Iran–Contra affair

Heard in 12 episodes across 5 shows since Jul 2026

The Iran–Contra affair was a major political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was subject to an arms embargo, in hope of securing the release of several U.S. hostages. The proceeds from these covert arms sales were then illegally used to fund the Contras, a right-wing rebel group fighting the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.