logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
10m 49s

Why Are Bananas So Cheap?

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you think of the quintessential American fruit, it would probably have to be the apple. But apples are not our cheapest fruit—bananas are! But why? Here’s the History Guy with the story of the banana.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Today
Who Invented the Barcode and How It Changed the World
On this episode of Our American Stories, you may see them everywhere today, but the UPC barcode didn’t become commonplace until well into the 1970s. What had started as a simple idea to speed up checkout lines took decades to develop, requiring advances in computing, scanning tec ... Show More
10m 49s
Today
Joplin’s EF-5 Tornado: A Story of Loss, Love, and Hope
On this episode of Our American Stories, on May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, killing 162 people and becoming the deadliest and costliest tornado in modern American history. As the storm approached, local meteorologist Jerimiah Cook realized the tornado ... Show More
27m 27s
Today
The Night I Saved a Man With a Knife
On this episode of Our American Stories, as a military police officer in Germany, Richard Muniez expected another quiet night on patrol. Instead, he responded to a call involving a distraught soldier armed with a knife who was destroying a truck and begging officers to shoot him. ... Show More
10m 49s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Short Stuff: Artificial Banana Flavor
In the Watermelon episode, Chuck and Josh stumbled into a bit of little-known history about why artificial banana flavor doesn’t taste like bananas. Turns out it does; it just tastes like a banana you’ve probably never eaten.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
12m 49s
Jan 2020
There Will Be Bananas
The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics.See pcm.adswizz.com for infor ... Show More
55m 17s
Aug 2020
Reframing History: Bananas
The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics.See pcm.adswizz.com for infor ... Show More
56m 54s
Apr 2024
Yes, We Have Bananas
Bananas, the world’s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard’s Herball. Despite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was late ... Show More
12m 29s
Oct 2017
Are Bananas Going Extinct?
<p>From monkey lifehacks, to Victorian shame about bananas to why slipping on a peel became the go-to gag, Will and Mango are ready to dish on the Cavendish. Featuring the International Banana Club’s Top Banana, Ken Bannister.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a hr ... Show More
41m 58s
Mar 2024
Episodio 52: La repubblica delle banane (Stagione 4)
Perché utilizziamo l’espressione “repubblica delle banane”? Scopriamolo con questa puntata dedicata alla storia, davvero piena di avvenimenti e sorprese, di uno dei frutti più consumati al mondo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
18m 50s
Sep 2018
9 Facts to Get You in the Apple-Picking Mood
From the most heavy metal apples out there, to the reason New York City transitioned from a New Orange to the Big Apple, to the insane lengths Japanese farmers go to to grow the perfect apple, Will and Mango pluck some the best apple stories they can find. Learn more about your a ... Show More
14m 35s
Feb 2021
Let's go bananas!
HARVEY, our omnipresent virtual voice assistant, gets a software update that makes him go bananas for bananas. And if we talk about anything except bananas, he turns the microphones off! We talk to geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff about how much DNA we share with a banana, find out why ... Show More
38m 12s
Mar 2022
36: The Shocking & Shady Past of Bananas
Bananas. That yummy yellow fruit. We love it. But let me tell you, this simple fruit has a COMPLICATED past. We’re talking labor strikes, insurrections, murder, environmental destruction, insider trading, and even potential nuclear war. No, seriously. Today we get into the very d ... Show More
56m 57s