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 U.S. intervention and its lingering effects in the region today. Season 2 will respond in real time to the Trump Administration’s onslaught in Latin America.
Under the Shadow walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. It is produced in partnership with The Real News Network. Follow Under the Shadow wherever you listen to podcasts.
LISTEN TO THE TRAILER
Season 2: Trump Attacks
What’s Really Behind Trump’s Drive for War in Venezuela? | Season 2, Ep. 1
January 5, 2026
How Trump is redefining U.S. foreign policy in Latin America with Monroe 2.0. This is Season 2, Episode 1 of Under the Shadow.
The Americas Will Never Be the Same | Season 2, Ep. 2
January 5, 2026
Early on January 3, the U.S. government invaded Venezuela and took President Maduro into custody. It marked the first time the United States used its own military to invade a South American country.
Hands Off Latin America | Season 2, Ep. 3
January 19, 2026
After the U.S. invasion of Venezuela, the Trump administration has threatened other countries in Latin America, but some of the region’s leaders and people are standing up.
Debunking the US narrative on Venezuela | Under the Shadow Season 2, Ep. 4
January 24, 2026
Host Michael Fox looks at the misconceptions, myths, and misinformation that have been spread about Venezuela in the wake of the US invasion.
When the Bombs Fell on Caracas | Under the Shadow Season 2, Episode 5
February 3, 2026
The United States has painted its January 3 invasion of Venezuela as a surgical operation. But for those on the ground it was a disaster. The US killed more than 100 people. It hit civilian targets and left terror and destruction in its wake.
Homeland Empire | Under the Shadow, Season 2, Episode 6
February 20, 2026
We are seeing an unprecedented reorganization of domestic and foreign policy in the United States. Both of them deployed to achieve the same goal — punish the opposition to Trump.
Trump’s War on Cuba: Crisis Made in the U.S.A. | Under the Shadow Season 2, Episode 7
March 5, 2026
The situation in Cuba is dire. It hasn’t been this bad for decades. And it’s on purpose. This is a humanitarian crisis, made in the United States
The Donroe Coalition | Under the Shadow Season 2, Episode 8
March 14, 2026
Last weekend, Donald Trump met with right-wing allies from Latin America to kick off a new military coalition to attack so-called drug cartels and push his agenda up and down the hemisphere.
How the United States Stole Mexico | Under the Shadow Season 2, Episode 9
March 26, 2026
Donald Trump has his sights set on Mexico. But his actions harken back to a much older era of the U.S. empire.
How U.S. Policy Fueled Mexico’s Cartel Crisis | Under the Shadow Season 2, Episode 10
April 9, 2026
Drugs. They have been the boogeyman across Latin America for decades. An excuse that has led to so much violence. And Trump is turning up the temperature.
HondurasGate | Under the Shadow, Season 2, Episode 11
May 29, 2026
Michael Fox walks you through the HondurasGate leaks. What they are, what they mean, and the repercussions for the region.
Brazil’s Battle Against Fake News & the US War to Undermine it | The Battle for Free Speech, Ep. 6
July 30, 2026
Few countries in the world have fought disinformation as actively as Brazil. Now, the United States is pushing to roll it back in the name of US-style “free speech.”
Season 1: Central America
The Beginning: Monroe Doctrine and Migration | Under the Shadow, Ep. 1
January 9, 2024
Coups, destabilization, and decades of other forms of U.S. military and economic intervention have driven millions of Central Americans to flee their homes.
Guatemala: United Fruit | Under the Shadow, Ep. 2
January 9, 2024
The dreams of a democratic Guatemala were dashed by a 1954 CIA coup against President Jacobo Arbenz spurred by the landed interests of the United Fruit Company.
Guatemala: The Disappeared | Under the Shadow, Ep. 3
January 9, 2024
U.S.-trained and sponsored state forces killed 200,000 mostly Indigenous Guatemalans in a genocide in the 1980s. Forty years later, justice remains elusive.
El Salvador: The Innocent Victims | Under the Shadow, Ep. 4
January 16, 2024
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration poured billions of dollars into El Salvador’s military to crush the left-wing FMLN, littering the country in mass graves in the process.
El Salvador: Rebel Radio | Under the Shadow, Ep. 5
January 23, 2024
Broadcasting the Salvadoran government’s atrocities throughout the armed conflict, the guerrilla radio station Venceremos had a clear goal: bringing down the U.S.-backed dictatorship.
