Podcast Summary: Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast

Episode 605 – Arctic Cannibalism (feat. Buddy Levy)

Date: March 25, 2026
Guests: Matt McCusker, Shane Gillis, Buddy Levy

Overview

In this episode, comedians Matt McCusker and Shane Gillis host acclaimed historian and adventure writer Buddy Levy to discuss the shocking and fascinating realities of human exploration, Arctic expeditions, cannibalism, and the process of writing gripping history books. The conversation ranges from the brutal realities of early exploration (including dark humor about cannibalism and sex slavery), to Buddy Levy’s firsthand travel experiences in the Amazon and the Arctic, and myths of Amazonian warrior women. The tone remains light, irreverent, and hilarious even as the subject matter gets grim, with insightful moments about the resilience of explorers and the bizarre cultural clashes of history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Buddy Levy’s Writing Process & Research

• Creative Roots: Levy reveals he’s been passionate about storytelling since age 14, publishing his first story about bird hunting (00:36).
• Approach to History: Unlike dry, fact-heavy history books, Levy crafts vivid narratives that make the past come alive (01:36).
  • "When I write these books, too, it's always like ... I like to see ... what happens to people when they're on the edge of survival." – Buddy Levy (02:47)
• Immersive Research: For each book, Levy spends months reading every available source—diaries, letters, journals—then travels to the location for direct experience (07:25).
  • "It's kind of like doing like a mini master's degree or a PhD for every book, and it actually leaves a fricking mark." – Buddy Levy (07:46)

2. Conquistadors: Clashing Civilizations and Brutality

• Dark Humor: Matt and Shane joke about human sacrifice and the bizarre cultural shocks of first contact (01:52–02:47).
  • "I gotta tip the hat. First and foremost, the books are great." – Shane (01:48)
• Reality of Slavery: Lively debate on how historical texts sugarcoat the use of slaves and porters by conquistadors, often omitting their role as sex slaves (04:16).
  • "Well, no, they were like bearers and ... those were slaves." – Levy (04:36)
• Logistics of Expeditions: The difficulty of feeding soldiers in unknown lands, and reliance on local alliances, exploitation, and, at times, violence.

3. The Joys and Dangers of Field Expeditions

• Amazon Adventure: Levy describes retracing conquistador routes, floating down the Amazon in a dugout canoe, and encountering wildlife (11:21–14:09).
  • "It was one of the coolest adventures." – Levy (12:08)
  • Encounters with piranhas, caiman, vampire bats, and snakes; stories about shamanic ayahuasca rituals and pink dolphin visions (14:09–15:54)
  • "I keep seeing this pink dolphin ... I was expecting like a frickin kraken or something. And I get a pink dolphin for my spirit animal." – Levy (15:21)
• Personal Safety in the Wilderness: The surreal fear of swimming with piranhas after fishing for them (17:05–17:46).
• The Arctic Experience: Levy shares experiences from Svalbard, Greenland, and the challenges of sleeping with polar bears nearby (21:12–25:19).
  • "Polar bears— I thought they were pretty chill...they’re pretty vicious." – Matt (24:43)
  • "There were some fitful nights in the campsite." – Levy (24:51)
• Local Culture: Observations on the hardy people of the Arctic, perpetual daylight/darkness, and minimal growing seasons (25:26–26:27).

4. Death, Survival, and Cannibalism in Exploration

• Survival Choices: The bleak calculus of dying in the Amazon (disease, snakes) versus the Arctic (hypothermia, polar bears) (27:01–29:02).
  • "I'd take the north.... you just sort of go to sleep and let it happen." – Levy (27:08)
• Real Cannibalism Cases: Darkly comedic exchange about the ethics of eating human flesh for survival—true stories from Arctic expeditions (51:38–56:09).
  • "If I was starving to death, I would totally eat a person ... not even a question." – Shane (52:58)
  • Levy recounts the grim story of Henry, an expedition member executed for secretly eating the dead, getting stronger while others withered away (54:03–55:47).

5. Myths & Legends: Amazonian Warrior Women

• Origins of the Myth: Discussion on fabled female warrior tribes, drawing from stories in Greek and Amazonian tradition (42:38–44:30).
  • "It is just a weird collective myth ... all these people in the jungle ... of powerful women warriors." – Matt (44:09)
  • Levy highlights persistent legends, possibility there’s a kernel of truth given ongoing discoveries of uncontacted tribes (45:29–46:08).
  • True story from the chronicles: conquistadors actually fought women warriors, described as tall, pale, and fierce (46:19–47:00).

