On April 23, 1982, the mayor of Key West stepped up to a microphone, declared war on the United States, smashed a stale loaf of Cuban bread over the head of a man in a naval uniform, surrendered sixty seconds later, and demanded one billion dollars in foreign aid. Every detail actually happened. In this episode we explore the Conch Republic, the micronation born at the southern tip of Florida, and how a marginalized community used tactical absurdity to force a superpower to pay attention.

We start with the Border Patrol roadblock on US Highway 1 that paralyzed the Keys' tourism economy, the failed lawsuits and complaints that preceded secession, and why bad publicity accomplished what the courts could not. We then follow the Republic's later campaigns: the 1995 defense against a surprise Army Reserve training exercise, fought with water bal ...