It Burns

The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chilli, An Audible Original

By: Marc Fennell

Narrated by: Marc Fennell

Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Silver Narrative/Documentary Podcast Trophy at the 2020 New York Festivals Radio Awards
Nominated for the 2019 Rose D’Or award for Audio Entertainment

Please note: contains mature themes and graphic imagery.

Written and hosted by Marc Fennell, It Burns is the story of a 10-year scandal-plagued international competition that will take listeners from the Australian Coast to South Carolina (via an Indian Research Facility).

It’s a war filled with larger than life characters. There will be sledging, accusations of cheating, theft and performance enhancing drugs. And allegations that Australia was cheated out of a Guinness World Record. In the process of charting the scandal-plagued race to breed the world’s hottest chilli, the audio documentary lifts the lid on the subculture of ‘Chilli-heads’, hardcore chilli fans spread across the globe who compete in chilli eating and breeding competitions.

The internet is filled with videos of grown men being reduced to tears by a square millimetre of chilli. The docu-series asks: what motivates someone to breed and eat a demonic nugget that is so hot it no longer has flavour? At what point does this stop being cuisine and start being an endurance sport?

This humorous series shows that all this has never really been about chilli. It’s been about how people use pain to shape themselves, define themselves and make themselves feel alive.

©2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. (P)2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"It’s so full of weird twists and turns that I binged the entire five episodes in one go during a road trip." (PedestrianTV)

"A mental image isn’t hard to conjure when your headphones swell with the frantic splutters and gags of chilli eaters in pain, or the guttural aftermath of Youtuber Ted Barrus’s infamous Carolina Reaper chilli “bong rip”. Heed Fennell’s warning in episode one: “You might want to think twice about eating while listening.” (Broadsheet)

Interesting but not entertaining.

This book starts with a warning about nature content and ends with a PSA for a suicide hotline. Not what I expected from a book about the wired and dark stories behind the search for the worlds hottest chilli. The interviews storytelling and production are excellent! But I expected the story to focus on the strange rather than the dark. The author goes deep into the darkness of hotpeppers exploring overeating, bullying, alcoholism, SM, and self-harm. He labors on his dark vision and tries to pull a message of hope out at the end that doesn’t quite make it. This a good thought provoking broadcast, that should be heard,by some, but it is NOT a fun romp in the wild world of Hot Peppers.
Reader be warned this audio may cause indigestion!

Good, but not great

Don't get me wrong, the content is good. The topic is intresting. The production value is great, but it is one of those Documentary through a journey in my life- kind of documentary.
Like: "This is a heavy book about the Black death that tore through europe during the middle ages, but first we will go back to my childhood".
If that's your thing, you're in for a ride.

interesting review of history

it may seem like a silly story, but I found the migration aspect of the chili very interesting.

Excellent

As a lover of all things hot, I found this to a very interesting and enlightening audio book. Very enjoyable!

Loved it

I was surprised how interesting I found this book. The narration was great, too. Well done!

I like hot things

my inner Cajun is pleased . at first I was skeptical, but this actually turned out to be a very interesting documentaries. now I feel like eating more hot food. to all you pepper seeking fans

objective but sensational

great story at points it felt a little over dramatic but you could tell it was a close topic to the author. who did a good job of maintaining objectivity in the end

Great One!

Sassy, funny and profound! Enjoyed every bit of it, narrated by it author and with real interviews.

Left me with a warm feeling

Personal stories, including the author’s, about compulsion that are woven together in an interesting tale about the chili pepper. While offering an interesting window into the obsessive chili head culture, Mr. Fennell is really telling a story about the good and bad of being driven to extremes. This was a great listen.

Fresh HOT take on a niche world!

Great story on a subculture that brings perspective and insight to life, relevant to all listeners.