Fidel Castro Part 5: The Bay of Pigs

Real Dictators

NOISER

History, Fiction, Drama

4.8 • 8.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A man who was right there tells us the tale of one of history’s most notorious military failures. Castro’s former lover is given a handful of poison capsules and dispatched to Fidel’s hotel. A Havana schoolboy crosses his fingers as the American bombing begins. And a young activist prepares to do whatever it takes to repel the impending invasion... A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Paul McGann. Featuring Carlos Eire, Peter Kornbluh, Monica Mercedes Perez Jimenez, Alex von Tunzelmann, Ileana Yarza, Eduardo Zayas-Bazan. This is Part 5 of 10. Written by Edward White | Produced by Ed Baranski and Edward White | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design & audio editing by George Tapp | Assembly editing by Dorry Macaulay, Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cian Ryan-Morgan | Recording engineer: Joseph McGann. Get every episode of Real Dictators a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Every runner knows the moment when everything clicks.
0:04.0	When your legs lock into a rhythm, the aches float away and doubts fade.
0:08.0	Replaced by a feeling of euphoria.
0:12.0	It's why you lace up at dawn.
0:15.0	Why little rain doesn't stop you.
0:17.0	Why one run turns into a habit.
0:20.0	So next time you go for a run, chase that runs high.
0:24.6	Learn more about running and go wild at puma.com.
0:32.6	It's April the 17th, 1961, just after midnight.
0:36.6	A small rubber raft glides Ninth, 1961, just after midnight.
0:38.3	A small rubber raft glides through the open waters of the Caribbean Sea.
0:44.3	On board are six men. Their painted faces shine in the silvery moonlight.
0:51.3	Stealthy, shadowy, dressed head to toe in dark colours. They have the appearance
0:57.0	of burglars. Some would say that's exactly what they are. Thieves intent on taking what isn't theirs.
1:04.0	The men themselves are adamant, that they aren't stealing anything. Quite the opposite. They are returning something
1:12.9	precious to its rightful owners. The raft sails onwards. Its crew looks stern, focused,
1:21.1	alert. Ahead of them is the dim outline of landfall. It's the bay of pigs, a remote swampy area on the south coast of Cuba.
1:34.3	Five of these men are Cuban exiles.
1:37.3	Having fled the rule of Fidel Castro, they're about to make a spectacular return.
1:42.3	The sixth man in the party is an American from the Central Intelligence Agency.
1:49.0	For the past several months, the CIA has been attempting to turn a brigade of anti-Castro Cubans
1:55.0	into a fighting force, capable of invading the island, reversing the revolution, and consigning Fidel to the pages of history.
	...

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