In this episode of the podcast, co-hosts Ryan and Kevin talk all things Cuba! We start by breaking down the fiasco that was the Bay of Pigs invasion, which took place within the first 100 days of the Kennedy administration! This failed attack had a profound impact on Almost President Bobby Kennedy, leading to his hawkish stance on Cuba policy and his involvement in Operation Mongoose.

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When Castro-led Cuba persists in its efforts to maintain a Communist government and friendly relations with Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union, tensions nearly go nuclear when Soviet plans to place nuclear missiles in Cuba are discovered by the U.S. What follows are some of the most tense days in U.S. history as the Cuban Missile Crisis occurs. As the standoff goes down, always by JFK’s side and acting as his most trusted confidant is his brother, Bobby Kennedy.

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And as the world watches the chaos, RFK secretly obsesses over plans to get the upper hand on Cuba. Plans that go so far as showering Cubans in toilet paper with the faces of Khrushchev and Castro on it to attempting to convince pious Cubans that Castro is the anti-Christ.

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Lastly, we preview some of the chaos to come in a small country most people at the time couldn’t point to on a map: Vietnam.

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