Why Are Bananas So Cheap?

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ed Sykes shares the remarkable story of his friendship with fellow fighter pilot Dave Dinan and the decades-long effort to bring his fallen comrade home.During the Vietnam War, Sykes flew dangerous combat missions in the F-105 Thunderchief ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, every immigrant story begins with a decision to leave something familiar behind. For Kevin Samy’s father, that meant leaving a village where opportunity was scarce and education was almost nonexistent.Samy shares how that journey to the Un ...  Show more

In the Watermelon episode, Chuck and Josh stumbled into a bit of little-known history about why artificial banana flavor doesn’t taste like bananas. Turns out it does; it just tastes like a banana you’ve probably never eaten.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics.To manage podcast ad preferen ...  Show more

The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics.To manage podcast ad preferen ...  Show more

Bananas, the world’s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard’s Herball. Despite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was late ...  Show more