Gastropod Vox Media Podcast Network

Whether it's via TikTok or the morning news, you’ve probably heard the recent hype (and hand-wringing) about new prescription weight-loss medications with names like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. These drugs were originally developed to treat diabetes, but, in some patients, they've had a surprising side effect: they seem to silence feelings of hunger, leading to significant weight loss. This episode, Gastropod goes behind the headlines to ask: What is hunger, anyway? And what do we know about how to switch it on or off? Join us for a story that involves lizard saliva, synthesizer shopping, and a disorder that can lead people to eat until their stomachs burst, as we explore these universal feelings—hunger and fullness—that shape our lives, and bookend every meal.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fish & chips: a golden hunk of battered cod, accompanied by thick-cut French fries, lightly sprinkled with malt vinegar, and wrapped up in a newspaper.... It's as British as cricket, cream teas, the class system, and colonialism, but it's actually the relatively recent marriage of a Jewish fish-frying tradition and a Franco-Belgian potato snack. What's more, in something of a twist, the fish itself—cod, a burly bottom-feeder with tender, flaky white flesh—ended up helping fuel U.S. independence. This episode, we're telling the peculiar story of how two non-British foods became such a quintessentially British dish—and how our appetites transformed international relations, as well as an entire ocean ecosystem.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the 13th element on the periodic table, it glows in the dark, and it spontaneously combusts if it gets any hotter than 80 degrees Fahrenheit; little surprise, then, that phosphorus is known as “the devil’s element.” But this satanic substance is also essential to all life on earth, which is why it's a key ingredient in fertilizer—without which, researchers estimate, we could only grow enough food for half as many humans as are alive today. The incredible crop-growing powers of phosphorus have led humans to do some pretty extreme things to get it—from seizing Pacific islands to scavenging bones from Europe’s most famous battlefields—but they’ve also created a devilish paradox. The world is running out of phosphorus, and yet there’s way too much of it running off farm fields into rivers, lakes, and oceans, where it fuels toxic algae blooms. This episode, we've got the story behind the phosphorus paradox, as we ask: is there any way to fertilize the planet without sending it to hell?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The squish of bananas, the squeak of mushrooms, the pop of a grape: for some people, these textures are a delight—but for others, they’re a total nightmare. Texture plays a huge role in how we experience food, and yet it’s kind of a scientific conundrum. Why do people—and entire cultures—experience the feeling of food differently, and what’s going on in our mouths when we do? To find out, we talk to scientists who've experimented with tooth-mounted microphones, tongue twists modeled after pro swimmers, and all-you-can-eat buffets. Plus, we go on a New York City Q adventure (mochi doughnuts and boba tea!), and hear from lots of you listeners about the feelings that make you squirm and swoon. Join us this episode and get up in your mouthfeels.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can bread really grow on trees? This episode, meet the all-star, super productive, low-maintenance, gluten-free carbohydrate of the future. Did we mention it's also delicious? How can one fruit—that's also a vegetable and a staple starch—become chips, crackers, and cheesecake, while also serving as the perfect platform for sour cream and cheese when baked like a potato? And, if it's so great, why in the world did the mutineers on HMS Bounty throw its seedlings overboard? Today, believers say this one tree could be a potential solution to climate change, deforestation, food insecurity, and world hunger. Join us as we taste this wonder fruit for ourselves, and find out whether the hype is real. Can breadfruit really help save the world?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Polynesians first arrived in Hawai'i some 1,500 years ago, they found islands that were lush, beautiful...and nearly devoid of anything to eat. Luckily, those sailors had packed a very special snack for their 2,500-mile voyage: a starchy, carbohydrate-rich root called taro, which ended up becoming as essential to the isolated Pacific archipelago as rice or wheat elsewhere. It was the original partner to cubed fish in Hawai'i's traditional poke bowl—which today has become super popular (minus the taro) around the world. Join us on a tropical adventure as we discover why this revered plant nearly died out on Hawai'i, even as it popped up in chip form at Whole Foods, and what it might take to bring it back.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices