Cookbook author Priya Krishna was a world traveler as a kid. Because of her mom?s job in the airline industry, Priya was able to go to China, Egypt, France, and more, chronicling all of the new foods she tried on her travels in her journal. Now, as an adult, she?s turning her childhood travelogs into the cookbook she wishes she had growing up ? Priya?s Kitchen Adventures. She tells Dan why she thinks anyone who wants to become a better recipe writer should write recipes for kids, and we hear from some of the young recipe testers she worked with on the book.

If you want to win a copy of Priya?s Kitchen Adventures, sign up for our newsletter by May 10. If you?re already on our mailing list, you?re already entered to win. Open to US and Canada addresses only.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell. 

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Dips are having a moment ? from a dips-only restaurant in Atlanta to Martin Short playing a character who only eats dips. But TV host and Cosmo columnist Alyse Whitney was a self-described Dip Queen long before they got hot, and she proves it in her new cookbook, Big Dip Energy: 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond. She joins Dan in the studio to share her royal decrees on the right shape for a dipper, using raw vegetables to dip, and the ethics of double dipping. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with help this week from Shantel Holder. 

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

You may think you know LeVar Burton. After starring in the seminal 1977 mini-series Roots, he hosted Reading Rainbow and starred alongside Sir Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation. These days he hosts the podcasts LeVar Burton Reads, in which he reads his favorite short fiction, and Sound Detectives, for kids who want to explore the magic and mystery of sound. But did you know that, as a teenager, LeVar bought steaks and lobsters that ?fell off the back of a truck? and brought them home to his mom? Or that he?s very particular about his PB&J sandwiches? In this episode, LeVar dishes on Sir Patrick Stewart?s weird lunches on the Star Trek set and shares his favorite children's books about food. And as proof that he can make anything he reads sound amazing, LeVar favors us with dramatic readings of recipes.

This episode originally aired on September 11, 2017 and November 30, 2020, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, with editing by Dan Charles and engineering help from Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Naama Shefi remembers visiting her husband?s grandmother for the first time, and being astonished by the stories tucked into each dish on the dinner table. That moment led her to start the Jewish Food Society, an organization that preserves and celebrates the diversity of Jewish food from around the world, which as Naama is quick to point out, goes far beyond Eastern European classics like brisket, kugel, smoked fish, and potato knishes. Now, Naama and the Jewish Food Society have a cookbook out, called The Jewish Holiday Table, which includes foods from Jews with roots in Spain, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Zimbabwe, and more. Ahead of Passover, Dan talks with Naama about what she ate growing up on a kibbutz, the culture shock of moving to New York, and her favorite Passover recipes from the book ? including a Mexican rendition of gefilte fish. 

If you?d like to support humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza, there are many organizations providing aid, including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children. You can also support World Central Kitchen, a food aid organization that provides meals all over the world in crisis zones. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell. 

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Laura and Beth Winters are fraternal twins who come from a family of proud picky eaters. But after high school, Laura left home for college and started exploring new foods, while Beth stayed close to home and continued to eat the same way she did growing up. What does their story tell us about nature vs. nurture, and the kinds of judgments we make about picky eating? Then later in the show, we talk with psychologist Christopher Rutt about picky eating in kids, and we ask: Is picky eating actually a problem?

This episode originally aired on January 21, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Emma Morgenstern. It was edited by Gianna Palmer and mixed by John DeLore. The Sporkful team now includes Emma Morgenstern, Andres O?Hara, Jared O?Connell, and Nora Ritchie.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

You probably know Guy Fieri from his TV shows: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and Guy's Grocery Games. Or maybe you remember Pete Wells's epically scathing review of Guy's restaurant in New York City. But what you don?t know: The real Guy Fieri wants to open an all-organic restaurant. The real Guy Fieri hates that iconic bowling shirt with the flames. The real Guy Fieri feels like he?s always trying to keep up ? and that it?s really hard to do so.

