Episode 75 - 638 assassination attempts and the most expensive party ever

On this week’s episode, Chris has learnt about the different ways that the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro, all 638 of them. Well, the most interesting of the 638 attempts anyway. From the very famous exploding cigar to the slightly bonkers poisoned diving suit to the less subtle hiring of the mafia, the CIA made many attempts to get rid of the communist leader. Either they weren’t very good, or his security was excellent because he lived a very long life. Then Harrison has learnt about the most expensive party ever thrown. In 1971, the Shah of Iran wanted to prove to the world how rich and sophisticated his country was. The preparations took more than a year and involved the building of a 1,000km highway, a 160 acre “city of tents” and an enormous food order from Paris. The party may have been a hit, but the long term consequences of the party, especially for the Shah, were severe.