EP 500 Cuba and America Intertwined Through Time

In 1492, Columbus landed in…Cuba. Surprised?  There’s much about the island 90 miles to our south that ties its history to ours.  In recent years, we have been at odds with Cuba over its Communist regime.  In defiance of that regime we give Cuban immigrants the fastest track the government provides to citizenship status. We have occupied Cuba militarily in the past and controlled one of its key industries in sugar production.  Our greatest foreign policy challenge of the 20th century, and perhaps ever, is remembered as the Cuban Missile Crisis.  There is much to learn about this relationship.  To help us understand it, we call upon NYU professor, Ada Ferrer, author of the remarkable new book with the compelling title, ‘Cuba: An American History’.  Just as President Obama’s visit to Cuba during his presidency was meant to ease trade restrictions and provide new avenues of cooperation, President Trump reverted to the policies we adopted in response to the Cuban revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro.  It’s post Castro in Cuba and post Trump in America.  Has anything changed?  Be prepared to take a history lesson and a brief peek into the future on today’s podcast.

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