The Mighty Spud - Sandy Knapp, Glenn Bryan and Susan Calman

The Infinite Monkey Cage

BBC

Comedy, Science

4.7 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Robin Ince and Brian Cox get out the ketchup and peel back the layers of one of the most versatile and beloved foods - potatoes. From the science of starch to the surprising role potatoes have played in history, we’re digging deep to uncover the truth behind the mighty spud. Chipping into the conversation are botanist Sandy Knapp, geneticist Glenn Bryan and potato passionate comedian Susan Calman. Susan is astonished to learn that the potatoes lining our supermarket shelves all belong to a single species and once she discovered the rich diversity of wild potato species in South America, she’s already planning her next holiday to visit them! Plus we end the episode on a tuber-powered musical note as Helen Anahita-Wilson plays the monkey cage theme song on none other than a potato keyboard!

Producer: Melanie Brown Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

BBC Studios Audio Production

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's not funny, it's true.
0:05.2	Lily Allen and Makita Oliver.
0:07.8	Um, Keats, I've got some questions for you on BBC Sounds.
0:11.4	Tell me what you've enjoyed about our podcast so far.
0:13.8	I like that you've got more and more comfortable in this space and I've watched you show all parts of yourself.
0:19.5	We've both cried.
0:20.7	Miss me with Lily Allen and Makita Oliver.
0:23.6	We're just us having a shot.
0:25.2	Feels like we've been doing it forever.
0:27.3	We kind of have.
0:30.1	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:34.2	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:37.5	Hello, I, Podcasts.
0:38.9	Hello, I'm Brian Cox.
0:41.8	And I'm Robinx, and this is the Infinite Monkey Cage.
0:45.9	Now, Douglas Adams has been a great influence on many of us.
0:50.1	And in fact, for instance, you'll rarely find Brian without a towel.
0:57.0	He always has a towel, sometimes little more as subscribers of his only fan site will know. Quantum's quarks, quips and sometimes nips.
1:01.0	You didn't go for the obvious pun then.
1:04.0	No, originally I was going to say only fan site where he answers the most difficult questions about physics and it's known as hard.
1:12.4	But anyway, so the art of flying is one of my favorite, Douglas Adams philosophy.
1:17.6	The art of flying is throwing yourself to the ground and missing.
	...

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