logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
45m 46s

The Chicken of Tomorrow

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode
In the 1940s the U.S. Department of Agriculture and A&P supermarkets teamed up to hold a contest to see who could breed the meatiest, most efficient, most visually appealing chicken. 
Up next
Yesterday
Behind the Scenes Minis: Pirate Evolution
Tracy shares the topics she considered for the recording in the Bahamas but decided against. Holly talks about her admiration for Thomas Huxley.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
15m 31s
Jul 29
Thomas Henry Huxley
Huxley is an example of having a good attitude about publicly acknowledging errors and learning from them. He earned the nickname “Darwin’s bulldog” for his very vocal support of Darwin’s work, and he wanted to promote science and education, particularly to people that didn’t nor ... Show More
41m 5s
Jul 27
The Flying Gang
For part of its history, Nassau was a notorious hotbed of pirate activity. And it was home to a maritime criminal network known as the Flying Gang. Research: "Bahamas, the." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™, The Columbia UP, 2025. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale ... Show More
32m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2015
How Did the Chicken Cross the World?
As a race, we humans owe a fair amount to the chicken. Throughout time it has been a religious deity, a medicine source as well as being a food. It's travelled the world alongside explorers, inspired scientific revelations and of course been the nub of the world's most famous jok ... Show More
27m 39s
Jul 2016
Poultry Power: The Fried Chicken Chronicles
Juicy, crispy, crunchy…fried chicken is undoubtedly delicious. But it’s also complicated, in ways that go far deeper than the science behind that perfect crust. From slavery to entrepreneurship and from yard fowl to Gospel bird, the story of fried chicken is filled with challengi ... Show More
44m 33s
Jul 2024
Fed: The invention of chicken
Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken.He’s ... Show More
26m 28s
Sep 2020
Chicken Big
In 1992, Craig Watts got into growing chickens for Perdue Farms because he was told he could turn a good profit. Instead, he found himself hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and unable to bargain for better working conditions because Perdue was the only game in town. Thing ... Show More
28m 50s
Aug 2024
Fed: Big chicken
We're a planet addicted to chicken and our appetites fuel a massive global industry, but is it one we should support?While some cite it as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world, others say it is a c ... Show More
26m 29s
Nov 2023
#420 | The Economics of Chicken
How has a small bird from the jungles of southeast Asia gone on to be the most popular source of protein in the world? In this episode, we are going to talk about the economics of chicken, and how farmers have managed to drastically reduce its price. The transformation of chicken ... Show More
19m 39s
Apr 2025
How to buy a happy chicken
Britain’s obsessed with chicken - we eat more than a billion birds a year. And to (literally) feed our hunger, many farmers have turned to fast-growing birds. But now, a new initiative is persuading supermarkets and restaurants to try a slower-growing breed. Will it mean higher-w ... Show More
23m 52s
May 2023
Chicken Nuggets: A Bitesized History
The most famous chicken nugget of them all, the McDonald’s McNugget, turns 40 this year. So we’re asking, who invented the Chicken Nugget? Enter food-scientist Robert Baker who came up with them twenty years before the McNugget was even a glimmer in Ronald McDonald's eye. Baker w ... Show More
38m 5s
Aug 2022
The Problem With Superchickens
Scientists recently discovered a fascinating paradox: when they bred together superproductive, egg-laying hens, they found the chickens produced fewer eggs. We examine what went wrong with these so-called superchickens, and we look at human examples of this phenomenon—a high scho ... Show More
31m 33s