This episode originally aired on August 17, 2020, and October 17, 2017. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Dan Charles.  The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

In the final episode of ?Anything?s Pastable,? the recipes are done ? but they?re all in Google Docs. Now Dan has to bring them together into an actual book, with a cohesive visual style. So he hires an art director who scours flea markets for just the right props to bring the book?s personality to life. Then Dan heads to the Bay Area for the photo shoot, which means cooking nearly every recipe from the book one last time. When he has to pick the most important photo of all ? the cover ? the pressure is on. Will his publisher, and his family, judge his book by it?

Anything?s Pastable the cookbook is on sale tomorrow, March 19, but you can order it today (including signed copies), and see if Dan?s visiting a city near you on his tour of book signings and live podcast tapings with special guests! Follow Dan on Instagram to see photos and videos from the Anything?s Pastable journey. And if listening to this episode makes you want to go to Italy, now?s your chance! Dan has teamed up with Culinary Backstreets to create a tour that will take you to many of the same places, with many of the same people. Tour Rome with Katie Parla, take a cooking class in Lecce with Silvestro Silvestori, and eat pasta in Bari with Dan!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with editing by Tracey Samuelson and Tomeka Weatherspoon. Original theme music by Andrea Kristinsdottir.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

As Dan?s cookbook deadline approaches, recipe testing kicks into high gear ? and he attempts to develop a few recipes on his own. But scorched pans and sauce spills lead to frayed nerves. Can he rediscover the creative spark that got him excited about this project in the first place?

Preorder Dan?s cookbook today (including signed copies), and see if he?s visiting a city near you on his tour of book signings and live podcast tapings with special guests! Follow Dan on Instagram to see photos and videos from the Anything?s Pastable journey. And if listening to this episode makes you want to go to Italy, now?s your chance! Dan has teamed up with Culinary Backstreets to create a tour that will take you to many of the same places, with many of the same people. Tour Rome with Katie Parla, take a cooking class in Lecce with Silvestro Silvestori, and eat pasta in Bari with Dan!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with editing by Tracey Samuelson and Tomeka Weatherspoon. Original theme music by Andrea Kristinsdottir.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

In part two of ?Anything?s Pastable,? Dan embarks on an epic trip across Italy in search of lesser-known pasta dishes ? and to learn about the evolution of pasta more broadly. He starts in Rome, where food writer Katie Parla reveals a shocking truth about pasta. Then an Italian food historian challenges Dan?s thinking about carbonara. Finally, he heads south to meet a chef who was there when a regional specialty called spaghetti all?assassina (?assassin?s spaghetti?) was invented. All of this leads Dan to wonder: What does evolution look like in a food culture that?s so often depicted in sepia tones? And what?s his place in that process?

Preorder Dan?s cookbook today (including signed copies), and see if he?s visiting a city near you on his tour of book signings and live podcast tapings with special guests! Follow Dan on Instagram to see photos and videos from the Anything?s Pastable journey. And if listening to this episode makes you want to go to Italy, now?s your chance! Dan has teamed up with Culinary Backstreets to create a tour that will take you to many of the same places, with many of the same people. Tour Rome with Katie Parla, take a cooking class in Lecce with Silvestro Silvestori, and eat pasta in Bari with Dan!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with editing by Tracey Samuelson, Tomeka Weatherspoon, and Julia Russo. Special thanks to Katie Parla. Original theme music by Andrea Kristinsdottir.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

After Dan?s pasta shape, cascatelli, went viral, people everywhere were cooking with it and sending him photos of what they were making. As exciting as that was, he was disappointed that most folks were only making a handful of well-worn dishes with this new shape. So Dan decided to write a cookbook to show the world that there?s so much more you can and should be putting on all your pasta shapes, cascatelli and beyond! There?s only one problem: he?s never written a recipe in his life. In this four-part series, Dan shares the inside story of creating his first cookbook, Anything?s Pastable ? from the highs and lows of recipe testing, to a research trip across Italy, to the agonizing decisions over the design of the cover. By the end, you'll never look at a cookbook the same way again.

