In light of US president Barack Obama's historic trip to Havana co-hosts Cardiff Garcia and Shannon Bond discuss the state of the Cuban economy, including the evolution of the dual currency system, new opportunity for foreign investment and Mr Obama's attempt to claw away at the trade embargo. Then, economist Caroline Freund describes the relationship between the emergence of billionaires in poor countries and the ability of those countries to move quickly up the development ladder, the topic of her new book Rich People, Poor Countries. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy