In the midst of the English literary revival of the late 1300s, the household chefs of Richard II compiled the first cookbook in the English language. In the episode, we examine the cookbook known as 'The Forme of Cury,' and we explore the nature of food and cooking in medieval England. We also look at how the culinary arts shaped the English language.
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Jul 15
Episode 184: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 1)
Over the course of the 1500s, English spelling started to become standardized, but the pronunciation of the language continued to change. By the early 1600s, English scholars noticed that spellings no longer reflected the way words were pronounced, and they recommended phonetic r ... Show More
1h 20m
May 13
Episode 183: The Fabric of Our Lives
In the early 1600s, cotton fabrics made in India were in high demand throughout Asia and Africa. When the English and Dutch arrived in India and Japan, they realized how popular the fabric was, and they soon began to ship it back to northern Europe. In this episode, we explore ho ... Show More
1h 16m
Mar 2025
Episode 182: World of Confusion
In the early 1600s, English began to spread around the world as speakers searched for new trading partners and new places to settle. Through that process, English become an international language, but as English speakers encountered people and languages in distant places, they so ... Show More
1h 15m
Sep 2018
Macabre Part 1: The Gruesome Tale of Burke and Hare
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we begin by discussing a random quick fact involving the curious old practice of mailing children.
We then move on to discussing the show’s first sponsor, RXBar. For 25% off your first order, visit https://rxbar.com/brainfood and enter the ... Show More
1h 31m
Oct 2019
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 2)
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at that time the United States government banned pre-sliced bread… Really.
Next up, we have a brief message from a sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in ju ... Show More
51m 6s
Nov 2019
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Foods (Part 1)
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at the interesting reason why milk is white, yet cheddar cheese is yellow/orange.
Next up, we have a brief message from our sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction bo ... Show More
57m 3s