New Books Network Podcast

Biology and Evolution March 25, 2023

Mushroom

Sara Rich

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

They are the things we step on without noticing and the largest organisms on Earth. They are symbols of inexplicable growth and excruciating misery. They are grouped with plants, but …

Food March 22, 2023

Italy on a Plate

Travels, Memories, Menus

Susan Gravely

Hosted by Laura Goldberg

In her debut memoir and cookbook, Susan Gravely celebrates 40 years as Founder and Creative Director of VIETRI. In Italy on a Plate: Travels, Memories, Menus (Vietri Publishing, 2023), she …

MIT Press Podcast March 16, 2023

American Restaurants and Cuisine in the Mid–Nineteenth Century

Paul Freedman

Hosted by MIT Press

Paul Freedman, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History and Acting Chair, Department of History at Yale University, chats with Rebecca Federman, Culinary Collections Librarian at the New York Public Library …

Ministry of Ideas March 6, 2023

Scoville or, How Do We Measure Taste?

Measure for Measure Episode 5

Hosted by Zachary Davis

Taste is a subjective experience. We know this because eggs pickled in human urine, cheese with live maggots living in it, fertilized and mostly-developed duck eggs, rotten shark, calf blood …

Ministry of Ideas March 3, 2023

Olives or, How Much Matzah Should You Eat During Passover?

Measure for Measure Episode 2

Hosted by Zachary Davis

Jews are ritually obligated to eat matzah during Passover. But how much matzah? Well, that depends on your views on the size of an olive. This episode was produced by …

Jewish Studies February 26, 2023

Haroset

A Taste of Jewish History

Susan Weingarten

Hosted by Matthew Miller

While every cultures cuisine tells a story, there are few foods that carry as much history and meaning as do those on the Passover Seder plate. Haroset: A Taste of …

Food February 25, 2023

My Vermont Table

Recipes for All (Six) Seasons

Gesine Bullock-Prado

Hosted by Laura Goldberg

Vermont—arguably the OG farm-to-table state—is celebrated through 100+ recipes and stories from celebrated pastry chef Gesine Bullock-Prado. When Gesine Bullock-Prado left her Hollywood life in 2004 and moved to Vermont …

Environmental Studies February 20, 2023

US History in 15 Foods

Anna Zeide

Hosted by Brian Hamilton

From whiskey in the American Revolution to Spam in WWII, food reveals a great deal about the society in which it exists. Selecting 15 foods that represent key moments in …

Biblical Studies February 20, 2023

Temptation Transformed

The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple

Azzan Yadin-Israel

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Temptation Transformed: The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple (University of Chicago Press, 2023) by Dr. Azzan Yadin-Israel presents a journey into the mystery behind why the …

Food February 14, 2023

Wonder Foods

The Science and Commerce of Nutrition

Lisa Haushofer

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

From Gail Borden’s meat biscuit to John Harvey Kellogg’s peptogenic foods for race betterment and Fleishmann’s yeast as both technology of empire and imperfect tool of the global struggle …

Economic and Business History February 10, 2023

The Salt Roads

How Fish Made a Culture

John Goodlad

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The Salt Roads: How Fish Made a Culture (Birlinn, 2022) by John Goodlad is the extraordinary story of how salt fish from Shetland became one of the staple foods of …

Food February 10, 2023

Staple Security

Bread and Wheat in Egypt

Jessica Barnes

Hosted by Amir Sayadabdi

Egyptians often say that bread is life; most eat this staple multiple times a day, many relying on the cheap bread subsidized by the government. In Staple Security: Bread and …

Food February 8, 2023

Buffalo Everything

A Guide to Eating in Nickel City with 50 Recipes

Arthur Bovino

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Buffalo isn't just a city full of great wings. There is a great hot dog tradition, from Greek- originated "Texas red hots" to year-round charcoal-grilling at Ted's that puts Manhattan's …

Peoples & Things February 6, 2023

Gendered Labor, Food Security, and Technology in 20th-Century Mali

A Discussion with Laura Ann Twagira

Laura Ann Twagira

Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Laura Ann Twagira, an associate professor of history, head of African Studies, and an affiliate with science in society program and feminist gender sexuality studies program at Wesleyan University, talks …

Asian Review of Books February 2, 2023

Takeaway

Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter

Angela Hui

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Food journalist Angela Hui grew up in rural Wales, as daughter to the owners of the Lucky Star Chinese takeaway. Angela grew up behind the counter, helping take orders and …

Animal Studies January 28, 2023

Animals in Irish Society

Interspecies Oppression and Vegan Liberation in Britain's First Colony

Corey Lee Wrenn

Hosted by Kyle Johannsen

Irish vegan studies are poised for increasing relevance as climate change threatens the legitimacy and longevity of animal agriculture and widespread health problems related to animal product consumption disrupt long …

Jewish Studies January 25, 2023

Jewish Flavours of Italy

A Family Cookbook

Silvia Nacamulli

Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Jewish Flavours of Italy: A Family Cookbook (Green Bean Books, 2022) is a culinary journey through Italy and a deep dive into family culinary heritage. With more than 100 kosher …

Environmental Studies January 21, 2023

Endangered Maize

Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction

Helen Anne Curry

Hosted by Isobel Akerman

In Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction (U California Press, 2022), historian Helen Anne Curry investigates more than a hundred years of agriculture and conservation practices to …

Nordic Asia Podcast January 20, 2023

Surviving the State

Struggles for Land and Democracy in Myanmar

Hilary Faxon

Hosted by Nordic Asia Podcast

How do farmers struggle for land and democracy in Myanmar’s hybrid political system? How might a feminist approach to this question look like and enable novel findings? In which ways …

Popular Culture January 18, 2023

Fish, Milk, Tamarind

A Book of Egyptian Arabic Food Expressions

Dalal Abo El Seoud

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In Fish, Milk, Tamarind: A Book of Egyptian Arabic Food Expressions (American University in Cairo Press, 2022), Dalal Abo El Seoud presents 100 commonly used Egyptian food expressions. Can you guess what Egyptians mean …