The avocado evolved to be swallowed whole by giant Ice Age animals that no longer exist. This episode explains how this evolutionary anachronism survived and became one of the world’s most sought-after fruits.

We look at evidence of avocado eating at Huaca Prieta about 10,500 years ago, the Guatemalan, Mexican, and West Indian landraces, and the strange dichogamy that makes flowers switch between female and male phases. We also cover grafting, Rudolph Hass’s accidental backyard tree, Michoacán’s dominance, cartel extortion, water use, Colombia’s rise, persin toxicity in animals, and seedless cukes.

• Debunking the viral myth about the Nahuatl word ahuacatl
• Why the avocado is botanically a berry that ripens only after picking
• How type A and type B flowers force cross-pollination
• How one mail carrier’s tree became about 80 percent of cultivated avocados
• The water footprint, cartel pressure, and savory versus sweet cultural divide