Episode 19 - The Twinkie Made Me Do It
In this episode of True Crime Culinary, Leah unpacks one of the most misunderstood legal moments in American history: the so-called “Twinkie Defense.”
In 1978, former San Francisco supervisor Dan White murdered Mayor George Moscone and civil rights icon Harvey Milk inside City Hall.
At trial, White’s attorneys argued diminished capacity, pointing to severe depression and sudden changes in behavior — including a reliance on junk food like Twinkies — as evidence of mental collapse. The media flattened that nuance into a headline-friendly myth: The Twinkie Defense.
But Twinkies didn’t cause…
The skinny
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