An audacious revolutionary experiment in the backyard of empire, Cuba has occupied a vexed role in the international order for decades. Though its doctors (and fighters)—and the outsized influence of its example—have traversed the globe, from Venezuela to Angola, its political and economic future remain uncertain as the Castro era comes to a close and the U.S. embargo proceeds unabated.

Through an intimate conversation between two of the country’s most astute observers of international politics, Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad, On Cuba traces Cuban history from the early days of the 1950s revolution to the present, interrogating U.S. interventions and extracting lessons on U.S. power and influence in the Western Hemisphere along the way. Neither a jingoistic condemnation nor an uncritical celebration, Chomsky’s heterodox approach to world affairs is on full display as he and Prashad grapple with Cuba’s unique place on the international scene.

In a media landscape saturated with half-truths and fake news, Chomsky and Prashad—“our own Frantz Fanon . . . [whose] writing of protest is always tinged with the beauty of hope” (Amitava Kumar, author of Immigrant, Montana)—seek to shed light on the truth of a complex and perennially controversial nation, while examining the limits of mainstream media discourse.