Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

Co-Conspiracy Entertainment
  • 4.9 (89)
  • Nature
  • Biweekly

Foodie Pharmacology is the science podcast for the food curious! Dr. Quave is co-creator and host of the show. She speaks with leading experts on certain crops, sustainable farming methods, medicinal plants, and explores the pharmacology--or health impact--of our food through weekly episodes! You can also tune in through subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave comments and ratings on episodes! Dr. Quave loves to hear from the #FoodiePharmacology fans!

  1. 3d ago

    Edible Weeds with Dr. Roland Ebel and Dr. Fabian Menalled

    What if some of the plants farmers spend hours pulling out of their fields belong on our plates? In this episode, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with agroecologists Dr. Roland Ebel (College of Agricultural and Environmental Education, Vienna) and Dr. Fabian Menalled (Montana State University) about edible weeds: the spontaneous plants that are wiped out in conventional farming but have long been valued as food in traditional farming systems, from Mexico’s quelites to the wild greens of southern Italy. They start by asking what a weed actually is. From there they explain why traditional farmers often don’t separate crop from weed, and how ideas like “neutral weed communities,” selective weeding, and selective harvesting could fit these plants into modern organic farms. Along the way, they cover some promising species: purslane, which has more omega-3s than any other leafy green; lambsquarters, a close relative of quinoa; amaranth; thistles; mallows; and dandelions, which are prized as a delicacy in parts of Germany and France. The conversation also covers what edible weeds offer for food security, pollinators, and climate resilience. Roland and Fabian talk about the limits of bringing them into large mechanized farms, and they give a preview of their upcoming book, which pairs the science with recipes from chefs. #FoodiePharmacology #EdibleWeeds #Agroecology #SustainableAgriculture #FoodSystems #WildEdibles #Ethnobotany #OrganicFarming #FoodSecurity #Purslane

  2. Nov 2

    How Plants Evolved to Exploit Humanity with Dr. Robert Spengler

    Did humans domesticate plants, or did plants domesticate us? Paleoethnobotanist Dr. Robert Spengler joins Dr. Cassandra Quave to explain why ancient farmers likely had no idea they were changing the course of evolution. Key traits like the tough rachis in wheat and barley took 2,000 to 3,000 years to take hold, far longer than any one person, or any one generation, could have planned for. From there, they follow the Silk Road, which Dr. Spengler describes as the spokes of a wagon wheel with Central Asia at the center. They cover millet and wheat crossing Eurasia, apples hybridized by bees and locked in by grafting, and chickens that spread across the ancient world once they began laying eggs year-round. They also cover spices and early cannabis burning, medieval barley farming in the Gobi, and why bugs were probably a normal part of the ancient menu. Dr. Spengler directs the Fruits of Eurasia: Domestication and Dispersal project and oversees the paleoethnobotany laboratory at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. He is the author of Nature’s Greatest Success: How Plants Evolved to Exploit Humanity and Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Food We Eat. Learn more about his work at https://www.spenglerlab.com/ #FoodiePharmacology #Paleoethnobotany #Archaeobotany #PlantDomestication #SilkRoad #AncientFoods #Ethnobotany #FoodHistory #Apples

  3. Oct 26

    The End of Cheap Food with Kristine Root

    Why does “cheap” food cost us so much? In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with Kristine Root, founder of the branding and growth marketing agency Socha, about her new report, The End of Cheap Food. Kristine traces how U.S. farm policy and an all-out push for efficiency built a food system that looks inexpensive at the register. Along the way, the real costs moved into our healthcare systems, our soil, and our farmers’ livelihoods. They dig into how what we grow and how we grow it shape the nutrition on our plates, from heirloom tomatoes to regeneratively raised beef. They also ask why a perfect-looking strawberry can leave us unsatisfied. Then they turn to marketing, and how transparency, a three-second hook, and a deeper story can help people choose foods that are better for their health and the planet. Along the way they cover beans as the next marketing hero, teaching kids to cook, food as medicine, and what it would take for the highest-quality food to also be the most accessible. Read the free report, The End of Cheap Food: https://www.sochabranding.com/the-end-of-cheap-food-2026-report #FoodiePharmacology #EndOfCheapFood #FoodSystems #RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #NutrientDensity #FoodMarketing #FoodAsMedicine

  4. Oct 19

    Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture with Dr. Mariangela Hungria

    Can bacteria be bred to feed crops, and do it for a fraction of the cost of chemical fertilizer? This week on the show, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a soil microbiologist at Embrapa (the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), 2025 World Food Prize laureate, and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026. They discuss how nitrogen-fixing bacteria partner with legumes, grasses, and sugarcane, and why chemical fertilizers added to the soil drive water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Hungria explains how her work with soybeans helped make Brazil a global leader in agricultural biologicals. She shares field-trial results, the economic and climate savings, and what it takes to bring beneficial microbes to crops like tomatoes and potatoes. They also cover restoring degraded pastures, bacteria that help crops tolerate drought, and why synthetic microbial communities are still hard to build. Dr. Hungria’s message is that biologicals can already replace much of the chemical input in farming, and that they can work in conventional and organic agriculture. #SustainableAgriculture #SoilHealth #SoilMicrobiome #NitrogenFixation #Biologicals #RegenerativeAgriculture #FoodSecurity #WomenInScience #WorldFoodPrize #Microbiology #FoodScience

