All language subtitles for Expedition Files S01E01 1080p WEB h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

Tonight on "Expedition Files"...

in the Arizona wilderness,

Travis Walton is taken by forces
beyond our understanding.

[distant shouting]
Travis! Travis!

[shouting]

[Josh]
Now, new evidence suggests

the supposed alien abduction
might actually be true.

-[thunder crashes]
-At the turn of the century,

aviator
Charles Lindbergh's family

is destroyed in the most
horrifying way imaginable.

[distant baby crying]

[Josh] And a recent theory about
the identity of a suspect is

almost too terrible to imagine.

And, at this very moment,
American spies and diplomats

are under siege from
a mysterious enemy.

For the first time ever,
I'll uncover extraordinary

revelations behind
these terrifying attacks.

In the corridors of time...

are mysteries
that defy explanation.

Now, I'm traveling
through history itself,

on a search for the truth.

New evidence.

Shocking answers.

I'm Josh Gates,

and these

are my "Expedition Files."

I was nine years old when
my neighborhood nemesis,

Jimmy Donovan, walked up to me
in the school yard and punched

me square in the face --
it hurt.

It's not pain I'll forget,
and I won't forget who did it

either, Jimmy Donovan.

But disturbingly, some
attackers are unknown,

hurting us without ever
revealing who or what they are.

Tonight, we study
the files of three people

whose brutal attackers
remain unknown.

From a terrifying UFO abduction
in the Arizona wilderness,

to an unimaginable crime
that shocked the nation,

to a shadowy superweapon
first fired at innocent

American diplomats in Cuba.

For each of our three stories,
the question remains the same --

who was behind
these shocking attacks?

We begin here, just after dark,
in the White Mountains of

Arizona,
in the fall of 1975.

♪♪ There's a world
of difference ♪

♪♪ between law and justice ♪

♪♪ Sometimes
doin' wrong is right ♪

When we get back, remind me
that we need to put some

gas in the chainsaw
for the...

[Josh] For these seven young
men, it's a night they'll both

never forget,
and also struggle to remember.

They've been working all day,
chopping down the pine trees

that cover these mountains.

What they don't know is that
their drive back to town will

become a road trip
like no other.

One of these men will suddenly
vanish in jaw-dropping

circumstances, setting off
one of the most gripping

and bizarre missing person
cases in history.

Pretty soon, people all across
the country and the world will

be asking, "What really
happened to Travis Walton?"

Travis, get back!

[indistinct shout]

[chainsaw buzzing]

[Josh] In the summer of 1975,
Travis Walton is a member of

a seven-man logging crew hired
to thin out trees

in the Apache-Sitgreaves
National Forest.

They're a tight-knit,
hardworking group.

Then, several months into
the job, on November 5th,

as they head back to town,

everything in
their world changes.

[music playing on radio]

[indistinct conversation]

[Josh] As they drive along
the rocky forest road that

they've traveled countless times
before, suddenly, the men are

stunned by a large,
mysterious object

floating in the sky.

[man]
What the hell is that?

[Josh] While fear grips
the rest of the crew,

something inexplicably
draws Travis Walton

towards the light.

[all clamoring]
Travis...

-Come back here!
-Travis!

-Travis!
-Travis, come back!

Hey, Travis,
come on back here, man!

-Travis!
-Travis!

[gasps]
[shouts]

-Travis!
-Travis!

Trav--

-[car door slams]
-Drive on.

-[car engine starts]
-Drive!

[Josh] Gripped with panic,
his friends flee the scene.

[crickets chirping]

Travis!
Travis!

[Josh] 15 minutes later,
when the light appears to be

gone, they return to the site
to find nothing, no craft,

no light, no Travis --
their friend has vanished.

So they race to the nearest
phone to call the sheriff,

Chuck Ellison.

[phone ringing]

Our friend's been taken.

[Josh] Though he's skeptical,
Sheriff Ellison accompanies

the men back to the scene.

-Travis!
-Travis!

Travis!
Travis, come back!

Travis!

-Travis!
-Travis!

[Josh] But after a search
that drags late into the night,

they're forced
to call off the hunt

as the temperature plummets.

If Travis is
out there somewhere,

he's in for
a brutally cold night.

