Gastropod

Food & Cooking Podcasts >

Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.

Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.

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Location:

United States

Genres:

Food & Cooking Podcasts

Food

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Language:

English

Episodes

Omega 1-2-3

8/12/2019

Based on all the hype, you’d be forgiven for believing that the fish oils known as omega-3s are solution to every problem. Heart disease, dementia, depression, even obesity—the list of ailments that experts claim a daily dose of omega-3 can help prevent seems endless. And with more than ten percent of Americans taking a capsule …More → The post Omega 1-2-3 appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:47:22

Meet Sharbat, the Ancestor of Sorbet, Syrup, Shrub, Sherbet, and Pretty Much Everything Else Cool

8/6/2019

Many of you won’t have heard of sharbat, the delightfully tangy, refreshingly icy Persian drink. But most of you will have tasted at least one of its many descendants: sorbet, sherbet, syrup, shrub, and even the julep. So, what is sharbat? How did it inspire so many variations on cooling deliciousness? And how did Persians …More → The post Meet Sharbat, the Ancestor of Sorbet, Syrup, Shrub, Sherbet, and Pretty Much Everything Else Cool appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:22:15

Super Fry: The Fight for the Golden Frite

6/18/2019

Shoestring, waffle, curly, or thick-cut: however you slice it, nearly everyone loves a deep-fried, golden brown piece of potato. But that’s where the agreement ends and the battles begin. While Americans call their fries “French,” Belgians claim that they, not the French, invented the perfect fry. Who’s right? This episode, we take you right into …More → The post Super Fry: The Fight for the Golden Frite appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:44:57

Eat This, Not That: The Surprising Science of Personalized Nutrition

6/10/2019

This episode, we’ve got the exclusive on the preliminary results of the world’s largest personalized nutrition experiment. Genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector launched the study, called PREDICT, to answer a simple but important question: do we each respond to different foods differently? And, if so, why? How much of that difference is genetic, how much is …More → The post Eat This, Not That: The Surprising Science of Personalized Nutrition appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:57:33

Guts and Glory

5/21/2019

What does it mean when your stomach rumbles? How do our bodies extract nutrients and vitamins from food? Does what you eat affect your mood? Digestion is an invisible, effortless, unconscious process—and one that, until recently, we knew almost nothing about. On this episode of Gastropod, we follow our food on its journey to becoming …More → The post Guts and Glory appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:47:03

BONUS: Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye

5/16/2019

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you news of a new podcast you might like. Bill Nye is on a mission to change the world—one phone call at a time. On his new podcast, Science Rules!, he tackles your questions on just about anything in the universe. Perhaps you’ve wondered: Should I stop eating …More → The post BONUS: Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:03:48

The Great Gastropod Pudding Off

5/6/2019

Four bakers, one evening, and one challenge: Who can steam the best spotted dick? On this week’s action-packed episode, Tom Gilliford, Selasi Gbormittah, and Yan Tsou of Great British Bake-Off fame, along with honorary Gastropod member (and Cynthia’s partner) Tim Buntel, compete to see who can master this most classic of British puddings for the …More → The post The Great Gastropod Pudding Off appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:56:08

Potatoes in Space!

4/23/2019

Today, a half century after Neil Armstrong took one small step onto the surface of the Moon, there are still just three humans living in space—the crew of the International Space Station. But, after decades of talk, both government agencies and entrepreneurs are now drawing up more concrete plans to return to the Moon, and …More → The post Potatoes in Space! appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:48:05

The Curry Chronicles

4/9/2019

Curry is, supposedly, Indian. But there is no such word in any of the country’s many official languages—and no Indian would use the term to describe their own food. So what is curry? This episode takes us to India, Britain, and Japan on a quest to understand how a variety of spicy, saucy dishes ended …More → The post The Curry Chronicles appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:43:11

The Bagelization of America

3/26/2019

Today, it’s a breakfast staple, but, as recently as 1960, The New York Times had to define it for readers—as “an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis.” That’s right, this episode is all about the bagel, that shiny, ring-shaped, surprisingly dense bread that makes the perfect platform for cream cheese and lox. Where did it come …More → The post The Bagelization of America appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:52:19

Can Diet Stop Alzheimer’s?

