Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History

Episode 444: On October 14, 1942, the German submarine U-69 torpedoed the passenger ferry SS Caribou in the Cabot Strait, roughly 25 miles off Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The ferry sank in minutes. Of 237 aboard, 137 died — the largest single loss of life in Canadian-controlled waters during the Second World War, and part of the Battle of the St. Lawrence, the only WWII campaign fought inside North America. Among the dead was Nursing Sister Agnes Wilkie, the only Canadian nursing sister killed by direct enemy action in the entire war; her friend and fellow RCN nursing sister, Margaret Brooke, survived the sinking and was later named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her efforts to save her. Sources:SS Caribou — WikipediaNewspapers.com search: SS Caribou 1942Sinking of the SS Caribou — The Canadian EncyclopediaU-69 — uboat.netGerman submarine U-69 (1940) — Wikipedia"Youngest Survivor of S.S. Caribou Sinking" — Community StoriesS.S. Caribou Memorial — Veterans Affairs Canada"Only nurse killed by enemy action in WWII remembered..." — CBC NewsMargaret Brooke (Canadian naval officer) — WikipediaAgnes Wightman Wilkie — Carman Dufferin Municipal Heritage Advisory CommitteeLegion Magazine, "CP bulletin, Oct. 16, 1942: U-boat sinks SS Caribou in Cabot Strait"Nathan M. Greenfield, Battle of the St. Lawrence: The Second World War in Canada~"Ulrich Gräf and U-69" — Community StoriesThe History of the Nursing Sisters of Canada | Veterans Affairs CanadaSinking of the Caribou | Heritage.nf.caBattle of the St. Lawrence — Canadian Military HeritageCanada loses a Second World War heroine - Canadian Military Family MagazineUlrich Gräf and U-69 | The Tragic Sinking of S.S. “Caribou” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth after sixteen days in orbit. Seven astronauts were aboard. What should have been a routine homecoming became one of the darkest days in NASA's history. In this special five-minute preview, we introduce Day of Disaster, a documentary series presented by Dark Poutine, and revisit the final moments of Columbia's last flight. Hear the complete episode now exclusively on Amazon Music. Ask Alexa to play the Dark Poutine podcast, or listen directly at the link below. Listen to Day of Disaster — Columbia: The Last Sixteen Minutes on Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 443: Thomas D’Arcy McGee’s remarkable life took him from Irish revolutionary and political exile to journalist, celebrated orator, member of Parliament, and Father of Canadian Confederation. After rejecting armed rebellion, he became one of the Fenian movement’s fiercest public opponents, drawing condemnation and threats from former allies. In the early hours of April 7, 1868, only nine months after Confederation, McGee was shot outside his Ottawa boarding house after leaving Parliament. His death is recognized as Canada’s first political assassination. The murder shocked the new country, led to a controversial investigation and trial, and left questions that remain unresolved more than 150 years later. Sources: Thomas D’Arcy McGee — Dictionary of Canadian Biography Patrick James Whelan — Dictionary of Canadian Biography The Fenians — Dictionary of Canadian Biography The Trial of Patrick J. Whelan for the Murder of Thomas D’Arcy McGee — George Spaight, 1868 Agnes Macdonald’s Diary — Library and Archives Canada Patrick Whelan Capital Case and Respite — Library and Archives Canada The Revolver Connected to McGee’s Assassination — Canadian Museum of History Wrongful Convictions in Canada — Library of Parliament Past State Funerals: Thomas D’Arcy McGee — Canadian Heritage St. Patrick’s Basilica National Historic Site — Parks Canada Thomas D’Arcy McGee’s Speeches on British-American Union, 1865 Thomas D’Arcy McGee — Alexander Brady, 1925 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every disaster begins as an ordinary day. Until it isn't. Introducing DAY OF DISASTER , a new documentary podcast series by DARK POUTINE, reconstructing history's most devastating catastrophes, one day at a time. From the explosion at Chornobyl to the tragedy of Aberfan, the eruption of Krakatoa and the disaster at Bhopal, each episode takes you inside the moments, decisions and failures that changed lives, destroyed communities and altered history. The warnings. The turning points. The human cost. Because history remembers the disaster. We go back to the day it happened. DAY OF DISASTER. COMING 11.02.2026 only on Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 442: To mark our ninth anniversary, we're going back to where Dark Poutine began: the mystery of the Salish Sea floating feet. Since 2007, more than twenty disembodied human feet — most still laced into running shoes — have washed ashore along the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington State, sparking theories of serial killers, trafficking rings, and worse. This time we bring the full research the story always deserved: the science that finally explained how it happens, the named victims behind the headlines, and the case that, as of this recording, still hasn't been closed. Sources: The Vancouver Sun — "Human Leg is Found Encased in a Boot" (July 30, 1914) South China Morning Post — "A 14th human foot, this one in a hiking boot, washes ashore in British Columbia" Wikipedia — "Salish Sea human foot discoveries" National Geographic — "How science solved the mystery of feet washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest" Longreads — "The Curious Tale of the Salish Sea Feet" BC Coroners Service — Special Investigations Unit foot map (archived) DNASolves.com — "After 17 years, Clallam County Doe (2008) is Identified" CBC News — "DNA analysis confirms remains as Mission, B.C., teen missing since 2007" King 5 — "Feet in shoes have washed up in the Salish Sea for decades... but not Antonio Neill's" CBC News — "Foot found in B.C. lake identified after 25 years" KOMO News — "Mystery of remains found in shoe on Sequim beach solved" Richmond News — "Shoe found on Victoria beach contains human remains: coroner" All That's Interesting — "The Strange Mystery Of The Salish Sea Feet..." ExplorersWeb — "Exploration Mysteries: Human Feet of the Salish Sea" The Tyee — "In False Creek, the Case of the Leg in the Boot" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices