A look at the human toll of the construction of the Panama Canal

A look at the human toll of the construction of the Panama Canal

From La Brega: Campeones by Futuro Media

April 14, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the human toll and historical significance of the Panama Canal's construction through an interview with author Cristina Henríquez.

This week, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Code Switch.  President Donald Trump says he wants the U.S. to take back control of the Panama Canal. The Canal has been dubbed the greatest engineering feat in human history. It's also (perhaps less favorably) been called the greatest liberty mankind has ever taken with Mother Nature. So how did we get here? Today on the show, we're talking to Cristina Henríquez, the author of the novel, "The Great Divide." Her book explores the making of the Canal. It took 50,000 people from 90 different countries to carve the land in two — and the consequences of that extraordinary, nature-defying act are still echoing through our present. You can subscribe to Code Switch here . Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on La Brega and all our podcasts futuromediagroup.org/joinplus . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Cristina Henríquez

Topics covered

  • Panama Canal
  • engineering
  • human toll
  • history
  • literature
  • nature
  • consequences

Keywords

  • Panama Canal
  • Cristina Henríquez
  • The Great Divide
  • engineering feat
  • human toll
  • history
  • nature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Code Switch, Futuro Media

Books & works: The Great Divide

Places: Panama Canal, U.S.

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