"Planning My Escape From Cuba" - Nick Shirley Returns | PBD #793

Nick Shirley, a 24-year-old citizen journalist, returns to the PBD Podcast to detail his 24-hour trip to Cuba, driven by concerns over rising socialism in the US. Accompanied by two security guards experienced in hostile environments, he aimed to document life under communism firsthand but faced immediate scrutiny, equipment seizures, and surveillance that forced an early escape.

Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis

Shirley landed in Havana with a journalistic visa but had his GoPros, stabilizer, and Meta glasses confiscated at the airport, where officials interrogated him for hours using pen-and-paper notes—no computers in sight. Suspected of being Trump-sent due to his appearance as the only American, he retrieved his gear the next day. Streets were empty despite Havana's two million residents; 1950s cars dominated alongside Soviet-era and Chinese vehicles, amid decaying pre-revolution architecture now resembling rubble. No gas stations operated after Venezuela's oil supply was cut, leaving lines for government rations at $1 per unit or $40/gallon on the black market. Burning garbage created smog; daily blackouts halted studies and lives, as a 12-year-old university soccer player explained. Food ration books controlled meager supplies—one interviewee hadn't eaten eggs in a year. People appeared depressed, avoiding eye contact, with minimal children visible outdoors.