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Bananageddon! Say Goodbye to *the* Banana, and Hello to the Weird and Wonderful World of Bananas, Plural
Yes, it's true: the banana we know and love is going the way of the dodo bird. An incurable strain of the fungal Panama disease known as TR4 is curre…
9 months, 3 weeks ago
Going Bananas: How a Tropical Treat Became the World's Favorite Fruit
In 1870, a strange fruit arrived on the docks in New Jersey, starting an industry that would change the world. That fruit was a banana, and, although…
10 months, 1 week ago
Do We Really Have Beer to Thank for the First Writing and Cities?
Humanity's love affair with beer goes *way* back: 5,000 years ago, the civilization that arose in Mesopotamia invented writing, and one of the very f…
11 months ago
Seed Oil Scare: The Curious Case of Canola
If you've been hearing that canola is a killer, you're not alone. It's one of the so-called "hateful eight" seed oils: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says it…
11 months, 2 weeks ago
Nutrition Advice Decoded: What Foods Are Actually Good For Us, What Should We Avoid, and Why Is It All SO Confusing?
Are eggs going to give you high cholesterol, or are they the base of a great protein-rich meal? Will coffee give you cancer, or will it help you live…
11 months, 3 weeks ago
The Rise and Fall of Quinoa: From Incan "Superfood" to Buddha Bowl Basic
Quinoa is everywhere these days, the base for a million salads and grain bowls. But, until recently, barely anyone outside the nutritious seed's anci…
1 year ago
The Shocking True Story of the World's First Seed Bank—And The Scientists Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Save It
During World War II, the Soviet city of Leningrad was surrounded, cut off from food supplies for nearly two and a half years. People were desperate: …
1 year ago
No Buzz Booze: The History and Science of Going Low- or No-Alcohol
Dry January may be over, but, for many people, drinking less alcohol or none at all is an increasingly common choice year-round. And, unlike in the p…
1 year, 1 month ago
Moon Rocks Wanted (guest episode)
(Guest episode) On September 18, 1998, an unusual ad ran in USA Today — a company called John's Estate Sales was looking to buy a moon rock. But the …
1 year, 1 month ago
Is My Dentist Scamming Me? (guest episode)
(Guest episode) Matt wants to know how to tell if he’s being scammed by his dentist. To find the answer, we open up the surprising history of dentist…
1 year, 2 months ago