The History of Fresh Produce

Join John Paap and Patrick Kelly in this podcast series that explores the fascinating and often overlooked history of fresh fruits and vegetables. Each episode offers listeners a unique perspective on how produce has shaped our world, featuring in-depth interviews with top experts and historians, engaging storytelling, and a blend of historical and contemporary perspectives. Whether exploring the journey of grapes through time or the influence of produce in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, this series leaves no stone unturned. Social Channels: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyoffreshproduce/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyoffreshproduce?lang=en Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historyoffreshproduce?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558921896574

The History of Fresh Produce is a arts podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 194 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The History of Fresh Produce, a arts show with 194 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #194

  The History of Peas

  Aug 17, 202649 min

  How did a green vegetable reduce the court of Louis XIV to what contemporaries called "a fashion and a madness" — with ladies smuggling peas to their bedrooms and the Sun King himself eating so many that his doctors prescribed billiards as the cure? Why does the humble pea, which unlocked the fundamental laws of genetics, turn out to be better frozen than fresh — and what does a machine called the Tenderometer have to do with Mendel's monastery garden? And, how did a crop that fed Neolithic hunter-gatherers quietly become the building block of the plant-based food revolution? Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the pea — ten thousand years of the most underestimated vegetable in history... ---------- In Sponsorship with J&K Fresh. The customs broker who is your fruit and veggies’ personal bodyguard. Learn more here ! ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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  Episode #193

  The 1944 Water Treaty

  Aug 10, 202632 min

  How did a treaty signed in the middle of the Second World War end up with farmers seizing a dam at gunpoint, a woman shot dead by her own country's National Guard, and American lettuce growers in 2026 wondering whether they'll have a crop at all? Why does 80 percent of America's winter salad come from a single Arizona county that only exists because of a river it doesn't own? And, what happens when a legal framework built for one climate and one scale of agriculture is asked to hold together under a completely different one? Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the 1944 Water Treaty — the dam standoff, the shrinking rivers, and the piece of paper that two nations and their farmers are still fighting over... ---------- In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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  Episode #192

  The Parasite in the Salad Drawer

  Aug 3, 202629 min

  How did five farms in the highlands of Guatemala end up sickening nearly a thousand people across fifteen American states and two countries — and why did California's strawberry industry lose forty million dollars for something it had nothing to do with? Why does a parasite that was "fixed" in 1996 keep coming back, outbreak after outbreak, in a different salad drawer each time? And, what does the largest cyclosporiasis outbreak in years, unfolding right now across three dozen American states, tell us about the food system that hasn't changed at all? Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Cyclospora — the 1996 raspberry mystery, the invisible parasite in America's produce aisle, and the structural problem that got faster but never got solved... ---------- In Sponsorship with J&K Fresh. The customs broker who is your fruit and veggies’ personal bodyguard. Learn more here ! ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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  Episode #190

  South Korea: The Cabbage Crisis

  Jul 27, 202627 min

  Why did the South Korean government fly in emergency cabbage from China in 2010 — and why was that decision experienced as a national humiliation as much as a practical solution? How did a fermented vegetable become the subject of diplomatic warfare between South Korea, Japan, and China, a million-dollar space programme, and a UN cultural heritage inscription shared by two countries technically still at war? And what does kimjang — the autumn tradition of women gathering to make a year's supply together — reveal about what kimchi actually is, beyond the jar? Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of South Korea and kimchi — the Cabbage Crisis, the kimchi wars, and the earthenware pot carrying the weight of geopolitics... ---------- In Sponsorship with J&K Fresh. The customs broker who is your fruit and veggies’ personal bodyguard. Learn more here ! ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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  Episode #191

  Netherlands: Operation Manna

  Jul 27, 202627 min

  How did a Nazi food embargo, a frozen canal, and a railway strike combine to starve one of the most developed societies in Europe to below 400 calories a day? Why does the Dutch Hunger Winter still leave measurable chemical marks on the genes of people who were in the womb during it? And, what did the bomber crews of Operation Manna find spelled out below them in tulip bulbs as they flew low over the Netherlands dropping food instead of bombs? Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the Netherlands and the Hongerwinter — the starvation, the epigenetics, and the Lancaster crews who wept all the way home... ---------- In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com

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Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

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