New Books Network Podcast

Food September 20, 2023

Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived

The Surprising Story of Apples in the South

Diane Flynt

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

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For anyone who's ever picked an apple fresh from the tree or enjoyed a glass of cider, writer and orchardist Diane Flynt offers a new history of the apple and …

Environmental Studies September 17, 2023

Unbottled

The Fight Against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

Daniel Jaffee

Hosted by Joshua Mullenite

In just four decades, bottled water has transformed from a luxury niche item into a ubiquitous consumer product, representing a $300 billion market dominated by global corporations. It sits at …

Food September 12, 2023

The Lost Southern Chefs

A History of Commercial Dining in the Nineteenth-Century South

Robert F. Moss

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

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In recent years, food writers and historians have begun to retell the story of southern food. Heirloom ingredients and traditional recipes have been rediscovered, the foundational role that African Americans …

Japanese Studies September 11, 2023

Globalizing the Soybean

Fat, Feed, and Sometimes Food, c. 1900–1950

Ines Prodöhl

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

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Ines Prodöhl’s Globalizing the Soybean: Fat, Feed, and Sometimes Food, c. 1900-1950 (Routledge, 2023) is a history of how, why, and where the soybean became a critical ingredient in industry …

Food September 9, 2023

Feeding New Orleans

Celebrity Chefs and Reimagining Food Justice

Jeanne K. Firth

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many high-profile chefs in New Orleans pledged to help their city rebound from the flooding. Several formed their own charitable organizations, including the John Besh …

Sociology August 20, 2023

The World of Sugar

How the Sweet Stuff Transformed Our Politics, Health, and Environment Over 2,000 Years

Ulbe Bosma

Hosted by Rituparna Patgiri

For most of history, humans did without refined sugar. After all, it serves no necessary purpose in our diets, and extracting it from plants takes hard work and ingenuity. Granulated …

British Studies August 18, 2023

English Food

A Social History of England Told Through the Food on Its Tables

Diane Purkiss

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

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A rich and indulgent history, English Food: A Social History of England Told Through the Food on Its Tables (William Collins, 2022) by Dr. Diane Purkiss will change the way …

Food August 16, 2023

Food Power Politics

The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement

Bobby J. Smith II

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

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Bobby J. Smith II's book Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement (UNC Press, 2023 )unearths a food story buried deep within the soil of American …

Food August 8, 2023

Linda Skeens Blue Ribbon Kitchen

Recipes & Tips from America's Favorite County Fair Champion

Linda Skeens

Hosted by Laura Goldberg

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Appalachian grandmother Linda Skeens became an internet sensation in the summer of 2022 after taking home dozens of blue ribbons in canning, baking, and crafting at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair …

Medieval History August 7, 2023

The Catch

An Environmental History of Medieval European Fisheries

Richard C. Hoffmann

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh

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The Catch: An Environmental History of Medieval European Fisheries (Cambridge UP, 2023) provides a comprehensive examination of European engagement with aquatic systems between c. 500 and 1500 CE. Using textual …

Food July 28, 2023

Appalachia on the Table

Representing Mountain Food and People

Erica Abrams Locklear

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

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When her mother passed along a cookbook made and assembled by her grandmother, Erica Abrams Locklear thought she knew what to expect. But rather than finding a homemade cookbook full …

Food July 25, 2023

Grain and Fire

A History of Baking in the American South

Rebecca Sharpless

Hosted by Kelly Spivey

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While a luscious layer cake may exemplify the towering glory of southern baking, like everything about the American South, baking is far more complicated than it seems. In Grain and Fire …

Peoples & Things July 24, 2023

US History in 15 Foods

A Conversation with Anna Zeide

Anna Zeide

Hosted by Lee Vinsel

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Anna Zeide, Associate Professor of History at Virginia Tech, talks about her book, US History in 15 Foods (Bloomsbury, 2023), with Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel. US History in …

Food July 18, 2023

The Jewish Deli

An Illustrated Guide to the Chosen Food

Ben Nadler

Hosted by Laura Goldberg

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Beloved culinary and cultural institutions, Jewish delis are wonderlands of amazing flavors and great food—bright, buttery, briny, sweet, fatty, salty, smoky. . . . In The Jewish Deli: An Illustrated …

Japanese Studies July 16, 2023

The Arts of the Microbial World

Fermentation Science in Twentieth-Century Japan

Victoria Lee

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Victoria Lee’s The Arts of the Microbial World: Fermentation Science in Twentieth-Century Japan (U Chicago Press, 2021) is an in-depth exploration of the social history of microbial science in modern Japan …

Food July 16, 2023

Last Call at Coogan's

The Life and Death of a Neighborhood Bar

Jon Michaud

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

The uniquely inspiring story of a beloved neighborhood bar that united the communities it served. Coogan’s Bar and Restaurant opened in New York City’s Washington Heights in 1985 and closed …

Food July 15, 2023

Wine

Meg Bernhard

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Today I talked to Meg Bernhard about her new book Wine (Bloomsbury, 2023). Agricultural product and cultural commodity, drink of ritual and drink of addiction, purveyor of pleasure, pain, and memory …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones July 14, 2023

The Future of Food

A Discussion with Kimberly Wilson

Kimberley Wilson

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

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We all know that as a nation our mental health is in crisis. But what most don't know is that a critical ingredient in this debate, and a crucial part …

Geography July 8, 2023

Quinoa

Food Politics and Agrarian Life in the Andean Highlands

Linda J. Seligmann

Hosted by Stentor Danielson

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Quinoa's new status as a superfood has altered the economic fortunes of Quechua farmers in the Andean highlands. Linda J. Seligmann journeys to the Huanoquite region of Peru to track …

Food July 3, 2023

Sown in the Stars

Planting by the Signs

Sarah L. Hall

Hosted by Candy Boatwright

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"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and …