Preorder Dan?s cookbook today (including signed copies), and see if he?s visiting a city near you on his tour of book signings and live podcast tapings with special guests. And follow Dan on Instagram to see photos and videos from the Anything?s Pastable journey!

This is Episode 1 of Anything?s Pastable, and Episode 2 is available in your feed right now! 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with editing by Tracey Samuelson, Tomeka Weatherspoon, and Julia Russo. Original theme music by Andrea Kristinsdottir.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Gary Gulman did so many food bits early in his stand-up career that he joked he was "a strictly food-based comic." But as his comedy started to evolve in new directions, the role of food in his act changed, too. Instead of observational humor, Gary now uses food in a more personal way ? from talking about ice cream as a window into his clinical depression, to skewering income inequality through a discussion of Pop-Tarts. Gary joins Dan to discuss his personal and professional evolution over the past 30 years, through a survey of his three decades of food jokes. Plus Gary shares an entirely new joke about the word ?spork.?

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Violence, death threats, and bagels, oh my! In this final episode of Deep Dish season one, Sohla and Ham explore the origins of bagels, and the tough-as-nails Eastern Europe immigrants who created a thriving bagel business in New York. When the mafia tried to muscle its way into the bagel business, the bagel bakers fought back ? but in the process, they failed to see a bigger threat. Sohla tells the story, and she learns the secrets of hand-rolling bagels from an expert at Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels. Make sure you listen all the way to the end to hear Sohla and Ham?s bagel taste test! And check out some behind the scenes photos from this episode on Sohla and Ham?s Instagrams.

Deep Dish is a production of The Sporkful. The team includes Sohla El-Waylly, Ham El-Waylly, Andres O?Hara, Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with additional editing by Josh Richmond and Tomeka Weatherspoon. Original theme music by Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com

One table in New York's Adda Indian Canteen is underperforming the others. And in a business with razor-thin margins, that's a real problem. In this special collaboration with Sally Helm and NPR's Planet Money, we enlist the help of a tape measure-wielding professor to try to turn the loser table into a winner. It turns out that how a restaurant treats its real estate might be more important than how it cooks its food ? at least when it comes to how much customers spend.

This episode originally aired on February 24, 2020, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Sally Helm, Emma Morgenstern, Harry Huggins, and Anne Saini, along with Darian Woods, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, Alex Goldmark, Bryant Urstadt, and Isaac Rodrigues of Planet Money. It was edited by Tracey Samuelson and mixed by Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Emma Morgenstern, Andres O?Hara, Jared O?Connell, and Nora Ritchie.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Stanley cups are all the rage, but did you know they?ve been around for decades? So what happened to make them go viral? We chat about that and much more, including the internet?s love affair with Josh wines, competitive hot pepper eating, and a food-based test of true love, in this edition of the Salad Spinner. This week?s rapid-fire roundtable discussion of the latest food news features the TV host, chef, and restaurateur Vivian Howard, and Amanda Mull, a staff writer at The Atlantic. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Tacos al pastor are an iconic Mexico City dish ? but a relatively new addition to Mexican cuisine. And they only came to be with influences from halfway around the world. Ham and Sohla share the surprising story of al pastor?s origins, then Ham visits Taquería Ramírez, one of the most talked about taco spots in Brooklyn, to learn their unique method. Make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode to hear Ham cook up tacos al pastor with a twist! You can find that recipe on Ham?s Instagram.

Deep Dish is a production of The Sporkful. The team includes Sohla El-Waylly, Ham El-Waylly, Andres O?Hara, Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with additional editing by Josh Richmond and Tomeka Weatherspoon. Original theme music by Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells has been called the most feared food writer in America. He can make or break a restaurant with the power of one of his reviews. When he goes out, he does so in secret, making reservations under fake names because he doesn't want restaurants to know that he's coming. This week Pete takes Dan on an undercover mission to a New York restaurant. Then they talk about the nuts and bolts of Pete?s life as a critic. He eats out five nights a week, meaning he has plenty of bad meals ? so how does he decide which places warrant bad reviews? And how does he account for the fact that different people have different tastes?

