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#30 Tristan Donovan: Snails, Missiles & Soda, The Untold Story of Your Favorite Drinks
In this episode, I sit down with cultural historian and journalist Tristan Donovan, author of Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World, a book that starts with carbonated air and ends in war, marketing madness, and Soviet missile booths repurposed as Coke stands.
We dive deep into the weird, wonderful, and occasionally disgusting history of soda.
Expect to learn:
- How Coca-Cola built an empire through war, sugar, and street corner propaganda
- Why Pepsi almost died (and how essentially molasses smuggling saved it)
- The real reason soda bottles are dark-colored (spoiler: bugs)
- Why your taste buds might be lying to you
- The bizarre marketing choices behind Red Bull, Crystal Pepsi, and celery soda
- And why the entire soft drink industry almost hinges on one dead snail in a Scottish ginger beer
We also explore how soda parallels the wine world, the shady quack medicine roots of Coca-Cola, and what it all says about taste, capitalism, and how easily we buy into stories.
If you’ve ever drunk a soda (so, essentially, everyone), you’re going to love this one.
Links:
- Tristan’s book: Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World
- Link to his Site (With all of his other work!)
- Business Wars (by Wondery) – check out their Coke vs. Pepsi episode
- Spy Who (also by Wondery)
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at my blog, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.
Classic Episodes You May Like:
-#10:Nat Harry, cocktail expert!
-#14: Dr. Shalini Bahl, mindful marketing
-#22:Doug Frost MW MS
-#23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
View all episodes
By Andrew RoyIn this episode, I sit down with cultural historian and journalist Tristan Donovan, author of Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World, a book that starts with carbonated air and ends in war, marketing madness, and Soviet missile booths repurposed as Coke stands.
We dive deep into the weird, wonderful, and occasionally disgusting history of soda.
Expect to learn:
- How Coca-Cola built an empire through war, sugar, and street corner propaganda
- Why Pepsi almost died (and how essentially molasses smuggling saved it)
- The real reason soda bottles are dark-colored (spoiler: bugs)
- Why your taste buds might be lying to you
- The bizarre marketing choices behind Red Bull, Crystal Pepsi, and celery soda
- And why the entire soft drink industry almost hinges on one dead snail in a Scottish ginger beer
We also explore how soda parallels the wine world, the shady quack medicine roots of Coca-Cola, and what it all says about taste, capitalism, and how easily we buy into stories.
If you’ve ever drunk a soda (so, essentially, everyone), you’re going to love this one.
Links:
- Tristan’s book: Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World
- Link to his Site (With all of his other work!)
- Business Wars (by Wondery) – check out their Coke vs. Pepsi episode
- Spy Who (also by Wondery)
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. You can find more of my work at my blog, and all my social links are at the bottom of that page.
Classic Episodes You May Like:
-#10:Nat Harry, cocktail expert!
-#14: Dr. Shalini Bahl, mindful marketing
-#22:Doug Frost MW MS
-#23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers