Cuba Analysis

Cuba Analysis

Think you know Cuba? Think again. Since the Revolution of 1959, Cuba has defied expectations and flouted the rules. It is a country of contradictions. A poor country with world-leading human development indicators. A small island that mobilises the world’s largest international humanitarian assistance. A weak and dependent economy which has survived economic crises and the United States blockade - the longest and most extensive system of unilateral sanctions applied against any country in modern history. Anachronistic but innovative. Traditional but creative. Formally ostracised, but with millions of defenders around the world. Despite meeting most of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, Cuba’s socialist development strategy is not upheld as an example. We’re going beyond the headlines to explore those contradictions. Using sources you never see and speaking to specialists you never hear from. On Cuba Analysis, we dissect the facts. We put things in context. Get to the root of the issue. We challenge assumptions and ask: Who’s shaping the narrative? Who benefits from the story? Join us. This is Cuba Analysis.

Episodes

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Cuba Analysis exclusive: Ana Maldonado reports from Caracas on the US attack

    Don’t miss this urgent and compelling episode of the Cuba Analysis Podcast, hosted by Helen Yaffe and Nina Blodau, with Ana Maldonado, a Venezuelan sociologist and the International Relations coordinator for the Francisco de Miranda Front, a Chavista movement, and member of the Venezuelan chapter of ALBA Movements. Maldonado left a huge march in Caracas to update us about events in Venezuela: the military assault by 150 US aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and bombers, that hit targets throughout Caracas and in three other States, abduction of the President, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores; the killings of dozens of military personnel and civilians and how the Bolivarian system of national defence kicked into action in response.   Maldonado describes the experience of the nighttime bombings on the 2 to 3 January and the widespread destruction to antennas, military facilities, ports and airports, as well as the popular mobilisation in response. On 4 January, Venezuelans took to the streets en masse to protest the attack and demand Maduro is returned. She points to the emotional resilience of Venezuelans who refuse to accept foreign intervention.   The conversation dismantles the US phoney narrative which casts Maduro as a narcotrafficker and Venezuela as a narco-state and foreign terrorist regime. Ana responds directly to the Trump’s lies in his 3 January press conference, affirming that US forces do not have a presence on the ground, that acting President Delcy Rodriguez and the Venezuelan government are not collaborating with the Trump administration, and that the US does not have control over Venezuela’s oil industry. She explains how Rodríguez is leading the constitutional and popular response in Maduro’s abduction, guided by pre-established plans for national defence. Maldonado highlights the role of the Bolivarian militias, in which eight million civilians voluntarily enrolled in 2025, and affirms the preparedness of communities for a prolonged, Vietnam-style resistance if necessary to defend Venezuelan sovereignty.   The interview underscores the solidarity between Venezuela and Cuba, warns of expanding US aggression across Latin America, and issues a powerful call for international solidarity to condemn the attack, demand the release of Maduro and Flores, and defend Venezuelan sovereignty.   This is a vital, firsthand account from inside the Bolivarian Revolution during a critical hour.

    1 hr
  2. Interview with Mitchell Valdés Sosa, Director of Cuba’s Neuroscience Centre

