This week is all about bees. We talk to Thor Hanson, author of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees, about the importance of bees to our food supply, as well as their connection to the evolution of plants and humans. Francis Lam gets the story of Brooklyn’s red bees and other urban tales of beekeeping from Andrew Coté. Bridget Lancaster, host of America’s Test Kitchen, has flavorful tips for cooking with honey. And bee researcher Bernardo Niño discusses what makes a healthy bee colony and takes us inside the mysterious of colony collapse disorder. Francis also talks with listeners about using and preserving habanero peppers, and why cocoa powder is often included in Sicilian caponata recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode: