10 episodes

The biggest black market you’ve never heard of is blooming right under your nose. Whether it’s a 4,000-pound cactus shoveled from the Arizona desert or delicate orchids pinched from the tangled jungle of Peru, rare plants are at the center of a rapidly growing and lucrative world of crime. Hosted by plant expert Summer Rayne Oakes, Bad Seeds plunges straight into it, featuring the buyers, the sellers, the obsessives, and those who came face-to-face with the criminals behind an underworld few know exist.

Bad Seeds iHeartPodcasts

    • True Crime
    • 4.8 • 160 Ratings

The biggest black market you’ve never heard of is blooming right under your nose. Whether it’s a 4,000-pound cactus shoveled from the Arizona desert or delicate orchids pinched from the tangled jungle of Peru, rare plants are at the center of a rapidly growing and lucrative world of crime. Hosted by plant expert Summer Rayne Oakes, Bad Seeds plunges straight into it, featuring the buyers, the sellers, the obsessives, and those who came face-to-face with the criminals behind an underworld few know exist.

    Check out the Growing Joy with Plants Podcast

    Check out the Growing Joy with Plants Podcast

    Hey! This is Summer Rayne Oakes, host of Bad Seeds. Our season is wrapped, but if you want even more plant content, I wanted to recommend another podcast that I love. 

    Growing Joy with Plants explores the plant person connection, and teaches you how to care for plants successfully and cultivate joy in your life by doing so. Click over to Growing Joy with Plants and subscribe, and take a listen to this short trailer to get to know Maria better. You can listen on Apple, Spotify, and follow Maria on Instagram. 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 2 min
    Episode 8: The Destroyer of Worlds

    Episode 8: The Destroyer of Worlds

    In Bad Seeds, we’ve explored the crimes of obsessed hobbyists, of organized criminals, and even corrupt governments. But what about the elephant in the room? What about when the places entrusted to conserve flora are committing the crimes? And what about those risking everything… to protect plant-life and our planet?

    This is the last episode of Season 1. But! You can get more plant content by following host Summer Rayne Oakes on her YouTube channels Plant One on Me and Flock. 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 40 min
    Episode 7: The Tree That Bleeds

    Episode 7: The Tree That Bleeds

    Zambia is home to a rare and coveted rosewood called mukula, but the country has been losing its treeline for years. The Zambian government put regulations and penalties in place to stop the illegal logging of this vital resource, but still, the deforestation continued. So what was accounting for the rapid disappearance of mukula? One undercover investigation exposed a chain of corruption and fraud – leading all the way to the top of Zambia’s government.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 30 min
    Episode 6: The Gray Market

    Episode 6: The Gray Market

    Gibson is a favorite guitar brand for the stars. But in 2009, federal agents stormed one of its warehouses, looking for illegal goods. And what ensued was a years-long debate of government overreach versus environmental exploitation. 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min
    Episode 5: Business Opportunities

    Episode 5: Business Opportunities

    On November 25, 2019 in Tortugas Bay, six fishermen prepare their boat and begin motoring out onto the water. Their Destination? Isla de Cedros. What appears to be an innocent fishing trip will result in the deaths of two of these men. 

    In this episode, plant poaching collides with organized crime: how cartels, mobs, and criminal syndicates might be connected to some of your favorite plants.  
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min
    Episode 4: Charming Personalities

    Episode 4: Charming Personalities

    In the Lonely Planet Guide, the editors provide one simple admonishment to travelers considering a journey to Panama’s Darien Gap: “Don’t even think about it!” But that didn’t deter English orchid enthusiast Tom Hart Dyke, who plunged into the forest in 2000 to see orchids – but ended up spending ten months in captivity. 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
160 Ratings

160 Ratings

Vaso6519 ,

Mesmerizing and Compelling

I am binging this podcast. So sad to see the last episode was recorded almost a year ago. I hope this podcast hasn’t gone the way of many of its flora subjects. Thank you SRO for bringing this important subject to light.

omg 2018 ,

Can’t stop listening!

This is an amazing podcast. You get the best of both worlds on plants and crime. What a combo?! I binge listened to all Episodes. It is educational and raises awareness. I can’t wait for more! Thank you.

Yorkish ,

Important topic!

I love this podcast! It’s like Dateline for plant fanatics. The biological, ecological and cultural exploitation examined in this podcast shines a light on the unmitigated greed of humans. Thanks Summer!

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