E1 - Breaking Chains

Aired: December 11, 2015

After four centuries of Spanish colonial rule, Cubans win their independence, but U.S. intervention at the eleventh hour comes with a price.

E2 - War and Sugar

Aired: December 11, 2015

Cuba flourishes thanks to sugar production, but relations with the U.S. deteriorate, leading to the rise of military strongman Fulgencio Batista.

E3 - Ganster's Paradise

Aired: December 11, 2015

A source of illegal rum during Prohibition, Cuba becomes a haven for the Mafia, which seizes control of the country's popular gambling industry.

E4 - A Ragtag Revolution

Aired: December 11, 2015

On New Year's Day 1959, rebel guerillas led by the Castro brothers and Che Guevara succeed in toppling the corrupt, dictatorial rule of Batista.

E5 - Making Heroes

Aired: March 11, 2016

Heroes of the revolution include the Castros, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, but Fidel Castro's brutality and radical leftist reforms divide them.

E6 - Of Soviets and Saviors

Aired: March 11, 2016

When Fidel Castro expropriates U.S. businesses and pursues support from the Soviet Union, the CIA sends assassins, saboteurs and invaders to Cuba.

E7 - Secrets and Sacrifices

Aired: March 11, 2016

Challenges mount in the '80s as Cubans desert their restrictive homeland, cocaine infiltrates the government, and European socialism collapses.

E8 - Moments of Transition

Aired: March 11, 2016

In the post-Soviet world, the Castros find mutual support in Venezuela, but the Cold War's conclusion brings the country's isolationism to an end.