Podcast Summary: The Team House — The CIA’s Havana Syndrome Cover-Up | Marc P & Adam | Ep. 397 (Feb 14, 2026)

Overview

This episode of "The Team House" dives deep into the CIA’s handling—and alleged cover-up—of what's known as Havana Syndrome or "Anomalous Health Incidents" (AHIs). Host Jack Murphy is joined by Mark Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer, and "Adam" (a pseudonym), both of whom suffered incapacitating brain injuries believed to be caused by directed energy weapons. Together, they lay out the evidence, the institutional betrayal by the CIA, and the ongoing campaign for accountability and care for victims.

The conversation is candid, technical, emotional, and fiercely critical of the agency's opaque response. With many details never before aired, the episode explores the latest revelations, behind-the-scenes politics, and persistent denial at the highest levels.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on Havana Syndrome & the Guests

• Adam, sometimes referred to as "Patient Zero," was among the earliest U.S. victims in Cuba (~2016); Mark was targeted in Moscow later.
• Both left the CIA due to their injuries: “I was only going to work for about three hours, two, three hours a day. I was a vegetable…just trying to make it through the day.” — Mark (09:55)
• Both men are medically documented to have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

2. Directed Energy Weapons: Technical & Historical Context

• “A lot of this goes back even to the 50s. That's when Russia really started to understand that RF microwaves can impact biological bodies ... [They] are the leaders in understanding of RF technology, RF weaponry, the biological results of those things.” — Adam (05:50)
• U.S. tech exists (like the active denial system: creates discomfort, not brain injury), but Russia’s and China’s programs are described as far more advanced and specialized for harm.

3. Victims’ Battles for Adequate Care & Documentation

• Early on, agency medical staff resisted sending victims to top-tier care or even recognizing the phenomena as real.
• The NIH research study: Participants like Mark and Adam were frustrated, feeling used as “lab rats” and forced into a research protocol before real treatment.
  • “The CIA was forcing you to become a lab rat to experiment on you in order…as a barrier to entry into a program that then treats you.” — Mark (24:21)
  • Gross privacy violations: Adam’s private medical info from NIH was shared with CIA bosses, in violation of ethical standards. (18:11)
  • Dr. Hoffer, in Miami, gave early TBI diagnoses and threatened to go public due to CIA pressure to change medical records.

4. Institutional Betrayal and Cover-Up

• The CIA’s public slogans about “People Always” are dismissed as hollow: “That people always part is crap because they treated us like garbage.” — Mark (12:18)
• Multiple administrations (Trump, Biden, Trump II) have failed victims. A central theme is “moral injury” and betrayal by an organization they once loved.
• In the CIA, focus shifted from seeking accountability or cause to quashing and gaslighting victims.
  • “While I was at Walter Reed…we painted this picture called the gunshot. You took a canvas, you painted it black and then we splashed some red on it… the equivalent of what we hoped would be blood if we had an injury that people could see. But no one fucking believed us.” — Mark (42:11)

5. Manipulating the Narrative: Press and Institutional Response

• Analytic units, not operational ones, were assigned to investigate. Mark describes this as a critical misstep.
  • “It was not an operational unit ... It was an analytic unit staffed by analysts. And so I think that’s where things really went awry.” — Mark (39:39)
• Senior CIA personnel were promoted after producing reports downplaying Havana Syndrome: “The people who are fucking us were promoted. Which again is beyond egregious.” — Mark (45:01)
• The Agency engaged in press briefings to dismiss claims; labelled outspoken victims as “troublemakers,” even tracking them on social media.

6. Why the Cover-Up? Motives & Institutional Drivers

• “This is the one question that I still cannot get a straight answer to ... I think people tied their ship to 'this isn’t real,' so they can’t admit that they were wrong, because the agency can never be wrong.” — Adam (49:03)
• Retention concerns: Admitting the real risk would deter personnel from taking diplomatic/intelligence postings, especially with known debilitating injuries.
• Fear of escalation: Confirming Russian involvement would require a response, possibly an act of war.
  • “It’s an act of war against US Personnel. And if the Russians did it, you know, what do we do? And nobody wants to kind of go through that.” — Mark (102:36)

7. Policy Advocacy & Bipartisan Legislative Action

• Victims worked with both Democratic and Republican senators (e.g., Collins, Rubio, Shaheen) to pass the HAVANA Act—providing compensation only if injury is due to "hostile act."
  • “If this isn’t real ... why are you breaking the law, paying us?” — Adam (58:31)
• Despite unprecedented evidence (including physical brain changes, and now reports of the U.S. capturing a device), the CIA continues to deny the validity of the attacks.

8. Infighting, DOD vs. CIA, and the Future

• Department of Defense (DoD) takes the threat far more seriously, with teams actively tracking, treating, and investigating the phenomena.
  • “JSOC took this pretty seriously ... they keep losing guys to this whole thing. This issue hasn’t stopped.” — Jack/Adam (78:27–78:31)
• Recent moves, like shuffling the DoD CFT (cross-functional team) into a bureaucratic backwater (R&E), are seen as an attempt to quietly kill effective investigations.

9. Media & Whistleblower Momentum

• Major press outlets and whistleblowers are closing in on the story, with more leaks, evidence, and investigative series expected in the months ahead.
  • “Whistleblowers are coming out all the time ... when people get pissed, they talk.” — Mark (108:47)
• Victims believe the open-source research community has often outpaced the intelligence bureaucracy in tracing Russian GRU involvement, device blueprints, etc.

