The Fever Tree Hunt

<p>Writer Caroline Fraser argues a chilling link between industrial poison, deadly design, and a generation of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest.</p> <p><p>Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.&nbsp;<br><b ... Show More

<p>People once dreamed of sidewalks that could whisk them across cities. Somehow, that dream ended up at the airport.</p> <p><p>Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.&nbsp;<br><br>Start a free trial now on Apple ... Show More

<p>Comedy writer Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show, <a href="https://www.flophousepodcast.com" target="_blank">The Flop House</a>, <a href="https://mst3k.com" target="_blank">Mystery Science Theater 3000</a>, and co-host of the <a href="https://99percentinvisible.org/powerbroker" tar ... Show More

Most heists target gold, jewels or cash. This one targeted illegal seeds.As the British established their sprawling empire across the subcontinent and beyond, they encountered a formidable adversary — malaria. There was a cure — the bark of the Andean cinchona tree. The only prob ... Show More

<p>Trees have the remarkable ability to pass knowledge down to succeeding generations and to survive the ravages of climate change, if only we’d let them alone, according to the German forester Peter Wohlleben. In The Power of Trees (translated by Jane Billinghurst) he explains t ... Show More

This week, Gastropod tells the story of two countries and their shared obsession with a plant: Camellia sinensis, otherwise known as the tea bush. The Chinese domesticated tea over thousands of years, but they lost their near monopoly on international trade when a Scottish botani ... Show More

Deep in the Cambodian Jungle, a ruined city crumbles among the roots of banyan trees. In this episode, we look at the history of the Khmer Empire of medieval Cambodia, and the ancient mega-city of Angkor. I want to explore how this great civilization rose to a size and wealth vir ... Show More

<p>2/2. The British Empire aggressively pursued the opium trade well into the 19th century, fueling an addiction epidemic within China. The Qing government was determined to stamp out this destructive trade, leading to the First and Second Opium Wars. But the British Royal Navy w ... Show More

What’s a forest of ghaf trees called? Are ghaf leaves and pods edible? What do ghaf trees have to do with tree huggers? What might you find if you dig around ghaf trees? This episode is dedicated to the ghaf tree, the national tree of the UAE and a symbol of tolerance. This amazi ... Show More

In 1897 Queen Victoria marked her diamond jubilee and Britain was in a celebratory mood. The British Empire had never been stronger. Few could imagine that this world-spanning empire might very well be peaking. But in 1897 Britain was in no mood for painful self-reflection. Inste ... Show More

Just a little over a hundred years ago, eastern forests were studded with what was called "America's perfect tree": 100-foot giants with straight-grained, rot-resistant wood, which filled the woods every fall with delicious, nutritious nuts. This nut—the American chestnut—was a s ... Show More

In 1897 Queen Victoria marked her diamond jubilee and Britain was in a celebratory mood. The British Empire had never been stronger. Few could imagine that this world-spanning empire might very well be peaking. But in 1897 Britain was in no mood for painful self-reflection. Inste ... Show More