This is an exploration of the "psychology" of the circumstances that lead to the decision to cannibalize others to survive. This large group of ambitious, largely white emigrants made several ill-informed decisions that put them several months behind schedule to reach their destination. Their delay had them stranded in an inescapable snowstorm in already nearly impassable terrain. The rest, as they say, is history.

Links for Today:

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0CzxWpBueNqLVuH1g_gUF58HQ#Journal_Article_on_Historical_Evidence

https://www.etymonline.com/word/cannibal#etymonline_v_667 (Etymology of “cannibal”)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25612556?seq=1 (Article on how “cannibal” was a political term)

https://www.amazon.com/Emigrants-Oregon-California-Lansford-Hastings/dp/1557092451 (The Huckster’s Guide to an Early Death)

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0Ga06vDZkvoQqEiYMMt7YVpdg#Mexicans_in_the_California_Mines,_1848-53

https://www.timothysnyder.org/books/bloodlands

https://www.babymed.com/info/eating-placenta-placentophagia (Discussion on whether eating placentas is cannibalism)

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/eating-placentas-cannibalism-recycling-or-health-food/ (Skeptical critique of placenta eating)

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17095605 (BBC Article on starvation)

Donnar Museum

Cookbook

VOX Article on Cannibalism

NPR Article: When People Ate People, A Strange Disease Emerged

2009 Movie on the Donnar Party (looks terrible lol)

Other movies that depict Cannibalism

Donnar Party Memorial site

We are on Reddit! https://www.reddit.com/user/WhyWeDoWhatWeDo

Recommendations

Abraham: Ike’s Love and Sandwiches (http://www.loveandsandwiches.com/locations/)

Shane: Black Card by Chris L. Terry (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-card-chris-l-terry/1130028044)

You can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at info@wwdwwdpodcast.com, through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.