Inside the chapter: Nicaragua

Sandino resists coronavirus too (MAYNOR VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty)

We’re turning the tables this week, as Racket researcher Annie Malcolm interrogates me about the making of a chapter of Gangsters of Capitalism. Specifically, Nicaragua.

We talk about why Nicaragua was a key turning point in Smedley Butler’s path from warrior to antiwar activist, the origin story and legacy of revolutionary Augusto Sandino, and the tumult facing Nicaraguans today. You’ll also hear audio from my meeting with dissident Sandinista comandante Mónica Baltodano and my visit into the bowels of the Somozas’ feared torture prison under the mountain of Coyotepe.

I also read a bit of the book. It’s like a pre-pandemic bookstore reading from the comfort of your home. Or wherever you are.