[helicopter blades whirring]

Over the next five days,
the sheriff's office

and volunteers frantically
search the area.

[dogs barking]

In an odd moment that would
become relevant decades later,

the logging foreman and others
recall an investigator

using a Geiger counter.

When they test the men's hard
hats, the needle jumps way up.

But let's file that away for
now, because this small logging

crew is about to have
their feet held to the fire.

Three days
after Travis goes missing,

the sheriff's department
administers polygraph tests

for the six loggers.

The men deny any involvement
in Travis's disappearance,

and they all recount the same
bright light in the sky.

They pass with flying colors,
but there's still

no explanation for where
Travis Walton could be.

[phone ringing]

Five days after
Travis's disappearance,

his brother-in-law
receives a call.

Hello? Who is this?

[over phone]
It's Travis.

[Josh] He's stumbled
to a payphone on the outskirts

of a small town about 10 miles
from where he disappeared.

Travis, buddy,
you're gonna be OK.

[Josh] When they find him,
all he remembers is waking up

earlier that night,
lying flat on the road,

with a light above
him that disappeared.

[coughing]

[grunts]

But in the days to come,
Travis would remember

more and more.

And what he remembers
transforms this from a simple

missing persons case
to an out-of-this-world

alien abduction nightmare,

unlike anything
anyone had heard before.

When the word gets out to
the public, newspapers all over

the world run with the story,
creating a feverish interest

that will last decades.

But doubters also
come out of the woodwork.

The loggers are accused of
fabricating an elaborate hoax

to get them off the hook from
running behind schedule on

their logging contract.
-[thunder crashes]

Other skeptics write it off as
ball lightning, a run-in with

a military craft,
drug-induced hallucinations,

or simply a drunken prank.

But Travis and the rest of
the logging crew

stand by their story.

And none of the alternative
theories can be proven.

But if it all really happened,
where is the evidence?

Well, some of the best evidence
is Travis himself.

[gasps loudly]

Blood tests taken soon after
Travis's return come back

completely clean for drugs
and any intoxicants.

Though he is dehydrated
and a few pounds lighter,

five nights of no food
in the forest should have

left his body
much more malnourished.

You're gonna be OK.

[Josh] And perhaps
the most amazing thing

is that Travis
survived at all.

At night, the forest can reach
below freezing temperatures.

Few could survive such
an ordeal wearing just jeans

and a flannel shirt.

Another point in Travis's favor
is that he, just like the other

crew members,
takes a polygraph test.

He too passes.

So, at the very least,
Travis believes his own story.

And as days turn to
weeks, months, years,

and even decades,
Travis's story always stays

remarkably consistent,
never changing or shifting

like lies sometimes do.

And Travis seemed genuinely
honest that the event had

affected him deeply when I sat
down with him 40 years later.

For years, the memory
was so clear that every time

I recounted the events,
that I would re-experience

that level of fear,
my, uh...

heart and respiration would
go way up, and I would just be

drenched in sweat after
describing what had happened at

that time.
-Well, thank you

for letting us
consider the facts.

Thank you for sharing
your story with us.

I really appreciate it.

The Travis Walton story has
been a mystery for 50 years,

but it may not be
a mystery for much longer.

Thanks to an unexpected find at
the original site, we may be

able to reveal the remarkable
truth of his story.

Was Travis Walton really
abducted by aliens,

as he and his friends claim?

It's a question that has
puzzled the public for decades.

But now, there may
finally be an answer.

In 2014, UFO researcher
and former federal agent

Ben Hansen returns
to the clearing site
of the original incident

with Travis by his side to try
and uncover any remaining

evidence of the so-called
UFO encounter.

They located the exact spot of
the supposed abduction.

And as it turned out,
they found compelling

new evidence that Hansen thinks
could be the smoking gun.

I regard the Travis Walton
incident as the most

well-documented case of alleged
UFO abduction in history.

But a lot of people dismiss
UFO cases because they say,

"There's no video of it.
There's no hard evidence."

In my previous career as
law enforcement investigation,

you have to approach things
very methodically, as if you're

going to present this in court.

So when I went back with Travis
to the scene of the original

1975 incident, it was very
important that we actually

process the scene
like a crime scene.

We quarantined
an area, a boundary.

