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A new Pope has been chosen! And that got us thinking: have Popes of the past shaped the history of fruits and vegetables?
In this month’s livestream, John and Patrick explore the surprising connections between the Papacy and produce.
From Popes with a passion for fresh fruits to the hidden stories of the Vatican gardens, this episode offers a fresh perspective on the role of produce in the lives of history’s holiest leaders.
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From the windswept Caucasus Mountains to the decadent tables of Renaissance Europe, few fruits have lived a life as rich (or as risqué) as the cherry. In this episode, John and Patrick trace the cherry’s remarkable journey through time, beginning with its elusive origins in ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia, where birds, not botanists, first sowed the seeds of this future delicacy.
As Greek philosophers began to take note of its cultivation, cherries found their way into the hands and stomachs of empires. With a Roman general, the cherry became more than food. It became a symbol of conquest, luxury, and horticultural ambition, spreading from Roman villas to British roadsides.
But that’s only the beginning. The cherry takes root in Islamic gardens, medieval courts, and the bustling markets of early modern London, where barrow-women hawked “cheryes in the ryse” with babies on their hips. Along the way, it becomes a sensual symbol - adorned in love songs, sacred art, Shakespearean innuendo, and more than a few barely veiled metaphors for desire.
Join John and Patrick as they uncover the fascinating story of this small red fruit. From botany to mythology, empire to erotica, this is fruit has it all.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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The rise of Carthage is one of the most dazzling stories of the ancient world. A tale of cunning queens, glittering harbors, and empires built not just by sword and sail, but by soil.
In this episode, John and Patrick trace the astonishing birth of Carthage - from Queen Elyssa’s legendary ox-hide bargain to the booming agricultural empire that threatened Rome itself. Far from a mere city of merchants, Carthage was a powerhouse of farming innovation: with iron plows, vine-laced terraces, and sweet wines that made even the Romans jealous.
At its heart was a rich and fertile land, one so abundant that Homer himself sang its praises. From pomegranates to elephants, from olive groves to slave-worked estates, Carthage was an empire rooted in the earth. And behind it all loomed a mysterious figure: Mago of Carthage, the so-called "father of agriculture," whose lost treatise would echo across centuries.
Join John and Patrick as they unearth the agricultural engine behind Carthage’s meteoric rise. A story of invention, ambition, and the fields that fed an empire on the brink of war with Rome.
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The tulip - elegant, exotic, and ephemeral - has long captivated the human imagination. But in 17th-century The Netherlands, it ignited something far more volatile: a frenzy. This is the story of Tulip Mania, the extraordinary episode in Dutch history when a single flower became the object of national obsession - and financial ruin.
In this episode, John and Patrick trace the tulip’s journey from the windswept mountains of Central Asia to the refined gardens of Persian poets and the grand courts of the Ottoman Empire, where it became a potent symbol of power and beauty. Then there was Carolus Clusius: the eccentric botanist whose passion for plants (and a few misplaced bulbs) unleashed the tulip upon Europe.
As the Dutch Republic soared to riches during its Golden Age, so too did its appetite for rare and unusual tulips. At first the preserve of aristocrats and collectors, tulips soon spilled into the hands of speculators, shopkeepers, and artisans. As demand for variegated and ‘broken’ tulips surged, prices climbed to lunatic heights - until, suddenly, they didn’t.
What followed was a spectacular crash, a financial catastrophe that would echo down through the centuries. Or did it?
Join John and Patrick as they uncover the truth behind the tulip craze: from its exotic roots to its supposed ruinous end, and how one 19th-century Scottish journalist may have exaggerated the entire affair.
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How did a drunk church-goer influence the Navy’s go-to-beverage? What does a Persian fruit beverage and sherbet powder have to do with each other? How did an American favorite drink fall from grace? And why does tomato juice taste so much better on a plane?
In this month's livestream, John and Patrick each reveal their top three produce-based drinks from history.
From orange juice’s vital role in World War II to grape juice’s unexpected place in the fight against alcoholism, these drinks don’t just quench thirst - they reflect the spirit of their times.
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Robert Fortune’s journey was far from over. After infiltrating China in disguise, Fortune now sets his sights on the Wuyi Mountains—steeped in legend, veiled in mist, and home to the most coveted tea in the world: black tea. Guided by his newly appointed servant, the enigmatic Sing-Hoo, Fortune pushes deeper into China’s forbidden interior, navigating treacherous paths and even more treacherous politics. But not all goes according to plan. His prized green tea shipment meets an unfortunate fate, while back in India, the impulsive botanist William Jameson jeopardizes the mission with his rash decisions.
