Pretzel Podcast WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR

Co-hosts Mitch and Michelle talk with the owners of two pretzel companies — one packed with protein and another that calls itself "the people's pretzel." And, Mitch finds himself making some pretzel news.

Co-hosts Michelle and Mitch make their triumphant return to Chicago and the 2019 Sweets and Snacks Expo. While they're on-site, they learn which company may have "inadvertently" been influenced by The Pretzel Podcast. Plus, they hear the story of a serendipitous meeting at last year's expo that yielded a surprisingly tasty result.

Who would have thought that National Pretzel Day is upon us again already? Or is it National Soft Pretzel Day? Mitch and Michelle dig into that question, and also learn about a place that goes against the grain and celebrates its own Pretzel Day. Plus, a tour of a grocery store with more varieties of pretzel than you can shake a pretzel stick at, and two new varieties of seasoned pretzels are put to the test.

Just in time for Lent, the Pretzel Podcast uncovers the details behind a 1970s movement that sought to harness the godly power of pretzels. We meet writer and recovering anthropologist Shoshi Parks, who penned an article on the Pretzels for God movement for Gastro Obscura. Plus, Michelle shares the story of her husband's first successful efforts to make high quality pretzels at home. And on Crunch Time, Mitch and Michelle try Unique Pretzel's new Sourdough Craft Beer pretzels, and the decidedly less-unique "Snak Favorites," about which little is known.

For Episode 20, Pretzel Podcast co-host Mitch Teich goes on location to Philadelphia, where he meets up with one of the show's biggest fans at Center City Pretzel. The bakery plays a huge role in the pretzel-loving lives of thousands of Philadelphians. Plus Mitch and Michelle try some hard pretzels purchased at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. And we hear a delicious pretzel memory from a woman who went to elementary school in South Philly.

Following our New Year's break, the Pretzel Podcast is back with another trip to Europe, courtesy of Michelle's Aunt Linda. We try two brands of Slovakian pretzels and a German snack called "Gypsy Wheels" all direct from a Polish grocery store - plus some Polish pretzels brought back from a German Christmas market in Milwaukee. Also, Mitch relates his family's effort to make German New Year's Pretzels. And we use an online snacking calculator to figure out how many bags of snacks Michelle might need to feed an experimental carnival party, whatever that might be.