Hello and welcome to conflicted, the history podcast where we talk about the struggles that shaped us, the tough questions that they pose and why we should care about any of it.

Conflicted is a member of the Evergreen Podcast Network. And as always, I'm your host, Zach Cornwell.

Welcome to episode 17, The Kitchen Cartel.

Thank you. Episode 17, Theured American discourse.

This debate turned brother against brother, coworker against coworker. It split us apart into two irreconcilable factions,

and in many ways it challenged every assumption we had about who we were as a nation.

I'm referring, of course, to the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Four years, Chick-fil-A had reigned supreme

in the annals of fast-food fried chicken sandwiches. Nothing could touch it. It was perfection on a pedestal.

Then, Popeye's through down the gauntlet. It's hard to describe what a unique media experience this was in America.

What began as a whisper turned into a buzz, and then a roar. Pop-I's had a chicken sandwich,

and it was supposedly excellent, better than Chick-fil-A's by a country-fried mile.

There were lines to try this thing. Pop-I's locations frequently ran out within hours. There were lines to try this thing. Popeye's locations frequently ran out

within hours. There were even scattered incidents of violence. Some people were killed over this

sandwich, no joke. And all the word of mouth was supplemented by a deluge of TV and social media

advertising. In the eye of this marketing maelstrom was one perfect image.

A glorious shot of the Popeye's chicken sandwich.

It was so immaculate.

It looked like a painting.

Between two golden, cloud-like buns sat a perfectly crunchy piece of fried chicken on a bed of bright green pickle

slices. It defied gravity and reality. Because when you actually got the sandwich, it left

something to be desired, appearance-wise. The bun was smushed. It was a little dry and desiccated.

The chicken was good, but it wasn't the ambrosia that the

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