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Our American Stories

Smokin’ Ed Currie: From Carolina Reaper to Pepper X and a Life Rebuilt

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6817 Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, “Smokin’” Ed Currie is an American chili pepper breeder and the founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company. He’s best known for creating the world’s hottest chili peppers—the Carolina Reaper and now Pepper X—as recognized by Guinness World Records. A former addict, Ed is now a man of strong faith. Here’s Ed sharing a story about him, his wife, and a miracle. 

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:04.0

What I told people, I was making a podcast about Benghazi.

0:08.5

Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why?

0:15.1

Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies.

0:18.5

From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi.

0:23.6

What difference at this point does it make?

0:26.6

Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:33.6

You know, And we continue with our American stories.

0:48.0

Smokin' Ed Curry is an American chili pepper breeder

0:51.5

who's the founder and president of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company. He is best known for breeding the hottest chili pepper breeder who's the founder and president of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company.

0:55.8

He is best known for breeding the hottest chili pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper,

1:01.0

and now Pepper X, as recognized by Guinness World Records,

1:06.1

a former addict and is now a man with strong faith.

1:10.2

Here's Ed sharing a story involving him and his wife.

1:14.6

She finally talked me to go into the church she was going to. And this was a non-denominational church.

1:21.5

And she said, come on, have communion. And I was like, I can't do that. I'm Catholic. You know,

1:26.4

this isn't a real church.

1:29.0

And she said, no, come on, you can. And she got up to get in line for communion, as did all the other

1:34.5

people who were with us. And the pastor was up on the stage, you know, with his Bible, and he was

1:40.6

singing whatever song the band was playing. And he closed his Bible and put it down on the stool he had next to him.

1:47.0

And he jumped off the stage.

1:50.0

And he grabbed a chalice and a plate.

...

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