1: History of Everything: Potatoes

In the 1960s, bowling wasn't just a sport—it was America's favorite pastime. With over 9.8 million league bowlers, bowling alleys dotted every American town, and professional bowlers were household names. Today, that empire has crumbled to less than 1.2 million league bowlers nat ... Show More

The Yakuza, Japan's organized crime syndicates, originated in the mid-Edo period. Known for rigid patriarchal structures, tattoos, and feudal codes of honor, they evolved from street-level racketeers into powerful, often politically connected, organizations that thrived in post-W ... Show More

Most of the time when people are talking about war and military history things have a tendency to focus on just the men. However there have been numerous cases in history of women being involved in conflicts too. Most behind the scenes but there have been cases of some on the fro ... Show More

<p>In the mid-1800s, the poorest people in Ireland ate almost nothing but potatoes. Other crops were for selling. So when a blight cut a swath through the potato crop, the impact was severe, and politics played a significant role in the tragedy.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ... Show More

The second episode in our revisit of the Irish Famine covers the mid-1800s, when the poorest people in Ireland ate almost nothing but potatoes, saving other crops for selling. So a blight, plus politics, led to tragedy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcas ... Show More

<p>Today, the humble potato can be found in restaurants and dinner tables across the world -- but this wasn't always the case. In today's episode, Ben and Noel dive into the story of one spud-loving, potato-proselytizing man named Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, and his ambitious li ... Show More

If you enjoy the true stories told in Survival, check out this episode from our series Natural Disasters: In 1845, a fungus destroyed Ireland’s potato crops, leaving the Irish population without its main food source. The first months of the famine morphed into a bureaucratic nigh ... Show More

Jeden Tag essen viele Deutsche Kartoffeln. Egal ob Pommes, Puffer oder Bratkartoffeln: die Knolle aus der Erde ist ein beliebtes Nahrungsmittel in Deutschland. Das war aber nicht immer so! In dieser Folge erzählt euch Jan, wie die Kartoffel nach Deutschland gekommen ist. Das Tra ... Show More

Sir Walter Raleigh's is revered as the man who brought the potato to Ireland from South America. In this documentary John Skehan looks at the importance of the potato in Ireland, as well as the history and sociological impact of the potato in Ireland. (First Broadcast 1984)<br><p ... Show More

If you enjoy the true stories told in Survival, check out this episode from our series Natural Disasters: By the late 1840s, with no end in sight to the potato famine gripping Ireland and no help coming from the British government, the Irish people were left with few options. For ... Show More

<div>Is it magic? Is it physics? Bethany is looking at the first written instance of kids playing the classic sleepover game, “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board.” (Play it with your colleagues as a team-building exercise!) Then, Kathleen’s Thanksgiving dinner plans are driving ... Show More

In our second and final episode on the humble spud, we meet the people who see the global economic future as being potato powered. The potato is the world's most produced staple food after rice, wheat and corn - yet historically, it was seen as the root of filth, misery and obesi ... Show More