USS Honduras | Under the Shadow, Ep. 6
February 13, 2024
Often overlooked in the story of U.S. imperialism in Central America, Honduras has served as a training base and staging ground for interventions throughout the region. In the 1980s, the impacts were devastating.
2009 Honduras: La Resistencia | Under the Shadow, Ep. 7, Part I
February 27, 2024
The 2009 U.S.-backed coup ruptured Honduras’s three-decade-old democracy. Despite a media blockade, militarization, and deadly repression, the people took to the streets—and refused to back down.
2009 Honduras: Legacy of a Coup | Under the Shadow, Ep. 7, Part II
March 12, 2024
The 2009 coup ratcheted up the sell-off of land and resources, enabled state-sponsored drug trafficking and corruption, and fueled a migrant exodus—all with U.S. and Canadian support.
William Walker: The Gringo Who Tried to Rule Central America | Under the Shadow, Ep. 8
April 12, 2024
In the 19th century, U.S. filibusters invaded and annexed Latin American territories in the name of Manifest Destiny. One man’s quest to conquer Nicaragua shows the deep roots of U.S. efforts to “spread democracy” abroad.
Remembering the Longest U.S. Occupation in Latin American History | Under the Shadow, Ep. 9
April 23, 2024
Augusto Sandino is celebrated as a Nicaraguan revolutionary and liberator. The U.S invasion he resisted set the stage for dictatorship and, later, revolution.
Why the Nicaraguan Revolution Matters Today | Under the Shadow, Ep. 10, Part I
May 15, 2024
The 1979 Sandinista victory over the Somoza dictatorship sparked hope across Central America and beyond. Nicaragua quickly became ground zero of a violent U.S.-backed counterrevolutionary war.
Reagan’s Contra War on Nicaragua | Under the Shadow, Ep. 10, Part II
June 24, 2024
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration illegally funded counter-revolutionary warfare in Nicaragua. As scandal engulfed Washington, the solidarity movement pushed back against intervention.
The U.S. Shadow Over Costa Rica The Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. Enclave in Latin America | Under the Shadow, Ep. 11
July 9, 2024
The abolition of Costa Rica’s military 75 years ago has been highly celebrated at home and abroad. Yet the story is more complicated than the myth lets on.
The Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. Enclave in Latin America | Under the Shadow, Ep. 12
July 24, 2024
A strategic shipping corridor, Panama became home to Washington’s most important asset in the region and the base of its military training apparatus.
Remembering the U.S. Invasion of Panama, 35 Years Later | Under the Shadow, Ep. 13
September 4, 2024
The 1989 invasion left deep wounds in Panama, including an untold number of people killed. Locals continue to demand justice.
Season 1: Bonus Episodes
Arévalo, Presidente | Under the Shadow, Update 1
January 30, 2024
Guatemala’s new president Bernardo Arévalo is now in office. But the struggle to defend democracy against the forces fixated on blocking his rise to power isn’t over yet.
Bukele, Presidente | Under the Shadow, Update 2
February 7, 2024
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has been reelected in a landslide. Supporters praise his security gains despite widespread human rights abuses, and leaders across the region are looking to emulate his model.
U.S. Role in Honduras Narco-State Absent from President’s Drug Trial | Under the Shadow, Update 3
March 26, 2024
Former president Juan Orlando Hernández has been convicted of drug trafficking. The United States and Canada remain unaccountable.
Hollywood and Empire | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 1
June 24, 2024
British director Alex Cox’s 1987 film Walker, starring Ed Harris, laid an uncompromising critique of U.S. imperialism in Nicaragua. For his “a revolutionary film in a revolutionary context,” Cox was blacklisted from the industry.
Chomsky on U.S. Intervention in Central America | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 2
June 25, 2024
Under the Shadow looks back on Chomsky’s 1983 lecture at the University of Colorado, as some of the worst aspects of the Reagan administration’s Cold War-era foreign policy ravaged Central America.
The Legacy of the Monroe Doctrine | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 3
August 13, 2024
Historian Greg Grandin examines the long shadow of the Monroe Doctrine, which continues to shape U.S. imperialism in Latin America.
Michael Fox is a Latin America-based multimedia journalist and host of the podcasts Brazil on Fire, Under the Shadow and Stories of Resistance. He was previously editor of NACLA. You can find more of his work on his Patreon.