Disturbed Podcast Narrator

Captains often oversell tickets, pocketing the extra cash. If those conditions don't sound horrendous enough, the ship crews often neglect to bring adequate food and water for everyone on board. On top of that, all those people packed into such a small space is a perfect breeding ground for disease.

Captains often oversell tickets, pocketing the extra cash. If those conditions don't sound horrendous enough, the ship crews often neglect to bring adequate food and water for everyone on board. On top of that, all those people packed into such a small space is a perfect breeding ground for disease.

Captains often oversell tickets, pocketing the extra cash. If those conditions don't sound horrendous enough, the ship crews often neglect to bring adequate food and water for everyone on board. On top of that, all those people packed into such a small space is a perfect breeding ground for disease.

Infections like typhus, typhoid, and cholera kill thousands of Irish people during the famine at home and on ships bound for the U.S., Recordkeeping is inconsistent, so it's impossible to know for sure, but research suggests that far more Irish people died from illnesses than directly from starvation.

Infections like typhus, typhoid, and cholera kill thousands of Irish people during the famine at home and on ships bound for the U.S., Recordkeeping is inconsistent, so it's impossible to know for sure, but research suggests that far more Irish people died from illnesses than directly from starvation.

Infections like typhus, typhoid, and cholera kill thousands of Irish people during the famine at home and on ships bound for the U.S., Recordkeeping is inconsistent, so it's impossible to know for sure, but research suggests that far more Irish people died from illnesses than directly from starvation.

Some of the most haunting reports from James Mahoney, the illustrator and reporter who relayed famine scenes back to England, are of the devastating effects of disease. Mahoney describes entire families dead in their homes, their bodies left to rot. A single survivor, so weak he's had to live among the corpses of his family, begs passersby for water or for fuel to start a fire.

Some of the most haunting reports from James Mahoney, the illustrator and reporter who relayed famine scenes back to England, are of the devastating effects of disease. Mahoney describes entire families dead in their homes, their bodies left to rot. A single survivor, so weak he's had to live among the corpses of his family, begs passersby for water or for fuel to start a fire.

Some of the most haunting reports from James Mahoney, the illustrator and reporter who relayed famine scenes back to England, are of the devastating effects of disease. Mahoney describes entire families dead in their homes, their bodies left to rot. A single survivor, so weak he's had to live among the corpses of his family, begs passersby for water or for fuel to start a fire.

But concerned neighbors are forced to keep walking. They've already seen how anyone who tries to help ends up infected themselves. In 1844, Ireland had a population of just over 8 million. By 1855, roughly a third of the population died or fled. According to British leaders like Charles Trevelyan, the famine was the result of God's will, a natural disaster that couldn't be avoided.

But concerned neighbors are forced to keep walking. They've already seen how anyone who tries to help ends up infected themselves. In 1844, Ireland had a population of just over 8 million. By 1855, roughly a third of the population died or fled. According to British leaders like Charles Trevelyan, the famine was the result of God's will, a natural disaster that couldn't be avoided.

But concerned neighbors are forced to keep walking. They've already seen how anyone who tries to help ends up infected themselves. In 1844, Ireland had a population of just over 8 million. By 1855, roughly a third of the population died or fled. According to British leaders like Charles Trevelyan, the famine was the result of God's will, a natural disaster that couldn't be avoided.

but Irish nationalist John Mitchell writes that the Almighty had brought the blight, but the English created the famine. Over a hundred years later, author Tim Pat Coogan takes Mitchell's accusation a step further, arguing in his book, The Famine Plot, that British actions during the famine weren't just about economics.

but Irish nationalist John Mitchell writes that the Almighty had brought the blight, but the English created the famine. Over a hundred years later, author Tim Pat Coogan takes Mitchell's accusation a step further, arguing in his book, The Famine Plot, that British actions during the famine weren't just about economics.

but Irish nationalist John Mitchell writes that the Almighty had brought the blight, but the English created the famine. Over a hundred years later, author Tim Pat Coogan takes Mitchell's accusation a step further, arguing in his book, The Famine Plot, that British actions during the famine weren't just about economics.

They served a more sinister purpose, the systematic destruction of Irish people and culture. If that's the case, then perhaps the Irish potato famine isn't a famine at all. Maybe it's a genocide. Everyone can agree that the Irish potato famine was a tragedy. It's also not controversial to say that the British government could have done more to mitigate its effects.

They served a more sinister purpose, the systematic destruction of Irish people and culture. If that's the case, then perhaps the Irish potato famine isn't a famine at all. Maybe it's a genocide. Everyone can agree that the Irish potato famine was a tragedy. It's also not controversial to say that the British government could have done more to mitigate its effects.

They served a more sinister purpose, the systematic destruction of Irish people and culture. If that's the case, then perhaps the Irish potato famine isn't a famine at all. Maybe it's a genocide. Everyone can agree that the Irish potato famine was a tragedy. It's also not controversial to say that the British government could have done more to mitigate its effects.

But do British actions, or lack thereof, during the crisis qualify as a genocide? First, let's define our terms. The word genocide didn't exist until nearly a century after the Blight destroyed every potato in Ireland. The term was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

But do British actions, or lack thereof, during the crisis qualify as a genocide? First, let's define our terms. The word genocide didn't exist until nearly a century after the Blight destroyed every potato in Ireland. The term was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.