Ripe for Global Domination: The Story of the Avocado

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Arts, History, Food

4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’re coming up to AvocadoFest 2026, otherwise known as the Super Bowl, when Americans get fully a fifth of their annual avocado allocation. But how did this humble fruit, originally named after testicles, get from its Mexican forest home to a tattoo on Miley Cyrus's upper arm? This episode, we unravel the avocado's amazing journey, a story that involves not only conquistadors and cartel violence, but also a Southern California postman and actress Angie Dickinson lounging in a white leotard. And we discover where the avocado is headed next—a place where it's known as the butter fruit, and often consumed in shake form. Listen in now for all this creamy green goodness and more. (encore) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, I'm in my kitchen, Cynthia, and I feel as though it's time for some lunch.
0:05.4	I am thinking the same thing. And I have a really lovely ripe avocado here on the counter.
0:11.8	I do too. I do too. You might even think we planned this.
0:18.6	Oh, come on. Don't tell me we're out of bread. That would be really good. There's no avocado toast without the toast. Come on. I got bread. Okay, I'm just cutting it into thin slices. The bread is ready. I'm just kind of laying out the thin slices of avocado on the toast. Okay, a little mashing on the bread here. Yeah, so I am so
0:39.5	freaking bougie that I am going to put a few little pink slivers of pickled radish. You have pink
0:47.4	pickled radish ready for yours? Cynthia, I'm living that healthy Southern California lifestyle.
0:52.9	Okay, I'm sprinkling some beautiful salt on top.
0:55.3	Oh my God, this is so pretty.
0:57.3	The pink on the green, I feel like I could literally invite Gwyneth Paltrow round lunch.
1:04.3	Hi, Gwyneth. Are your ears burning? We're talking about you.
1:07.9	Don't worry. We are not going to spend this episode talking about Gwyneth Paltrow. We are, though, going to be talking about an incredibly delicious fruit. Yes, avocado is a fruit. And how it became the symbol of an aspirational lifestyle. We are gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history. I'm Nicola Twilly. And I'm Cynthia Graber.
1:29.8	So this avocado toast thing.
1:32.4	How in the world did it become a thing?
1:38.0	More importantly, how did a fruit that it's named after male genitalia become the poster child of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the next big thing in China?
1:42.2	We hope you enjoy this encore episode. It's supported in
1:45.5	part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the public understanding of science, technology, and
1:49.4	economics. Gastropod is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network in partnership with Eater.
1:56.9	Support for this show comes from Odu. Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder with a dozen different apps that
2:04.6	don't talk to each other?
2:06.3	Introducing Odu, it's the only business software you'll ever need.
2:10.6	It's an all-in-one fully integrated platform that makes your work easier, CRM, accounting,
2:16.8	inventory, e-commerce, and more.
	...

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