Your pantry's sweetest ingredient has an extremely bitter history. The sap-producing grass known as sugarcane has been grown and enjoyed by humans for at least 10,000 years, but it was only relatively recently that it went from a luxury to an everyday ingredient—a change that also triggered genocide, slavery, and the invention of modern racism. In this episo ... Show More
Oct 6
Fibermaxxing FTW: Meet the Neglected Nutrient That's the Key to Health
Move over protein, it's time to fibermaxx! Fiber has always been the neglected stepchild of nutrients: it's never been seen as essential, and some of its earliest enthusiasts were poop-obsessed oddballs. Take the inventor of cornflakes, John Harvey Kellogg. Inspired by the gorill ... Show More
51m 52s
Sep 8
Plant Milk Proliferation: Oat, Soy, Almond, and More, But Which Is Best?
Cow milk is out, and plant milk reigns supreme. At least, that's how it feels in the supermarket these days, where the refrigerated section is full of "milk" made from oats, almonds, peanuts, coconuts, soy, macadamia nuts, pistachios, and even peas, with new plants being milked s ... Show More
48m 52s
Oct 2023
106: The Dark History Of Sugar: Slavery, Diabetes, And Addiction
Welcome to the Dark History podcast. It’s October, which means, it’s the start of spooky season. With Halloween coming up, my mouth is watering just thinking about all of the candy I’m going to eat. But I always hear about how bad sugar is, so I wanted to find out why? Is sugar r ... Show More
54m 50s
Nov 2023
112: Real Life Willy Wonka: Freak Candy Disaster that Killed Dozens
Welcome to the Dark History podcast. Remember Augustus Gloop, the kid from Willy Wonka who drowned in chocolate? It turns out that happens in real life, too. Yep, candy has been responsible for MANY deaths. Think poisoned candy, a flood of burning molasses, and a chocolate Easter ... Show More
52m 18s