Encore: Donner Party | In Their Footsteps | 4

In the summer of 1972, Marilyn and Maurice Bailey decide to leave their quiet lives in suburban England behind, to sail across the world and start a new life in New Zealand. But when their 30-foot yacht is struck by a whale, they’re left stranded in a small rubber life raft in th ...  Show more

It’s March 1973, and Maurice and Maralyn Bailey are floating on a small life raft in the middle of the world’s largest ocean. Before their yacht sank into the Pacific, they managed to grab some food and supplies, but their provisions won’t last long. Now, their only hope is to be ...  Show more

August 4, 1846. A few months into their journey from Illinois to California, a group of pioneers encounters trouble. They’ve just found a note from their guide. It essentially says, “That shortcut I told you to take through the Wasatch Mountains – don’t.” The setback disastrously ...  Show more

Here’s one of our listeners’ most requested episodes of 2019: January 1847. Fed by the remains of their friends and family, the surviving members of the Forlorn Hope managed to get through the snow and reach civilization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com ...  Show more

In the winter of 1846, a group of pioneers became trapped in a prison of ice, forced to perform unspeakable acts to survive. Now, the Donner Party is memorialized in Truckee, California. But the park’s pristine trails hold much more than nature’s abundance… Learn more about your ...  Show more

This is a special episode I did for the podcast 'You're Wrong About' in 2022, and I wanted to finally bring it to you directly since the deep snowfalls of winter are looming on the ever-distant horizon. This is the harrowing tale of a wagon train trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in ...  Show more