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Cuba Pt. 5: Under Siege w/ Manolo De Los Santos & Liz Oliva Fernández

Release Date: 05/05/2026

Cuba Pt. 5: Under Siege w/ Manolo De Los Santos & Liz Oliva Fernández

Upstream

In this episode, part 5 of our ongoing series on Cuba, we're joined by Manolo De Los Santos & Liz Oliva Fernández for a conversation exploring the current state of the island and how Cubans are responding to Trump's oil blockade. is a founder of the and a researcher at . He is the co-editor Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War, Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro, and Our Own Path to Socialism: Selected Speeches of Hugo Chávez. is a Havana-based journalist with (a U.S.-based independent media outlet) and the presenter of . The first half of the...

[TEASER] The Long Transition Towards Socialism and the End of Capitalism w/ Torkil Lauesen

Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "The Long Transition Towards Socialism and the End of Capitalism w/ Torkil Lauesen." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to...

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Upstream

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[UNLOCKED] Palestine Pt. 17: Capital Accumulation at Any Cost w/ Jason Hickel

Upstream

This is an unlocked version of the episode "Palestine Pt. 17: Capital Accumulation at Any Cost w/ Jason Hickel." You can help to support our work and access Patreon-only episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: In this episode, part 17 of our ongoing series on Palestine, we're joined again by for a conversation on Palestine and the role that Palestinian liberation plays in the global fight against imperialism and capitalism. The conversation opens with a discussion on why Palestinian liberation is a threat to capitalism globally—we unpack the role that Palestine plays...

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Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "Iran Pt. 4: Towards a Multipolar World / Matteo Capasso." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make Upstream a weekly...

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Upstream

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[TEASER] Palestine Pt. 17: Capital Accumulation at Any Cost w/ Jason Hickel

Upstream

In this episode, part 17 of our ongoing series on Palestine, we're joined again by for a conversation on Palestine and the role that Palestinian liberation plays in the global fight against imperialism and capitalism. The conversation opens with a discussion on why Palestinian liberation is a threat to capitalism globally—we unpack the role that Palestine plays geopolitically in West Asia and the role that West Asia plays in global capital accumulation. We go on to talk about Israel's role as the US's proxy force and attack dog, not just in West Asia, but throughout the globe as well, from...

Cuba Pt. 3: Che Guevara and the Building of Socialism w/ Helen Yaffe

Upstream

In this episode, part 3 of our ongoing series on Cuba, we're joined by for a conversation exploring Cuba's transition to socialism after the revolution through Che Guevara's contributions. Helen Yaffe is a professor of Latin American political economy at the University of Glasgow. She is the author of , and . She is also the cohost of the and the documentary . The episode begins with a brief introduction to Che Guevara—providing an overview of Che's life and biography. We then discuss what the Cuban revolutionaries inherited in terms of Cuba's semi-colonial economic and political...

[UNLOCKED] Lebanon Pt. 1: Resisting Occupation w/ Hussein Assaf

Upstream

This is an unlocked version of the episode "Lebanon Pt. 1: Resisting Occupation w/ Hussein Assaf." In Part 1 of our new series on Lebanon, Hussein Assaf joins us to discuss the ongoing assault on Lebanon by Israel and the United States. is a journalist with Vocal Politics based out of Beirut. Our conversation begins with an update on the ongoing assault on Lebanon by Israel and backed by the United States. We then talk about the political forces at play in Lebanon, giving a brief history of the political makeup of the country to help put the current assault in context. We talk...

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Upstream

In this episode, part 3 of our ongoing series on Iran, we're joined again by for a conversation exploring sovereignty and imperialism in Iran. Our conversation opens with an unpacking of the intersections and distinctions of imperialism, sovereignty, colonialism, and capitalism in a theoretical sense. Once these foundations are laid, we then apply this framework to Iran, answering the question of why Iran's sovereignty is so threatening to the United States. We then jump into current events and explore the thread that ties together the US's assault on Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Palestine,...

More Episodes

In this episode, part 5 of our ongoing series on Cuba, we're joined by Manolo De Los Santos & Liz Oliva Fernández for a conversation exploring the current state of the island and how Cubans are responding to Trump's oil blockade. Manolo De Los Santos is a founder of the People’s Forum and a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is the co-editor Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War, Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro, and Our Own Path to Socialism: Selected Speeches of Hugo Chávez. Liz Oliva Fernández is a Havana-based journalist with Belly of the Beast (a U.S.-based independent media outlet) and the presenter of The War on Cuba.

The first half of the episode is our conversation with Manolo De Los Santos and begins with him recounting what he witnessed and experienced during his recent trips to Cuba. Manolo brings us up to date on the Trump regime's efforts to impose blockades and sanctions on Cuba and then describes what the impact of these assaults look like on the ground on the island. He then tells about the Cuban people's efforts at not just surviving these assaults but continuing to resist and build decentralized networks of support while also working on a centralized scale to continue to organize and build socialism. Finally we look at the global implications of the United States' efforts to subjugate Cuba and tie things together by understanding the war on Cuba as part of the opening salvos of a new Cold War with China.

In the second half of our conversation Liz Oliva Fernández joins us from Cuba to go further into depth regarding what life is like on the island. We discuss the dynamics of energy and solar while being realistic about its short term limitations. We explore the violence that is imposed on Cuba by the United States and bring into relief the toll it has taken on the Cuban psyche. Liz tells us about the various efforts of the Cuban people to resist the United States and gives us a sense of both the exhaustion and the drive towards resistance that is present on the island today.

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