“I think that Senator Kennedy's policies and recommendations for the handling of the Castro regime are probably the most dangerously irresponsible recommendations that he's made during the course of this campaign.”

That was Richard Nixon, in the final presidential debate of 1960, targeting John F. Kennedy's stance on Cuba. Fidel Castro has seized power, transforming Cuba, a former “playground” for American mobsters and corporations, into a nationalist state opposing the US. The Eisenhower administration, determined to oust him, tasks the CIA to destabilise and replace the regime.

Join Gordon and David as they introduce the formidable figures at the heart of this confrontation: the charismatic and increasingly communist-aligned Castro, and the brilliant, manic CIA Deputy Director for Plans, Dickie Bissell. Discover the CIA's initial ludicrous ideas - from drug-laced food to a plan to make Castro's beard fall out - and the dangerous decision to subcontract a deadly task: a plot to "eliminate" Fidel, with the American Mafia.

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Order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Video Editor: Nathan Copelin

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Producer: Becki Hills

Senior Producer: Dom Johnson

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