In 1959, when Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries toppled Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, they wasted no time booting out American business owners, casinos and drug kingpins — much to the delight of US law enforcers.
But as time passed, and Castro’s socialist regime sought ever-trickier income streams, the Caribbean island proved an irresistible stepping sto ... Show More
Apr 7
Boston's Irish Mob Gang War: The Winter Hill Gang
In 1960s Boston, Buddy McLean ignited a savage gang war after tensions with the McLaughlin brothers boiled over into open bloodshed. What started as neighborhood beef turned into a cycle of ambushes, barroom executions, and street hits that terrorized Boston. McLean’s Winter Hill ... Show More
52m 15s
Aug 2024
174. The Cuban Revolution
It’s 1959 and the swaggering Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro, has just overthrown the unpopular American backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Che Guevara, the Marxist physician whose face would become an internationally recognised symbol of resistance, is at his side. But how di ... Show More
56m 59s
Jul 2024
The day Celia Cruz returned to Cuba
In January 1990, Cuban singer Celia Cruz, known as ‘the Queen of Salsa’, went back to Cuba. Banned by Fidel Castro for opposing his regime, it was the only time in her 43 years of exile that she was able to visit the island.She was invited to sing in the US naval base on Guantana ... Show More
9m 2s
Aug 2024
175. The CIA vs Fidel Castro
Following the fall of Batista, the Cuban revolution took a more radical turn. Castro was not a communist to begin with, but as those around him became increasingly Marxist, the CIA’s desire to regain control of the island grew. With the failure of JFK’s Bay of Pigs invasion, even ... Show More
54m 6s