  5. Oct 12

    Caves & CHAOS with Dr. Rachel Washburn

    What can microbes living in the dark, mineral-rich corners of a cave tell us about the next generation of medicines? In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with biomedical geoscientist Dr. Rachel Washburn, director of the Washburn CHAOS Lab (Complex Host and Abiotic Systems). Her team studies the whole system at once: which microbes are present, what chemistry they are making, and how minerals and water shape it. They take samples from wild caves, polluted caves, and tourist show caves across Kentucky. Dr. Washburn explains how sequencing, geology, and metabolomics fit together, using a heavy metal concert analogy. She describes the lab’s early finding of new chemical classes in show caves and the recovery of Hidden River Cave after decades as a sewer. Her goal is a predictive “treasure map” that helps natural product researchers decide where to look for new antibiotics, anticancer compounds, and bioremediation tools. Dr. Washburn also shares her path from Russian studies and Air Force intelligence, through cancer and a PhD, to geoscience. She talks about bringing citizen scientists into the field, and about Scientifically Speaking, her series that treats fictional worlds like real scientific observations. Learn more about the Washburn CHAOS Lab at https://www.washburnchaoslab.com/. Join a citizen science experience at https://washburnchaoslab.com/citizen-science-experience. Follow Dr. Washburn on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at @WashburnCHAOSLab. #FoodiePharmacology #NaturalProducts #Caves #Microbiome #Geomicrobiology #Metabolomics #CitizenScience #SciComm #Bioprospecting #Kentucky

  6. Oct 5

    Sugar, Evolution, and the Human Brain with Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller

    Why do humans have a sweet tooth, and what does the glycemic index actually tell us about food? Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with University of Sydney nutrition scientist Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller about the role of fruit and sugar in human evolution, how different carbohydrates affect blood glucose, and why the type of rice you choose may matter more than whether it’s white or brown. They also explore practical ways to build a balanced plate, what makes pasta a surprising low-GI food, and why Dr. Brand-Miller urges us to enjoy fruit rather than fear its sugar. It’s a conversation that challenges familiar assumptions about carbohydrates while making room for the pleasure of eating. Learn more about her work at www.glycemicindex.com  #FoodiePharmacology #GlycemicIndex #NutritionScience #HumanEvolution #BloodGlucose #FoodAndHealth

  7. Sep 28

    Feeding the World as if People Mattered with Dr. Andrew Flachs

    What if the value of a farm were measured not only by what it produces, but also by the communities, skills, and ecosystems it sustains? This week on Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave welcomes environmental anthropologist Dr. Andrew Flachs back to the show to discuss his new book, Feeding the World as if People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields. Drawing on research in India, Bosnia, and the American Midwest, Andrew challenges the assumption that producing more food will solve hunger. Industrial agriculture can generate enormous quantities of inexpensive commodities while obscuring its social and environmental costs. Small and diversified farms offer a different model—one that values skilled labor, ecological resilience, rural livelihoods, cultural knowledge, and the ability of future generations to continue farming. The conversation explores the hidden labor beneath our food system, the risks of monoculture, and why hunger is often rooted in poverty, land ownership, and distribution rather than a simple shortage of calories. Cassandra and Andrew also examine the legacies of the Green Revolution, agricultural antibiotic use, and what it would mean to build a food system that measures success by more than yield and profit. Learn more about Andrew’s work at https://www.andrewflachs.com/ and follow him on social media at @DrFlachsophone. Order Feeding the World as if People Mattered from the University of Arizona Press: https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/feeding-the-world-as-if-people-mattered. Use discount code AZFLR for 30% off.   #FoodiePharmacology #SustainableAgriculture #SmallFarms #FoodSystems #FoodSecurity #RegenerativeAgriculture #Biodiversity #FoodJustice #SustainableFood

  8. Sep 21

    From Motifs to Medicine: Can Nature and AI Transform Mental Health? with Dr. Jacob Hooker

    Could centuries of traditional plant knowledge help scientists discover the next generation of medicines for the brain? In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave speaks with chemist and neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Hooker, co-founder and CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics, about a new approach to finding treatments for anxiety and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. Dr. Hooker explains how Sensorium combines ethnobotanical records, chemical data, medicinal chemistry, and artificial intelligence in a vast computational knowledge graph. By mapping relationships among plants, molecules, human experiences, and biological activity, researchers can uncover patterns and prioritize promising natural products for investigation. The conversation also explores why so many medicines affecting the brain have roots in nature and why psychoactive compounds need not be psychedelic or hallucinogenic. They examine Cobenfy, a recently approved schizophrenia treatment with roots in the chemistry of the betel nut palm, as an example of how plants can reveal unexpected therapeutic mechanisms. Drs. Hooker and Quave also discuss why natural molecules often require modification to improve their safety, dosing, and selectivity before becoming medicines. Sensorium is applying this “motifs to medicines” strategy to investigational programs for anxiety, drug-resistant epilepsy, and cognition, with its lead anxiety candidate now in early-stage clinical testing. Learn more about Sensorium Therapeutics at https://www.sensorium.bio/. Read Dr. Hooker’s essays and interviews on neuroscience, psychiatry, and the care of the mind at https://aetherinmind.substack.com/. Follow Dr. Hooker on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-hooker-91341112/ and on X at @jmhooker. #FoodiePharmacology #Ethnobotany #NaturalProducts #DrugDiscovery #Neuroscience #MentalHealth #AnxietyResearch #MedicinalPlants #AI #ChemicalBiology #Neuropharmacology

See All (100)

4.9
out of 5
89 Ratings

About

Foodie Pharmacology is the science podcast for the food curious! Dr. Quave is co-creator and host of the show. She speaks with leading experts on certain crops, sustainable farming methods, medicinal plants, and explores the pharmacology--or health impact--of our food through weekly episodes! You can also tune in through subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Leave comments and ratings on episodes! Dr. Quave loves to hear from the #FoodiePharmacology fans!

Information

  • Creator
    Co-Conspiracy Entertainment
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

You Might Also Like