Episode 0: Introduction

Chile Under Siege

To set the scene: Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile in 1970 and accelerated the agrarian reform that was initiated under his predecessors, Jorge Alessandri and Eduardo Frei Montalva, attempting to expropriate the land held by all large estates, known as latifundias. Allende didn’t have control over the other branches of government, so his administration was attempting a nigh-impossible balancing act of accomplishing its policy goals while attempting to appease landowners and the military, all while the US was blockading imports and CIA was fomenting internal chaos. The soon-to-be-Dr. Steenland lived in southern Chile with peasants who were participating in the reform/land occupations, from 1972 through the military coup in 1973.  Fuente de Informacion Norteamericano Charlie Horman Missing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Horman [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Horman] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_(1982_film) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_(1982_film)] Chile in Their Hearts by John Dinges https://www.ucpress.edu/books/chile-in-their-hearts/paper [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/chile-in-their-hearts/paper] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Schneider [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Schneider]

Episode 0: Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Feeding the Revolution, a podcast sharing stories from the history of radical agrarian reform. My name is Joel Digger, and thank you very much for joining us today. It means a lot to me that you’ve taken the time to seek out, download, and begin to listen to this first episode. I want to repay that trust by making every effort to tell compelling, meaningful stories that will hopefully give you some insights into agriculture around the world.  When I started dreaming about making this podcast a few years ago, I had a very small child and a full time job, so I spent a lot more time turning the idea over and around in my head than I did actually researching. During the time that the concept was germinating and sprouting, I thought that this would be a podcast about the history of agriculture in socialist countries. Surely there were tales aplenty of the rural proletariat joining together to overcome obstacles and inspire us, even today. If you enjoyed what you’ve heard here today, please subscribe to Feeding the Revolution wherever you get your podcasts. If you feel so inclined, please rate and review the podcast. You can find me on instagram at @feedingtherevolutionpod. If you have a question for me, please email me at feedingtherevolutionpod@gmail.com [feedingtherevolutionpod@gmail.com]. Dandy Horse Press designed our logo. Keep on the sunny side, and see you next time.