Gastropod

Vox Media Podcast Network
  • 4.7 (3.4K)
  • FOOD
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY
Gastropod

Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.

  1. 1D AGO

    Nutrition Advice Decoded: What Foods Are Actually Good For Us, What Should We Avoid, and Why Is It All SO Confusing?

    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 you live longer?  If you're confused about what nutrition science has to say about which foods are healthy and which are not, you're not alone. But why is it so hard to figure out what's good for us, and why does the advice seem to change constantly? This week on Gastropod, we reveal the hidden history of how nutrition science got started, why its early successes saved millions of lives, and how those successes then led the field astray. From debunking the Blue Zones, to the discredited “French paradox” that had everyone washing their Brie down with glasses of red wine, to the most recent research on ultra-processed foods, we’re breaking down how nutrition research actually gets done—and what that means for what should be on your plate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 1m

  2. MAR 11

    The Rise and Fall of Quinoa: From Incan "Superfood" to Buddha Bowl Basic

    Quinoa is everywhere these days, the base for a million salads and grain bowls. But, until recently, barely anyone outside the nutritious seed's ancient's homeland—the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes—had ever heard of it. This week, we're telling the story of how a gorgeous spinach-like plant traditionally grown in a remote, high-altitude region of South America was transformed into one of the hottest foods on the shelves at Whole Foods. This is a tale that began with Coloradan hippies, the deliberate invention of a new Peruvian gastronomy, and beer, but truly took off when the United Nations declared that this so-called "superfood" was the secret to solving global hunger, adapting to climate change, and rescuing Andean farmers from poverty. So, did quinoa deliver? Listen in now for the story behind your next Buddha bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    52 min
  3. The Shocking True Story of the World's First Seed Bank—And The Scientists Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Save It

    FEB 25

    The Shocking True Story of the World's First Seed Bank—And The Scientists Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Save It

    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 desperate: they ate boiled leather, machine oil, toothpaste, and wallpaper paste just to stay alive. But, in the center of the city, a group of botanists spent their days surrounded by food that they refused to touch—nuts, seeds, and even a basement full of potatoes—even as several of them starved to death. The seeds for which these scientists were willing to sacrifice their lives formed the collection of the world's very first seed bank: a library of crop varieties that contained the genetic diversity future generations of plant breeders have relied on to feed the world. In this episode, the story of the almost unimaginable bravery that lies behind the food we eat today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    51 min

  4. FEB 11

    No Buzz Booze: The History and Science of Going Low- or No-Alcohol

    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 in the past, when dealcoholized options were few and far between—and had a well-deserved reputation for tasting bad—there’s now a booming market for non-alcoholic beers, wines, canned cocktails, and even spirits for the so-called "sober curious." But how do they get the booze out of our favorite tipples—and why is hard to keep the flavor? Gastropod is here to investigate! Join us for the history of breakfast beer, worker’s wine, and Welch’s Prohibition-era roots, as well as the science behind the “spinning cone” technology that revolutionized the world of non-alcoholic beverages. Plus: our hosts and a few brave volunteers put their taste buds on the line to find out which of these new drinks is worth swapping for the hard stuff, and which they wish they'd left on the shelf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    56 min

  5. JAN 28

    Moon Rocks Wanted (guest episode)

    (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. But the phone number on the ad didn't lead to, say, a store front in a strip mall. Instead, the phone number belonged to Special Agent Joe Gutheinz at NASA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    41 min

  6. JAN 14

    Is My Dentist Scamming Me? (guest episode)

    (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 of dentistry, ask why it seems so different from internal medicine, and drill down on why dental insurance doesn’t really feel like insurance. Explain It To Me's host Jonquilyn Hill talks with journalist Mary Otto and Dr. Lisa Simon, DMD, MD, to find the answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    48 min

  7. 12/17/2024

    Why Are Kids Dipping Cookies in Ranch, Are Food Comas Real, and What's Inside the Mummy's Stomach?

    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 mysteries both large and small, both ancient and eternal, and, honestly, all totally fascinating. Such as: What is up with ranch dressing, and how did a bottled salad dressing invented by a plumber and owned by a cleaning products company become *the* flavor of America? What did Europe's oldest human mummy, found frozen in the Alps, eat before his mountain trek—and why could no one find his stomach for twenty years? And, in news you can use this holiday season, why does a “food coma” make you drowsy and slow after a big holiday meal? We’ve got the answers to all of these fabulous listener queries in our latest installment, featuring murder in the Alps, a bathtub full of ranch, and more sea slugs than you might expect. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    55 min

  8. 12/10/2024

    Hacking Taste (encore)

    Taste is the oldest of our five senses, and yet perhaps the least understood. It's far more complicated than salty versus sweet: new research is dramatically expanding our knowledge of taste, showing that it's intimately connected to obesity, mood, immunity, and more. In this episode, we get into the science of how taste works, why we taste what we do, and what makes supertasters unique. And finally, we hack our taste buds—for fun, but, in the future, maybe for health, too. (encore) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    46 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
3,403 Ratings

About

Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.

Information

  • Channel
    Vox Media Podcast Network
  • Creator
    Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2025
  • Episodes
    261
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021 Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
  • Show Website
    Gastropod

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