We defined it.
We mapped it out.

We gridded it out.

And that's when we discovered
that the area that was

surrounding where the craft was
hovering had trees that seemed

to have grown --
like exponential growth

compared to the other trees.

And on one side of the tree,
it's thicker, meaning

those rings after 1975
were spaced further apart.

But they also had an unusual
quality about them.

They were all
pointing towards

one specific point
in the middle.

No matter where those trees
were, they were growing thicker

and bigger facing the side
where the craft was hovering.

After the 1975 event,
there were high levels of

radiation that were documented
over ground zero,

where the craft had
been hovering.

I started to research
radiation, and I came across

a couple of papers.

Now, these academic papers
were written

after the Chernobyl incident
in the Soviet Union.

Now, when the leak
and the radiation had spread,

most people would assume
any living organism

within that radius is dead.

But if you also remember,
think about radiation

and its ability to mutate.

And what they found was there
was a certain type of pine tree,

and these trees were growing
much, much quicker

because there was

residual radiation
left at the scene.

So I thought this is compelling,
because with the Travis Walton

case, the side of the trees
facing where the craft was is

where the exponential growth
and the wide tree rings

were occurring.

So is it possible that
the propulsion system,

or this discharge,
or whatever the effects of this

craft had, had then radiated
the trees, but only on the side

facing where the craft was?

And for years to come,
it caused this unusual growth?

So now we have evidence that
seems to support the idea that

something quite unusual
happened in the forest

that night.

Will this remarkable new
discovery silence the doubters

and finally prove
the most high-profile case

of alien abduction
in history?

Studying the data, it certainly
does seem to show something

beyond our understanding
happened, and it happened in

the very same place and at
the very same time

as Travis's alleged
alien attack.

But was Travis Walton
taken by extraterrestrials?

His controversial story has
perplexed the public for

50 years, and in all that time,
Travis himself has never

wavered from his account.

Meanwhile, science has come
a long way on the question

of extraterrestrials.

Experts now theorize there
could be 40 billion

Earth-sized planets
in our galaxy alone.

There is a growing consensus
that it is not only possible,

but likely,
that alien life does exist.

Our next file takes us from
a tale of alien abduction to

the story of a kidnapping at
the hands of someone

much more human
and much more sinister.

It's March 1st, 1932.

In a New Jersey suburb,
a man is putting his young son

down to sleep for the night,
but this is no ordinary father.

He is world-renowned aviation
pioneer and American hero,

Charles Lindbergh.

And the baby is his only son,
Charlie Jr.

What Lindbergh
doesn't know

is that soon, his son
will vanish into thin air.

The tragic tale of
the Lindbergh baby kidnapping

captivated
and confounded the nation.

And now, nearly a century
later, new analysis of evidence

is revealing overlooked
suspects with darkly disturbing

motives who may have
gotten away with murder.

[thunder crashes]

On an icy, stormy evening,
an intruder slips through

the window of Charlie Jr.'s
second-floor nursery.

[baby crying]

And just like that,
the boy is gone.

When Charles
and Anne Lindbergh

discover their son is missing,
they're terrified.

They call
the New Jersey State Police.

[siren wailing]

When detectives arrive,
they find an envelope with

a ransom note inside.

The kidnapper wants $50,000
for the safe return of

Charlie Jr. -- they also find
muddy footprints,

but there's no blood
and no fingerprints.

Investigators also discover
a ladder with a broken rung,

suggesting the kidnapper
snapped it

while climbing up or down.

When the press catches wind
of the kidnapping,

it sets off
an international firestorm.

[announcer] Not a single bed
is overlooked

in the search for the most
famous baby in the world.

[Josh] Because Charles Lindbergh
is a living legend.

In 1927, Lindbergh becomes
the first aviator to fly

nonstop from New York to Paris
across the Atlantic Ocean.

After he lands,
he becomes the most famous man

on the planet.

And with so much fame
comes incredible fortune.

Lindy becomes one of
the wealthiest celebrities in

the world, making
the Lindbergh family a target.

Stealing Charles Lindbergh's
son is an audacious crime,

and police have little to
go on.

They launch a nationwide
manhunt to locate the kidnapper

and return
Charlie Jr. home safely.

