The Secret Story of Nutmeg - A hidden history

Andy and Trad
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  • HISTORY

Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world. Follow this hidden history podcast as we explore the mystery and history of the spice Nutmeg and the way it has shaped our world as we know it. From the birth of capitalism to the discovery of MDMA, The Secret Story of Nutmeg will show you how this seed from the Myristica fragrans tree has played a role in human discovery, from major world-shaping events and mystic traditions to human evolution and our innermost self-development.  It will blow your mind. Disclaimer This podcast explores history, chemistry, cultural belief, and speculation. It does not provide medical advice or advocate drug use. Nutmeg contains the compound myristicin, which is not MDMA. Historical medicinal claims reflect beliefs of their time, not modern science. Some ideas presented are interpretive and are examined critically throughout the series.

Episodes

  1. 3D AGO

    Episode 2 - Nutmeg's keeper of secrets

    Send us a text Finally, we meet Trad, Nutmeg's keeper of secrets, a man who has studied the histories and mysteries of Nutmeg for two decades. Trad's dedication has led him down rabbit holes, but he has emerged a changed man... In Episode 2 of The Secret Story of Nutmeg, Andy follows an idea repeatedly voiced by Trad: “Nutmeg is the original metaphor.” Not just a spice, not just a commodity—but a symbolic lens through which power, trade, belief, empathy, and human pattern‑making can be examined. As Andy recounts his first long phone call with Trad, the story expands rapidly—from the Banda Islands to ancient trade routes, colonial genocide, and the psychological dangers of pattern‑seeking itself. Nutmeg becomes a stand‑in for larger forces: monopoly, obsession, bravery, knowledge, and the risk of knowing too much. Along the way, Andy encounters modern retellings of the nutmeg story, this episode wrestles openly with apophenia and confirmation bias and asks where the line lies between meaningful metaphor and dangerous projection. If nutmeg is the original metaphor, then perhaps the forgotten jar at the back of the shelf is not just history—but a mirror. Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton — https://www.gilesmilton.com/historybooks/nathaniels-nutmeg Nutmeg (historical overview, Banda Islands, colonial period) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg Banda Islands & Dutch conquest — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_Islands Treaty of Breda (1667) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Breda_(1667) Run / Rhun Island (historical spellings and context) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_(island) Metaphors We Live By – George Lakoff & Mark Johnson (foundational work on metaphor as a cognitive framework) https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3637992.html Apophenia (pattern perception and meaning‑making) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia Confirmation Bias — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias Weird Explorer — Nutmeg (feature‑length exploration) Independent travel‑history documentary tracing nutmeg from Malaysia to the Banda Islands https://www.youtube.com/@WeirdExplorer Portuguese & Dutch spice trade in Southeast Asia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) & Roman world maps — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy Ptolem Stay Tuned...this podcast covers seasons following Trade and empathy, Ecstasy and empathy, the empathy evolution of man and much, much more...it's going to be a wild ride Disclaimer This podcast explores history, chemistry, cultural belief, and speculation. It does not provide medical advice or advocate drug use. Nutmeg contains the compound myristicin, which is not MDMA. Historical medicinal claims reflect beliefs of their time, not modern science. Some ideas presented are interpretive and are examined critically throughout the series.

    32 min

  2. 3D AGO

    Episode 1 - Nutmeg- Hidden in a jar at the back of history

    Send us a text Nutmeg, the spice of life... the source of empathy, its oils that can make MDMA, New York being swapped for the spice's source, its widespread uses, people carrying around nutmeg graters on their persons in the 17th and 1800's... In the opening episode of The Secret Story of Nutmeg, filmmaker Andy DelVecchio begins an investigation into how a single seed—Myristica fragrans—helped shape global trade, empire, and belief. From plague cures and aphrodisiac lore to colonial monopolies enforced by violence, nutmeg’s true history is stranger than fiction. The journey begins with a phone call… and a claim that sounds impossible: that nutmeg contains a compound chemically related to substances associated with empathy and altered states of consciousness. Not MDMA—but something structurally connected. It was reason enough for filmmaker Andy to sink his teeth into the mysteries and hidden histories of a spice he never thought much about until now. History & Empire Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton — https://www.gilesmilton.com/historybooks/nathaniels-nutmegNutmeg historical overview — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NutmegChemistry & Psychoactive Research Myristicin chemical overview — https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/.../myristicinPharmacological potential of myristicin — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34641457/Myristicin summary & toxicity — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyristicinCultural & Material History Nutmeg graters (history & museum context) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg_graterNutmeg graters ( History and musuem context) - https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78420/nutmeg-grater-unknown/BBC Nutmeg: Nature’s Perfect Package (1983) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uLGqpg9TvEStay Tuned...this podcast covers seasons following Trade and empathy, Ecstasy and empathy, the empathy evolution of man and much, much more...it's going to be a wild ride Disclaimer This podcast explores history, chemistry, cultural belief, and speculation. It does not provide medical advice or advocate drug use. Nutmeg contains the compound myristicin, which is not MDMA. Historical medicinal claims reflect beliefs of their time, not modern science. Some ideas presented are interpretive and are examined critically throughout the series.

    31 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

Mysteries and Histories of a seed that shaped the world. Follow this hidden history podcast as we explore the mystery and history of the spice Nutmeg and the way it has shaped our world as we know it. From the birth of capitalism to the discovery of MDMA, The Secret Story of Nutmeg will show you how this seed from the Myristica fragrans tree has played a role in human discovery, from major world-shaping events and mystic traditions to human evolution and our innermost self-development.  It will blow your mind. Disclaimer This podcast explores history, chemistry, cultural belief, and speculation. It does not provide medical advice or advocate drug use. Nutmeg contains the compound myristicin, which is not MDMA. Historical medicinal claims reflect beliefs of their time, not modern science. Some ideas presented are interpretive and are examined critically throughout the series.

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