February 25, 2020
To Fight Climate Change, Bank on Soil
Episode Notes
Our glaciers are melting, our forests are on fire, our harvests are increasingly decimated by either floods and drought. We are in a climate emergency that threatens our very survival, and it is, frankly, incredibly depressing. But this episode, we've got the story of one of the most exciting, seemingly feasible efforts to reduce atmospheric carbon—by storing it in the soil.
The solution involves refreshing beer, crusty bread, and sweet, crunchy broccoli—and a complete reinvention of modern agriculture, including domesticating entirely new crops. And the impact could be huge: because a third of Earth's ice-free surface is farmland, scientists say that banking just a tiny bit more carbon beneath our fields would help remove billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Join us this episode on our quest to discover how switching to no-till, regenerative agriculture and breeding brand new perennial crops can help restock soil carbon, produce delicious grains and greens, and—maybe—save the world.
Guests
Dr. Berhe is a soil biogeochemist at the University of California, Merced. You can learn more about her research in her 2019 TED talk, "A climate change solution that's right under our feet." Dr. Berhe is a soil biogeochemist at the University of California, Merced. You can learn more about her research in her 2019 TED talk, "A climate change solution that's right under our feet."
Yoko Takemura and Alex Carpenter grow delicious organic, no-till vegetables on three-quarters of an acre in Connecticut. You can read more about Assawaga Farm on their website, and buy their produce at Boston-area farmers markets.
February 11, 2020
Move Over Gin, We’ve Got Tonic Fever
Episode Notes
Just a few decades ago, gin & tonics were considered rather stodgy and boring, the drink of suburbanites at the golf club. Today, the century-old drink is hot again. In part, that's due to a boom in craft gin distilling—a ginaissance! But there's also been a new wave of experimentation with gin's life partner, tonic water.
This episode, we focus on the tonic side of the equation. Which genius came up with the idea of combining quinine, a malaria drug, with soda water and sugar in order to create this refreshing beverage? How did the bark of a South American tree end up in everything from hair-restoring shampoo to cocktails? And is it true that the G&T began life as a pleasant way for the Anglo-Indian elite to take their anti-malarials?
This episode, we take a sip of tonic's history with Kim Walker and Mark Nesbitt, authors of the new book Just the Tonic: A Natural History of Tonic Water. Listen in for all that, plus beef-infused tonic wines, Aperol spritzes, and the gin & tonic's true origin story. Cheers!
Guests
Kim Walker and Mark Nesbitt are the authors of the new book, Just the Tonic, A Natural History of Tonic Water, published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It's filled with gorgeous botanical drawings and amazing old advertisements, as well as suggestions for how to expand your tonic menu beyond its partnership with gin.
In addition to trying out some of their recipes (we look forward to tasting them ourselves!), we do recommend branching out past the standard tonic waters like Schweppes and Canada Dry, and trying some of the new, artisanal tonic waters available. They're delicious!
Jan 27th 2020
The United States of McDonald's
Episode Notes
McDonald's is mind-boggling. According to Adam Chandler, author of the recent book, Drive-Thru Dreams, it sells roughly 75 burgers every second and serves 68 million people every day—equivalent to 1 percent of the entire world's population. "The golden arches are thought to be, according to an independent survey, more recognizable as a symbol than the Christian cross is around the world," Chandler told us.
This episode, we tell the story of McDonald's—but more importantly, we explore what it has to say about who we are. To do that, we're also joined by historian Marcia Chatelain, author of the new book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, who helps us unpack the troubled but fascinating relationship between McDonald's and African Americans.
Why did taxpayers end up funding the spread of McDonald's into the inner city "food deserts" it now dominates? Who invented the hamburger and how did it become America's national cuisine? From a bustling barbecue stand in San Bernardino to Ray Kroc's location-scouting airplane rides, and from the McNugget to the McJob, this episode we figure out how McDonald's became so ubiquitous, and what that means for America.
Guests
Marcia Chatelain is associate professor of history and African-American studies at Georgetown University, and author of the new book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.
Adam Chandler is a journalist based in New York, and author of Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom.
January 13, 2020
Dinner Plate Invasion: Lionfish, Tiger Shrimp, and Feral Pigs, Oh My!
Episode Notes
Across America, feral pigs are on the rampage, wrecking fields of crops, hunting local wildlife to extinction, and even attacking humans. In the United Kingdom, Japanese knotweed is taking over the landscape: banks deny mortgages to infested properties, and the government regulates its disposal with the same precautions it takes for low-level nuclear waste. Humans are to blame—we introduced invasive species such as these to their new homes.
But some conservation biologists and chefs think humans can also be the solution: by eating the invaders. Are we ready for a menu of Asian shore crab and bullfrogs—and can our appetite really make a difference, or might the approach lead to unforeseen consequences? This episode, we forage an invasive menu with chef Bun Lai, and then argue the case with conservation biologists Joe Roman and Sara Kuebbing.
Guests
Sara Kuebbing is a conservation biologist at the University of Pittsburgh who studies the ways in which nonnative, invasive plants interact with native plant species within an ecosystem. She co-authored an Ensia opinion piece titled "Why Eating Invasive Species is a Bad Idea."
Joe Roman is a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont. He was perhaps the earliest promoter of the movement to eat invasive species, as well as the most prominent.
His Eat the Invaders website is a great source of information on the topic (this link about when different species were introduced into the US is fascinating!), and it's the perfect place to look for edible invasives that might be growing in your neighborhood.
December 17, 2019
Meet the Queen of Kiwi: The 96-Year-Old Woman Who Transformed America’s Produce Aisle
Episode Notes
The produce section of most American supermarkets in the 1950s was minimal to a fault, with only a few dozen fruits and vegetables to choose from: perhaps one kind of apple, one kind of lettuce, a yellow onion, a pile of bananas.
Today, grocery stores routinely offer hundreds of different fruits and vegetables, many of which would be unrecognizable to time travelers from a half century ago. What changed, and how did Americans learn to embrace spaghetti squash, sugar snap peas, and kiwi fruit? This episode, we tell the story of the woman behind this transformation: Frieda Caplan, the Queen of Kiwi.
Guests
Frieda's Specialty Produce, based in Los Alamitos, California, is still a family-owned- and run-operation. Karen and her sister Jackie helm the company, and Karen's daughter, Alex Berkley, the third generation of women, is now sales manager. Unsurprisingly, Karen had set out a beautiful tasting platter for us when we visited: rambutan (which Cynthia had never tried before), Cape gooseberries, jicama, lychee, and two different types of dragonfruit.
Joe Roman is a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont. He was perhaps the earliest promoter of the movement to eat invasive species, as well as the most prominent.
Ayr Muir has certainly succeeded in convincing hordes of hungry Bostonians that locally sourced, vegetable-centered meals are delicious. If you're ever in Boston, we recommend heading over and tasting for yourself at the nearest Clover! And if you'd like to hear more of Ayr, don't miss our Menu Mind Control episode.