It’s common knowledge that famines are usually caused by major droughts: Rain doesn’t fall, crops don’t grow, and people go hungry. But recent research suggests that while weather may trigger famines, they may actually be more of a human-made catastrophe.
# Stuff You Should Know - Famine Episode Summary
In this deeply sobering episode, Josh and Chuck explore the complex causes of famine throughout history, revealing that while droughts and natural disasters often trigger famines, it's actually government mismanagement, authoritarian rule, and political conflict that turn food shortages into catastrophic humanitarian crises. From China's Great Leap Forward, where Mao deliberately allowed millions to starve, to Ethiopia's man-made famines during civil war, to Ireland's tragic potato famine exacerbated by colonial exploitation, the hosts demonstrate how famine is far more often a failure of human systems than nature itself, while warning that climate change could soon threaten global food security in unprecedented ways.
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