Desperate to get his son back,
wealthy Lindbergh agrees to pay

the $50,000 ransom
for Junior's release.

But to catch the kidnapper,
the FBI marks

the serial numbers on the money
used for the ransom payment.

The trap is set.

If so much as a single bill is
deposited in a bank,

investigators will be able
to trace it back to

Charlie's kidnapper.

The kidnapper receives
the ransom and reveals that

the boy is
at Woodlawn Cemetery,

at Whittemore and Fremont.

But when investigators arrive,
there is no sign of the boy.

Charles and Anne
are devastated.

It's a shocking setback.

But detectives begin to wonder,
is there more to this case

than meets the eye?

Months later,
the kidnapping case takes

a horrifying turn.

Just four miles from
the flyer's estate,

Charlie Jr. is found dead
in the forest.

And when detectives look
closely at the boy's body,

there is little trace of blood,
and Charlie has

a hole in his skull.

Even more alarming,
several vital organs

are missing.

Investigators want to know,
how did Charlie Jr. suffer

such ghastly injuries?

What they uncover will outrage
the nation, but a fresh

analysis of the autopsy report
almost a century later has

inspired a controversial new
theory that suggests an even

more twisted and macabre motive
for the young boy's death.

If accurate, the identity of
the suspected killer is

almost unthinkable.

Months after the disappearance
of Charles Lindbergh's

young son, he turns up dead,
just miles from

the family estate.

And the condition of
the boy's body is disturbing.

There's a hole in his skull,
which is also crushed.

There is little sign of blood.

And in a bizarre twist,
some of his organs

appear to be missing.

Looking at all the evidence,
detectives believe

the kidnapper dropped Charlie
while descending from

the nursery when their wooden
ladder broke, creating the hole

in Junior's skull.

Police suspect that within
minutes, the child dies from

the massive impact,
and the abductor abandons

Charlie's body in the forest.

They suspect the toddler's
internal injuries are caused by

wild animals.

When the press
gets a hold of the story,

outrage spreads
from coast to coast.

The son of America's greatest
living hero dies in a grisly,

brutal murder.

And police still can't find
Charlie's killer.

It isn't until two years later
that some of the FBI's

marked bills from the ransom are
spent at a gas station

in New York City.

Agents trace the money back to
the man who buys the fuel,

German carpenter
Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

[man]
You are under arrest.

[Josh] Looking into
Hauptmann's background,

detectives are surprised.

They see no connection between
Bruno and the Lindbergh family.

However, when they search
Hauptmann's old junkyard shack,

they fined over $14,000 in
marked ransom bills.

Bruno is arrested for
the kidnapping and murder of

Charles Lindbergh Jr., but
Hauptmann asserts he's innocent.

Around the world, newspapers
hail Hauptmann's case

the trial of the century.
-[gavel banging]

He wanted that money
so he could, and he did,

live a life of luxury and ease
so he wouldn't have to work.

He quit his job the day
he collected the $50,000,

the very day!

[Josh] During his trial,
Bruno's attorney claims

the case against Hauptmann
is weak.

Bruno testifies the money found
in his garage belongs to

a deceased business partner.

Bruno's wife, Anna, testifies
that Hauptmann was with

her the night
of the kidnapping.

[people clamoring]

[Josh] And Bruno's attorney
reminds the court that none of

Hauptmann's fingerprints are
ever found on the ladder,

the ransom note,
or inside

the Lindbergh nursery.

But to the jury,
the marked ransom bills are

compelling evidence.
-[gavel banging]

Bruno Richard Hauptmann
is found guilty of murder.

And on April 3, 1936,

he dies in the electric chair.

America is relieved.

Justice has finally been served
for the terrible murder of

Charles Lindbergh's
poor baby son.

But many begin to wonder,
did authorities execute

the wrong man?

In the years
following Charlie's death,

biographers discover
Lindbergh was obsessed

with his son's
physical appearance.

Authors contend,
when Charlie is born in 1930,

his aviator father is unhappy
with Junior's large head

and deformed toes on his right
foot, symptoms of the condition

known as rickets.

Some allege that Lindbergh,
America's rugged,

handsome hero fears his own
son looks like a weakling.