Notable & Memorable Quotes

• On Institutional Gaslighting:
  “The Agency that we work for is now gaslighting us behind our backs ... My anger started growing exponentially … That was the process of gaslighting.” — Mark (42:11)

• On Retaliation & Speaking Out:
  “There’s an actual fear of speaking out, a fear of retaliation ... the government owns me top to bottom in terms of my retirement. But there’s so many people that can’t speak for themselves.” — Adam (95:04)

• On U.S. Government Responses:
  “If they do another assessment, … they will come to some kind of mealy mouth, analytic line of medium confidence. But clearly, it’s the Russians who are behind this.” — Mark (101:23)

• On the Rise of Directed Energy Weapons:
  “There are multiple iterations of these weapons that are in play. … If you compare Mike Beck hit in the 90s, right, versus me, versus someone that was injured maybe a month ago, you can actually track per the experiences and some of the bio outcomes ... There are very dramatic differences.” — Adam (122:03)

Key Timeline & Timestamps

• Early Experiences & TBI Diagnoses
  [04:15] – Mark: Experience battling CIA for care
  [05:50] – Adam: Russian history of RF weapon research
  [09:55] – Mark: Medical retirements and failing health

• NIH/Walter Reed & Research Ethics Breaches
  [14:16] – Adam: Early medical journey, ethical violations
  [18:11] – Adam: Medical data privacy breaches
  [24:21] – Mark: Forced NIH research before real treatment

• Outreach to Leadership & Political Evolution
  [32:14] – Mark: Hope under Bill Burns, subsequent betrayal
  [36:32] – Mark: “Single-threaded” leadership, doubts arise
  [39:39] – Mark: Analytic, not operational, teams assigned

• Cover-Up, Press Handling, and Gaslighting
  [42:11] – Mark: “Gunshot” painting, psychological toll
  [44:28] – Adam: “Our job is to disprove everything … promised promotions to find nothing”
  [45:01] – Mark: Cover-up agents promoted

• Battles on the Hill and with DOD
  [73:10] – Adam: Testifying on the Hill; bipartisan support
  [78:27] – Jack/Adam: JSOC/SOF experiences and seriousness

• Recent (2026) Policy Sabotage
  [87:14] – Adam/Mark: Disbanding of CFT, bureaucratic undermining
  [89:50] – Adam: Inside story on Tulsi Gabbard’s unrealized report

• On Agency Rot & Demand for Accountability
  [82:16] – Mark: “We’ve been betrayed again … inconceivable that the Agency can hold to their analytic line … tarnished”
  [87:14] – Adam: “It was great ... just because Under Secretary Colby didn't have the balls”
  [124:25] – Mark: “We've been called very noisy. The victim's cohort is very noisy. Well, good.”

• On the Future, Hope, and Next Steps
  [108:47] – Mark: Coming press stories, whistleblowers, and next fronts
  [111:14] – Mark/Adam: Crediting independent journalism for pushing this issue
  [121:52] – Adam: Directed energy tech is advancing—different "generations" are now in use

Takeaways & Conclusion

• The guests make a powerful case that the U.S. intelligence community, especially the CIA, has engaged in a deliberate campaign to downplay, obfuscate, and deny the reality of directed energy attacks—even as evidence, whistleblowers, open source researchers, and Congressional oversight mount.
• Despite technical complexity, the harm is real: Hundreds of intelligence and DoD personnel have suffered life-altering injuries. New cases continue to arise.
• The cover-up is driven by fear—of embarrassment, operational risk, and the political/military consequences of direct attribution to Russia.
• Both guests remain relentless advocates for current and future victims. They warn that without proper action, the U.S. leaves not just its warfighters but its intelligence posture dangerously exposed.
• More revelations, whistleblower accounts, and investigative reporting are coming.

Selected Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “They fucked with the wrong people. Here, I have no more shits to give.” — Mark (01:15)
• “We’re not the tinfoil hat crowd. ... This isn’t rocket science at the end of the day.” — Mark (64:14)
• “If you could sit down with someone that was hit like me … you can actually track per the experiences and some of the bio outcomes… [there are] dramatic differences. … This tech isn’t just a One and done. It’s advancing quickly.” — Adam (122:03)
• “We’ve been betrayed again, by the Agency. … It leads me to think that the place is kind of rotten to its core now. And I hate to say this because I really believe in the mission.” — Mark (82:16)
• “There’s so many people that can’t speak for themselves, can’t speak. And if this issue dies … they will not come forward, they will not get help, and they’re suffering, and our national security suffers.” — Adam (95:04)

Final Thoughts

This episode is as much a whistleblower account as a demand for accountability and scientific truth. Mark and Adam, supported by independent investigative journalists, urge anyone interested in national security, institutional integrity, and human rights to pay attention—because the real cover-up is ongoing, and the cost is measured in ruined lives and damaged national readiness.

Further Reading/Links:

• Follow key reporters and outlets, such as Michael Weiss (Insider), 60 Minutes, Tom Rogan (Washington Examiner), Sasha Ingber, Miami Herald, and investigative articles by Jack Murphy and Sean Naylor on The High Side.
• The Team House podcast and related Eyes on Geopolitics episodes for continuing developments.

This summary provides a comprehensive, structured brief—for listeners, policymakers, and citizens concerned about both truth and national security.