Show Notes Episode 500(!): Who's Afraid of Grenada?
Part 2 of Summer Series 2025
This week Host Dave Bledsoe dressed up in his old Air Force dress uniform and staggered into a bar insisting he was there to “liberate” the Jameson. (His invasion was repulsed by an annoyed bouncer) On the show this week part two of Summer Series 2025 “You Can Have A Little War, As A Treat” continues with 1983’s Invasion of Grenada.
Along the way we discover that Dave may have covered up a brutal murder in the late 1980’s. (Admittedly, the victim was a swan.) Then we dive right into the history of the tiny island nation of Grenada, from its discovery by Columbus, to colonization by the French and the British. From there we discuss how the long claws of Communism grabbed the peaceful island via the construction of an airport. (That was actually paid for by the United Kingdom.) Then we learn why Ronald Reagan sent thousands of US Troops to “rescue” some perfectly safe medical students. (Hint: It was politically expedient.)
Our Sponsor this week is the Grenada Tourism Board, who invite you to try a little Pure Grenada! We open the show with news from 1983 and close with Berbice who loves his island.
Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense
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Citations Needed:
Address by Prime Minister Maurice Bishop of Grenada (10 October 1979)
https://web.archive.org/web/20081006090208/http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/carriers-torch/3103-maurice-bishop-speech-34th-general-assembly-united-nations-new-york.html
Wikipedia: Maurice Bishop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Bishop
Touching Down in Granada
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/26/us/briefing-058430.html
Wikipedia: United States invasion of Grenada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Grenada
Grenada Invasion: History and Significance
https://www.thoughtco.com/grenada-invasion-4571025
TRAPPED IN THE INVASION OF GRENADA
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/30/nyregion/trapped-in-the-invasion-of-grenada.html
STUDENTS REFLECT ON GRENADA INVASION
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/06/nyregion/students-reflect-on-grenada-invasion.html
National archives: Reagan blindsided Thatcher over 1983 Grenada invasion
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/01/margaret-thatcher-reagan-grenada-invasion-national-archives
Grenada Move Earns Reagan Broad Political Gains, Poll Shows
https://web.archive.org/web/20240709084950/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/11/09/grenada-move-earns-reagan-broad-political-gains-poll-shows/6c7b2ecd-5c9c-4aea-946c-408eef6b61a6/
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