Real Dictators

Real Dictators

NOISER

Real Dictators

History Drama English

Real Dictators is the award-winning podcast that explores the hidden lives of history's tyrants. Hosted by Paul McGann, with contributions from eyewitnesses and expert historians.

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Fidel Castro Part 10: Emergency on an Airplane

Fidel Castro Part 10: Emergency on an Airplane

The end arrives. Embarrassed at a baseball game, the Maximum Leader responds with arrests and intimidation. We hear first-hand testimony from a Cuban on the receiving end of the violence. A nasty public fall and a painful ordeal in the air show that age and illness are catching up with the dictator. But even as a change of leadership finally takes place, can Cuba ever truly be free from Fidel?A...

Fidel Castro Part 9: Down With Fidel!

Fidel Castro Part 9: Down With Fidel!

After a tragedy in the Florida Straits, a dramatic tug of war takes place between Castro and America - all centred on a five-year-old boy. A new leader in the Soviet Union comes to power with fresh ideas which terrify Fidel. The Berlin Wall crumbles, putting Cuba on the brink. As riots break out in Havana, rebellion is in the air...A Noiser podcast production.Narrated by Paul McGann.Featuring...

Fidel Castro Part 8: Miami Vice

Fidel Castro Part 8: Miami Vice

When a bomb goes off on a south Florida street, it bears all the hallmarks of a Cuban expert. Castroland is going international. As exiles flock to Miami, Fidel sets off on a globe-trotting mission - meeting Colonel Gaddafi in Libya and dispatching troops to Angola. But back at home, not everything is rosy. And when a bus driver rams his vehicle through the gates of an embassy, Castro will...

Fidel Castro Part 7: Che Guevara in the Jungle

Fidel Castro Part 7: Che Guevara in the Jungle

Castro sets out to create a breed of “new people” - turning Cuba into an island of mini-Fidels. A particular dairy cow becomes a national treasure and hot dog vendors are declared counter-revolutionary, as things get surreal. Fidel’s own sister flees, declaring Cuba a “floating prison”. And as one of the dictator’s right-hand men is killed, the revolution will be rocked to its foundations…A...

Fidel Castro Part 6: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Fidel Castro Part 6: The Cuban Missile Crisis

The first man in space arrives in Cuba for a special visit. A passenger liner from the Soviet Union docks in Havana. But it’s not carrying tourists. Out in the countryside a massive yet mysterious construction project begins. Stranger-than-fiction plans are put in motion as the CIA tries everything to assassinate Fidel. And as Khrushchev and Castro take the most daring of gambles, the whole world...

Fidel Castro Part 5: The Bay of Pigs

Fidel Castro Part 5: The Bay of Pigs

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...

Fidel Castro Part 4: Havana’s TV Star

Fidel Castro Part 4: Havana’s TV Star

Castro goes on a victory parade, eventually arriving in Havana on top of a tank. Vengeance is wrought on the old dictator’s supporters, as the new leader moves into the Hilton hotel. Fidel takes a trip to Washington - for a sit-down with Richard Nixon. And a regime insider tells us how he turned his back on Castro, only to pay the price...A Noiser podcast production.Narrated by Paul...

Fidel Castro Part 3: The Mountain Guerrillas

Fidel Castro Part 3: The Mountain Guerrillas

While Batista tries to convince the world that Castro is dead, Fidel regroups in the mountains. The world’s press descends on Cuba, hoping to meet this elusive rebel, and Fidel is only too happy to grant everyone interviews. Meanwhile, in Havana, Batista’s sick son helps to save him from assassination. But his grip on the island is slipping…A Noiser podcast production.Narrated by Paul...

Fidel Castro Part 2: Shipwrecked in the Swamps

Fidel Castro Part 2: Shipwrecked in the Swamps

Castro wrestles with Marxism and begins another affair. Attempting to reignite the revolution, he swims naked across the US border. At a get-together in Mexico City, he strikes up a rapport with a scruffy Argentine known as “Che”. Together, in a battered old boat, they will set sail for Cuba - to bring the fight to Batista…A Noiser podcast production.Narrated by Paul McGann.Featuring Michael J....

Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’

Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’

Fidel Castro - a revolutionary turned strongman dictator, beloved by his supporters and loathed by his enemies. The bête noire of the United States who pushed the world to the brink of annihilation. The ultimate political survivor who evaded hundreds of barely believable assassination attempts. We scroll back to the early years of the one they would call El Loco. It all begins on a farm in the...