Produced by the iLab at WBUR Boston.

Christmas was just a few days ago, which means the annual assault of Christmas music on our ears has finally abated.

Maybe, or maybe some of it's still echoing in your ears like these lyrics just nuts roasting on an open fire.

Believe it or not, those lyrics are a vestige of something we often forget.

Chestnuts used to be as American as apple pie.

And American chestnuts are actually the subject of one of the craziest stories of extinction and resurrection ever seen in the US.

So, well, some of us on the endless thread team are resting by the fire and roasting our own chestnuts.

We thought this would be the perfect time to share our episode all about the American chestnut tree.

Enjoy!

I am on a secret mission in a Tesla with my producer pal Josh Swartz and a man named Brian Clark.

A man named Brian Clark who owns this Tesla and whose day is about to get a little bit worse.

Oh, geez.

Well, hopefully it was a...

That's a standpipe.

Yes, that sound you just heard was the sound of a Tesla tail light getting its wings.

Don't worry, everybody's fine.

And this happened because Brian was actually pulling off of a dirt road to make way for a utility truck.

So for the record, Brian is a responsible driver.

He's also one of the only people who knows the secret location we are headed for.

Our mission has taken Josh and me to the hill country of central Massachusetts.

There are not a lot of roads here.

We've got to go down and come back and then out because this area, the part of the road has been closed for years.

...