Everything Everywhere Daily

Famine

Jan 14, 2025

Famines have plagued humanity throughout history, driven by both natural events and human actions. The shift from hunter-gatherer societies to farming introduced new risks of food scarcity. Significant historical famines reveal how political manipulation and climate changes shaped societies, leading to catastrophic impacts like population declines and the fall of empires, including the Maya. These devastating food shortages highlight the complex interplay between agriculture, politics, and survival.

16:33

Creator website

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Famines have complex causes, including adverse weather, warfare, and poor governance, often exacerbated by political instability and societal factors.

Unlike natural disasters, many modern famines are man-made, linked predominantly to conflicts rather than agricultural failures, highlighting critical governance issues.

Deep dives

Understanding Famines and Their Causes

A famine is defined as a severe and widespread shortage of food, resulting in acute hunger and often death. Unlike natural disasters, famines can often be prevented through better agricultural practices and food distribution systems. The evolution from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural ones marked a shift, as while farming offers a steadier food supply, it also makes populations more vulnerable to disruptions. The historical record shows that famines have multiple causes, ranging from adverse weather conditions to warfare and poor governance.

Intro

4min

Navigating Food Scarcity: Hunter-Gatherers to Agricultural Societies

5min

Historical Impacts of Famine and Food Politics

2min

A Historical Overview of Catastrophic Famines

6min

One of the most devastating disasters that has afflicted humanity are famines.

Unlike other natural disasters, famines do not have a single cause. They have happened all over the world for a wide variety of reasons; some of them have natural causes, and others are man-made.

Famines are typically much worse than natural disasters and are rivaled only by pandemics and wars.

Learn more about famines, their causes, and how they devastated humanity throughout history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Sponsors

Mint Mobile
Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed
MasterClass
Get up to 50% off at MASTERCLASS.COM/EVERYWHERE
Quince
Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order!
ButcherBox
New users that sign up for ButcherBox will receive 2 lbs of grass-fed ground beef in every box for the lifetime of their subscription + $20 off your first box when you use code daily at checkout!