6. Bizarre Encounters & Historical Oddities

• Albino Giants and Expedition “Freak Shows”: From encounters with pituitary giants to conquistador Cortez bringing dwarfs and albinos to Spain as curiosities (47:08–48:24).
  • "You open a chest and like, midgets pop out. You're like, whoa. The hell is this?" – Shane (48:24)
• Extreme Measures for Survival: Cutting open horses, drinking their blood, filling carcasses with mud, and eating them while alive during failed marches (50:37–50:52).
  • "It was like a food truck." – Shane (50:52)

7. Arctic and Amazon: The Realities of Unexplored Lands

• North Pole Myths: Historic ignorance: many explorers thought the North Pole held a warm oasis or the entrance to a Hollow Earth (31:47–32:44).
  • "You get there and you're like, that's a ton of snow." – Matt (31:18)
• Perils of Ice: Constantly shifting ice floes, risk of igloos breaking up at night, indigenous skills for survival (33:43–35:13).
• The Fate of Expeditions: Most ended disastrously—Buddy recounts the pathos of explorers’ second voyages, including the lost Franklin Expedition and the search for the Northwest Passage (63:10–65:49).

8. Buddy Levy’s Next Projects

• Writing his fourth Arctic book, focusing on the first Franklin Expedition and the tragedy of overland explorers in 19th-century Canada (63:10–64:46).
• "I'm going to keep writing these things until I'm weak and infirm and need to feed on a friend." – Levy (68:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Making History Enjoyable:

  • "I've really enjoyed listening to you guys make things like human ritual sacrifice and smallpox funny…you guys crush it." – Levy (01:52)

• On Survival Calculus:

  • "If there are uncontacted tribes ... it's so vast that ... if there are pockets of people that have lived the same way for thousands of years ... I have to believe that it’s possible." – Levy (46:08)

• On Cannibalism:

  • "Would you eat a person, Mr. Levy?" – Shane (52:01)
  • "If I was starving to death, I would totally eat a person ... not even a question." – Shane (52:58)
  • "It gets kind of grim because then it becomes a question of ... you're going to kill someone to eat them, which is a different thing for me." – Levy (53:39)
  • "He’s been going off ... where they’ve been throwing the dead people and feeding at night, you know, feeding at the tidal crack." – Levy (54:24)

• On Outlandish Myths:

  • "Could we ever get into Hollow Earth theory? There are people who think at the top of the North Pole, like, it hollows out..." – Matt (32:24)

• On Weird Historical Realities:

  • "The worst is them ... you cut [a horse] open, drink the blood as needed, and then you pack it full of mud, and it's just like a walking food truck." – Shane (50:37)

• On History’s Endurance:

  • "Every time it’s a huge divot out of my brain...I log in for maybe six or eight months of just reading." – Levy (07:46)

Major Timestamps

• 00:00–01:35: Introduction, how Matt and Shane discovered Buddy Levy’s books
• 02:47–03:41: Cultural collisions and narrative approach to dark history
• 07:08–09:42: Research process — immersion in sources and physical locations
• 11:15–14:09: Amazon expedition stories: Andes, dugout canoes, wildlife
• 14:09–15:54: Ayahuasca stories; vision of pink dolphin spirit animal
• 17:05–19:21: Piranha fishing/swimming, caiman, jungle noises, fear of panthers/anaconda
• 21:12–26:27: The Arctic: Svalbard, polar bears, local life, perpetual daylight
• 27:01–29:02: Preferred death: Amazonian disease vs. Arctic cold
• 42:38–47:00: Amazonian warrior women and myths
• 51:38–56:14: Cannibalism, execution of Henry, expedition ethics
• 63:10–65:49: Upcoming books, Franklin Expedition, Northwest Passage
• 68:55: Buddy Levy’s sign-off and final joke about survival

Episode Tone & Style

Irreverent, darkly funny, and historically literate, the episode balances gruesome survival facts with banter. Matt and Shane push for the wildest, weirdest anecdotes and dig into the psychology of explorers with the wide-eyed glee of amateurs, while Levy brings gravitas and vivid detail without losing the fun.

Conclusion

This episode is an excellent listen for fans of history, exploration, and dark humor. Buddy Levy tears down the wall between historian and adventurer, offering stories that make even cannibalism and Arctic death grimly fascinating—and, in the hands of Matt and Shane, genuinely funny. If you want to explore the limits of human endurance and the absurd juxtapositions of civilization and survival, this episode delivers, all while previewing even more Arctic horror (and dark humor) to come.