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Why don’t we eat people? (classic)

February 20, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: A hybrid of casual interview and narrative storytelling, starting with a live chat with a child and mom, transitioning to the host's researched deep dive with a friend, ending in light food recommendations.
  • The Key Players:
    • PJ Vogt (Host): Curious journalist unpacking taboos through history, science, and philosophy.
    • Otto (4-year-old guest): Sparks the episode with his innocent question about eating human heads.
    • Hannah Goldfield (Mom/Guest): New Yorker food critic whose "eat anything" ethos collides with the cannibalism taboo.
    • Calva (Friend/Co-host): Chronically open-minded taboo skeptic, bantering on ethics and intuitions.
  • The Vibe: Fun and intellectually playful, blending kid-like curiosity, dark humor, and mind-bending education on a gross taboo.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Otto (4) and Hannah Goldfield**
  • 2 (03:52) **Exploring the Cannibalism Taboo**
  • 3 (13:34) **Three Stories of Cannibalism with Cal Fuscane**
  • 4 (17:04) **Story 1: The Conquest (Columbus and Caribs)**
  • 5 (26:50) **Survival Cannibalism Examples**
  • 6 (32:24) **Story 2: The Trial (Armin Meiwes Case)**
  • 7 (38:42) **Story 3: The Funeral (Fore People and Kuru)**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

A question from a four-year-old tips us into an investigation of one of our most fundamental taboos: cannibalism. With help from New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield and writer Kelefa Sanneh.

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