AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
4min chapter
Lewis Dartnell
Better Known
The Drake Equation and the Emergence of the Mafia
In our ancestors tens of millions years ago, a mutation hit a particular gene and knocked it out. It basically broke one part of our biochemical machinery inside ourselves. We could no longer make an organic compound called a scorbate which we've come to term as vitamin C. The Royal Navy began routinely provisioning all of its ships with stores of limes on board to protect their crews in the Napoleonic Wars. In the early 1800s, Lord Nelson effectively turned the island of Sicily into a huge lemon factory. And this then eventually evolved into a system of extortion and saw rise of what we would recognize today as being the mafia.
00:00
Transcript
Episode notes
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode