Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft is a public scholar whose latest book, Meat Planet: Artificial Flesh and the Future of Food, looks deeply at this question. These days, technologies for cultured meat are kept more and more under wraps; Ben’s research then, offers an incredible glimpse at the industry. We chat about the book’s stories, but also … Continue reading What makes cultured meat imaginable? →

Chewing the Fat

What makes cultured meat imaginable?

Something about food engraves itself in our memories. It appeals to our physical senses in taste and smell, and cooking can quickly become part of muscle memory. But food touches on our experiences too: it’s part of conversations around the table (and sometimes the center!), capable of shaping traditions and histories. So where might a … Continue reading Food & Memory →

Food & Memory

What roles do some of New Haven’s non-profits play in the city’s food landscape? We speak with Sanctuary Kitchen and Love Fed New Haven, and the city’s Food Systems Director Latha Swamy to understand how food-centered programming, organizing, and activism address the needs of New Haven’s various communities. While organizations build their own niches, so … Continue reading Nonprofits and New Haven: Driving Food-Centered Inclusion →

Nonprofits and New Haven: Driving Food-Centered Inclusion

Banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich, has become a widely beloved dish. With its unique combination of flavors—crunchy bread, sour pickled carrots, fresh cucumbers, savory cold cuts, among other things—banh mi has captured the imagination of people, even at non-Vietnamese establishments. How did this happen? What can we learn when we examine the history of this … Continue reading Tracing Banh Mi →

Tracing Banh Mi

Plant-based. Vegetable-forward. These terms have become more and more popular in a culinary world now obsessed with sustainable eating. But what if these ideas are hardly new? What if they have deep cultural roots around the world that often go underacknowledged or underappreciated? Bryant Terry is the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora … Continue reading Bryant Terry: Vegetable Kingdom →

Bryant Terry: Vegetable Kingdom

In the early 2000s, eating local was believed to be transformative for our food systems. Those changes may not have come true, but what happens when we revisit local food today—this time, emphasizing equity, coalition-building, and approaches specific to place? Kiki Louya is a Congolese-American chef and entrepreneur who founded the all-women hospitality group, Nest … Continue reading Kiki Louya: A Detroit For All →

Kiki Louya: A Detroit For All

For chef Paola Velez, kitchens are spaces for endless exploration. Detailed historical research and precise culinary craft come together to centerthe flavors, foods, and experiences of the Black diaspora. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword, but is a substantive set of evolving practices and values. She builds teamwork and belonging, transforming the kitchen into its own “starter”: … Continue reading Paola Velez: Reimagining the Restaurant Kitchen →

Paola Velez: Reimagining the Restaurant Kitchen

Representation in the restaurant industry matters. Afro-Korean chef Nyesha Arrington joins us to reflect on her multicultural experiences growing up in LA, training in Michelin star restaurants, and competing on television and internationally. In navigating different––and sometimes exclusive––cooking spaces, Nyesha has drawn on her own identities and experiences to empower and evolve her craft. Listen … Continue reading Nyesha Arrington: Born to Create →

Nyesha Arrington: Born to Create

At the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), the culinary arts have led to storytelling, job growth, and equitable development for New Haven’s marginalized neighborhoods. Erik Clemons, CEO and founder of ConnCAT, chats with us about what it has taken to address poverty in the city, and how food and health are at the … Continue reading Erik Clemons: Food & Empowering New Haven →

Erik Clemons: Food & Empowering New Haven

Food policies—even if seemingly fair or innocent—have disproportionately harmed communities of color and their health. Legal scholar Andrea Freeman asks questions of how we use the law to prove and address such injustices. In this archival episode, she shares more about this legal process, and the broader ways to challenge the interests of Big Food. … Continue reading Andrea Freeman: Race, Law, and Food Oppression →

Andrea Freeman: Race, Law, and Food Oppression

Happy New Year! Enjoy our first episode of the next decade with ocean farmer and longtime YSFP friend, Bren Smith. We feature his new book, Eat Like A Fish: My Life as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer. What does it take to build an economy for ocean farming? Training and empowering a new generation … Continue reading Bren Smith: Eat Like A Fish →

Bren Smith: Eat Like A Fish

Native peoples in the United States are sustaining and revitalizing their unique relationships to food, land, and more broadly, their own cultures. But how have tribes learned from one another and built broader coalitions? Brown University Professor Elizabeth Hoover has traveled across the U.S. to document these efforts, interviewing indigenous growers, seed-keepers, chefs, and many … Continue reading Elizabeth Hoover: From Garden Warriors to Good Seeds →

Elizabeth Hoover: From Garden Warriors to Good Seeds

Enjoy a special holiday episode of Chewing the Fat with your Thanksgivings! Food writing needs better standards. From the places she visits, to the language she chooses to use, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho has shown how her writing tells deeper stories about food and the cultures it comes from. But what makes … Continue reading Soleil Ho: A More Honest Restaurant Review →

Soleil Ho: A More Honest Restaurant Review

Ever wonder what it takes to produce an award-winning food podcast? At a live event with us, Gastropod co-hosts Cynthia Graber & Nicola Twilley share about their fascinating journey using science and history to tell stories about food. In the conversation, the two cover everything from the twists and turns of some of their episodes, … Continue reading Cynthia Graber & Nicola Twilley: Food for the Ears →

Cynthia Graber & Nicola Twilley: Food for the Ears

You’ve heard it before: over one-third of all food is never eaten. Meanwhile, one in eight families struggles with hunger. So goes the problem of food waste––an environmental, social, and moral blight that affronts our public conscience. But is all food waste created equal? What might actually be wasted in producing food? Who benefits most … Continue reading Wasted: Untold Stories of Food Waste →

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