It Burns cover art

It Burns

By: Marc Fennell
Narrated by: Marc Fennell
  • Summary

  • Winner of the Best Audio Program at the 2019 James Beard Awards

    Silver winner of the Best 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.

    This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. 

    ©2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. (P)2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.
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Episodes
  • Ep. 1: Some Like it Hot
    May 9 2019

    Marc Fennell’s quest to find the world’s hottest chilli begins in the middle of a tropical storm in Arizona while grown men and women weep before him. Which seems normal, right? In this episode Marc finds himself drawn into an international dispute and has a euphoric chilli-fuelled epiphany on a New South Wales freeway.

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    33 mins
  • Ep. 2: Sgt. Pepper
    May 9 2019

    In this chapter Marc travels to the Mexico border to meet the man who accidentally kick started a race to breed super-hot peppers. But does the Carolina Reaper - the world’s current record holder - really deserve it’s title? Has someone cheated?

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    30 mins
  • Ep. 3: Bad Seeds
    May 9 2019

    No other mammal on Earth is dumb enough to eat chillies - except humans. The internet is filled with astonishing videos of grown men being reduced to tears by a square millimetre of a chilli. It’s a global gastro-masochist obsession. In this chapter one of the world’s leading chillheads exposes a life turned inside out by tragedy.

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    32 mins

What listeners say about It Burns

Average Customer Ratings
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Not what I was expecting!

I thought I knew what to expect from a podcast about chilli eating, but I truly had no idea how deep the rabbit hole could go! Great balance of unexpected facts, complex (and sometimes whacky) characters and Marc's personal story.

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Stellar listen!

Interesting how the podcast uses chilli culture as a window into the human condition - what motivates us, how we interact with pain and relate to other people. You quickly realise that chilli heads are much more complex and nuanced than you might imagine. Was a riveting story!

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4 people found this helpful

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Hot hot hot!

I've always been a fan of Marc Fennell's wicked sense of humour and I like the way he becomes part of the story in an authentic way. It makes this is very entertaining and easy-to-listen podcast that I finished in one weekend.

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4 people found this helpful

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Marc Fennel is Australia's Jon Ronson

It burns is a masterpiece. I assume that Marc has extremely good core strength. The timbre of his voice is very appealing It makes several parts of my body excrete fluid.

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3 people found this helpful

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A great insight into the crazy world of chillies

Loved the story, but also Marc was entertaining and great interviewer, if you are interested in the chilli world, a great listen

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Turning up the heat on chilies

I don't eat chilies but this looks at society in brand new angle. It takes s look at the society in a whole new way, metaphorical and with realism that is a surprise. ITS NOT ONLY ABOUT THE CHILIES ITS SO MUCH MORE. Highly recommended. 10/10

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Marc delivers beautifully

loved this podcast! thank you Mr. Fennell. Twists and turns throughout the episodes loved it.

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thought provoking

unreal .. and geniune stories.. not what I thought when I first start listening. Mark your story was honest and relatable well done

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Interesting and fun insight

Fantastic sorry telling, easy to binge. Goes places you don’t expect and gives broad insight into the topic. Loved it.

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Insightful, compelling and thought provoking

I loved it from the first line. Marc has a way of getting people to open up and the researchers to uncover things a me people would wish to forget. Definitely recommend that you listen to this.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.