A deep dive into the strange obscure and relentlessly entertaining portions of human history. Married couple and armchair historians, Stephanie & Andrew, discuss the often overlooked parts of humanity. Whether the subject is an obscure event that has confused historians for centuries or a historical figure that doesn't get enough credit, we have you covered.
New episodes available every other Monday!
All content for History For Weirdos is the property of Andrew & Stephanie and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A deep dive into the strange obscure and relentlessly entertaining portions of human history. Married couple and armchair historians, Stephanie & Andrew, discuss the often overlooked parts of humanity. Whether the subject is an obscure event that has confused historians for centuries or a historical figure that doesn't get enough credit, we have you covered.
New episodes available every other Monday!
Okay, buckle up, because History For Weirdos is back! Also check out our brand new merch here!!
**If you want to skip ahead and get to the story itself, go to the 20:20 mark**
This week's History for Weirdos dives into the bananas – literally – story of the 1954 Guatemalan coup. Picture this: Guatemala, 1950s, a newly elected president, Jacobo Árbenz, with a wild idea: giving unused land back to the people. Sounds kinda nice, right? Not to the United Fruit Company, the mega-corp basically running the country like their own personal banana republic (pun intended, always). UFCO had been low-balling their land's value for taxes for years, and Arbenz's reforms, while offering compensation, were based on THOSE lowballed tax values. The Company freaked and decided a little "regime change" was in order.
So, how do you convince the most powerful nation on Earth to overthrow a democratically-elected government because your bottom line is threatened? Easy! You scream "COMMUNISM!" at the top of your lungs during the height of the Red Scare. UFCO, with its tentacles wrapped around powerful figures in the U.S. government (some serious "swamp" vibes, even for the '50s), launched a propaganda blitz, painting Árbenz as a Soviet puppet. The CIA, never ones to shy away from a little covert chaos, jumped in, cooked up some "rebel" forces, and poof – democracy extinguished, all to keep those sweet, sweet banana profits flowing. It's a tale of corporate greed, Cold War paranoia, and the sheer, unadulterated weirdness of international politics. We are going to have a good time with this one.
-
Thank you for listening Weirdos! Show the podcast some love by rating & subscribing on whichever platform you use to listen to podcasts.
Your support means so much to us. Let's stay in touch 👇
Email: historyforweirdos@gmail.com
IG/Threads: @historyforweirdos
Website: historyforweirdos.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
History For Weirdos
A deep dive into the strange obscure and relentlessly entertaining portions of human history. Married couple and armchair historians, Stephanie & Andrew, discuss the often overlooked parts of humanity. Whether the subject is an obscure event that has confused historians for centuries or a historical figure that doesn't get enough credit, we have you covered.
New episodes available every other Monday!
