00:00 This episode explores the history of bananas and how they became a global commodity, focusing on the role of the United Fruit Company and its founder Minor Cooper Keith.

06:00 Minor Cooper Keith, a Brooklyn-born Texas cattle rancher, saw an opportunity to make it big by building railroads in Central America, specifically in Costa Rica, in order to gain access to the potential riches of the region and bring progress to the people living there.

10:54 Minor Keith attempted to build a railroad through the dense and rugged terrain of the Costa Rican jungle, facing technological, environmental, and financial challenges, and after recruiting and losing Costa Rican workers, he turned to immigrants from the United States, Italy, China, and Europe, who also faced high mortality rates due to the unfamiliar tropical climate and grueling work conditions.

16:30 Minor Keith recruits prisoners to help build his railroad in exchange for a pardon, but only 25 out of 700 prisoners survive, and despite facing financial difficulties, he borrows money and strikes a deal with the Costa Rican government to build the railroad for free in exchange for land and control of the port, ultimately becoming an indispensable figure in Costa Rican society and using the land to grow bananas to feed his workers.

21:22 Minor Keith realizes the potential of growing bananas and sets his sights on the banana business, taking advantage of cheap land, a cheap workforce, and control of the port to create a business model that allows him to control every step of the production process and make a lot of money.

26:54 In 1899, Minor Keith and Andrew Preston formed a joint company called United Fruit, which followed Keith's business model of controlling every step of the production process and the narrative in order to control the market and maximize profits, similar to Amazon's model, and they were able to successfully transport and distribute bananas quickly and inexpensively throughout the United States.

31:53 United Fruit, also known as El Pulpo, controlled every aspect of banana production in Central America, including transportation, communication networks, and ports, and workers were subjected to harsh conditions and treated as slaves.

37:57 The banana workers in Central America began to strike and demand their rights, but their attempts were suppressed with bloodshed, and the vulnerability of United Fruit's business model was exposed when a disease destroyed banana plantations, leading to the exploitation of workers to maintain profits.

44:52 In Colombia, United Fruit workers organized a strike for basic rights, prompting the company to collaborate with the Colombian government to suppress the strike, resulting in a massacre where at least a thousand people were killed.

50:52 Don Hernán Garón Castro, the current resident of the house once owned by Minor Cooper Keith, sees Keith as a positive figure and believes that the country would be better with more people like him, despite criticisms of his exploitative practices in the banana industry.