Charles Lindbergh is also
a believer in eugenics,

a now discredited science based
on the theory that one could

use selective breeding to rid
the world of

genetically inferior humans.

And Lindbergh was known to have
a close relationship with

the nefarious godfather of
eugenics, Alexis Carrel.

This leads a group of academics
to come up with a new theory

for Charlie's disappearance.

In 2020, forensic pathologist
Dr. Peter Speth

conducts new analysis

on the forensic
evidence from the murder,

and what he finds
is disturbing.

[Dr. Speth] When I looked
at the autopsy report,

there was something
that caught my attention.

The body, when it was found,
was in a state of

advanced decay,
and the organs were gone,

but what struck me
was the face.

The forehead

was so well preserved.

And the skin on the right foot

was white, and yet,
the legs were skeletonized.

How did that happen?

How was it possible to preserve
the face and the right foot?

It suggests chemicals.

So I began to research what
do taxidermists use to

preserve the hide.

They use what is called
tannic acid, or tannin.

Now I became interested in
who had knowledge of

tannic acid,
and I hit pay dirt.

Alexis Carrel.

[Josh] As we know, Alexis Carrel
is the godfather of the sinister

theory of eugenics,
who Lindbergh counted as

a close friend.

Dr. Speth speculates that
this evidence points to

a harrowing possibility.

I believe that Charles
Lindbergh and Alexis Carrel

carried out surgical procedures
to solve some of these many

problems that Chas Jr. had
because he's abnormal

and then failed.

So they personally were
involved in the killing

of that child.

[Josh] Many find this theory
too shocking to believe.

However, there is compelling
evidence supporting

Dr. Speth's claims.

Why then preserve
the face and the right foot?

Well, if the body's
in advanced decay,

how are you gonna
identify the baby?

And what are the two
identifying features?

One,
the prominent forehead,

and secondly, the overlapping
toes on the right foot.

[Josh]
Dr. Speth further speculates
that Lindbergh was certain that

he wanted the body of Charles
Jr. recovered, so that no one

would come out later in life
claiming they were the lost boy.

There's no doubt this is
a highly controversial

allegation, but there's one
more detail that may fuel

this theory even more.

Charles Lindbergh was leading
the investigation and telling

the state police what
they could or could not do.

He had the baby cremated
and put out an order that none

of the evidence
would ever undergo

further scientific
investigations.

To this day,
the governors,

the attorney general,
and state police have been

upholding that.

Charles Lindbergh was
a larger-than-life icon

who changed the world forever.

But he was also
a very complex figure,

living a life of contradictions.

Will we ever know what really
happened that stormy night

in 1932?
-[thunder crashes]

Most Lindbergh
authors, scholars,

and historians dismiss
this unsettling theory

as too lurid to believe.

My own take is that
the evidence to support it

is highly circumstantial.

What cannot be doubted,
though, is the true tragedy

here, the senseless death
of an innocent child.

We now take you from
the historic tragedy of

the Lindbergh baby to
an assault on

American diplomats
and secret agents in modern day.

Welcome to paradise.

But it's a paradise
that's soon to be lost.

It's 2016 on the island
of Cuba in a quiet,

upscale neighborhood
considered

the Beverly Hills
of Havana.

It's a popular location
for foreign diplomats

and US embassy workers,
but soon, they'll be

seemingly attacked
by something terrifying,

something beyond
all comprehension.

Doug Ferguson and Kate Husband
are a married couple working at

the US Embassy in Havana.

They're enjoying a relaxing
evening after work.

What they don't know is that
their world is about to be

turned upside down.

As they prepare for dinner,
a high-pitched sound suddenly

fills their home, and it feels
like something is drilling into

their skulls and somehow
piercing their brains.

[high-pitched sound]

Is it all in their heads?

Or are there far more sinister
forces involved?

[distant shout]

[Josh] Embassy workers
Doug Ferguson and Kate Husband

are suffering the worst
headaches of their lives after

a high-pitched noise penetrates
their home in Havana, Cuba.

-[high-pitched sound]
-[Kate gasps]

[Josh] But Kate seems
to get the worst of it.

She deals with a constant state
of vertigo, nausea,

as well as brain fog.

What they're experiencing
doesn't have a name yet.

