Radio and PodcastLive Radio & PodcastsOpening Radio and Podcast...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & PodcastsFetching podcast shows and categories...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & PodcastsFetching podcast episodes...
Food with a Side of Science & History
For those who like its earthy flavor, the humble beet can do a lot for a salad or a soup. But could it help end slavery? In the 1800s, one w...
White or whole wheat: while today the question is most frequently asked at the sandwich counter, the debate over the correct answer goes bac...
ICYMI, our old friend the food pyramid has been flipped on its head. The Trump administration recently issued new dietary guidelines that it...
Sushi is everywhere these days—in grocery stores and gas stations, at buffets and birthday parties, in Europe and Latin America and all over...
SNAP—the federal assistance program better known as food stamps—helps put food on the table of nearly one in eight Americans today. But, as...
We aren't afraid to ask the big questions here at Gastropod, such as: what exactly is a pancake? If you think you know the answer, prepare t...
For many people with disabilities, the kitchen can seem a deeply unfriendly place. From counters that require users to stand and cabinets th...
We’re coming up to AvocadoFest 2026, otherwise known as the Super Bowl, when Americans get fully a fifth of their annual avocado allocation....
Canned tomatoes are a perfect winter food. As you'll know from our tomato episode, the beautiful fruits in fresh aisle of the supermarket ar...
The season for holiday baking is upon us, and before you spice up your cookies and pies, you’ll probably want to know: is most of the cinnam...
Today, 'vanilla' often means boring, and yet the edible seedpod of this Central American orchid is one of the most expensive spices in the w...
Yoghurt is the most diverse section of the dairy case: from Icelandic skyr to creamy Australian, and fruity French Yoplait to full-fat Greek...
Every second of every day, plants on earth do something miraculous: they take the carbon dioxide from air and turn it into food. With very f...
At last, an episode on pizza! But that raises a tricky question: what exactly is pizza? As it turns out, the original pizzas from eighteenth...
If you’ve heard of metabolism, you’ve probably heard endless tips and tricks to boost it, from working out to drinking green tea. The idea i...
This week on Gastropod, a feast of fruits! Specifically, feijoa and durian—and, if you haven’t heard of either, you’re not alone. Unlike the...
Whether or not it's Tuesday, tacos pretty much always hit the spot—and not just in their homeland in Mexico. These days, the taco can be fou...
The tomato is Gastropod’s favorite flavor of summer, and we’re not alone: today, it’s the most popular vegetable on the planet, despite the...
It's the epitome of summertime: there’s nothing like a cold, juicy slice of red watermelon on a swelteringly hot day. But, once upon a time,...
This might sound corny, but the relationship between maize and humanity is essential. We rely on corn—globally, more maize is grown than whe...
Probably not. But Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz decided to try it anyway, putting his body — and specifically his butt — on the...
What do bubblegum, rooibos tea, and meal kits have in common? They’re all topics that puzzle and fascinate you, dear Gastropod listeners. Th...
Five centuries ago, before Spanish conquistadors arrived, what's now Mexico City was the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan—and it took the Europ...
Yes, it's true: the banana we know and love is going the way of the dodo bird. An incurable strain of the fungal Panama disease known as TR4...
In 1870, a strange fruit arrived on the docks in New Jersey, starting an industry that would change the world. That fruit was a banana, and,...
Humanity's love affair with beer goes *way* back: 5,000 years ago, the civilization that arose in Mesopotamia invented writing, and one of t...
If you've been hearing that canola is a killer, you're not alone. It's one of the so-called "hateful eight" seed oils: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr...
Are eggs going to give you high cholesterol, or are they the base of a great protein-rich meal? Will coffee give you cancer, or will it help...
Quinoa is everywhere these days, the base for a million salads and grain bowls. But, until recently, barely anyone outside the nutritious se...
During World War II, the Soviet city of Leningrad was surrounded, cut off from food supplies for nearly two and a half years. People were de...
Dry January may be over, but, for many people, drinking less alcohol or none at all is an increasingly common choice year-round. And, unlike...
(Guest episode) On September 18, 1998, an unusual ad ran in USA Today — a company called John's Estate Sales was looking to buy a moon rock....
(Guest episode) Matt wants to know how to tell if he’s being scammed by his dentist. To find the answer, we open up the surprising history o...
Just in time for the holidays, Ask Gastropod is back with a plate full of listener questions for your listening delight! You came to us with...
Taste is the oldest of our five senses, and yet perhaps the least understood. It's far more complicated than salty versus sweet: new researc...
What’s the coolest flavor of the holiday season? It's peppermint, obviously, and it’s showing up in everything from coffee to chocolate and...
Next week, the US celebrates the dishwashing Olympics—also known as Thanksgiving. But how best to tackle the washing-up after the big meal c...
They're added to breakfast cereal, bread, and even Pop-Tarts, giving the sweetest, most processed treats a halo of health. Most people pop a...
The Klamath River on the California-Oregon border was once the third largest salmon river in the continental U.S. There were so many fish, i...
Today, a half century after Neil Armstrong took one small step onto the surface of the Moon, there are still just ten humans living in space...
To painters and poets in late-1800s France, absinthe was "the green muse" or the "green fairy," an almost magical potion that promised vivid...
Every day, at the end of service, restaurants throw away tons of entirely edible food: heaps of pastries and whole loaves of bread, vegetabl...
It’s already begun: that time of the year now known across the land as Decorative Gourd Season. Squash are everywhere—carved into jack o’lan...
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...
School’s back in session, and kids are boarding the bus with lunchboxes in tow. Many of them contain sandwiches stuffed with turkey and ham...
About ten years ago, insects were constantly being hyped as the future of food. Headlines proclaimed that, within the decade, everyone would...
When you buy a bottle of rum in the United States, by law nearly all the federal taxes on that rum must be sent to Puerto Rico and the U.S....
Guest episode: In this episode we introduce you to a part of our bodies that was invisible to Western scientists until about five years ago;...
You asked, and we’re answering—again! Ask Gastropod returns to answer some of our listeners’ most pressing culinary queries: how did elabora...
It's not your imagination, food allergies are really on the rise. One recent study found that severe allergic reactions to food have increas...