Podcasts · The Mishal Husain Show

Cuba on the Brink: Ada Ferrer on Life Under US Pressure

· 42 min

Episode Cuba on the Brink: Ada Ferrer on Life Under US Pressure

0:00 42:10

Ada Ferrer won the Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for her acclaimed book, Cuba: An American History, which examined the island’s relationship with the US. Her latest work, Keeper of My Kin, tells her family story: a mother who fled the island nation carrying an infant daughter, while leaving a brother behind. Now, as Donald Trump increases pressure on Cubans and their leaders, cutting off oil while obtaining an indictment of Raul Castro for the 1996 shootdown of a small plane, Ferrer tells Mishal Husain about the human cost of Cuba’s long crisis.

03:26 - Writing “Keeper of my Kin” 04:09 - A love-hate relationship with Cuba 05:40 - The Cuba of Castro 07:11 - Leaving Cuba in 1963 08:13 - Leaving her brother Poly behind 12:08 - Letters from Poly 15:48 - Cuba’s history of migration 17:58 - Helping family in Cuba 22:50 - People in Cuba are “suffering” 24:01 - A threat to US national security? 26:51 - A shared experience with Rubio 32:19 - Cuban-Americans and Trump 34:04 Obama’s visit to Cuba 37:52 - Calling myself an American 39:52 - The books is a “testament of love”

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

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