On September 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced from the Oval Office that the U.S. Navy had carried out an air strike on a boat in international waters. That boat strike rewrote U.S. policy for Latin America overnight. Three months later, 26 boats have been hit, killing more than 90 people.

The United States has codified its justification for the boat strikes as part of a new National Security Strategy, published in early December 2025. In the National Security Strategy, Trump announced a new Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which he hopes can propel the United States and the U.S. military to preeminence in the hemisphere. Trump clearly feels he has carte blanche to take whatever measure he deems necessary without regard for international law, the sovereignty of other nations, or people’s lives. This reinvisioning of U.S. policy for Latin AmericaIt has disastrous implications for the region. More missile strikes. Loss of innocent lives. And even wrapping the United States into war close to home.

Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 will respond in real time to the Trump Administration’s onslaught in Latin America. We begin today, where we started in the last episode of Season 1… in Panama.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox. Edited by Heather Gies.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido's new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Resources: Under the Shadow

• You can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking here
• THE BEGINNING: MONROE AND MIGRATION | UNDER THE SHADOW, EPISODE 1
• PANAMA. US INVASION. | UNDER THE SHADOW, EPISODE 13
• THE LEGACY OF MONROE | UNDER THE SHADOW, BONUS EPISODE 4 
• Michael Fox’s recent reporting on the boat strikes and the ramp-up for war in Venezuela: 
  • With the Strike on a “Drug-Carrying Boat,” Trump Returns to a Dangerous US Policy for Latin America
  • Caribbean Leaders Call for Unified Latin American Resistance to US Attacks
  • Trump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 Outlines Imperial Intentions for Latin America

Other Resources

• Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama (Duke, 2003), is John Lindsay Poland’s expose on the U.S. military involvement in Panama.
• You can watch the documentary, The Panama Deception, here. 
• This is a link to Democracy Now! coverage of the U.S. push toward war on Venezuela.

Support Under the Shadow

• You can see pictures of host Michael Fox’s reporting in Panama City, here.
• You can check out Michael’s latest episode of Stories of Resistance about the annual protests demanding justice for the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.
• You can also listen to his new podcast, Panamerican Dispatch on his Patreon page. There, you can follow and support him and Under the Shadow: https://www.patreon.com/mfox

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

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It's late 1914. December cold in the trenches of the Western Front of World War I.

Rations are in short supply. Men shiver… dreaming of home. Wishing they were far away. For months, here in the trenches, the sounds of the machine gun fire have peppered every waking moment. The whining of the bullets. The hissing and the cracking. But this morning — Christmas morning — the guns stop. It’s not planned. It’s spontaneous. But it happens all along the front. And over hundreds of miles of trenches. Silence… And then singing. Soft at first and then louder. Carols. Christmas songs. First one side sings in German. And then the other in French or English. It’s the beginning of the Christmas Truce. 100,000 soldiers would participate in the temporary ceasefire. It remains a testament to the humanity in us all. A reminder of the resistance from men on the front lines to the savages of war. Resistance to the orders from above.

Written and produced by Michael Fox.

BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. 

And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.

The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also won a Gold Signal Award for best episode host. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. 

Resources:

• I know this is an ad, but it’s a really good one...
  
• O Tannenbaum - Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Follow us on:
Bluesky: @therealnews.com
Facebook: The Real News Network
Twitter: @TheRealNews
YouTube: @therealnews
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Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

On Dec. 20, each year, people march in Panama City. They march to remember the fallen. They march to continue to demand justice for the violence, the destruction, and for those who were killed in the last US invasion in Latin America—the 1989 invasion of Panama. 

BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. 

And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.

The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also been in the running for best episode host. And he also won a Gold Signal Award. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. 

Written and produced by Michael Fox.

Resources: 

• Panama. US invasion. | Under the Shadow Episode 13
• Upcoming Season 2 of Under the Shadow
• Used in today’s episode: 
  • "Deja el canal": panameños protestan contra Donald Trump ante embajada de Estados Unidos 
  • Nov. 25, 2025: PROTESTAS EN PANAMÁ contra la presencia militar de EE.UU.: "GOBIERNO VENDEPATRIAS..." 
  • Protestas en Panamá contra acuerdo con UU. EE., reforma pensional y minería |  FRANCE 24 Español 
  • Panama: 8th anniversary of US invasion to topple Noriega marked

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Follow us on:
Bluesky: @therealnews.com
Facebook: The Real News Network
Twitter: @TheRealNews
YouTube: @therealnews
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Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

For incarcerated people and their families, the holidays are the most painful time of year. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa and TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speak frankly about what it’s like to be locked up during the holidays, why inmate suicides, violence, and depression spike this time of year, and about the life-saving and society-improving steps we can take this holiday season to help prisoners maintain contact with the outside world.

C/W: Discussion of suicide and depression

Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Friday, December 19, 2025.

TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.

Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Follow us on:
Bluesky: @therealnews.com
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Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Thursday, December 18, 2025.

TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.

Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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On Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even though strikers have returned to work, however, many issues at the center of the strike are still in legal limbo—and their fight for a fair contract is not over. In this episode of Working People, we speak with three Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members—Bob Batz. Jr, Natalie Duleba, and Steve Mellon—about where things stand now, how their lives have changed since returning to work, and what it takes to hold the picket line for over three years. 

Additional links/info: 

• Pittsburgh Union Progress website 
• Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram
• Bob Batz Jr. & Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, “Pittsburgh journalists vote to end country’s longest strike and notify the PG they are returning to work”
• Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, “Post-Gazette strikers send company return to work offer”
• Sara Scire, Nieman Lab, “What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”

Featured Music: 

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits: 

• Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Wednesday, December 18, 2025.

TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.

Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Tuesday, December 16, 2025.

TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.

Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Monday, December 15, 2025.

TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.

Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.

Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Follow us on:
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