The Skinny Country Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jack McCabe
An upside-down, south-to-north history-comedy-travel podcast, focusing on the people and places that make Chile unique.
Gringos in Chile tell the story of the first Pirates in Chile, based on original source text from the 1577 to 1580 journey of Francis Drake on the Golden Hind. A comical, informal discussion of the historic journey that marked the discovery of the Drake Passage and first navigation up the entire coast of Chile by a crew of surly Englishmen.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
Part two of our podcast about the journey of Francis Drake up the coast of Chile.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
We're on board the pirate ship the Pelican, a.k.a. the Golden Hind, with Francis Drake in 1577-78 as he sails to Chile, discovering the Drake passage and becoming the first English pirate to arrive to Chile. Matt Berg and special guest Sara Schilling help co-host Jack McCabe understand the difference between Drake the pirate and Drake the rapper, and we find out what happened to the other four ships that didn't make it around the world.
Sources incude:
The Queen's Pirate: Sir Francis Drake by Kevin Jackson
Sir Francis Drake’s Famous Voyage Round the World by Francis Pretty
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
We investigate Orélie-Antoine de Tounens to find out whether he was criminaly insane, a hero of the Mapuches, or a true king. We also investigate how to pronounce his name and laugh at our own lack of French skills as we continue our South to North exploration of exceptional stories from Chilean history.
skinnycountry@gmail.com
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
We explore the true story of John Byron, grandfather of Romantic poet Lord Byron - author of Don Juan - getting shipwrecked aboard the HMS Wager in 1741 in remote Aysen, Chile, and eventually making his way up to Chiloe Island and Santiago, thanks to the timely intervention of the Chonos indigenous people and his lady luck. In this humorous take on a tragic story we seek a human connection with a little-known tribe of Patagonia that long ago vanished from the face of the earth.
Please email skinnycountry@gmail.com with any feedback, questions, suggestions, etc. Thanks!
Sources include:
The Wager Disaster: Mayhem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas by C.H. Layman
The narrative of the Honourable John Byron (commodore in a late expedition round the world) containing an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia, from the year 1740, till their arrival in England, 1746. : With a description of St. Jago de Chili, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants. : Also a relation of the loss of the Wager man of war, one of Admiral Anson's squadron.
Music clips:
"Drunken Sailor" (traditional) recorded live at Flannery's GeoPub at Irish session, 2019
Kaweskar song, from Museo de Arte Precolombino, Santiago, Chile
http://chileprecolombino.cl/en/arte/musica-y-danza/kawashkar/
"Jack Jack Jack" 1947 Jack Smith & Clark Sisters, transferred to digital and posted to YouTube by Musicprof78
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
The first indigenous person of Patagonia given a name that is recorded in written history, Giovanni (John), meets the first European to discover Chile, Magellan, and his Italian chronicler, Pigafetta. We explore this story and have some laughs along the way.
For feedback, questions, corrections, or ideas for future episodes, please email skinnycountry@gmail.com
Sources include:
Magellan's Voyage around the World, by Antonio Pigafetta
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe, by Laurence Bergreen
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message
The fascinating story of Jemmy Button, the most famous member of the world's southernmost indigenous tribe, the Yamana. Born in what is now Chilean Tierra del Fuego, his life's journey would take him to meet British royalty, become friends with Charles Darwin, and eventually be accused of orchestrating a mass murder. This is a take on his story, told by a history and travel enthusiast and an up-and-coming comedian, both expats living in Chile.
(Sources include: A Naturalist Voyage Around the World by Charles Darwin Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle by Robert Fitzroy Savage: The Life and Times of Jemmy Button by Nick Hazlewood)
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theskinnycountry/message