1: History of Everything: Potatoes

Today we trace the fascinating and often tragic relationship between Russia and vodka - from its medieval origins to its role as a tool of social control. Discover how vodka became both Russia's liquid currency and its social poison, with consumption patterns that have historical ...  Show more

Today we examine the brutal reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who earned the infamous nickname "The Butcher of Africa" through his systematic torture and murder of an estimated 300,000 people. From his rise to power in 1971 to his eventual overthrow in 1979, Amin's regime was m ...  Show more

In the mid-1800s, the poorest people in Ireland ate almost nothing but potatoes. Other crops were for selling. So when a blight cut a swath through the potato crop, the impact was severe, and politics played a significant role in the tragedy.

The second episode in our revisit of the Irish Famine covers the mid-1800s, when the poorest people in Ireland ate almost nothing but potatoes, saving other crops for selling. So a blight, plus politics, led to tragedy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcas ...  Show more

Today, the humble potato can be found in restaurants and dinner tables across the world -- but this wasn't always the case. In today's episode, Ben and Noel dive into the story of one spud-loving, potato-proselytizing man named Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, and his ambitious li ...

If you enjoy the true stories told in Survival, check out this episode from our series Natural Disasters: In 1845, a fungus destroyed Ireland’s potato crops, leaving the Irish population without its main food source. The first months of the famine morphed into a bureaucratic nigh ...  Show more