Peter Kornbluh

Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at the National Security Archive and co‑author of Back Channel to Cuba, gives a compact historical lens on Washington‑Havana dealings. He discusses secret back‑channel talks, the impact of Venezuelan oil cutoffs on Cuba’s rolling blackouts, shifting US tactics from engagement to pressure, and the political drivers in Miami and Washington shaping current negotiations.

Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at the National Security Archive and Cuba expert, guides a lively tour of U.S.–Cuba relations. He traces 19th-century ambitions, the Platt Amendment and Guantanamo, Batista and Castro’s rise, the Bay of Pigs and missile standoff, Cuba’s global role, and the swing from Obama’s rapprochement to recent hardline rhetoric.

Fred Litwin, an author known for debunking JFK assassination conspiracy theories, joins Peter Kornbluh, a national security analyst at the National Security Archive. They discuss a recent congressional hearing featuring Oliver Stone and examine how misconceptions persist about Lee Harvey Oswald's CIA ties. The conversation navigates newly declassified documents revealing CIA surveillance of Oswald and critiques Stone's role in perpetuating conspiracy myths. They also address how the JFK assassination continues to be manipulated in modern political discourse.