This episode originally aired on May 13, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, and Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Jared O'Connell, and Nora Ritchie.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

In 1964 Rocky Aoki, a Japanese immigrant, created hibachi restaurants in America when he opened his first Benihana. Rocky later said that he based his concept on the idea that "Americans enjoy eating in exotic surroundings, but are deeply mistrustful of exotic foods.? The restaurant took off, but Rocky's legacy is complicated. In this week's show we hear from people who knew Rocky, and we talk with a hibachi chef who's one of the more daring performers you'll find. We also hear from a former hibachi chef who says he was pushed to act "more Japanese" ? and how that affected the way he thought about himself. And we answer the question of why certain cuisines are seen as ?perpetually foreign? with the help of Professor Robert Ku.

This episode originally aired on March 11, 2019. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Gianna Palmer, Jared O?Connell, and Harry Wood. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Today on Deep Dish, Sohla and Ham explore the history of Korea through the story of a rice cake. Tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes) are as popular in Korea as hot dogs are in the U.S. Ji Hye Kim, the chef and owner of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan, fell in love with tteokbokki as a kid in South Korea. When she moved to Michigan, her attempt to recreate a taste of home led her to tteokbokki?s surprising history as a delicacy of the royal court. Hear how Ji Hye reclaimed this beloved dish, and make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode to hear Sohla cook up tteokbokki with a twist. You can find that recipe on Sohla?s Instagram. 

Deep Dish is a production of The Sporkful. The team includes Sohla El-Waylly, Ham El-Waylly, Andres O?Hara, Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with additional editing by Kameel Stanley and Josh Richmond. Original theme music by Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Introducing Deep Dish, a new podcast from The Sporkful hosted by Sohla and Ham El-Waylly! Sohla and Ham are chefs, recipe developers, YouTube stars ? and they?re married. In each episode, Sohla and Ham uncover the surprising story behind a dish, then go back to their kitchen to see what they?re inspired to cook up. All episodes of Deep Dish will run here in The Sporkful feed.

In this first episode, Sohla and Ham dive into the story of Delta tamales. When Detective Charles Sledge answered a call about a fatal car crash on a highway in Mississippi, he had no idea it would set him on a path to becoming the Tamale King, helping to preserve a type of tamale unique to the Mississippi Delta. Listen all the way to the end to hear Ham create a recipe inspired by Delta tamales, which you can find on Instagram. 

Deep Dish is a production of The Sporkful. The team includes Sohla El-Waylly, Ham El-Waylly, Andres O?Hara, Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with additional editing on this episode by Kameel Stanley and Josh Richmond. Original theme music by Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Over the past few years there has been an explosion in new products in grocery stores, from barbecue sauces to nut butters to seltzers. Big brands have dominated the shelves for decades, but small startups have elbowed their way in thanks to a surprising strategy, which reveals something about how supermarkets actually make money. Dan goes to a grocery store with John Stanton, a professor at St. Joseph?s University, to see this battle for shelf space in action. Then he talks with Steven Vigilante of the beverage brand Olipop about how the little guys are fighting against the established brands. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with editing this week by Kameel Stanley.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Ben Abbott wants to pair his meals with drinks, but as a Mormon, he doesn't drink alcohol. So Dan journeys to Galco?s Soda Pop Stop, an offbeat soda shop in Los Angeles, to find Ben some beverages. Plus, linguist John McWhorter explains why some people say soda, coke, or pop.

This episode originally aired on January 21, 2015, and again on March 25, 2019. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Gianna Palmer, and Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

The most common New Year?s resolution Americans make is to lose weight. For many years, that was Aubrey Gordon?s resolution, too. But one conversation with a friend led Aubrey to rethink the way we talk about fat people and weight loss. Now, as a fat activist, Aubrey writes about anti-fat bias and the physical and emotional realities of being a fat person in the world. This week she tells us why she went from writing anonymously on her blog Your Fat Friend to going public in 2020. Aubrey also pushes back on the idea of an ?obesity epidemic? and argues that drugs like Ozempic are worsening anti-fat bias ? both topics that she?s covered on her podcast Maintenance Phase.