Yet amid the chaos, Fortune finds unexpected wisdom among Buddhist monks, who not only reveal the secrets of cultivating tea but also teach him how to brew the perfect cup. It’s in these sacred temples, not the markets of London, that the future of tea begins to shift.
As Fortune’s precious tea plants take root in the Himalayan foothills, Indian tea is born—forever altering the global balance of trade. From British agent to American hire, Robert Fortune’s legacy would be one of ambition, deception, and botanical revolution. He didn't just steal tea—he transformed it.
Join John and Patrick for the thrilling conclusion of Fortune’s audacious adventure, as they uncover the spiritual, imperial, and agricultural dimensions of one of history’s greatest botanical heists.
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The British thirst for tea had become insatiable by the mid-19th century, but there was one problem: nearly all of it came from China. For the East India Company, this dependency was a costly vulnerability. What they needed wasn’t more silver to trade but a way to break China’s monopoly entirely. Enter Robert Fortune: a Scottish botanist with a talent for subterfuge, a taste for adventure, and an uncanny knack for survival.
In this first part of a two-part series, John and Patrick trace the remarkable early life of Fortune - from his humble Scottish beginnings to his acclaimed first expedition in China that put him on the map. With the East India Company desperate to grow its own tea in India, Fortune is entrusted with a daring mission: to steal the secrets of tea production from deep within the Chinese heartland.
Clad in local robes and speaking rough Pidgin, Fortune navigated a dangerous landscape few foreigners ever saw - sneaking through the storied city of Hangzhou and gaining rare access to a green tea factory. But what he found there would shock even him: Chinese producers were secretly poisoning the tea, adding toxic pigments to create a more vibrant hue for foreign buyers.
Join John and Patrick as they trace the first steps of this daring mission, where botany, espionage, and empire collide, and the fate of tea - and indeed, global trade - hangs in the balance.
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When Portuguese traders arrived on India’s western shores in the early 1500s, they brought more than religion, colonial ambition, and a lust for spice - they also carried with them a tiny, crimson fruit that would set Asia ablaze.
In part two of their deep dive into the scorching history of chili peppers, John and Patrick trace the pepper’s path across India, China, and Korea, where it would come to define cuisines, ignite revolutions, and even ward off evil spirits.
From its humble beginnings in Goan gardens to the fiery markets of Guntur, from Sichuan’s numbing heat to the fermented jars of kimchi on Seoul’s rooftops, this episode follows the trail of Capsicum as it infiltrates empires and reshapes entire culinary traditions. Along the way, we’ll meet Buddhist monks, Portuguese conquerors, imperial skeptics, Communist revolutionaries, and, of course, Wilbur Scoville—the mild-mannered American pharmacist who gave us a way to measure the madness.
Join John and Patrick for the sizzling second act of this global saga—a tale of heat, history, and the humble pepper that conquered the world.
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For millennia, chili peppers have been at the heart of the Americas - long before Columbus set sail, before the Aztecs built their empire, and before the Incas wove them into myth. Originating in what is now Peru and Bolivia, these fiery pods were among the first crops cultivated by humans, shaping the diets, medicine, and rituals of entire civilizations.
From the wild “tolerated weeds” of early foragers to the carefully cultivated varieties prized by the Maya and Aztecs, chiles were far more than a seasoning - they were power, tribute, and even punishment. In Incan lore, Brother Chile Pepper was woven into creation myths, while Aztec markets overflowed with dozens of varieties, traded and taxed like gold. When Columbus finally arrived in the Caribbean, he wasn’t discovering chiles - he was stumbling upon a centuries-old tradition that had already conquered the New World.
Join John and Patrick as they trace the ancient roots of the chile pepper, exploring its sacred role in pre-Columbian societies, its legendary place in Aztec and Incan mythology, and the fateful moment it first crossed the Atlantic. But this is just the beginning - because once Columbus carried chiles back to Spain, their journey was only getting started.
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On August 23, 1919, a celebratory dinner at the Lakeside Club in Canton, Ohio, was held in honor of Col. Charles C. Weybrecht’s return from France at the end of the First World War. But what began as a joyous occasion soon turned tragic, as guests fell ill - and over the following days, several would die.
In this month’s History of Fresh Produce livestream, we delve into the infamous event known as The Great Olive Poisoning, a case that would help shape America’s food safety system. How did olives play a role in the deadly outbreak? How many lives were lost? What was the impact on the olive industry? And most chillingly—was it an accident, or something more sinister?
Join John and Patrick as they unravel this real-life murder mystery, where fresh produce was at the heart of it all.
