PODCAST

A COLD WAR

Cameron Reilly & Ray Harris

A NSFW, detailed and funny long-form podcast about The Cold War.

history

All Episodes

33:42

CW 304 — The Dove Has Landed (Free Preview)

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/25

It's January 1959, and Fidel Castro has just pulled off the impossible — a ragtag band of bearded rebels from the Sierra Maestra mountains has toppled the Batista dictatorship, and all of Cuba is euphoric. In Episode 304 of A Cold War, Cameron and Ray follow Castro's triumphant five-day journey from Santiago to Havana, tracking the 32-year-old revolutionary as he rolls into the capital on top of a tank, delivers a famously humble speech at Camp Columbia with a white dove settling on his shoulder,

59:11

CW 304 — The Dove Has Landed

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/25

48:33

CW 303 — Fangio, Fatigues, and the Fall of Batista

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/19

It’s April 1958, and Cuba is a powder keg with a sputtering fuse. Fulgencio Batista is bleeding support from every direction — the church, the business elite, even his American backers — while Fidel Castro’s rebel movement is growing stronger in the Sierra Maestra mountains. But before the final reckoning, the revolution nearly tears itself apart. Against Castro’s better judgment, the urban resistance pushes ahead with a general strike on April 9th — a catastrophic miscalculation. Batista’s forces,

31:33

CW 303 — Fangio, Fatigues, and the Fall of Batista...

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/19

36:20

The Mountain Shadow Government - Cold War 302 (Cuban...

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/05

In this episode, Cameron and Ray dive into the pivotal year of 1958, charting Fidel Castro’s transition from a guerrilla insurgent to the head of a sophisticated shadow government. As the Rebel Army swelled from a handful of survivors to a force of thousands, Castro moved beyond mere military resistance to establish a "veritable military agrarian state" within the Sierra Maestra. We explore the infrastructure of the revolution—including hospitals, schools, and even cigar factories—and the strategic

36:20

The Mountain Shadow Government - Cold War 302 (Cuban...

A COLD WAR ·

2026/03/05

69:11

The Miami Pact - Cold War 301

A COLD WAR ·

2026/02/05

In this episode, Cameron and Ray delve into the complex internal and external power struggles facing Fidel Castro in the late 1950s as he attempts to consolidate his leadership over the anti-Batista movement. The discussion highlights the stark divide between Castro’s rural guerrilla army—influenced by the increasingly Marxist leanings of Raul Castro and Che Guevara—and the urban resistance led by Frank País, who sought middle-class and American support. The hosts explore the "draconian" discipline

29:38

Castro Goes Viral. - CW 300 (Free)

A COLD WAR ·

2026/01/14

Episode 300 marks a major waypoint for the Cold War Podcast, and the discussion dives straight back into the hard mechanics of revolution. Castro is alive, hiding in the Sierra Maestra with a tiny guerrilla force, but survival alone isn’t victory. This episode explores the real problem facing Fidel Castro in 1957: how to overthrow a dictator when you barely have a few dozen fighters, almost no supplies, and multiple rival revolutionary movements competing for legitimacy. Cameron and Ray unpack how

56:27

Castro Goes Viral - CW 300

A COLD WAR ·

2026/01/14

43:35

Castro Is Dead. Long Live Castro - CW 299

A COLD WAR ·

2026/01/02

In this episode, Cameron and Ray pick up the Cuban Revolution story at its most fragile moment: Fidel Castro has just landed in eastern Cuba with 82 men, most of them dead, scattered, or captured within days. Batista’s regime confidently declares Castro dead, the international press runs with it, and the revolution appears finished before it has begun. But history, as usual, has other plans. From hiding under sugarcane leaves to scraping together a band of 19 survivors in the Sierra Maestra, Castro

33:57

The Worst Landing in Revolutionary History - CW 298

A COLD WAR ·

2025/12/20

Episode 298 follows Fidel Castro’s disastrous return to Cuba aboard the *Granma* and the near-total collapse of his carefully laid plans within days of landing. What was meant to be a coordinated uprising turns into a brutal fight for survival as delays at sea, bad weather, poor logistics, and immediate detection by Batista’s forces leave Castro’s men sick, starving, scattered, and under constant aerial and ground attack. Drawing heavily on Castro’s later reflections and Che Guevara’s diaries, the

