The tomato is Gastropod’s favorite flavor of summer, and we’re not alone: today, it’s the most popular vegetable on the planet, despite the fact that it's technically a fruit. But, until a couple of hundred years ago, the tomato wasn't really anyone's favorite. In South America, where the tomato originates, no one even bothered to domesticate it; in Mexico, the Aztecs seem to have preferred tomatillos; Renaissance Europeans thought this member of the nightshade family was practically poisonous; and, until the 1830s, most Americans considered them an “acquired taste.” Even in Italy, where the culinary mainstays of pizza and pasta now depend on red sauce, it took centuries to catch on. So why was the tomato so unloved—and how did it end up converting the haters on its rise to glory? Listen in this episode for the story of how Italian block parties, snake oil pills, and the state of Florida played in a role in the tomato’s journey to global domination—as well as the epic tale of one man’s quest to make the industrial tomato taste great again.

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It's the epitome of summertime: there’s nothing like a cold, juicy slice of red watermelon on a swelteringly hot day. But, once upon a time, watermelons were neither red nor sweet—the wild watermelon has white flesh and a bitter taste. This episode, we scour Egyptian tombs, decaying DNA, and ancient literature in search of watermelon's origins. The quest for tasty watermelon continues into modern times, with the rediscovery of a lost (and legendarily sweet) varietal in South Carolina—and the Nigerian musical secret that might help you pick a ripe one. But the fruit's history has often been the opposite of sweet: watermelons have featured in some of the most ubiquitous anti-Black imagery in U.S. history. So how did the watermelon become the most dangerous—and racist—fruit in America? (encore)

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This might sound corny, but the relationship between maize and humanity is essential. We rely on corn—globally, more maize is grown than wheat or rice—and, in turn, corn is utterly dependent on us, to the extent that it's lost the ability to reproduce without our help. But corn's wild ancestor is such an unappetizing weed that, for decades, archaeologists couldn't believe today's juicy cobs were all descended from it. From this unpromising beginning, we've got a story that involves empires, vampires, and generations of women chained to the (literal) grindstone. Pass the popcorn and settle in as we explore the past, present, and future of corn—and the many delicious ways Mesoamericans have invented to get their daily dose of vitamin T(ortilla). Plus: do blue and yellow corn chips actually taste different? And what does it mean for your relationship status if you can't get a tortilla to puff?

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Probably not. But Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz decided to try it anyway, putting his body — and specifically his butt — on the line to answer a seemingly straightforward question: Is it possible to build up a tolerance to poison oak by eating it? (Guest episode)

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What do bubblegum, rooibos tea, and meal kits have in common? They’re all topics that puzzle and fascinate you, dear Gastropod listeners. This episode, we're getting to the bottom of your most pressing culinary questions! Such as: Are meal kits really better for the planet than buying and cooking dinner from scratch? Can all the rooibos tea in the world reallycome from one mountain range in South Africa? And what the heck is bubblegum flavor, anyway? Join us this episode for the scoop on meal kits, a tale of tea-drinking babies, and a peek behind the scenes at the Willy Wonka world of bubblegum flavor development from a real-life bubblegum scientist.

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Five centuries ago, before Spanish conquistadors arrived, what's now Mexico City was the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan—and it took the European invaders' breath away. It was built on an island threaded with canals; it was one of the largest cities in the world; and the Spanish could hardly believe the sheer volume of food sold in the city's main market, let alone the quantity and variety of dishes enjoyed by the Aztec leader, Montezuma. But how did a city built in a lake—and located in a part of the world without cows, sheep, pigs, or chicken—grow enough to feed quarter of a million people? What does it mean to eat like an Aztec, and can you still do it today? This episode, we're time traveling (and real traveling) to find out! Join us on a trip to taste the flavors of Tenochtitlan, and explore the endangered “floating islands” that fed the city—with a menu that included insect eggs, blue-green algae, and some adorable salamanders that just might hold the secret of eternal youth.

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Yes, it's true: the banana we know and love is going the way of the dodo bird. An incurable strain of the fungal Panama disease known as TR4 is currently wiping out tens of thousands of acres of banana plantations, from Malaysia to Australia and Mozambique to El Salvador. But what's bananas is that this has all happened before! Is history doomed to repeat itself? Find out in the grand finale of our banana series. It's banana-pocalypse then *and* now, in this story of CIA subterfuge and human parakeets—plus we get to the bottom of the mystery of banana-flavored candy and meet the weird and wonderful candidates auditioning for the role of banana of the future.

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In 1870, a strange fruit arrived on the docks in New Jersey, starting an industry that would change the world. That fruit was a banana, and, although it was a staple food in tropical regions, most Americans had never tried one. Today, a century and a half later, even the most depressing gas station, corner store, or hotel breakfast buffet in the land has bananas on offer. This week, we’re exploring the story of how humans transformed a tiny berry full of tooth-breaking seeds into the soft, yellow, suggestively-shaped fruits we know and love. Listen in now for the funny but tragic story that involves the invention of the cruise ship vacation, a Brazilian beauty and her iconic tutti-frutti hat, and the creation of the first "banana republic."

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Humanity's love affair with beer goes *way* back: 5,000 years ago, the civilization that arose in Mesopotamia invented writing, and one of the very first things they wrote about was... beer! But where was beer itself invented? This episode, we've got the story of beer's origins, the debate over whether humanity domesticated grains for brewing or for baking, and why beer was so essential to the smooth functioning of the world's first cities and states. But the story of how we know this—how we can decipher millennia-old drinking songs written in a forgotten language and alphabet, analyze pottery to reconstruct the ingredients list for ancient brews, and even figure out that, for maximum authenticity, we need to drink the resulting beverage through a hollow reed—well, that's perhaps even more fascinating! This week, archaeologist Tate Paulette is our guide as we meet the goddess of beer, sneak a peek at the letters of beer-brewing wives left behind by merchant husbands, and enjoy a time-traveling tasting of an ancient ale, produced with the help of cutting-edge science. Fill your glass and listen in—and don't forget your straw!

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If you've been hearing that canola is a killer, you're not alone. It's one of the so-called "hateful eight" seed oils: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says it's among the most deadly things you can eat, and Joe Rogan agrees. But is it true? This episode, we get to the bottom of the debate over the plant formerly (and still, in some places) known as rapeseed. Why does it have such an unfortunate name, and how did it transform into canola, at least in North America? Is it really engine oil? Does it actually contain a poisonous solvent? And why on earth are Brits buying up a fancy cold-pressed version by the gallon, as the new, home-grown olive oil? Are they roasting their potatoes with an inflammation- and disease-causing disaster? Listen in for the forgotten history and slippery science of this much discussed, little understood oil.

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