Segment from Small Island, Big Shadow

Land Grabs

BackStory producer Jess Engebretson tells the story of a band of renegades who, in the 19th century, planned an invasion of Cuba with the hopes of annexing it for the United States.

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Time Sensitive

Foreign policy expert Jim Blight explains to Brian why the Cuban Missile Crisis wasn’t just a 13-day-long affair, but rather an 18-month-long affair.

00:12:46

Land Grabs

BackStory producer Jess Engebretson tells the story of a band of renegades who, in the 19th century, planned an invasion of Cuba with the hopes of annexing it for the United States.

00:07:16

A Jewel in the Crown?

Peter explains why Thomas Jefferson and others in the early republic were interested in acquiring Cuba.

00:04:39

Stormy Waters

Peter talks with historian Julio Capo about the 1980 Mariel Boatlift that brought thousands of Cuban “undesireables” to Miami, and forced the U.S. to decide whether it was more opposed to Cuba or to homosexuality.

00:06:49

Just Like a Woman

Historian Kristin Hoganson chats with Brian about how gendered depictions of Cuba influenced U.S. public opinion in the lead-up to, and during, the Spanish-American War.

00:08:11

Never Never Land

Former BackStory editor Robert Armangol explores the legacy of Operation Pedro Pan, a plan to save Cuban children from communist indoctrination by leaving their families and resettling in the United States.

00:09:31