A documentary history podcast
From the File
History from the documents. Every claim traced to a declassified file.
Each episode is built from contemporaneous records, later Agency histories, and the investigations that followed — and from what is still blacked out or missing. No invented scenes. No dramatization. The hook is the paper.
Season 1: The Bay of Pigs
Ten episodes on one declassified operation. What the program was authorized to do, what the Agency built instead, and what the files still will not settle.
Cited document bundles by email. The cables, the memos, the record numbers — facts first, no hype.
Featured episodes
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The Inheritance
Eisenhower’s March 1960 authorization for small teams and a resistance that never materialized — handed to a new president who was never asked, on the record we have, whether he wanted an invasion at all.
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The Secret Army
Guatemala camps, the November pivot to amphibious assault, and five contradictory answers to what the exiles were promised about American backing.
Episodes 3–10 are in production. Full stack with players: Season 1 hub. All seasons: seasons index.
How to listen
Self-hosted audio and a public RSS feed. The Season 1 hub is the binge surface; episode pages carry the sourced essay, citations, and a player once audio is on the CDN. Questions: [email protected].