This investigative podcast series takes listeners across Latin America to the scenes of some of the region’s most devastating, revolutionary, and historic moments. In Season 1, independent journalist Michael Fox dives deep into the past of Central America, uncovering the history of US intervention and its lingering effects in the region today. ‘Under the Shadow’ is produced in partnership with The Real News Network (TRNN) and the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA).
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Latest Episode
Panama. US Invasion. | Under the Shadow, Episode 13
In 1989, the US invaded Panama under the banner of ‘Operation Just Cause,’ slaughtering hundreds of civilians. When will the US face accountability for its war crimes?
The Legacy of Monroe | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 4
Historian Greg Grandin examines the long shadow of the Monroe Doctrine, which continues to shape US imperialism in Latin America.
Venezuela, Media War | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 3
Unrest in Venezuela following recent elections has captured the international spotlight, but there’s an actor in the shadows escaping scrutiny—the US media.
The Panama Canal | Under the Shadow, Episode 12
In its pursuit of global empire, the US aided a separatist movement in Colombia to create the nation known as Panama—once home to 100 US military bases.
The US hand in Costa Rica | Under the Shadow, Episode 11
Despite its reputation for pacifism and prosperity, Costa Rica is one of the region’s most unequal nations—and the story of how it got there runs through its ties to Washington during the Contra War.
Chomsky on U.S. Intervention in Central America | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 2
‘Under the Shadow’ looks back on Chomsky’s University of Colorado lecture given in 1983, as some of the worst aspects of the Reagan administration’s role in Central America were being realized.
Hollywood. Empire | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode
British director Alex Cox’s 1987 film ‘Walker,’ starring Ed Harris, laid an uncompromising critique of US imperialism in Nicaragua. For his solidarity, Cox was blacklisted from the industry.
Nicaragua, 1980s. Contra War | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 2
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration’s drive to crush Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution would lead to one of its greatest scandals: the Iran-Contra Affair.
Nicaragua, 1980s. Revolution | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 1
When the anti-imperialist Sandinista Revolution took power in Nicaragua from the Somoza family, the Reagan administration responded by funding the Contras.
Nicaragua. Sandino | Under the Shadow, Episode 9
The US occupation of Nicaragua (1912-1933) birthed a brutal dictatorship, and the revolutionary hero who would drive out the US Marines: Augusto Sandino
The Gringo who tried to rule Central America
This episode looks back at the 19th century roots of US imperialism in Central America, when solo ‘filibuster’ adventurers tried to conquer whole nations singlehandedly.
Honduran narcodictator convicted, but ‘no accountability for the US role’
Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been convicted of drug trafficking charges by a US court—but Washington’s role in propping him up has yet to be accounted for.
Honduras, 2009. Legacy of a Coup | Under the Shadow, Episode 7, Part 2
Honduras’s return to democracy after the 2009 U.S.-backed coup is a heroic story of popular resistance.
Honduras, 2009. La Resistencia | Under the Shadow, Episode 7, Part 1
The 2009 US-backed coup in Honduras crushed its most progressive government in decades—but in the end, the steadfast resistance of the Honduran people couldn’t be defeated.
More from Michael FOx
200 years later, the Monroe Doctrine still haunts Central America
From CIA-backed coups and genocidal civil wars in Guatemala and El Salvador to the US invasion of Panama, Central America is still living with the legacy and ongoing violence of US imperialism.