July 1, 2024
SHARE
CANADALAND
#1002 Brain Disease ‘Mystery’ Still Unsolved, Scientists Say
Email leaks from medical experts throw new light on mysterious neurological disease in New Brunswick.
Jesse Brown
Host & Publisher
Cherise Seucharan
Reporter, CANADALAND
Bruce Thorson
Senior Producer
Caleb Thompson
Audio Editor
Karyn Pugliese
Editor-in-Chief
max collins
Production Manager

“All I will say is that my scientific opinion is that there is something real going on in New Brunswick that absolutely cannot be explained by the bias or personal agenda of an individual neurologist.” Those are the words of Dr. Michael Coulthart, a microbiologist employed by our federal government, specifically by Public Health Canada. He’s talking about the mysterious neurological disease that is striking down people in New Brunswick. We were not supposed to read his words. They are from a leaked email obtained by Canadaland, first published by the newspaper The Guardian.

Then there was another leaked email. Doctor Samuel Weiss, a neuroscientist and the scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In his leaked email, he states, I felt incredibly optimistic that an all out government effort to unravel the mystery was in the cards. However, in short order, the scientific effort was shut down at the request of the governments.”

It’s nine years since the first case was documented. The numbers, by some reports, have grown to over 300 suspected cases. And we still have no answers.  Our reporters, Cherise Sucheran and Sarah Lawrynuik present the latest instalment in our ongoing investigation.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Cherise Sucheran and Sarah Lawrynuik (Reporters)

Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Max Collins (Production Manager), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Additional music by Audio Network

Further reading:

Sponsors: 

Douglas: Canadaland listeners head to Douglas.com/canadaland to get a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today.

Article: Article is offering Canadaland listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Visit ARTICLE.COM/canadaland, to claim this offer. Your discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

Squarespace: Canadaland listeners head to Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch us code “canadaland” to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

 

If you value this podcast, support us! Youll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. Youll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, youll be a part of the solution to Canadas journalism crisis, youll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

More from this series
The army of hidden workers who fool you into thinking AI is magic.
January 13, 2025
This is one shitty story. Is Canada’s sewage infrastructure ready to be flushed?
January 6, 2025
Since the blockbuster success of his musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda has been busy: acting, directing, and composing for Disney projects, including the upcoming movie “Mufasa: The Lion King.” 
December 30, 2024
“…you have this attempt to actually change the Aurora Borealis. to affect it physically. This was called Project Waterhole. So they sent up a rocket with 100 kilograms of explosives, and exploded it in the Aurora Borealis band. Within two seconds, they had created a 40 kilometer wide hole in the Aurora Borealis.” - from The Forgotten Need to Probe the Sky
December 23, 2024
“Here's something that not many people know about the baby business.  There are ‘leg-men.’ We call them ‘leg-men’ though some of them are women, who make it their business to find pregnant women who are not married. The leg-men look for them in a million and one places. They meet them in bars and parks and cafes and all over. They hear things.”  - Eugene Moyneur (ex-wrester, ex-bodybuilder, baby-smuggler)
December 16, 2024
“The people who want to play morality police and decide who does or doesn't get to speak, they're not qualified arbiters of anything.” - Caryma Sa’d
December 9, 2024
Are dentists defrauding the Canadian government?
December 2, 2024
The Millenium Bug was supposed to bring the world to a halt, but governments claimed they squashed the problem. Was it all a panic over nothing?
November 28, 2024
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
CANADALAND