That Old Chestnut: A Nutty Tale, of Love, Loss, and Reconnection

Just a little over a hundred years ago, eastern forests were
studded with what was called "America's perfect tree": 100-foot
giants with straight-grained, rot-resistant wood, which filled the
woods every fall with delicious, nutritious nuts. This nut—the
American chestnut—was a staple in the diet and culture of
Indigenous peoples, local wildlife, and colonial Americans. Then,
in the early 1900s, disaster struck: a deadly and seemingly
unstoppable disease moved in and made the species functionally
extinct. But Americans haven’t given up on the chestnut; there’s a
movement today to bring back this iconic tree using a variety of
ingenious approaches. So what will it take to return the “redwood
of the East” to our forests—and its sweet, buttery nut to our
plates? Join us this episode as we take a frolic through the
chestnut’s forgotten history and the science underpinning its
potential return, as well as visit a farm growing hybrid American
chestnuts to taste for ourselves why they once drove Americans
wild—and might soon do so again. Learn more about your ad choices.
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