At work, Doug makes
a shocking discovery --

the same strange things

are happening to
his co-workers.

Dozens of US embassy workers
in Havana are experiencing

the same strange collection of
symptoms -- dizziness,

trouble sleeping,
vomiting,

and short- and long-term
memory loss.

This is definitely
not the office flu.

The media catches wind,
and the mystery illness is

dubbed "Havana Syndrome."

But it's not just limited
to Havana.

Cases with similar symptoms
start popping up,

affecting US employees
all around the world.

There are incidents
in Poland, Taiwan, Australia,

Colombia, Tbilisi,
Georgia, and Moscow.

All the victims are either
State Department employees,

CIA intelligence officers,
or their families.

Is this all just
a strange coincidence,

or are dark forces
at work?

December 2017,

CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos
is in Moscow,

visiting intelligence contacts.

Little does he know he's about
to get taken out by

an invisible attack.

I wake up in the middle of
the night in early December 2017

in a hotel room in Moscow,
and something really

extraordinary is happening.

My ears are ringing.

I have tinnitus,
which is very disorienting.

It's a sound that
never stops in your ear.

I have
an incredible case of vertigo.

The room is
spinning uncontrollably.

I'm physically sick.

I have a splitting headache,
a migraine, and I'm realizing

that something is going on much
more than food poisoning.

Something is happening to me,

which was something
that was very disconcerting,

because I've been shot at
in places like

Iraq and Afghanistan.

I put my life at risk
numerous times.

This is a feeling I've never
experienced before,

because I had no control
over what was happening.

I was terrified.

[Josh] It seems Mark
is the latest victim
of Havana Syndrome.

One year since cases began,
people start asking the obvious

question, if American
diplomats and spies are

the only people affected,
could this be some sort of

targeted attack?

The US State Department
is eager to find answers

and sets up a study at
the University of Pennsylvania.

In March of 2018,
21 victims from Havana,

including Doug Ferguson
and Kate Husband,

are flown to Philadelphia

and put through a battery
of tests at University of

Pennsylvania's Center
for Brain Injury and Repair.

[deep beeping noise]

[voice over intercom]
Paging Doctor...

[Josh] The doctors are looking
for any possible causes of

Havana Syndrome, a virus,
neurotoxins, even mass hysteria

or group psychosis.

What they find
is even more bizarre.

Scans reveal brain damage in
these patients, consistent with

what you'd expect to see
after a series of

repeated concussions.

But none of these patients
have sustained any kind of

physical head injury.

For some victims, like
Doug Ferguson, he'll make

a full recovery
nine months after the attack.

But his wife, Kate, is told
that her brain looks as though

it's aged 25 years
almost overnight

and is forced
into medical retirement.

And then researchers at
the University of Pennsylvania

come to a truly
shocking conclusion.

They believe they've determined
the cause of all of this --

microwave radiation.

Researchers point to
the screeching cricket sound

that often accompanies
Havana Syndrome.

It's consistent with something
called "the Frey effect,"

the sound
microwave radiation makes

when it penetrates
your skull.

And exposure to microwaves
results in the excruciating

symptoms that line up
with those reported

by syndrome victims.

The Penn study doesn't pinpoint
where the microwaves come from,

but at the end of their report,
they do mention that Russia has

been developing capabilities
around microwave weapons.

OK, feels like they might have
buried the lede on that one,

but come on, the idea that
Russian spies are shooting

beams of microwave energy
at Americans?

It sounds like something
out of a sci-fi movie

or a cheap spy novel --
except it isn't,

because
they've already done it.

American attorney
Mark Zaid, who represents

more than two dozen victims of

Havana Syndrome, is leading
the campaign to find answers to

this mysterious illness.

I was provided an unclassified
memorandum by NSA

in October 2014,
two years before Havana,

that revealed the existence of

intelligence information
concerning a foreign adversary,

quote, "with a high-powered
microwave system weapon that

"may have the ability to weaken,
intimidate, or kill an enemy

over time and without
leaving evidence."

[Josh] Despite this testimony,
the government continues to

deny that Havana Syndrome
is a real medical condition.

In summer of 2020, my symptoms
are getting much worse.

And so I make a decision to go
public with my story,

because I was so desperate
for healthcare.

The agency is refusing
to send me to a doctor.

