Pawpaw: America’s Lost Tropical Fruit

In this episode, we explore the surprising story of the pawpaw, North America’s largest native fruit and one of its strangest. The transcript traces how this tropical-looking fruit came to thrive in Pennsylvania forests, from its prehistoric roots and likely relationship with extinct Ice Age megafauna to its long history as an important food source for Indigenous communities, early explorers, and freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad. The episode also looks at the pawpaw’s unusual...