Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event. The greatest botany rivalry in history! It's Vavilov vs. Lysenko for the fate of the Soviet Union. 

In the 1920s and '30s, Nikolai Vavilov was a big deal. He was studying seed genetics and learning how to prevent famines. Everyone wanted to work with him. Including a young kid named Trofim Lysenko.  

Lysenko studied with Vavilov. They were friends. But years later, Lysenko turned on his mentor, and turned against science. This became a problem, because Lysenko was good buddies with Stalin. The feud would bring the Soviet Union to its knees. And it would force Vavilov to make a fateful choice: one between the truth … or his life.  

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Very Special Episodes is a new podcast with a simple premise: we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Written by Lucas Reilly
Produced by Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Chris Childs
Additional Editing by Jonathan Washington
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Story Editor is Josh Fisher
Research and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas Reilly
Voice Actors: Tom Antonellis, Zaron Burnett, Josh Fisher, and Chris Childs
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Hear Also...
Noble Blood: Catherine the Great and Her Husband the Mediocre
Noble Blood: The Ice Queen
Ridiculous Crime: Dope Floats: The Uncrashable Gary Betzner

Further Reading...
Check out two excellent sources: Peter Pringle's great book on Vavilov, and the essential Where Our Food Comes From by Gary Nabhan. Thanks for listening!