#22 How Broccoli Grows

Episode twenty-two of The World's Most Boring Podcast - Bore Me to Sleep is here, and it is everything you hoped it would be, which is to say, very nearly nothing at all. This week's topic is how broccoli grows, and we cover it in the most thorough, unhurried, and deeply soporific way imaginable. If you are looking for a sleep podcast, a bedtime podcast, a podcast to fall asleep to, or simply something calm and monotone to listen to while you drift off, this episode has been carefully crafted to be of almost no consequence whatsoever, and we are very proud of that. We start at the seed, which is about the size of a full stop, and we work our way through germination, the rosette stage, head formation, sulforaphane, the cold chain, the D'Arrigo brothers shipping broccoli across America by train in ice-packed crates, Romanesco broccoli and its naturally occurring fractal geometry, the difference between broccoli and Brussels sprouts, the history of Brassica oleracea, ancient Roman vegetables, Calabria, the Salinas Valley in California, and several lengthy tangents about train journeys, soil microbes, almost-opened flowers, and a person who kept a very detailed journal. None of it is essential. All of it is soothing. This is a sleep podcast for people who enjoy falling asleep to monotone talk, gentle narration, and topics that are perfectly fine to miss if you doze off halfway through, which you almost certainly will, and that is the whole point. It is also suitable for people who simply enjoy calm, slow, narrative podcasts about ordinary things, told in a warm and slightly witty way, without any urgency or drama. Think of it as the podcast equivalent of watching a ceiling fan turn, or reading the same paragraph of a book three times without noticing. If you have been searching for help with sleep, a podcast for insomnia, something to listen to when your mind needs something gentle to rest against, or a bedtime story for adults that goes absolutely nowhere, you have found the right place. We are also, apparently, a podcast for people interested in broccoli, vegetable history, plant biology, Brassica oleracea, Romanesco, sulforaphane, the history of Italian immigrants in America, and the agricultural geography of California, though we cover all of these topics in the least stimulating way possible, which is a genuine achievement. We currently have thirty-eight subscribers, which is a number we find very satisfying in its non-roundness, and we warmly invite you to become number thirty-nine by hitting the follow or subscribe button. It will take approximately three seconds and will result in future episodes arriving in your feed automatically, which means less effort for you, which is very much in keeping with the spirit of this podcast. If you have a topic you would like us to explore, a question, a comment, or simply something you would like to say to someone who will listen without interrupting, please write to us at [email protected]. We read everything. We think about all of it. We make tea. The World's Most Boring Podcast - Bore Me to Sleep. Produced by Audun Kvitland Rostad. Read by artificial intelligence. Boring by design.