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Layer upon layer. Nutmeg reveals itself in history; the closer we look, the more we see that its story is a metaphor. Trad says the original metaphor. We look at how the Western world, starting with why and how the Portuguese started to look for the source of Nutmeg, hidden for millennia, on the other side of the world...

Myristica fragrans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myristica_fragrans

Myristica fragrans https://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/pim355.htm

Pliny the Elder
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137

History of India: Trade Relations
https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Trade-relations

History of China: Foreign Trade https://www.britannica.com/place/China/Foreign-trade

Banda Islands https://www.britannica.com/place/Banda-Islands

Austronesian Peoples https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_peoples

Peter Bellwood (abstract) — Austronesian Expansion
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2847094

Constantinople https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople

Bosporus Strait https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus

Fourth Crusade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade

Republic of Venice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Venice

Fall of Constantinople (1453) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople

Ottoman Empire https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire

Black Death https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death

Miasma Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory

Prince Henry the Navigator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Henry_the_Navigator

Caravel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravel

Age of Discovery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery

Vasco da Gama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama

Christopher Columbus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chri

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. What's more, start with these links above and see where they take you!

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.