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The Swiss War on Fruit Trees
Episode 123
Once, Switzerland was a land of pears.
When we picture the Swiss countryside today, we imagine tidy fields, precision farming, and alpine order. But n…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
What Will History Remember: 2020s [so far] in Review (Livestream)
Episode 122
As 2025 draws to a close, we also reach the midpoint of the decade. Looking back on an eventful first half of the 2020s, we’re left with a big questi…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
The Three Wise Men
Episode 121
What do gold, frankincense, and myrrh really tell us about the world into which Jesus was born? Who were the Magi - kings, mystics, scientists, or tr…
6 months, 4 weeks ago
The History of Figs
Episode 120
From incestuous wasps and prehistoric forests to sacred enlightenment, revolutionary resistance, and a certain square-shaped snack aisle icon - what …
7 months ago
Space Films, Produce and History (Livestream)
Episode 119
"They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized it. So technically, I colonized Mars. In your face , Neil Armstrong!"
As Mark W…
7 months, 1 week ago
The Artichoke King
Episode 118
What does a thorny Mediterranean thistle have to do with the American Mafia? How did a humble vegetable — adored by Romans, cultivated by Renaissance…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
The Guano Wars: When Poop Became Power
Episode 117
What if the most valuable substance on Earth wasn’t gold, or oil, or diamonds… but bird droppings?
In the mid-19th century, guano—yes, seabird excreme…
7 months, 3 weeks ago
Produce in Space: The Story of Intergalactic Agriculture
Episode 116
What happens when humanity takes its most basic need - food - beyond Earth’s atmosphere? From John Glenn’s applesauce tubes to the first lettuce grow…
8 months ago
Tanaka Farms: A Japanese-American Farming Legacy
Episode 115
What is the legacy of Japanese American farmers in shaping California’s agricultural landscape? How did a community once barred from owning land beco…
8 months, 1 week ago
Cornellian Chats: Van Gogh, Organics, Tomatoes on Trial, and Freeze!
Episode 114
Join John and Patrick for a special bonus episode recorded live from Anaheim, California, at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Pro…
8 months, 2 weeks ago