Ninety-nine percent of commercially traded bananas are just one variety: the Cavendish. (Photo: Moore/Getty)
The banana used to be a luxury good. Now it’s the most popular fruit in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the production efficiencies that made it so cheap have also made it vulnerable to a deadly fungus that may wipe out the one variety most of us eat. Scientists do have a way to save it — but will Big Banana let them?
To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour was drawn: “The Most Interesting Fruit in the World” and “How the Mafia Got Its Start.”
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