Season 1

2024 · 8 episodes

Each episode of this documentary series celebrates the cultivation, transformation and consumption of eight of the world's most essential ingredients, including bananas, chilies, coffee, corn, pork, rice, salt and tuna, revealing how they serve as the cornerstones of global cultural heritage.

1ChileMild, medium, hot...inferno. From paprika to ghost pepper, discover how chile has firmly rooted itself into parts of our identity.
2TunaOnce undesirable but now a sought-after luxury, bluefin tuna has one of the food world's most tumultuous stories.
3SaltThe food we eat. The sweat on our skin. Salt shapes everything around us—its history is our history.
4BananaThere are over 1,500 varieties of bananas, and yet most of us have only tasted one. Why? And what do we lose when a single banana wins out?
5PigIn western Spain lies a quaint village called La Alberca, where locals celebrate one animal unlike anywhere else in the world: the pig.
6RiceFor millennia, rice has fueled humanity. But as global demand skyrockets, the future of rice production grows more dire by the day.
7CoffeeFollow a coffee bean from tree to cup to uncover the complicated history, extraordinary craft, and unique collaboration behind the brew.
8CornNo longer just a plant, corn is a building block of modern society. But what does its domination mean for the future of food—and for us?

Episodes