by Michael Fox | Jan 5, 2026 | Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Under the Shadow, Venezuela
In the early hours of Saturday morning, January 3rd, Venezuelans were awoken by the sounds of bombs falling. US helicopters whirled overhead. Explosions struck across the capital Caracas and in surrounding states.
Hours of chaos, fear, and uncertainty.
President Donald Trump would post over social media that the US had “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores amid a “large-scale” strike against the country.
This is the first US invasion of another country in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, when the US kidnapped and detained Panamanian President Manuel Noriega under charges of drug trafficking. The Trump administration used the same excuse to detain Maduro, despite lack of evidence linking Maduro to drug trafficking.
With this strike, the United States has taken an unprecedented step: This is the first time the United States has used its own military to invade a South American country.
Today, we go to Caracas to look in-depth at the January 3rd US invasion of Venezuela. Host Michael Fox speaks with Caracas-based reporter Ricardo Vaz.
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.
Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump Administration’s onslaught in Latin America.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido’s new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Resources:
Under the Shadow
You can check out the first season of
by Michael Fox | Dec 31, 2025 | Economy and Inequality, mexico, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Stories of Resistance
On January 1, 1994, Indigenous peoples from Chiapas, Mexico, rose up. They took control of city halls in towns across the state. They took the state capital San Cristobal de las Casas. And they held them for days, despite a violent response from Mexico’s military.
This was not just any movement confined to the mountainous jungles of Mexico. It was an Indigenous uprising against injustice. An uprising against neoliberalism. An uprising against globalization and free trade agreements, and it would have deep reverberations. Inspiring people, not just in Mexico, but around the world.
BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. Sign up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also won a Gold Signal Award for best episode host. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, videos, and interviews.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.Resources:
First Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle
Zapatista: a Big Noise Film
Mexico: Ezln Leader Subcomandante Marcos Interview
Chiapas and the Zapatistas – Mexico’s Brutal Land Dispute
Documental: El Fuego y la Palabra (EZLN, México)
Transcript
MICHAEL FOX [NARRATOR]: On January 1st, 1994, something remarkable happened in Chiapas, Mexico. Indigenous peoples from Mexico’s mountainous, southeastern-most state rose up. They took control of city halls in towns across the state. The took
by Michael Fox | Dec 29, 2025 | Latin America, Panama, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Under the Shadow
On September 2, President Donald Trump announced from the Oval Office that the US Navy had carried out an air strike on a boat in international waters. That boat strike rewrote US policy for Latin America overnight. Three months later, 26 boats have been hit, killing more than 90 people. The United States has codified its justification for the boat strikes as part of a new National Security Strategy, published in early December 2025. In the National Security Strategy, Trump announced a new Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which he hopes can propel the United States and the US military to preeminence in the hemisphere. Trump’s actions suggest he believes he has broad latitude to take whatever measures he deems necessary, regardless of international law, the sovereignty of other nations, or the impact on human life. This reenvisioning of US policy for Latin America has disastrous implications for the region. More missile strikes. Loss of innocent lives. And even wrapping the United States into war close to home.
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 will respond in real time to the Trump Administration’s onslaught in Latin America. We begin today where we started in the last episode of Season 1… in Panama.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox. Edited by Heather Gies.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido’s new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or
by Michael Fox | Dec 22, 2025 | history, holidays, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Stories of Resistance, WWI
It’s late 1914. December cold in the trenches of the Western Front of World War I. Rations are in short supply. Men shiver… dreaming of home. Wishing they were far away. For months, here in the trenches, the sounds of the machine gun fire have peppered every waking moment. The whining of the bullets. The hissing and the cracking. But this morning—Christmas morning—the guns stop. It’s not planned. It’s spontaneous. But it happens all along the front. And over hundreds of miles of trenches. Silence… And then singing. Soft at first and then louder. Carols. Christmas songs. First, one side sings in German. And then the other in French or English.
It’s the beginning of the Christmas Truce. 100,000 soldiers would participate in the temporary ceasefire. It remains a testament to the humanity in us all. A reminder of the resistance from men on the front lines to the savages of war. Resistance to the orders from above.
BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported.
And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.
The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also won a Gold Signal Award for best episode host. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on
by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 18, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, Working People
On Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even though strikers have returned to work, however, many issues at the center of the strike are still in legal limbo—and their fight for a fair contract is not over. In this episode of Working People, we speak with three Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members—Bob Batz. Jr, Natalie Duleba, and Steve Mellon—about where things stand now, how their lives have changed since returning to work, and what it takes to hold the picket line for over three years.
Additional links/info:
Pittsburgh Union Progress website
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram
Bob Batz Jr. & Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, “Pittsburgh journalists vote to end country’s longest strike and notify the PG they are returning to work”
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, “Post-Gazette strikers send company return to work offer”
Sara Scire, Nieman Lab, “What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alright. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today. Working People is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and is brought to you in partnership within these Times Magazine and the Real News Network. This show is produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. My name is Maximillian Alvarez, and as we reach the
by Michael Fox | Dec 17, 2025 | Panama, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Stories of Resistance
On Dec. 20, each year, people march in Panama City. They march to remember the fallen. They march to continue to demand justice for the violence, the destruction, and for those who were killed in the last US invasion in Latin America—the 1989 invasion of Panama.
BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported.
And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.
The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also been in the running for best episode host. And he also won a Gold Signal Award. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.
Resources:
Panama. US invasion. | Under the Shadow Episode 13
The upcoming Season 2 of Under the Shadow
Resources used in today’s episode:
“Deja el canal”: panameños protestan contra Donald Trump ante embajada de Estados Unidos
Nov. 25, 2025: PROTESTAS EN PANAMÁ contra la presencia militar de EE.UU.: “GOBIERNO VENDEPATRIAS…”
Protestas en Panamá contra acuerdo con UU. EE., reforma pensional y minería | FRANCE 24 Español
Panama: 8th anniversary of US invasion to topple Noriega marked
Transcript
On December 20, each year, in Panama City, people march. They carry banners
