The Big Chill and the Future of Refrigeration

We’ve only been able to harness the cold for our benefit for a little over 100 years, but innovations like refrigeration and air conditioning have completely transformed the way we live and eat.

A massive cold chain makes it possible to buy salmon from Alaska, grapes from Chile, and cheese from Italy; to have sushi in Kansas and ice cream in the summer. Air conditioning allows us to function and to be comfortable during the hot summer months. But it all comes at a cost, and not just financially. Refrigeration and air conditioning use a lot of energy, and that’s a problem in our ever-warming world.

On this episode, we look at how advances in cold technology have shaped our lives and changed the world — for better and for worse. We hear about working in a cold storage warehouse and the smell of frozen pizzas; about super-cold “blast” freezers that can bring us fresher seafood and reduce waste; and about the race to develop more sustainable air conditioners. We’ll also find out what it actually looks like to have your body cryonically preserved.

Also heard on this week’s episode:

• We talk with science journalist Nicola Twilley about the history of refrigeration, how it transformed the way we eat — and why it now poses a threat to our warming world. Her new book is called, “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves.” Twilley is the co-host of the podcast Gastropod.
• It sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi flick — freezing your body after death in the hopes of one day living again. But in Scottsdale, Arizona, a nonprofit called Alcor has spent decades trying to make the cryonic preservation of humans (and a few pets) a reality. We talk with photographer Alastair Wiper about his visit to Alcor, and what he saw during his peek behind the curtain.