About this episode

Dr. Paul Bosland discusses the world of chile peppers, including their heat levels, cultivation, and cultural significance.

Scoville units. Nightshades. Hot ones. Sweet ones. Scandalous data. Pull up a seat for a wild, hot ride through New Mexico. Pepper expert, horticulturist, and Capsicumologist Dr. Paul “The Chileman” Bosland of New Mexico State’s Chile Pepper Institute dishes up stories of how chile peppers got from the wild into your mouth, what parts of peppers are the hottest, why mild peppers don’t get enough credit, how to grow peppers at home, how to recover from the burn, some lore behind your favorite hot sauces, red vs. green, Guiness World Records, Ig Nobel Prizes, why you can’t handle peppers but your mom can, hot foods in hot places, seeds, walls, piths, myths, bigger lips, pepper roulette, and so much more. Also: I abuse myself with Ashes to Ashes.

People in this episode

Host: Alie Ward

Guest: Paul Bosland

Topics covered

• Chile peppers
• Capsicumology
• Horticulture
• Scoville units
• Hot sauces
• Growing peppers
• Food culture

Keywords

• Chile peppers
• Scoville units
• Capsicum
• Horticulture
• Hot sauces
• New Mexico
• Growing peppers
• Food lore

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Mexico State’s Chile Pepper Institute

Places: New Mexico

More episodes of Ologies with Alie Ward

• Emmenology (MENOPAUSE & PERIMENOPAUSE) Part 1 with Monica Christmas, Mary Claire Haver and Lara Durgavich · July 15, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Conversational Psychology (CONNECTING WITH OTHERS) with Nicholas Epley · July 10, 2026 · 50 min
• Collapsology (SOCIETAL COLLAPSE, LOL!) with Joseph Tainter · July 1, 2026 · 1h 27m
• BONUS EPISODE Creating Music with Jarrett Sleeper and David Bashwiner · June 28, 2026 · 55 min
• Biomusicology (OUR MUSICAL NATURE) with David Bashwiner · June 25, 2026 · 1h 33m
• Cnidariology (CORAL) Encore with Shayle Matsuda · June 17, 2026 · 1h 22m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ologies with Alie Ward podcast page.