In November’s New Internationalist, John M Kirk and Chris Walker write on Cuba’s revolutionary healthcare system, both at home and abroad. Free for Cubans to use and with nearly 40,000 medical personnel working on ‘solidarity missions’ in foreign countries, it seems enviable. But is Cuba’s ‘pact with the devil’ all it’s cracked up to be?

In this podcast Kirk explains why he thinks wealthier countries, like the US and Britain, have a lot to learn from Cuba. He also answers some of the criticisms levelled at Cuba, such as high abortion rates and strict travel restrictions.

To find out more about November’s New Internationalist: ‘Bad medicine,’ at the magazine page.

Thanks to Water Pageant for the music used in this podcast. Find out more about the band on their MySpace page or on Facebook. Their album, Sightlings is out now.