{"podcast":{"title":"The History of Fresh Produce","slug":"the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611","podcast_index_feed_id":6999611,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/hfp/","website_url":"https://hfp.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/b25d857f-0f9b-4f2c-8116-1d496b4db3b5/W3kLioZTryHgRMozQmkg_ui1.jpg","author":"The Produce Industry Network","episode_count":159,"summary":"Join John Paap and Patrick Kelly in this podcast series that explores the fascinating and often overlooked history of fresh fruits and vegetables. Each episode offers listeners a unique perspective on how produce has shaped our world, featuring in-depth interviews with top experts and historians, engaging storytelling, and a blend of historical and contemporary perspectives. Whether exploring the journey of grapes through time or the influence of produce in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, this series leaves no stone unturned. Social Channels: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyoffreshproduce/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyoffreshproduce?lang=en Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historyoffreshproduce?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558921896574","last_synced_at":"2026-06-16T14:18:49.984714+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611"},"episode":{"title":"The Tree of Life: Empires, War, and the Modern Date (Part 2)","slug":"the-tree-of-life-empires-war-and-the-modern-date-part-2","published_at":"2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611/the-tree-of-life-empires-war-and-the-modern-date-part-2","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611","url":"https://hfp.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://op3.dev/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/066a2ea6-ed43-4577-a859-2272796cceaf.mp3","summary":"How did the humble date palm become entangled in the great age of empire? Why did steamships, railways, and the opening of the Suez Canal transform an ancient oasis crop into a global commodity? And how did a handful of date palms - smuggled across deserts, nearly lost to a curious dog, and later replanted in California - come to shape the modern global date industry? Join John and Patrick for the second part of their story on the history of dates, as imperial expansion, desert espionage, and ambitious American plant hunters carry this ancient fruit from the oases of North Africa and the Middle East to the highways of Southern California, and even back from seeds two thousand years old. ---------- In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ----------- Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Support us! Share this episode with your friends Give a 5-star rating Write a review ----------- Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more. ----------- Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @historyoffreshproduce Email: historyoffreshproduce@gmail.com","meta_description":"How did the humble date palm become entangled in the great age of empire? Why did steamships, railways, and the opening of the Suez Canal transform an anc…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2297,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611/episodes/the-tree-of-life-empires-war-and-the-modern-date-part-2/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-fresh-produce-6999611/the-tree-of-life-empires-war-and-the-modern-date-part-2.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}