Prompt Cast
The Truth About Zombies: Haitian Folklore and Scientific Research
TLDR According to ethnobotanist Dr. Wade Davis, zombification in Haiti involves a two-step process of capturing someone's soul and using hallucinogenic concoctions. While there is ongoing research on human reanimation, many cases of supposed zombies can be attributed to mistaken identity or mental illness.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
There may be such a thing as a real zombie, and you can find them in Haiti, according to ethnobotanist and anthropologist Dr. Wade Davis.
03:58
Dr. Wade Davis went to Haiti in the 1980s and discovered that there is a two-step process to making someone a zombie, involving capturing their soul, according to Haitian folklore.
08:22
There is a secret Haitian society called Bizango that uses zombification as a severe punishment for members who go against the will of the community or their family.
12:21
The process of zombification involves administering zombie powder, burying the person, exhuming them within eight hours, feeding them a hallucinogenic concoction, and relying on the social support and cultural beliefs in Haiti for the person to believe they are a zombie.
16:15
The initial experiments with zombie powder were questioned, but Davis's reputation as an academic remains intact, and many cases of supposed zombies can be attributed to mistaken identity or mental illness.
20:19
Mathematicians at the University of Ottawa used contagious disease models to study the math of surviving a slow-moving zombie attack, and concluded that unless humans strike fast, strike often, and strike increasingly escalating, we're in big trouble.
24:22
In order to fight zombies, it is recommended to retreat to a place with supplies, such as a Walmart or Costco, and to stay away from populated areas.
28:23
In order to fight zombies, it is recommended to have a combination of people who can both fight and strategize, and to avoid common mistakes like locking yourself in a car without keys or leaving weapons for zombies to use.
32:14
There is actual research being done on human reanimation at the Max Planck Institute, where scientists have been able to get a brain to function after it has been dead for an hour.
36:08
There is no relevant information or discussion in this section.
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Society & Culture