Please note: This episode contains discussion of body image, weight loss, and eating disorders. If you or someone you know are affected by an eating disorder, get more information from the National Eating Disorders Association online or by calling their helpline: 800-931-2237.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Grace Rubin.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

From tortilla chips to tree bark, from fancy cheese to toe cheese, there?s a world of smells all around us that tells us a lot about food, drink, and everything else. So says legendary food scientist Harold McGee in his new book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World?s Smells. Harold joins us to explain the connection between wet dog smell and fermented cabbage, and why we should have more ?smell empathy? for others. Then we chat with Nik Sharma, whose new cookbook, The Flavor Equation, lays out the six components of flavor: aroma, sight, taste, emotion, sound, and mouthfeel. Why does tomato juice taste better on an airplane? Nik explains. Plus, Dan and Nik bond over their potato chip selection strategy.

This episode originally aired on December 7, 2020, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Tomeka Weatherspoon, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

What foods do Sporkful listeners resolve to eat more of in the new year, and why? And what?s Dan?s New Year?s food resolution for 2024? All is revealed in our annual year-end spectacular. Plus we replay one of the Sporkful crew?s favorite episodes of the year, with the comedian Zarna Garg, who found her voice during turbulent times in her life. Zarna spent 16 years as a stay-at-home mom. Now she sells out shows across the country and has her own special on Prime Video. In her stand-up and her social media videos, food is often a main character. But Zarna has mixed feelings when it comes to cooking. As a teenager, she wasn?t always sure where her next meal would come from. And as a parent, she came to resent the burden of feeding her family of five. She talks with Dan about her frustration with American parenting, why her kids eat steamed broccoli for breakfast, and how Indian Americans fought to bring back Taco Bell?s Mexican Pizza.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Samin Nosrat, author of the best-selling cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, joins Dan to talk about feeling like an outsider, sexism and pretentiousness in food, and the finer points of toast.

This episode originally aired on October 8, 2018. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Aviva DeKornfeld, with editing by Gianna Palmer, and mixing by Dan Dzula. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Since the Michelin Guide was created in 1926, it has awarded about 3,000 stars to select restaurants around the world. And while Michelin has a ton of brand recognition, the system it uses to rate restaurants is also famously secretive. Today on The Sporkful, we pull back the curtain on the guide and speak with a former Michelin inspector about his experience handing out stars. Then we talk with Erika Adams, editor of Eater Boston, about the surprising reason why her city has no restaurants with stars. It?s not because Boston restaurants aren?t up to snuff ? and in fact, the answer reveals bigger questions about Michelin?s approach. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

We are back with another Salad Spinner, and this time it?s our year end edition! Remember when Starbucks debuted olive oil coffee? Or when Grimace, the McDonald?s mascot that looks like a purple blob, became a queer icon? This rapid-fire roundtable discussion covers all the biggest, strangest, and most surprising food stories of 2023, with our panelists: Jaya Saxena, correspondent at Eater, and Zach Stafford, co-host of the podcast Vibe Check. 

Have you sent us your New Year's food resolution yet? We want to hear it! Email us at [email protected] with your first name, your location, and tell us the food you resolve to eat more of in the new year and why. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

The native Minnesotan explains why a little internal bleeding can't keep her from a treat, and why the way she eats salad is like the way she deals with depression.

This episode originally aired on April 24, 2016, and again on April 15, 2019. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Ngofeen Mputubwele, with editing help from Gianna Palmer and special thanks to Paula Szuchman. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Fuchsia Dunlop has written some of the best known English-language books on Chinese cooking, spending years at a time immersing herself in different regions of China in order to learn the area?s dialect and culinary specialties. But as she tells Dan, that wasn?t her original plan. She moved to Chengdu in her 20s because she wanted to live abroad and knew the food there would be great. Still, she says it took years before she stopped eating ?like a European.? Her latest book, Invitation to a Banquet, tells a sweeping story of Chinese food through dishes like sweet-and-sour pork balls (an English takeaway standby) and fire-exploded kidney flowers (one of her favorite dishes of Chengdu).