Again, it's the notion, all
I want to do is see a doctor.

For over eight years,
Havana Syndrome has affected

American diplomats
and officials, but its origin,

and indeed its very cause,
are still shrouded in

controversy and mystery.

Then, in March of 2024,
a bombshell investigative

report is published,
perhaps revealing all.

Long before Travis Walton,
the idea of aliens captivated

pop culture all the way back to
the pulp magazines of the '20s

and Orson Welles' famous radio
broadcast of "War of the Worlds"

in the '30s.

But in 1959, Soviet
astrophysicist Iosif Shklovsky

dropped a cosmic
bombshell that sent UFO fever

into a global frenzy.

He suggested that Phobos,
one of Mars's moons,

might actually be
an artificial satellite.

That's right,
a Martian Death Star.

Shklovsky believed the strange
orbit and low density of

the moon were clues that it was
a secret spacecraft built by

an advanced civilization of
ancient extraterrestrials.

And even though his bold theory
was categorically debunked,

it did nothing to diminish
our collective obsession with

the hope that we aren't
completely alone

in the universe.

The truth is out there,
right, guys?

Starting in Havana, Cuba,
in 2016, cases of a strange

sickness affect over
200 Americans working for

the government
all around the world.

Many victims believe
it's a deliberate attack,

but US authorities remain
stubbornly unconvinced.

A new investigative report
could change all that.

October 2021, in Tbilisi,
Georgia, a quiet

Eastern European town
along the Russian border.

The wife of an American
diplomat is home,

doing laundry.
-[gasps]

Suddenly, as acute ringing
fills her ears, her head feels

like it's in a vice grip,
and a knife is

stabbing her brain.

[gagging noises]

[Josh] Panicked, she sees a car
outside she doesn't recognize.

Standing next to it is a tall,
well-dressed young man.

She locks eyes with him
before he turns and leaves.

For three years,
she suffers with

the painful effects
from that day.

Severe daily migraines,
hearing problems,

and two major surgeries
to repair holes

in her ear canal that
her doctors can't explain.

She doesn't know what happened
to her, but she's convinced

the man she saw outside
her home played a part.

It's a face she can't forget,
but never expects to see again.

March 2024,
investigative journalist

Christo Grozev is working on
his biggest story yet,

trying to uncover the origins
of Havana Syndrome.

As part of his investigation,

he is interviewing
the diplomat's wife.

[man] We want to see
if you can identify this man.

[Josh] And shows her a picture
of a young, blonde man.

She is instantly filled
with fear and dread.

It's the man she knows is
responsible for her three years

of torture and torment.

The man in the picture --

Albert Averyanov,
a Russian military

intelligence operative.

He's part of a secret unit
inside Russian military

intelligence, known only by
its code number, 29155.

In March of 2024,
Grozev and his magazine,

"The Insider,"
released the shocking findings

of their investigation.

Grozev uncovers a secret
Russian cable, showing members

of Unit 29155 receiving awards
for work on the development of

non-lethal acoustic weapons.

After 10 years of confusion
and suffering, this document

and the entire investigation
possibly confirm the cause

and the culprits behind
Havana Syndrome.

This issue becomes
very problematic,

because in my view,
and I think in the view

of many others,
this is an act of war.

And so it then calls into
question, what does

the United States government
do about this?

Perhaps that's one of
the reasons they don't want

to get to the bottom of it,

because then the question,
as you sit around

the National Security Council
or in the White House is,

"What do we do?"

Officially,
the US government still says

they do not believe
Havana Syndrome is caused by

any kind of weapon.

The CIA, the House
Intelligence Committee,

and the National
Intelligence Council all state

that there's
no conclusive evidence

a foreign adversary is
responsible for the phenomenon.

But try telling that to Kate
Husband, Marc Polymeropoulos,

and the hundreds of others
who are convinced they've

suffered and are still
suffering due to

some kind of secret attack.

So, is a Russian intelligence
operation really to blame

for Havana Syndrome?

And are we standing on
the precipice of a new

and terrifying kind of warfare?

Hopefully, the answers will
soon be definitively

on the record.

But be warned, the truth
could be extremely painful.

I'm Josh Gates.

Until next time,
travel adventurously.