Bacon, bratwurst, bangers, barbecue: these are just a few of the many ways people around the world enjoy feasting on pigs. Of all the domesticated animals humans consume, Sus scrofa domesticus is the most fascinating, the most divisive, and, arguably, the most delicious.
In this in-depth conversation with author and historian Mark Essig, author of the book ... Show More
Jan 13
Canned Tomatoes and the Myth of the San Marzano
Canned tomatoes are a perfect winter food. As you'll know from our tomato episode, the beautiful fruits in fresh aisle of the supermarket are mostly flavorless outside of the summer season—but the tomatoes that get packed in a can are cheap, readily available, and, most important ... Show More
50m 16s
Dec 16
Is Your Cinnamon Fake? Where Does Kefir Come From? Plus: Why Is Citric Acid In Everything? Ask Gastropod!
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 cinnamon on grocery store shelves actually fake? That’s one question we’re investigating this week on behalf of you, dear listeners, in the latest ... Show More
42m 33s
Dec 2
Forget Plain Vanilla: You'll Never See The World's Favorite Flavor the Same Way Again
Today, 'vanilla' often means boring, and yet the edible seedpod of this Central American orchid is one of the most expensive spices in the world, not to mention one of the most popular flavors globally. So how did this coveted bean get such a ho-hum reputation? Listen in this epi ... Show More
50m 45s
Oct 2020
The meat we eat affects us all
In this special episode of the Future Perfect podcast, neuroscientist Lori Marino helps us understand how arbitrarily we draw the lines between animals as pets and animals as food, and how we might redraw those lines.
Subscribe to Future Perfect on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or you ... Show More
35m 4s
Apr 2021
#59: The Pig Farm Serial Killer (Case - Robert Pickton)
<p>Did you know pigs will eat anything?<br /><br />
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<p>The Pickton Pig Farm - was isolated, private, had its own slaughterhouse equipped with commercial freezers, and hundreds of very hungry pigs. </p>
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The farm was well known by locals for many things - mainly t ... Show More
2h 28m
Mar 2022
Rob Percival, "The Meat Paradox: Eating, Empathy, and the Future of Meat" (Pegasus, 2022)
Our future diet will be shaped by diverse forces. It will be shaped by novel technologies, by geopolitical tensions, and the evolution of cultural preferences, by shocks to the status quo-- pandemics and economic strife, the escalation of the climate and ecological crises--and by ... Show More
47m 23s