Part three (!!!) of our “quick” biography on Fidel Castro, using the New York Times’ obituary, breaking it down, line by line, to uncover the propaganda. And we’re making these Castro episodes free to guests. And yes – there is a part four! But it’s the last part, we promise!

Some people have said 1983 was the most dangerous year in human history. On four separate occasions, the U.S.A. and the USSR nearly ended up in a hot nuclear war. Soviet leaders apparently became deeply worried that the US was preparing to launch a surprise nuclear attack on the USSR under the cover of a NATO exercise titled ‘Able Archer.’ Brian J. Morra is a former U.S. intelligence officer and a retired senior aerospace executive who took part in the events of 1983 and has written an excellent and terrifying book on the topic, “The Able Archers”. He’s our guest today. We talk about the events of 1983, why 2024 might be even more dangerous, and why world leaders haven’t learned the lessons of 1983. 

After The Peel Commission recommending moving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians off their land by force, the Arab Revolt re-emerged with hundreds of terrorist attacks during 1937-38 against the British and Jews – and even against Arab collaborators. The British cracked down and deported many of their leaders. Irgun, the Jewish militant group, met this threat with their own terrorism. Hitler used the situation to score propaganda points against the Jews and the British.

Mossadegh had two non-negotiables that drove his political game. First, he was a die-hard believer in the rule of law, which put him on a collision course with autocrats like Reza Shah. Second, he was all about Iranian self-rule, making him Public Enemy No. 1 for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He wasn’t just against them; he was their kryptonite.

In this episode, Cam and Ray kick off their deep dive into the life and legend of Fidel Castro. Picking up from the Batista coup of 1952, they trace Fidel’s early years—born illegitimate on his father’s sugar plantation, educated by Jesuits, and shaped by political violence. We follow Fidel through elite boarding schools, law school radicalisation, and his early attempts to overthrow regimes across Latin America. From jumping ship with a machine gun to surviving student death threats, Castro emerges as a man driven by revolutionary ideals, a hunger for justice, and an almost messianic sense of destiny. Along the way, we encounter Perón, Guevara, Trujillo, and Gabriel García Márquez—and we get a glimpse of the revolutionary vanguard that would eventually upend Cuba forever.

This is part one of a few episodes that will explain the military, ideological and economic conflicts and tensions between the US, UK and USSR before the Cold War. In this episode, we look at the “Polar Bear Expedition” and the first “Red Scare” in the US.

In this episode of the Cold War podcast, Cam and Ray continue their wild ride through Cuban history, focusing on the rise and fall of Gerardo “Macho Man” Machado, the proto-strongman president who turned Cuba into a playground for rich tourists—and a pressure cooker for everyone else. From political repression and violent union crackdowns to communist organizing and student uprisings, this chapter sets the stage for Cuba’s eventual revolution. Along the way, we meet fascinating figures like Julio Antonio Mella (the OG Castro prototype), discuss the communist roots of Cuban resistance, and learn how America played both arsonist and firefighter in the region. Plus: cigars, lesbians, and martinis. You’re welcome.

Today we have another special guest – Pulitzer Prize-winning author, the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Professor of History in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Prof Fredrik Logevall. He’s also the co-author of America’s Cold War: The Politics of Insecurity (co-authored with Campbell Craig, who we had on in episode 20).

Part 2 of our three-part series on economics and war. Still talking about trade and access to foreign markets. We look at the CIA’s overthrow of the Iranian government in 1953, the Marshall Plan and the Open Door policy.

Today we interview Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy, co-authors of the book “Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare”, a cutting-edge look into a pivotal moment in US history: McCarthy’s infamous “witch hunt” for communists during the 1950’s Red Scare.

This is the first of two episodes about the Cambridge Five!

This week – Kim Philby, arguably the most effective spy in the history of spying.

Part four (!!!) of our “quick” biography on Fidel Castro, using the New York Times’ obituary, breaking it down, line by line, to uncover the propaganda. And we’re making these Castro episodes free to guests.This is absolutely the last part, we promise!