Cold War #289 – The Rise Of Fidel (Cuban Revolution #14)

In this episode, Cam and Ray kick off their deep dive into the life and legend of Fidel Castro. Picking up from the Batista coup of 1952, they trace Fidel’s early years—born illegitimate on his father’s sugar plantation, educated by Jesuits, and shaped by political violence. We follow Fidel through elite boarding schools, law school radicalisation, and his early attempts to overthrow regimes across Latin America. From jumping ship with a machine gun to surviving student death threats, Castro emerges as a man driven by revolutionary ideals, a hunger for justice, and an almost messianic sense of destiny. Along the way, we encounter Perón, Guevara, Trujillo, and Gabriel García Márquez—and we get a glimpse of the revolutionary vanguard that would eventually upend Cuba forever.