Blowback

Guests Helen Yaffe, José Pertierra and Marta Núñez Sarmiento discuss the protests in Cuba during July 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rundown of the Cuban revolution's foreign policy in Africa with guest, Cuban diplomat Oscar Oramas-Oliva. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Noah talks with José Pertierra, a Cuban-American immigration attorney who has long tangled with right-wing Miami Cubans in the media and in court. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest Bill Corbett (Mystery Science Theater 3000, Rifftrax) and Brendan hang out and talk about some bad Cuba movies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A discussion of Operation Peter Pan with Prof. Nelson Valdes, with a detour into Hungary, 1956.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brief overview of how American nuclear weapons strategy ran parallel to the story in our main narrative. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest Luna Olavarria-Gallegos explains how the US government infiltrated and co-opted the hip-hop scene in Cuba. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk to activists and historians about Cuba, black radicalism, and how the Revolution attacked the problem of racism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interviews with history professor Michelle Chase and Cuban scholar Marta Nuñez Sarmiento. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guatemala: an origin story, inspiration, and cautionary tale just a few hundred miles from our main story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the Kennedy assassination, US-Cuba diplomacy wanes and the embargo continues. To this day. Our story ends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Castro, Khrushchev, and Kennedy take tentative steps toward the path of peace post-Crisis. Cuban exile groups, and their CIA sponsors, are not pleased. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The USA announces to the world there are missiles in Cuba. Fidel prepares for war. Khrushchev secretly haggles with Kennedy. Americans enjoy Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fearing another American invasion — "the big one" — Soviet and Cuban leaders plot a secret response. Camelot never sees it coming. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smarting from failure at the Bay of Pigs, the White House sets in motion a new plan to thwart the Cuban Revolution: Operation Mongoose. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The CIA and the Cuban exiles get their long-awaited shot at taking out Castro and the Revolution. The subsequent battle in Cuba sends shockwaves around the world. Also: The Blowback S2 official soundtrack is now out on Spotify, Apple, Bandcamp, and other major streaming services. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JFK outmuscles Richard Nixon on Cuba and into the White House. The CIA begins training Cuban exiles in Central America for an invasion. And Fidel pays a visit to Harlem. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cuban Revolution takes power and the counter-revolution begins. The U.S. government, organized crime, and Cuban exiles carry out a campaign of terrorism, assassination, sabotage and psy-ops to turn back the clock. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A long short history of Cuba's relationship with the United States, climaxing with the Cuban revolutionaries' war to liberate the island from the dictator Batista and his backers in the United States. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back. Brendan and Noah reveal this season’s subject, explore the USA’s unrelenting Cuba mania, and introduce the cast of characters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New episodes drop on April 19. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Invading Iraq means never having to say you’re sorry. The end of Bush, the broken promise of Obama, and the rise of ISIS and Donald Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The empire strikes back. As Iraq deteriorates into civil war, the Bush administration taps a new man to lead a new American strategy. Which means saying goodbye to an old friend. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American public votes to give Bush another term, right before a big dose of buyers’ remorse. In Iraq, the new "democracy" struggles to get elections off the ground as the situation careens toward civil war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Somehow not expecting it, the Americans now face an insurgency problem, as both Sunni and Shi'a militants emerge to kick us out. War crimes and atrocities in Fallujah, Sadr City and Abu Ghraib fuel the flames of anti-American resistance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Green Zone, where America rules from Saddam’s old palace. The US occupation begins the destruction of Iraq, Rudy Giuliani almost becomes Viceroy, and Halliburton hunts and kills baby kittens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author Naomi Klein joins us to discuss the American exploitation-fest in Iraq, her own experience coming up during the Bush years, the rehabilitation of the Bush administration, and its continuities with the Trump gang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The media episode, breaking down some of the journalistic fuck-ups and pundit idiocy that steered us toward war in Iraq. Featuring special guest Will Menaker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendan and Noah survey the underwhelming landscape of Iraq War cinema with special guest Matt Christman. They dissect both Hollywood's hits and flops — neither of which were very good — and recommend very few flicks worth watching. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America sends Colin Powell, Good Cop, to the UN for one last PR stunt before we invade Iraq. The portal to Gozer the Destructor is opened and the war begins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 11th gives America the perfect excuse to finish our hit job on Iraq. We put together the Bush administration's case for war — WMD and al-Qaeda — and take it apart piece by piece. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before George W. Bush, there was Daddy Bush and Bill Clinton, who killed thousands of Iraqis and pushed the country to the brink of famine. The Gulf War, brutal sanctions, and the End of History. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this first bonus episode, Noah talks to author and journalist Dahr Jamail, one of the few journalists who covered the occupation of Iraq, on the ground, without being embedded with the US military or its allies. Dahr is the author of “Beyond the Green Zone,” “The Will To Resist,” and “The Mass Destruction of Iraq.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We trace the origins of America’s perverse relationship with Iraq, from the Cold War to the Iran-Iraq War in the 80s. Assassinations, coups, counter-coups, and the rise of Saddam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendan and Noah drag the Iraq War out of America’s memory hole to see how it shaped our hellworld today. Meet the rogues’ gallery of George W. Bush’s administration and Saddam Hussein’s family. Featuring special guests James Adomian and H. Jon Benjamin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Iraq War did not take place. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump cuts a deal with the Taliban — and America begins its withdrawal.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The war before the war on a self-reliant island off South Korea.Soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/album/4e9hkmGdDhycmgcGKe3bF0?si=d97_H1fvS5CV84ZvcEhZqQAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Afghan jihad spreads to Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The build-up to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The warlord years, and the rise of the Taliban.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The third season of Blowback — the story of the Korean War — arrives July 2022. Pre-order and listening details at https://blowback.supportingcast.fmAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A new season, a new story: The Korean War. To listen to the rest of season 3 right now, visit www.blowback.showAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

President Truman and his “Big General in the Far East” enter their final standoff over the war.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The US Army is almost pushed off the peninsula. Gen. MacArthur executes his revenge.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

With a rightwing, US-backed klepto-case to his South, Kim Il-Sung bets the house.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Operation Cyclone whips through Afghanistan — until a deal is finally struck.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Bush administration unleashes the first war of the 21st century.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The US threatens to cross the Yalu. The Chinese leadership debates its options in Korea.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The armistice in Korea is supposed to be temporary. But a peace treaty never comes. As decades roll on, the war becomes permanent.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Stalemate on the battlefield does not stop the United States from obliterating North Korea.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy