role of Saud al-Qahtani, the right hand man and enforcer of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the intimidation of Saudi dissidents, including journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Qahtani was known for his ruthlessness: He supervised the torture of a prominent women’s rights activist. He also met and supervised the Tiger Team of assassins who flew to Istanbul in Oct. 2018 to assassinate Khashoggi — a shocking crime that is reconstructed in this episode based on notes...
Published 06/14/21
Conspiracyland Season 3 — "The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi" — is an eight episode series, hosted by Yahoo News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff, that investigates the grisly state-sponsored assassination of Saudi Arabia's most prominent journalist after he dared to criticize the country's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS. Isikoff has uncovered new details about the murder, including notes based on confessions by the assassins during...
Published 06/11/21
Zach Dorfman, Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this special bonus episode of Conspiracyland presented by "Skullduggery." The group discuss Larry McDonald, a former member of the United States House of Representatives that represented Georgia's 7th congressional district. McDonald, who was killed on board Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by Soviet interceptors, eerily anticipated conspiracies now held by the QAnon...
Published 10/21/20
NJ Congressman Tom Malinowski and National Correspondent for TIME Charlotte Alter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a special bonus episode of Skullduggery's "Conspiracyland." Malinowski reacts to the recent unfounded ad attack against him straight from the QAnon playbook. Then, Alter weighs in having just written an in-depth piece about the fringe supporter group and how it's slowly working its way into the mainstream.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Published 09/26/20
This episode explores how, once President Trump started tweeting about Scarborough and Lori Klausutis, devotees of the QAnon conspiracy theory took up the cause and started spreading even more bizarre and nonsensical conspiracy theories claiming that Klausutis had been “suffocated” after she read secret documents about the 9/11 terror attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. The episode also examines how Twitter has come under pressure over its handling of Trump’s tweets — an issue that the...
Published 09/10/20
This episode traces the conspiracy theories about Lori Klausutis as they evolved over the years, starting with liberal activists such as Markos Moulitsas, founder of the blog Daily Kos, who was once banned from MSNBC for pushing the media to investigate Joe Scarborough’s alleged role in Lori Klausutis’s death. The episode also explores the feud between President Trump and Scarborough. The two were once on friendly terms, with Trump appearing as a frequent guest on “Morning Joe.”...
Published 09/09/20
This episode explores the life of Lori Klausutis, a vivacious 28-year-old who worked in a tiny office in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as the constituent service coordinator for then-congressman Joe Scarborough. A devout Catholic who wore a “Precious Little Feet” lapel pin, a symbol for the anti-abortion movement. Klausutis was a well-liked woman who served as president of the local Young Republicans club and sang in the church choir. The podcast, relying on detailed police reports and interviews...
Published 09/08/20
In this final bonus episode, Yahoo News Editor-in-Chief Dan Klaidman, alongside CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga, discuss with Michael Isikoff the final installment of Conspiracyland's look into the unsolved murder of Seth Rich. They explore the political purpose of conspiracy theories, the devastating human consequences, as well as their final thoughts on the case.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Published 08/06/19