The Food That Built America

1Pizza Power Play

42 minApr 19, 2026

Two pizza juggernauts expand their empires as a hungry new contender turns the fight into a three-way race to become America’s biggest pizza chain.

2Cereal Killers

42 minApr 26, 2026

Rival cereal giants race to invent the next must-have bowl, sparking a sugary arms race of mascots, crunch, candy, and the first ever chocolate cereal.

3The Birth of Bubblegum

42 minMay 3, 2026

A struggling candy maker’s botched experiment leads to the world’s first bubble gum, its distinctive color, and a decades-long bubble gum war fueled by colorful mascots, comic strips, baseball cards, and novelty flavors — transforming gum into a pop culture.

4Drive-Thru Burger Revolution

42 minMay 10, 2026

Three burger operators race to serve a new generation on wheels, and a primitive intercom and sliding window evolve into the drive-thru — revolutionizing fast food and kicking off an industry arms race.

5Chocolate in a Glass

42 minMay 17, 2026

A chemist unlocks a chocolate syrup that transforms milk into a magic sensation, a scrappy soda shop owner cracks the code to bottling liquid chocolate for the masses, and a dairy innovator turns wartime surplus into instant cocoa gold.

6Clash of the Cookie Giants

43 minMay 31, 2026

A century ago, the cookie industry didn't exist, until a wave of innovators turn it into a $15 billion powerhouse.

7Cheesecake Chronicles

42 minJun 7, 2026

A struggling cheesemaker, a New York restauranteur, a small-time baker, and a determined mother-son duo transform a humble cheese pie into a decadent American dessert--turning cheesecake into a grocery staple and the star of a restaurant empire.

8Rice to Riches

42 minJun 14, 2026

A keen-eyed immigrant, a candy mogul, and two pasta-making brothers reinvent rice for America’s kitchens by making it faster, easier, and impossible to resist.

9Burgers, Burritos, & the Battle for Fast Food

42 minJun 21, 2026

An upstart chain innovates iconic menu items and fast food staples including a value menu and free refills, while fending off a new competitor to bring Mexican inspired fast food to the masses.

10Icons of Ice Cream

41 minJun 28, 2026

From the first ice cream bar in history, to the invention of classic flavors, a century of bold innovators transforms ice cream from a rare indulgence into a $100 billion American powerhouse.

11Spilling the Tea

42 minJul 5, 2026

A beverage giant is challenged for dominance by two upstart companies from Brooklyn to revolutionize the beverage market and transform iced tea from a regional drink to a multi-billion-dollar American staple.

12Let's Get Crackering

42 minJul 12, 2026

As two baking powerhouses collide, scrappy upstarts and mom-and-pop players help turn crackers into a snack aisle staple.

13Cereal Sensations

Jul 19, 2026

Cereal pioneers battle for control of America's breakfast table.

14Say Yes to the Dressing

Jul 26, 2026

Richard Hellmann deli's mayonnaise launches America's condiment revolution.