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The story of the olive is one of resilience, empire, and cultural transformation. From its first human interactions in Africa over 100,000 years ago to its role in the economies of the great Mediterranean civilizations, the olive tree has been a silent witness to the rise and fall of history’s greatest powers. In the Eastern Mediterranean, early farmers began cultivating olives nearly 7,000 years ago, setting the stage for what would become an essential commodity of the ancient world.
Join John and Patrick as they trace the olive’s journey from its first cultivation in the Levant to its sacred status in ancient Greece, where it adorned Olympic champions and fueled temple lamps. Discover how the Romans transformed olive oil into a vast commercial empire, using it for food, lighting, medicine, and even as a tax currency. Learn how olive groves survived the decline of Rome, weathered the Middle Ages, and ultimately laid the foundation for the Mediterranean’s enduring love affair with this golden elixir.
From trade routes to warfare, from myth to medicine, this is the epic tale of the olive—a story that spans continents and centuries, shaping the world in ways we still feel today.
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In the wake of war, division, and rapid industrialization, South Korea’s countryside faced a crisis. By the late 1960s, rural poverty was deepening, farmers were abandoning their fields for the cities, and the gap between urban and rural life had never been wider. But then, a dramatic shift began.
Join John and Patrick as they explore the origins and impact of the Saemaul Undong Movement - the sweeping rural development program launched by President Park Chung-Hee in the 1970s. But to understand why this movement was necessary, they first take a journey through Korea’s long and complex agricultural history, from dynastic land ownership and Japanese colonial rule to postwar land reforms and the struggle for modernization.
How did centuries of social hierarchy shape Korea’s farmland? Why did colonial policies leave so many farmers dispossessed? And what led Park’s government to turn its focus back to the countryside? Tune in for a deep dive into one of the most ambitious agricultural revolutions of the 20th century.
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The relationship between Russia and Ukraine is as much about soil as it is about politics. The fertile black earth of Ukraine—cherished by empires, fought over by nations—has been both a source of great prosperity and deep conflict. And today, as world leaders negotiate the terms of peace, the historical struggle for control over Ukraine’s agricultural bounty remains as relevant as ever.
Join John and Patrick as they unearth the long and complex history of fresh produce and agriculture in shaping the geopolitics of Russia and Ukraine. From the legendary chernozem soil to Kyivan Rus, the rise of Odessa as a grain powerhouse, and Catherine the Great’s imperial ambitions, this episode explores how wheat, trade routes, and the struggle for control over food supply have influenced centuries of war, conquest, and diplomacy.
With echoes of history playing out in the present, this is a story that stretches from medieval markets to modern battlefields—one where agriculture is not just a means of survival, but a tool of power.
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Chicago’s history is deeply entwined with African American migration, resilience, and food traditions. Once a key destination of the Great Migration, the city became a new home for millions seeking opportunity - bringing with them the rich culinary heritage of the South. But how did African Americans adapt to urban life when access to farmland was scarce? And how did fresh produce shape their food culture in a city built on industry?
Join John and Patrick for this special bonus episode, where they welcome photographer, content creator, and 77 Flavors of Chicago podcast cohost Dario Durham (who you may also recognize from Netflix’s award-winning series High on the Hog). Together, they explore the legacy of Chicago’s Black food culture, from its early agricultural roots to the role of markets like Maxwell Street in keeping Southern food traditions alive.
What fresh produce was central to Southern cuisine, and how did Black communities source it in a rapidly growing city? How did community gardens and urban farms become a lifeline for preserving traditional foodways? And what systemic barriers limited access to fresh produce in historically marginalized neighborhoods?
From iconic dishes to modern initiatives aimed at bringing fresh produce back to Black neighborhoods, this is the story of how Chicago’s food culture was shaped by migration, adaptation, and resilience.
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Listen to Dario Durham's podcast 77 Flavors of Chicago
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African Americans have played an undeniable role in shaping American agriculture, yet today, they make up less than 2% of the nation’s farmers. From the rich agricultural knowledge enslaved Africans brought with them - cultivating crops like rice, okra, and yam - to the broken promise of "40 acres and a mule," Black farmers have faced generations of systemic barriers.
What happened during Reconstruction that made land ownership so difficult? How did sharecropping trap so many in cycles of debt? And what role did government policies, like those of the USDA, play in pushing Black farmers off their land? As millions left the rural South for Northern cities during the Great Migration, what became of their agricultural traditions?