34:22

To Cuba or to Martyrdom - CW 297

A COLD WAR ·

2025/12/04

In this episode of *The Cold War*, Cameron and Ray trace the strange, lucky, unlikely, often chaotic road that led Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and their small band of exiles from a rented farm outside Mexico City to the deck of the *Granma* in late 1956. The show follows their botched guerrilla training, their arrest by Mexican police, Che’s absolute refusal to hide his communism, the ideological debates that erupted right inside the interrogation room, and the role of former presidents of Mexico and

42:00

When Fidel Met Che - Cold War 296

A COLD WAR ·

2025/11/26

In this episode, Fidel Castro steps out of prison in 1955 and straight into revolutionary planning. We trace his transformation from imprisoned dissident to a man preparing an armed insurrection in exile. We explore his belief in luck, conviction and humility, his frustrating attempt to re-enter Cuban politics, his move to Mexico, and his first electrifying meeting with Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Cameron and Ray dig into why Castro’s charisma made him dangerous to Batista, how Che’s time in Guatemala

19:01

History Will Absolve Me - CW 295 Preview

A COLD WAR ·

2025/10/27

Fidel Castro’s first attempt to ignite revolution in Cuba ends in disaster — but also forges the legend. We follow the aftermath of the failed 1953 Moncada Barracks raid: the brutal reprisals, Fidel’s near-execution, the unlikely lieutenant who saves him, the public opinion shift as Batista’s regime overreaches, and Fidel’s transformation from fiery idealist to imprisoned revolutionary intellectual. We hear how History Will Absolve Me is born, what Fidel is reading behind bars (spoiler: Trotsky and

46:00

History Will Absolve Me - CW 295

A COLD WAR ·

2025/10/27

27:36

Castro’s First Swing: The Moncada Misfire (preview)

A COLD WAR ·

2025/10/08

In this episode, Cam and Ray bring their trademark banter and historical nerdery to the story of Fidel Castro’s first attempt at revolution — the ill-fated 1953 Moncada Barracks attack. What starts as a coup joke about Batista’s boredom quickly spirals into a lively mix of history and comedy. We follow a 26-year-old Fidel as he decides that ballots and lawsuits won’t topple a corrupt regime, so he turns to bullets instead. The episode explores his planning, paranoia, and sheer audacity as he leads a

46:22

Castro’s First Swing: The Moncada Misfire - Cold War...

A COLD WAR ·

2025/10/08

27:31

CW #293 (preview) - Castro’s Crossroads

A COLD WAR ·

2025/09/18

In this preview of Cold War #293, Cameron and Ray dig into the aftermath of Batista’s March 1952 coup in Cuba and how it shaped Fidel Castro’s early strategies. The conversation explores Castro’s proclamation denouncing the coup, his first failed attempts to rally the public, and why the Cuban people weren’t yet ready for revolution. We see how Castro pivoted from politics to pamphlets, protests, lawsuits, and eventually the realization that only a professional revolutionary force could succeed

45:45

CW #293 - Castro’s Crossroads

A COLD WAR ·

2025/09/18

In this episode of Cold War, Cameron and Ray dig into the aftermath of Batista’s March 1952 coup in Cuba and how it shaped Fidel Castro’s early strategies. The conversation explores Castro’s proclamation denouncing the coup, his first failed attempts to rally the public, and why the Cuban people weren’t yet ready for revolution. We see how Castro pivoted from politics to pamphlets, protests, lawsuits, and eventually the realization that only a professional revolutionary force could succeed. Along

15:17

CW #292 Preview - Batista’s Bloodless Coup: Havana 1952

A COLD WAR ·

2025/09/05

In this preview of episode of The Cold War, Cameron and Ray take us to Havana in 1952, when Fulgencio Batista staged a meticulously planned coup d’état. They walk through the midnight maneuvers at Camp Columbia, the arrest of generals, the swift control of communication hubs, and the apathy of the Cuban people after years of corruption. We see how Batista positioned himself as “the man” while suspending civil liberties, dissolving Congress, and reassuring both the Americans and local elites

202 results

A COLD WAR

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai