There you are, standing in the grocery store, surrounded by bins of green watermelons. You knock. You thump. You lift one like it’s a newborn and whisper, “Are you the chosen one?”

Someone next to you is doing the same thing. You make eye contact.

It’s a silent competition.

It’s a public act of fruit-based divination.

It’s probably a folk thing.

Music Credits
Intro music: Humorous and Comic Intro
By Free Music — soundcloud.com/fm_freemusic
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Available at: chosic.com/download-audio/27133/
Music promoted by Chosic

Why do we celebrate the birth of the United States by blowing up a bunch of pretty stuff in the sky? In this episode, we look at how fireworks became our go-to celebratory technique. America: It's a Boom-tiful county.

Music Credits
Intro music: Humorous and Comic Intro
By Free Music — soundcloud.com/fm_freemusic
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Available at: chosic.com/download-audio/27133/
Music promoted by Chosic

Ever wonder how an annual backyard barbecue turns into a three-day weekend? In this episode, we trace the journey of holidays from folk traditions to federal recognition. With Thanksgiving and Juneteenth as our examples, we explore how people-powered celebrations rise through the ranks — from folk, to popular, to elite culture — ultimately becoming national events. Most holidays evolve from backyard handshakes, to celebrity hashtags, to federally-recognized holidays.

Music Credits
Intro music: Humorous and Comic Intro
By Free Music — soundcloud.com/fm_freemusic
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Available at: chosic.com/download-audio/27133/
Music promoted by Chosic