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo, with production this week by Johanna Mayer.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

When Jody Scaravella lost his grandma, his mom, and his sister within a few years, he opened a restaurant in their honor, as a way of dealing with his grief. But the restaurant, Enoteca Maria on Staten Island, NY, had a twist: the chefs were all Italian grandmas, or nonnas. After a few years, Jody started inviting grandmas from all over the world to cook at his restaurant. In this week's show, we attend Enoteca Maria's annual holiday party, one of the few days when all the nonnas come together. Dan is besieged on all sides by grandmas trying to feed him, and we find out whether the restaurant has done for Jody what he hoped it would.

This episode originally aired on December 9, 2019 and was produced by Dan Pashman and Ngofeen Mputubwele, with editing by Tracey Samuelson. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Starting this week we're pulling one classic Sporkful from the deep freezer every other Friday and sharing it with you! We're calling these episodes "Reheats." If you have one you want to hear, email us at [email protected]! This week to kick things off: We discuss the beauty and tyranny of tradition, as well as the Wheel Of Infinite Thanksgiving Anxiety, with legendary food writer Mimi Sheraton, Milk Street Kitchen's Christopher Kimball, and cookbook author Kian Lam Kho. And yes, we're serious. (Here's Kian's recipe for leftover pumpkin pancakes.)

This episode originally aired on November 13, 2017, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Margaret Kelley. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Tiffanie Barriere is an award-winning bartender and cocktail educator who goes by the title ?The Drinking Coach.? As the holidays approach, Tiffanie joins us to share some cocktail inspiration, talking with Dan about drinks for every season. She?s also created a cocktail perfect for this season ? find it on Dan?s Instagram and in our newsletter! Tiffanie reflects on going from bartending at Applebee?s to being the beverage director at a place known as one of the best airport bars in the world, and discusses her collaboration with the esteemed food journalist Toni Tipton-Martin on Toni?s new book, Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice: Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks. 

Get your Sporkful collection pastas, a signed copy of Dan's cookbook, and limited edition cascatelli posters in time for the holidays!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

How did the U.S. military create a pizza that soldiers could eat on the battlefield? Our friends at the podcast Proof from America?s Test Kitchen follow the five-year journey to create the world's most shelf-stable pizza. In the process, they learn about ration bars made with ultrasonic technology, and how to keep cheese the right color in extreme conditions.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Sohla El-Waylly ? chef, recipe developer, YouTube star ? just released her first cookbook, Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook. She sees the book as an antidote to the pitfalls of culinary school (which she calls ?a scam?), and she wrote it to help home cooks learn in their own kitchens. Sohla tells Dan why she always knew that she wanted to cook for a living, how she fell in love with her husband over a pile of butchered chickens, and why she still makes sprinkles individually, by hand. 

If you want to win a copy of Sohla's cookbook, sign up for our newsletter by November 19. If you?re already subscribed, then you?re already entered to win. Open to US/Canada addresses only.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo, with production this week by Grace Rubin.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Major announcement! Dan?s first cookbook, Anything?s Pastable, is available for preorder wherever books are sold starting today! This collection of non-traditional pasta sauces is not your nonna?s cookbook. It has kimchi carbonara, cacio e pepe with chili crisp, roasted artichoke with preserved lemon, and a dish called spaghetti all?assassina, or assassin?s spaghetti, which is pan fried until the pasta turns charred and crispy crunchy. Plus much more. Preorder Anything?s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People right now -- there?s also an option to preorder a signed copy as part of a holiday pasta gift box from Sfoglini!

