Episodes
This week on The Sound we’re sharing the first episode of a new four-part series from Brazen called ‘The Professor’. William Veres is in trouble. In 2018 he was arrested following the largest ever investigation by the Italian police’s art squad. They accuse him of running a pan-European art-smuggling ring with ties to the Sicilian mafia. He is alleged to have stolen $40 million worth of art and antiquities from Italy. Charged with 14 counts, including money laundering, forgery, wire fraud...
Published 12/05/23
This week on The Sound, we’re sharing a special preview of Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal. This new series uncovers Silicon Valley’s origins as a laboratory for espionage. At the dawn of the hi-tech age, Moscow’s spies opened up shop in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In this podcast, you’ll get to know the group of FBI spy hunters who assembled to stop them—and solve the case of a lifetime.  Hosted by national security journalist Zach Dorfman, Spy Valley will walk you through...
Published 08/22/23
This week on The Sound, we’re sharing a special preview of the first episode of Ritually, a brand new Brazen podcast exploring what spirituality looks like for our secular world. Join journalist-turned-guinea pig Nelufar Hedayat as she tries a new ritual in every episode. From sacred readings of Harry Potter to tarot cards, Nelufar dives in with the help of a different spiritual guide each week to see if these practices can actually make us feel better. In episode one, Nelufar struggles with...
Published 08/01/23
This week on The Sound, we’re sharing a special preview of the first episode of Gateway: Cocaine, Murder & Dirty Money in Europe, Project Brazen’s podcast that takes you inside the hidden world of cocaine. In this six-part podcast series from Project Brazen, host Mitchell Prothero explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through the dramatic stories of cartel leaders, cops, journalists, and the victims caught in the middle. From RPG attacks on newspaper offices to the slaughter of entire...
Published 06/28/23
This is a special episode from Project Brazen. How did Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich end up wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, and what happens now? On March 29, Russian authorities arrested Evan and accused him of spying on Russia on behalf of the US government. Evan was imprisoned in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, where he remains today. In this special podcast episode from Project Brazen, you’ll hear from those close to Evan — his friends, newsroom colleagues, even his former...
Published 05/18/23
This week on The Sound, we’re sharing a preview of Night of Show, the latest podcast from Project Brazen. To listen to the rest of this episode, search for Night of Show, wherever you get your podcasts. In Night of Show, accomplished concert promoter Adam Wilkes joins music industry legends as they share behind-the-scenes stories about the pressures superstar artists faced when staging some of their biggest performances. Most Prince fans forget he was once in the wilderness after his 1980s...
Published 05/09/23
This week on The Sound, we’re sharing a preview of Dynamite Doug, the latest investigative podcast from Project Brazen. Hosted by Ellen Wong (of Netflix’s GLOW and Scott Pilgrim), the 6-part series delves into the alleged crimes of Douglas Latchford, an art dealer who collaborated with a genocidal regime to loot Cambodia’s entire cultural heritage. Latchford’s stolen goods remain in the New York Metropolitan Museum to this day. This is the story the art world doesn’t want told. To keep...
Published 05/01/23
A behind-the-scenes conversation with Attacca Quartet, the Grammy Award-winning group that composed and performed the haunting string melodies in THE SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome. Lead producer Max Johnson and audio engineer Rebecca Seidel speak with three members of Attacca Quartet—violinist Domenic Salerni, violist Nathan Schram, and cellist Andrew Yee—about how they approached the score, what it was like to hear their music included in the podcast, and what’s next for them as a...
Published 04/24/23
A behind-the-scenes conversation with Attacca Quartet, the Grammy Award-winning group that composed and performed the haunting string melodies in THE SOUND: Mystery of Havana Syndrome. Lead producer Max Johnson and audio engineer Rebecca Seidel speak with three members of Attacca Quartet—violinist Domenic Salerni, violist Nathan Schram, and cellist Andrew Yee—about how they approached the score, what it was like to hear their music included in the podcast, and what’s next for them as a...
Published 04/24/23
This week’s episode comes in collaboration with SpyCast, a podcast featuring in-depth conversations from the world of global intelligence and espionage. In this bonus, you’ll get to listen in on a panel discussion recorded live at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Andrew Hammond, the host of SpyCast and historian and curator at the museum, and included The Sound host Nicky Woolf, former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, and attorney Mark Zaid....
Published 04/11/23
This week’s episode comes in collaboration with SpyCast, a podcast featuring in-depth conversations from the world of global intelligence and espionage. In this bonus, you’ll get to listen in on a panel discussion recorded live at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Andrew Hammond, the host of SpyCast and historian and curator at the museum, and included The Sound host Nicky Woolf, former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, and attorney Mark Zaid....
Published 04/11/23
We answer our central question: What happened here? And we try to chart the path forward for “Havana Syndrome” victims. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound. www.soundistheweapon.com
Published 03/13/23
Host Nicky Woolf goes to the scenes of the alleged crime in Cuba where we find “the sound” and see the human impact of the Havana Syndrome story. The US Embassy has reopened just as Cubans leave the island en masse. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound. www.soundistheweapon.com
Published 03/06/23
While we were crafting our last few episodes, some big news dropped. A new report from the CIA and other intel agencies found that no foreign actor, attack or technology could be behind the Anomalous Health Incidents, aka Havana Syndrome. Co-creators Nicky Woolf and Max Johnston sift through the noise to find out what’s going on. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the...
Published 03/01/23
A CIA officer in Moscow gets sick, and his story fundamentally changes the narrative surrounding “Havana Syndrome.” We hear first-hand accounts of Soviet radiation that go back decades, and learn that the Cold War may have never really ended. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/the-sound. www.soundistheweapon.com
Published 02/27/23
Nicky heads to the UK to build a microwave device that could be the key to the mystery of Havana Syndrome. And we take a deep-dive into the American military industrial complex to see what the future of warfare and weaponry looks like. Is Havana Syndrome just the beginning of something much scarier? For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by...
Published 02/20/23
The Havana Syndrome story is bigger than Cuba now. Cases are being reported on nearly every continent, so some investigators propose a new, strange theory. We wade into the science to see if Havana Syndrome is just the latest in a long pattern of attacks using microwave energy. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going...
Published 02/13/23
When recordings of a strange sound in Havana go public, some wonder if these “Havana Syndrome” health problems are real or imagined. We take a critical look through the research – and enlist the help of a mentalist – to try to answer the question: is this whole thing in our heads? For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going...
Published 02/06/23
Havana Syndrome cases are spreading. Investigators flock to Cuba while politicians start hunting for a culprit. Host Nicky Woolf breaks down the early investigations by the US and Cuban governments while our own search ramps up. Meanwhile, a political narrative starts to take shape. For ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going...
Published 01/30/23