Fourth Act Studios

Fruit d'État

History EN ↓ 5 episodes

The Unbelievable Story of the 1954 CIA-Sponsored Guatemalan Coup. An original podcast docuseries featuring New York Times bestselling author Stephen Kinzer. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests and the fear of communism in Latin America set the stage for one of the most disastrous regime change operations in CIA history, plunging a promising democracy into the bloodiest civil war in the history of the continent. Fruit d’Etat is a production of Fourth Act Studios. Written and produced by Stefano Dozza. Narrated by Todd Bjurs...

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Fourth Act Studios

Episodes

5. Aftermath of a Bloody Bloodless Coup 06.04.2026 50:43

Episode 5. The political instability caused by the 1954 CIA-sponsored coup leads to a 36-year-long civil war that ends in genocide. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests and the fear of communism in Latin America set the stage for one of the most disastrous regime change operations in CIA history, plunging a promising democracy...

4. Operation Success 06.04.2026 38:28

Episode 4. With the blessing of President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon, CIA director Allen Dulles officially launches Operation Success, a plan to overthrow the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala and replace him with astroturf leader Carlos Castillo Armas. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests...

3. Actors and Publicists: The Making of the Guatemalan Coup 06.04.2026 39:19

Episode 3. A propaganda campaign designed by Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, paints Guatemala as a communist stronghold in desperate need to be liberated, a narrative the American people are all too receptive to in the 1950s. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests and the fear of communism in Latin America set the stage f...

2. Sam the Banana Man and the United Fruit Company 06.04.2026 29:59

Episode 2. Newly elected Jacobo Árbenz threatens the margins of United Fruit Company’s CEO: Sam, the Banana Man, the uncrowned king of Central America. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests and the fear of communism in Latin America set the stage for one of the most disastrous regime change operations in CIA history, plunging a...

1. Growing Pains: Prelude to the Guatemalan Coup 06.04.2026 27:35

Episode 1. The Guatemalan spring of 1944 ushers in hope, with the election of Juan José Arévalo, the country’s first democratically elected President. Forget oil. In 1954, it was all about bananas. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US corporate interests and the fear of communism in Latin America set the stage for one of the most disastrous regime change operations in CIA history, plunging a p...