Welcome to What The Heck season 4! This podcast explores unexplained phenomena using stories gathered from various sources, then applies an academic research method to find theories and solutions for each one. So far, we've been unsuccessful in finding any concrete answers, but a few of the stories we've covered have been solved. Today, we're looking at the Cagots. First appearing in French documents around 1000 CE, these people were discriminated against for almost 1000 years. The problem is that nobody knows why, or even how they were different from any other French person. There were multiple opportunities to stop the persecution, but each time almost caused an uprising in rural communities. They were even referenced in the early 20th Century. Who were the Cagots? What made them different to the French? What reasons were given for the discrimination? Listen in to find out!

Links for other ways to listen are found here: https://linktr.ee/whattheheckpod 

References for the episode:

Elsewhere, Finding Home. “Hidden Histories of France: The Cagots.” Finding Home Elsewhere | Substack, Finding Home Elsewhere, 18 Dec. 2024, https://keithchristiansen.substack.com/p/hidden-histories-of-france-the-cagots. 

Scheutz, Staffan. “La Piccioletta Barca | Beyond Thought - the Cagots of France - by Staffan Scheutz.” La Piccioletta Barca - Homepage, https://www.picciolettabarca.com/posts/beyond-thought-the-cagots-of-france. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025. 

Vanessa. “French History Mysteries #1: Les Cagots.” Life on La Lune, 29 Jan. 2025, https://lifeonlalune.com/2025/01/29/french-history-mysteries-1-les-cagots/. 

You can email Glen at [email protected] with any of your spooky stories, unexplained events, mysteries that you want him to look at, or anything you'd like him to correct or address. Thanks for listening, and if you enjoy the podcast and think you know others who will like it, share it with them!

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