The time has come: it’s the final episode of Casting Lots. For real this time. Join Alix and Carmella for all your remaining cannibalism questions answered, plus a bonus Arctic adventure involving an Italian airship and a very good dog. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/sh…

We are joined by our final dinner guests, writer Nibedita Sen and Ana and Luca of The Mayday Podcast, to talk speculative fiction, colonialism and some disastrous adventures that may not have ended in survival cannibalism, but probably should have. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Casti…

Why do we (being the specific group of people who make and listen to Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast) enjoy narratives about survival cannibalism so much? Authors Ally Wilkes and Linnea Hartsuyker join us to discuss the power of storytelling. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/peopl…

One historian and six podcasters walk into a bar… This week, we’re chatting corpse medicine, recipe recommendations and penny dreadfuls with academic Richard Sugg, Ric and Anton of the Curiosity of a Child podcast, and Teddy and Catriona of the Grave History podcast. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubb…

What’s so scary about cannibalism? We talk to horror experts Neil McRobert, host of Talking Scared Podcast, and Nicasio Andres Reed, editor at the Deadlands, to find out. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella …

Are you ready for an extra bite? In this bonus mini-season, Alix and Carmella invite some special dinner guests to the table. Today, bioarchaeologist Stacy Hackner and folklorist Paul Cowdell join us to talk cannibal ballads, coprolites and the custom of the sea. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.c…

Coming 31 October 2022: Season 4 of Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast. Join Alix and Carmella for an extra helping of survival cannibalism in this bonus mini-season, featuring a number of special dinner guests. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wa…

In time honoured tradition, have a laugh on us this April Fool’s Day. It’s the blooper reel! Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundc…

Finishing off the season, and indeed the entirety of Casting Lots (boo hoo!), Carmella and Alix present six quick-fire stories of survival cannibalism at sea. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Them…

This week, Alix shares the choose-your-own adventure tale of the HMS Wager, an 18th century British ship on a mission to annoy the Spanish. At any cost. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS With thanks to Emily for transcription help. Written, hosted and produced…

When John F. Kennedy backs an invasion by sea of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, disastrously poor planning leaves Brigade 2506 in dire straits. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find us on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett…

Alix shares a shipwreck story with one hell of a plot twist in today’s episode on the Invercauld. Did you know Casting Lots now has merch? Find it on Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CastingLotsPod/shop CREDITS With thanks to Emily for transcription help. Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Danie…

This week, we look at Vietnamese ‘boat people’ and the Boliano 52 – a group of refugees left without aid in the South China Sea. Disclaimer: This episode was recorded prior to the announcement in December 2021 of an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill to provide the RNLI with legal protection in the case of rescuing refugees at sea. Howev…

What connects survival cannibalism and the house of Romanov? The answer is, of course, the Battle of Moscow of 1612. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. Cas…

This week, we join Yermak Timofeyevich and his band of Cossacks in a chilly adventure across the Ural Mountains and into Siberia. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @talle…

Howdy! This week, we’re headed west – the Wild West, to be exact. Featuring characters such as Liver Eating Johnson, the Blues Brothers, Big Phil, and Uncle Dick Wootton, Alix takes us on a quick tour of survival cannibalism on the American frontier. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wacket…

For as long as humans have existed, we have been eating other humans. This week, Carmella takes us on a tour of six Stone Age sites where evidence of survival cannibalism has been uncovered. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wac…

Another week, another famine. This episode, Alix looks at a modern case of famine-induced survival cannibalism in North Korea. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestf…

It’s 1527 and a Spanish expedition to Florida are on the hunt for safe harbour, immense riches, and somewhere to put all their horses. This is the story of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and the Narváez Expedition. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soun…

This week, Alix takes us on a tour of famine in Irish history, culminating in the infamous 19th century potato famine. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. C…

Kicking Season 3 off with a bang, Carmella and Alix are back with the ‘maneater of Macquarie Harbour’ – Alexander Pearce. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend…

Coming 31 October 2021: Season 3 of Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast. Join Alix and Carmella for 13 new episodes of survival cannibalism across time and around the world. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Lo…

April Fool’s! We’re back for another round of outtakes from Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. Casting Lots i…

In our final episode of Season 2, Alix and Carmella offer a quick-fire selection of stories on the custom of the sea. CREDITS With thanks to Emily for transcription help. Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find he…

The SS Dumaru is poorly-built, ugly, and crewed by “bad men of the sea”. When she’s requisitioned for the war effort by the US Navy, her run of bad luck becomes a sprint to disaster. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Lo…

Religious turmoil. Espionage. Mutiny. Bad accents. This is the story of Charlesfort – an early French attempt to establish a colony in North America. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter …

This week we return to the Pacific theatre of WWII, where Dutch steam-ship Rooseboom is in the process of evacuating 500 passengers from Padang to Ceylon. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twi…

1098. Frankish knights reach the city of Ma’arra. As the crusaders surround the city walls, in an unusual reversal of convention, this time it’s the besiegers who find themselves desperate for food. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Da…

Colorado. 1883. Alfred Packer is standing trial. His alleged crime? Luring five men into the mountains with the intention of murdering them and stealing their belongings, then eating their bodies when food ran out. London. 2021. Casting Lots Podcast is here to answer the question once and for all: Alfred Packer, guilty or not guilty? CREDITS With t…

Did you know that there’s survival cannibalism in Dante’s Divine Comedy? And it’s based on a true story? This week, we look at the infamous ‘Cannibal Count’, Ugolino della Gherardesca. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. …

Climate change, food shortages, calls for Scottish independence and plague on the doorstep… The 14th century was a very different time. This week, Alix looks at the Great Famine that struck Northern Europe in the early 14th century. CREDITS With thanks to Dr Wingard for invaluable research help. Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmell…

This week, we journey to the Sahara for a tale of railways, misadventure and betrayal in Colonial Algeria. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. Casting Lots …

Famine, war, siege and political upheaval: Alix takes us on a tour of almost 2,500 years of survival cannibalism history in China. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tall…

When Japanese supply lines to New Guinea get cut off, the troops are left to fend for themselves in the midst of World War II. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestf…

A horrific crash-landing over the Rocky Mountains leaves two young survivors stranded in the snow. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. Casting Lots is part …

While Sir John Franklin is best known for his infamous lost expedition to find the Northwest Passage, it wasn’t his only trip to the Arctic that ended in survival cannibalism. In the first episode of Season 2, we head to the Coppermine River for Sir John Franklin: The Prequel. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. T…

Coming next week: Season 2 of Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast. Join hosts Alix and Carmella for 13 new episodes of survival cannibalism history, starting with a very familiar name… CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel …

Season 2 of Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast is on the way! Join hosts Alix and Carmella in 13 new episodes of survival cannibalism history, coming December 2020. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Ri…

Have a laugh on us this April Fool’s! Alix and Carmella present the Season 1 Outtakes from Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram…

Happy Valentine’s Day from Casting Lots Podcast! In this special episode, Alix tells the story of young Ann Saunders and the Frances Mary: a tale of shipwreck, survival cannibalism, and love. Looking for a book or film to enjoy while you snuggle up to your significant other this evening? We’re also discussing our favourite examples of survival cann…

In our final episode of the season, we take to the Arctic skies for the Marten Hartwell story. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @tallestfriend. Casting Lots is part of t…

This episode, we’re heading south for a story of Antarctic disaster. Did Sir Douglas Mawson’s 1911 expedition end in survival cannibalism? Carmella unravels the cold case in a tale of overland hauling, extreme rationing, and all the unpleasant things that can happen to sled dogs. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis…

‘Execution, mutiny, starvation, suicide and cannibalism’ – the story of Adolphus Greely and the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition has it all! CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her on Twitter and Instagram…

What happened to the Franklin Expedition? This episode, we’re headed up to the Arctic circle to investigate one of the greatest mysteries of the Victorian era. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Riley. Find her o…

The emigrant ship Cospatrick is headed to Auckland when it catches ablaze at sea, resulting in a tragic loss of lives that makes it one of the worst disasters in New Zealand’s history. But for the few survivors who escape by lifeboat, the horror isn’t over yet… CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Da…

Is survival cannibalism illegal? After the crew of the Mignonette turn to the custom of the sea, they find themselves embroiled in a landmark 19th Century court case. The status of maritime cannibalism in British law will never be the same again. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. F…

The crew of a 19th Century whaleship experience an unlucky turn of fate when they’re sunk by a whale. In this episode, Alix tells the story of the Essex, the disaster which inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack a…

Have you ever been so drunk you’ve started eating people? This episode, Carmella tells the absurd true story behind Géricault’s famous painting of ‘The Raft of the Medusa’. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. Logo by Rile…

Eating your crew-mates after a shipwreck used to be so common that it was known as the ‘custom of the sea’. This episode, Alix offers up a buffet of maritime disasters that ended in cannibalism. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel…

A fire at sea leads to a grisly fate for the crew of the Luxborough Galley, an 18th Century slave ship. CREDITS Written, hosted and produced by Alix Penn and Carmella Lowkis. With special thanks to Ellys Harrison for the indispensable help with research. Theme music by Daniel Wackett. Find him on Twitter @ds_wack and Soundcloud as Daniel Wackett. L…