Join John and Patrick as they sit down with culinary historian, educator, and award-winning author Michael Twitty - whose works The Cooking Gene and Koshersoul have transformed the conversation around food, identity, and history. From the Gullah Geechee people and their deep connection to African crops to the rise of urban farming as a means of reclaiming Black agricultural heritage, this special livestream episode explores the struggles, resilience, and ongoing revival of African American farming traditions.
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Order Michael Twitty's award-winning books:
The Cooking Gene
Koshersoul
Follow Michael on Instagram and Threads @thecookinggene
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After years of relentless study, George Washington Carver arrived in Alabama in 1896 with a bold vision: to transform Southern agriculture and help Black farmers break free from poverty. But what he found was a region devastated by over-farmed soil, sharecropping, and economic struggle.
Joining the Tuskegee Institute under Booker T. Washington’s leadership, Carver faced immediate resistance—from both the land and his colleagues. With a near-impossible workload and tensions mounting among faculty, his revolutionary ideas weren’t always welcomed. Yet, despite these obstacles, Carver developed innovative farming techniques, pioneered soil restoration methods, and helped create the Jesup Wagon—a mobile agricultural school that brought education directly to struggling farmers.
But Carver’s impact extended far beyond Tuskegee. His unwavering passion for agriculture and his commitment to improving the lives of Black farmers earned him national recognition. His innovative research on peanuts and sweet potatoes left a profound mark on American agriculture.
Join John and Patrick for the conclusion of this two-part series, as they explore how Carver’s contributions not only transformed agricultural practices in the South but also paved the way for his rise to national fame, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire today.
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George Washington Carver, born into slavery in the early 1860s, would go on to become one of the most influential figures in American agriculture.
His life began in turmoil - kidnapped as an infant, raised by his former enslavers after the Civil War, and set on a path of profound curiosity and innovation. Despite immense adversity, George developed a deep connection to the land and plants, experimenting with natural solutions to help local farmers and developing a lifelong fascination with agriculture.
But his journey was not an easy one. From the horrors of witnessing a lynching to being turned away from a prestigious school because of his race, Carver’s life was shaped by the cruelty and limitations of his time. Yet, through every hardship, Carver’s pursuit of knowledge and commitment to bettering his community remained unwavering.
Join John and Patrick as they uncover the early years of George Washington Carver's life, his deep connection with the natural world, and his unrelenting pursuit of knowledge, setting the stage for his transformative work in agricultural science and his lasting legacy in shaping modern farming practices.
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Africa’s agricultural innovations have shaped global food systems for over 10,000 years, yet its legacy is often overshadowed by misconceptions of scarcity. This episode begins with exploring Africa’s deep-rooted contributions to agriculture, from the domestication of crops like millet, sorghum, and coffee to the continent’s vital role in feeding both its own people and the world.
But this story takes a darker turn with the transatlantic slave trade, where African food systems became the backbone of a brutal enterprise. Enslaved Africans were not only sustained by African-grown crops like yams, rice, and sorghum but also carried their agricultural knowledge and even seeds to the Americas - forever shaping the diets of the New World. From the plantations of Brazil to the kitchens of the American South, the influence of African agriculture endures.
Join John and Patrick as they uncover the hidden history of Africa’s food legacy, its role in the transatlantic trade, and the resilience of enslaved people who carried their traditions across the ocean.
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For centuries, people from all walks of life have turned to gods and goddesses to ensure a bountiful harvest. The myths surrounding these deities are as diverse as they are fascinating, with stories of forbidden fruits, underworld bargains, and even gods donning flayed skins. But what common threads run through these ancient tales from distant cultures? What can these myths reveal about the societies that believed in them, and their deep ties to the land? Were these gods objects of fear, reverence, or a little of both? And do they still hold sway over modern worshippers?
Join John and Patrick for this month’s livestream, where they each reveal their top five produce deities, exploring everything from Greek to Aztec mythology and beyond.
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Julius Caesar adored it, the Catholic Church feared it, and Benjamin Franklin grumbled about it. Asparagus is a vegetable that has stirred strong emotions throughout history, yet it always finds its way back to the table.
Known as the “aristocrat of the allium world,” asparagus captivated the ancient world, vanished for a time, and then made a grand reappearance during the Renaissance, symbolizing luxury and sophistication. As European explorers expanded their reach, so too did asparagus, and today it remains one of America’s most beloved vegetables—partly due to the War on Drugs.
Join John and Patrick as they unravel the vegetable’s unexpected ties to emperors, poets, Impressionist painters, and even the Nazis. With a blend of science, the evolution of language, and art history, this episode delves into the fascinating story of asparagus - one of the most intriguing vegetables in history.
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- Visa fler
