Smokin’ Ed Currie: From Carolina Reaper to Pepper X and a Life Rebuilt
On this episode of Our American Stories, “Smokin’” Ed Currie is an American chili pepper breeder and the founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company. He’s best known for creating the world’s hottest chili peppers—the Carolina Reaper and now Pepper X—as recognized by Guinness World Reco...
321: "Smokin'" Ed Currie—The Ring of Sting
The Dirty Jobber, Guinness World Record-holding pepper breeder, and CEO of the PuckerButt Pepper Company, explains how he replaced drinks and drugs with dopamine-inducing capsaicin. Spoiler Alert: It involves a literal angel. Ed's company www.puckerbuttpeppercompany.com
How a Recovering Addict Created the World's Hottest Pepper
On this episode of Our American Stories, before "Smokin' Ed" Currie created the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X, two of the hottest peppers the world has ever known, his life was being consumed by drugs and alcohol. After hitting rock bottom, an experience during a Michigan blizzard led him to a reh...
Ep. 27 AKT London (Feat. Andy Coxon and Ed Currie)
Two West End performers and one homemade balm.
They were tired of deodorants that couldn't keep up with stage lights and eight shows a week, so they decided to make their own. In this episode, I sit down with AKT London co-founders Andy Coxon and Ed Currie to talk about mixing natural deodorant i...
Twinkies Gone Wild: Claire Saffitz Decodes Cheetos, Hot Pockets, Gushers and Oreos
This week, we’re revisiting one of our all-time favorite episodes—our 2020 interview with Claire Saffitz, in which she describes the trials and tribulations of creating famous snack foods on the Bon Appétit YouTube series “Gourmet Makes.” Plus, we talk to Ed Currie, the creator of one of the worl...
Why is it SPICY?? A Capsaicin Explainer
Ever wonder why peppers are painful? In this episode we take a look at the fascinating world of plant evolutions, digestive designs, and the history of the pepper plant.
Sources:
Borrell, B. (2013, November 18). What's So Hot About Chili Peppers? Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianm...
Smokin’ Ed Currie on The Miracle That Gave Him a Family
On this episode of Our American Stories, before “Smokin’” Ed Currie became famous for breeding the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X, he nearly destroyed his life with addiction. Recovery gave Ed a second chance, but it didn't erase the guilt he carried over the person he had once been. Years later, a...
Fort Mill’s Mad Scientist Of Spice
Ed Currie—or Smokin’ Ed, as he is known around the world—is the mad scientist behind the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X. But long before the world records and internet fame, Ed was fighting a much more personal battle. From building a new beginning in Fort Mill, to growing record-shattering peppers...
Superhot Chili Peppers (Replay)
The market for gustatory pain is surprisingly competitive. Zachary Crockett feels the burn.
SOURCES:
Ed Currie, founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company.
Stephanie Walker, associate professor and Extension Vegetable Specialist at New Mexico State University
RESOURCES:
"Pepper X...
31. Superhot Chili Peppers
The market for gustatory pain is surprisingly competitive. Zachary Crockett feels the burn.
SOURCES:
Ed Currie, founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company.
Stephanie Walker, associate professor and Extension Vegetable Specialist at New Mexico State University
RESOURCES:
"Pepper X...