3/11/2019

Every three seconds, someone in the world develops Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a devastating disease: millions of people, as well as their caretakers, spend years dealing with disabling disorientation and memory loss. Today, it’s the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. By 2050, an estimated 15 million people in America will have Alzheimer’s—the combined …More → The post Can Diet Stop Alzheimer’s? appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:43:09

Seeds of Immortality

3/4/2019

When seeds first evolved, hundreds of millions of years ago, they not only revolutionized the plant world, but they also eventually sowed the path for human civilization. Today, it’s nearly impossible to eat a meal without consuming a plant embryo—or many. But how did seeds come to play such a critical role in human history? …More → The post Seeds of Immortality appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:27:00

Pick A Pawpaw: America’s Forgotten Fruit

2/26/2019

In 1916, agricultural experts voted the pawpaw the American fruit most likely to succeed, ahead of blueberries and cranberries. But today, most people have never even heard of it, let alone tried it. What is the pawpaw, and how did we forget it? Listen in this episode for a tale that involves mastodons and head-lice, …More → The post Pick A Pawpaw: America’s Forgotten Fruit appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:42:49

Eating to Win: Gatorade, Muscle Milk, and… Chicken Nuggets?

2/12/2019

Ancient Greek Olympians swore by beans to give them a competitive edge. Japanese sumo wrestlers rely on a protein-rich soup called chankonabe to get into peak condition. And NBA all-stars Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, and Steph Curry credit their success to a pre-game PB&J. Throughout history, athletes have traditionally eaten something special they hope will …More → The post Eating to Win: Gatorade, Muscle Milk, and… Chicken Nuggets? appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:40:11

The Secret History of the Slave Behind Jack Daniel’s Whiskey

1/28/2019

Back in 1866, Jack Daniel’s became the first registered distillery in the United States; today, it’s the top-selling American whiskey in the world. For much of the brand’s 150-plus years, the story went that the young Jack Daniel learned his trade from a pastor named Dan Call. In reality, he was taught to distill by …More → The post The Secret History of the Slave Behind Jack Daniel’s Whiskey appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:44:23

Sweet and Low (Calorie): The Story of Artificial Sweeteners

1/15/2019

For decades, ads for treats sweetened with substances like Sweet’N Low, NutraSweet, and Splenda have promised what seems like a miracle of modern science: that you can enjoy all the dessert you want, calorie-free. No need to deprive yourself—with artificial sweeteners, you can literally have your cake and eat it, too. But are these substances …More → The post Sweet and Low (Calorie): The Story of Artificial Sweeteners appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:43:32

Dirty Tricks and Data: The Great Soda Wars, Part 2

12/17/2018

Over the past five years, more than forty cities and countries around the world have passed a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. These soda taxes are designed to improve public health—but do they? Or have all the doom-and-gloom predictions of the soda industry come true instead? Researchers have been crunching the data, and this episode we …More → The post Dirty Tricks and Data: The Great Soda Wars, Part 2 appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:48:06

Souring on Sweet: The Great Soda Wars, Part 1

12/4/2018

Public health researchers agree: the evidence is clear that Americans consume way too much sugar, that sugar contributes to weight gain, and that rising rates of obesity in the U.S. will lead to significant health problems in the future. What’s much less clear is what to do about it. In this special, first-ever two-part episode …More → The post Souring on Sweet: The Great Soda Wars, Part 1 appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:49:42

The Truth is in the Tooth: Braces, Cavities, and the Paleo Diet

11/19/2018

Brush, floss, and forget: chances are, you only think about your teeth when they cause you trouble. But teeth have tales to tell, such as how old we are, how fast we grew, and how far we’ve traveled… But, most intriguingly, teeth can tell us both what we evolved to eat and what we actually have …More → The post The Truth is in the Tooth: Braces, Cavities, and the Paleo Diet appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:37:08

Who Invented Mac and Cheese?

11/13/2018

The warm, gooey dish, a childhood staple across North America, is many things to many people: a mainstay of African-American Sunday dinners, according to soul food expert Adrian Miller; a comforting yet celebratory meal that can be jazzed up in dozens of ways, according to chef and former mac and cheese restaurant owner Allison Arevalo; and …More → The post Who Invented Mac and Cheese? appeared first on Gastropod.

Duration:00:29:21