Back in 2018, we talked with chef and recipe developer Yewande Komolafe about her experience as an undocumented immigrant. She grew up in Nigeria, but after immigrating legally to the U.S. a clerical error led to her losing her immigration status. For years she felt she had to hide parts of herself, for fear of being outed as undocumented. And because of her status, she couldn?t go back to Nigeria. This week we?re replaying that episode, followed by a new conversation with Yewande in which she updates her story, and talks about the release of her first cookbook, My Everyday Lagos.

If you want to win a copy of Yewande's cookbook, sign up for our newsletter by November 12. If you?re already subscribed, then you?re already eligible to win.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo. The team that originally produced parts of this episode was Anne Saini, Aviva DeKornfeld, Rob McGinley Myers, and John DeLore.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

We are back with the Salad Spinner! This is our rapid fire roundtable discussion of the latest food news, from significant to silly, surprising to strange. And in the Spinner this week are Amanda Mull, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and Doug Mack, who writes the newsletter Snack Stack. They discuss the genius of Bass Pro Shops, the truth behind Van Halen?s brown M&Ms story, and the weirdness of brand collaborations, like Van Leeuwen?s Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Curtis Chin was practically raised at Chung?s Cantonese Cuisine, his family?s restaurant in Detroit. It was a restaurant that served everybody, from the mayor (who was a regular) to sex workers to business executives. Within the walls of the restaurant, the Chin family saw the rise of Detroit as a multicultural, industrial city, and its decline in the wake of white flight and the crack epidemic. Chung?s was also the place where Curtis started to figure out his own identity and sexuality ? while also learning how to make the Detroit Chinese-American specialty, almond boneless chicken.

Curtis?s memoir is Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. If you want to win a copy of the book, sign up for our newsletter by October 23. If you?re already subscribed, then you?re already eligible to win.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

School is back in session. And for kids, lunch period is the closest you get to being on your own at school. So what do kids actually talk about at lunch? Dan goes to one elementary school to find out. Then we hear from parents dealing with the high-stakes daily routine that is packing a lunch. Food writer J. Kenji López-Alt joins Dan to talk about his tips and tricks for using a bento box to pack lunch for his kids every day. And we hear your stories about school lunch triumphs and tragedies.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Julia Russo.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Husband-and-wife comedians and podcast hosts Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher often perform standup together. In their Netflix special they offer couples relationship advice, and the occasional roast. This week on The Sporkful, Natasha and Moshe help Dan and his wife Janie resolve their long-simmering marital conflicts involving hand soap and hosting dinner parties. Can Dan and Janie figure out how to work together before a big party?

This episode originally aired on September 2, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, with editing by Peter Clowney. 

The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Back in 2017, a far-right politician in France angered his supporters and caused a small scandal. The faux pas? Enjoying a plate of couscous. Couscous is one of the most popular dishes in France, and it?s also a symbol of North African immigration. So how does the food of a former colony become ?French? ? and how much credit should France get for its culinary influence on former colonies? Reporter Samia Basille tells the story of two dishes that have crossed borders as a result of French colonialism: couscous and banh mi. Samia is an Algerian-French woman whose mother grew up in a French colony, so for her, these stories are personal.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Samia Basille and voiceover by Isabelle Duriez.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

On today?s show, we?re featuring two new cookbooks that we?re excited about, and the stories of the authors behind them. James Park?s new cookbook Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes To Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings is a testament to how he?s never really followed the rules ? and why that?s his secret weapon. Then we talk with Adeena Sussman, whose new book is Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals From My Table To Yours. Adeena spent years helping to write recipes for other peoples? best-selling cookbooks, including Chrissy Teigen?s. Only recently did she start putting her own name on the cover ? we talk about why.

Sign up for our newsletter by September 29 for a chance to win one of these cookbooks! If you?re already subscribed, you?re automatically entered to win.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Breeders at Washington State University spent 20 years developing a completely new variety of apple: Cosmic Crisp. What exactly does it take to create a new kind of apple? And how do they come up with a name for it? We team up with Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist podcast to learn about this apple innovation ? and to heap a deserving amount of scorn on the ubiquitous, flavorless Red Delicious. Then we ask, four years after the apple?s launch, was it a success?