    21/12/2025

    Interview with Mitchell Valdés Sosa, Director of Cuba’s Neuroscience Centre

    Leading Cuban neuroscientist, Mitchell Valdés Sosa joins Cuba Analysis to discuss Cuba’s commitments to sovereignty, socialism and science. He explains how the National Centre for Scientific Research, founded by Fidel Castro in 1965, trained Cubans in biomedical sciences, and incubated multiple research and development centres, including the Neuroscience Centre that he directs. Cuba’s unique state-founded, state-owned biotechnology sector, organised today under BioCubaFarma, emerged from this process in the 1980s. Valdés Sosa outlines the ‘grand strategy’ behind Cuba’s investment in education and science, and the creation of ‘full cycle’ research centres that combine basic research, production, and foreign trade. He argues that this socialist model, free from speculative private interests, allows the sector to prioritise public health, produce affordable medicines, and tackle neglected diseases that big pharma ignores, including meningitis B in Africa.   We discuss recent crises in which Valdés Sosa played a key role: the US allegations of ‘sonic attack’ on diplomats in Havana during the first Trump administration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Having investigated the US accusation, he provides a scientific rebuttal of the so-called ‘Havana Syndrome’, highlighting the lack of medical evidence - a conclusion subsequently reached by US intelligence agencies – and the political motivations behind them. He describes how during COVID-19 the Neuroscience Centre pivoted to manufacture medical ventilators and swabs in collaboration with international partners, to circumvent US sanctions. Valdés Sosa describes the suffocating impact of the US blockade on Cuba’s medical science sectors, from obstructing access to equipment, spare parts, databases, and bank transactions, to ‘invisible mechanisms’ to scare off scientific partners. It is a ‘crime against Cuba’, he says, designed to strangle the economy and overthrow a system whose example of successful social policies the US establishment fears. Looking to the future, we discuss Cuba’s three innovative treatments in the pipeline for Alzheimer’s, a disease that will affect 30 million people globally by 2030. Most advanced is NeuroEPO, which has shown extremely promising results in clinical trials, with very few side effects and should be available to Cuban patients in 2026.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myc4iAXuoWs

    1h 13m
  3. Interview with Cuba journalist, Pedro Jorge Velázquez, ‘El Necio‘

    20/12/2025

    Interview with Cuba journalist, Pedro Jorge Velázquez, ‘El Necio‘

    Note: This interview is in Spanish, you can check the video in Youtube for English subtitles.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-LQks3DNA🎙️🇨🇺 Cuba Analysis podcast did a fascinating interview with Pedro Jorge Velázquez, El Necio, one of #Cuba’s most prominent independent journalists and social media influencers. 💻📲 He speaks about the intense media war and misinformation obscuring Cuba's complex reality, addresses the polemic over democracy and freedom of expression, speaks about the digital battle for the minds of Cuban youth, and debates the future of Cuban socialism. ‘El Necio’ cuts through the noise to show you the real Cuba.

    1h 18m
  4. Interview with Irish legend David Hickey

    19/11/2025

    Interview with Irish legend David Hickey

    Interview with Irish legend David Hickey, whose extraordinary life bridges three worlds, as Irish surgeon, sports legend, and solidarity activist. Deeply inspired by Cuba’s public healthcare system, Hickey condemns the US blockade as a war crime. He founded the Irish Cuban Medical Association, which shipped medical supplies to Cuba and donated to a kidney disease education centre. Hickey talks about personal battles with cancer and the loss of his Cuban wifeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q1m46KjwcY

    52 min
  5. Interview with Johana Tablada, Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    14/10/2025

    Interview with Johana Tablada, Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    In July 2025, Helen Yaffe and Nina Blodau sat down with Johana Tablada, then Deputy Director General for the United States at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs but subsequently appointed Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission in Mexico. Tablada describes the key features of US-Cuba relations, past and present, clarifies how the US Blockade functions, explains its economic and human toll, and lists the impacts of Cuba’s inclusion on the US State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Click here https://youtu.be/UB-jD7xExr8?si=eWjkzXBHLNnLhP68

    1h 15m
  • 5 Episodes

About

Think you know Cuba? Think again. Since the Revolution of 1959, Cuba has defied expectations and flouted the rules. It is a country of contradictions. A poor country with world-leading human development indicators. A small island that mobilises the world’s largest international humanitarian assistance. A weak and dependent economy which has survived economic crises and the United States blockade - the longest and most extensive system of unilateral sanctions applied against any country in modern history. Anachronistic but innovative. Traditional but creative. Formally ostracised, but with millions of defenders around the world. Despite meeting most of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, Cuba’s socialist development strategy is not upheld as an example. We’re going beyond the headlines to explore those contradictions. Using sources you never see and speaking to specialists you never hear from. On Cuba Analysis, we dissect the facts. We put things in context. Get to the root of the issue. We challenge assumptions and ask: Who’s shaping the narrative? Who benefits from the story? Join us. This is Cuba Analysis.

Information

  • Creator
    Cuba Analysis
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Cuba Analysis
  • Show Website
    Cuba Analysis