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Late 2019 saw the biggest apple launch of our lifetimes. 22 years in the making, ripening on millions of trees into picture-perfect redness, here comes the WA38, more snazzily known as the Cosmic Crisp. The name was the result of a year of focus groups, taste tests and word associations - a far cry from when apples were named after whichever end of a cat they resembled.

This episode, the latest in the Allusionist Food Season is a collaboration with The Sporkful podcast, where we have released companion episodes about apples: over here on the Allusionist, we find out about the naming of apples; and in the Sporkful episode ‘A New Apple Is Born’ we get into the particulars of how new apples are begotten.

Dan Pashman hosts The Sporkful podcast.

Kate Evans is Associate Professor at Washington State University's Pome Fruit Breeding Program.

Kathryn Grandy is Director of Marketing + Operations at Proprietary Variety Management.

Joanna Crosby is a food historian specialising in the economic and social history of the apple and the orchard during the late 19th century.

Thanks to The Sporkful production team: Harry Huggins, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele and John DeLore. Also thanks to Dan Charles from NPR, who you can hear on the Sporkful applesode, and who has been reporting on the Cosmic Crisp.

This episode was produced by Helen Zaltzman. The music is by Martin Austwick.

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