Gary Paul Nabhan and Kurt Michael Friese, two of the three authors of the new book, [1] Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail, were interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio’s [2] Here on Earth program earlier this month.

Listen to the full interview [3] here.

Chasing Chiles looks at both the future of place-based foods and the effects of climate change on agriculture through the lens of the chile pepper—from the farmers who cultivate this iconic crop to the cuisines and cultural traditions in which peppers play a huge role.

Why chile peppers? Both a spice and a vegetable, chile peppers have captivated imaginations and taste buds for thousands of years. Native to Mesoamerica and the New World, chiles are currently grown on every continent, since their relatively recent introduction to Europe (in the early 1500s via Christopher Columbus). Chiles are delicious, dynamic, and very diverse—they have been rapidly adopted, adapted, and assimilated into numerous world cuisines, and while malleable to a degree, certain heirloom varieties are deeply tied to place and culture—but now accelerating climate change may be scrambling their terroir.

Learn more about [4] Chasing Chiles in our bookstore now.