This episode originally aired on September 30, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Harry Huggins, John DeLore, and Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

We asked for your food fights and hot takes, and you delivered! We hear about a 20-year dispute over a garlic aversion (with unsavory origins), get to the bottom of the best way to eat a pint of ice cream, and challenge Dan?s long-standing feud with spaghetti. Joining Dan to dish out wisdom are two opinionated, food-obsessed women of letters: Jiayang Fan and Samantha Irby. Jiayang and Sam also come with their own hot takes on Sichuanese beef jerky, mayo, and store-bought vs. homemade food.   

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with help this week from Nick Liao and Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Foraged ingredients have become all the rage in high end restaurants, part of the move toward hyperlocal, farm-to-table ingredients. Of course, we humans have been foraging pretty much forever. And though it?s less common in America today, Jay Marion?s family never really stopped. Now he?s carrying on that family legacy in Virginia?s Shenandoah Valley, where he searches the woods and fields for all kinds of wild ingredients, to sell, and to eat. Dan joins Jay for a foraging walk, and hears the story of how his business got to where it is today. Jay might have gotten in early on a growing trend ? but he never expected what happened next.

This episode originally aired on November 11, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Harry Huggins, Tracey Samuelson, Hali Bey Ramdene, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

While the villages to the east and west have charming Main Streets, the small town of Greenlawn, sandwiched in between, has pickles. Dan stops by the annual Pickle Festival before diving into the story of Samuel Ballton, the formerly enslaved man who became Greenlawn?s Pickle King. Dan meets some of Samuel?s descendants as they celebrate the recognition he?s started to receive, and hears how learning about his story has affected them.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer and editing this week by Kameel Stanley.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Today we tackle news in the world of food that?s at turns substantive, silly, and surprising in a new series we?re calling Salad Spinner! Take a spin with us as Dan chats with journalists Amanda Mull (The Atlantic) and Dennis Lee (The Takeout) about Instant Pot?s parent company declaring bankruptcy, Burger King?s rollout of a cheese sandwich monstrosity in Thailand, and what it means that the World Health Organization now deems aspartame ?possibly carcinogenic.? Then the Spinner speeds up for a lightning round.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

A few years ago, Tommy Pico, a queer indigenous American poet, and lover of junk food, set out to learn how to cook. He wanted to get healthier, but also, he wanted a food culture to replace the one that was wiped out when the federal government forced his ancestors onto a reservation. Rather than turn to the past to connect with that culture, Tommy turned to friends to build a new one. His book Feed, an epic poem, is the result of that journey. Tommy and Dan chat about the horrors of airport vegetarian options (pesto-basil-mozzarella with soggy bread smh), what it?s like when the food you grow up with is connected to trauma, and how queerness and looking to the future creates an opportunity to make your own legacy. Tommy also reads his poem, ?I See The Fire That Burns Inside You.?

This episode originally aired on November 4, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Peter Clowney, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O?Connell. The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

When the first Barbie Dreamhouse came out in 1962, it didn?t have a kitchen. Fast forward to today and there are a dozen chef Barbies. What does that say about Barbie, and about American food culture? We talk with Helene Siegel, author of The Barbie Party Cookbook (1991), about why Mattel resisted having Barbie cook for so long. Then Dan dines with food writer Helen Rosner at the pop-up Malibu Barbie Cafe in New York City. They debate whether a breakfast burrito is Barbie food and receive a show-stopping pink dessert.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Once known for its glacial pace, ice news today is breaking. In the wake of Starbucks? recent announcement that they?re changing their ice, we?re devoting an entire episode to the drink chiller in all its forms: pellet ice, giant ice cubes, bagged ice, and more. Ice cube reporter Camper English, author of The Ice Book, tells us about his breakthrough method for making crystal-clear ice, and which shapes work best for which drinks. Plus he helps us distill the Starbucks news, and we carve out some time to learn about ice history.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.