Strange Country Ep. 291: David Starr Jordan

Since we heard America was “being made great again” or something, we decided it was time for Strange Country to return. This time, cohosts Beth and Kelly tackle the story of David Starr Jordan, noted ichthyologist and first president of Stanford University, who definitely was a eugenicst but not certain a murderer. He did cover up Jane Stanford’s murder by poison so there’s that. That’s not good, right? We don’t know because it seems laws are meaningless now. Yay, America!?!

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

Cite your sources, or not, who cares nothing has meaning

Flores, Gilbert. “Did Philanthropy Kill Jane Stanford?” Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 31 October 2022, https://blog.philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/2022/10/31/did-philanthropy-kill-jane-stanford/. Accessed 18 January 2025.

 

“A History of Stanford – Stanford University.” Stanford University, https://www.stanford.edu/about/history/. Accessed 2 January 2025.

 

Miller, Lulu. Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life. Simon & Schuster, 2020.

 

Peacock, Chris. “Stanford will rename campus spaces named for David Starr Jordan and relocate statue depicting Louis Agassiz.” Stanford Report, 7 October 2020, https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2020/10/jordan-agassiz.

 

White, Richard. Who Killed Jane Stanford? A Gilded-Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University. WW Norton, 2022.

 

Wolfe, Susan. “Who Killed Jane Stanford?” STANFORD magazine, September/October 2003, https://stanfordmag.org/contents/who-killed-jane-stanford. Accessed 2 January 2025.