logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
50m 48s

Emily J. H. Contois and Zenia Kish, "Foo...

Marshall Poe
About this episode

Image by image and hashtag by hashtag, Instagram has redefined the ways we relate to food. Emily J. H. Contois and Zenia Kish’s edited book Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation (published by the University of Illinois Press in 2022) explore the massively popular social media platform as a space for self-identification, influence, transformation, and resistance. Artists and journalists join a wide range of scholars to look at food’s connection to Instagram from vantage points as diverse as Hong Kong’s camera-centric foodie culture, the platform’s long history with feminist eateries, and the photography of Australia’s livestock producers. What emerges is a portrait of an arena where people do more than build identities and influence. Users negotiate cultural, social, and economic practices in a place that, for all its democratic potential, reinforces entrenched dynamics of power.

Interdisciplinary in approach and transnational in scope, Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation offers general readers and experts alike new perspectives on an important social media space and its impact on a fundamental area of our lives.

Rituparna Patgiri, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. She has a PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Her research interests lie in the areas of food, media, gender and public. She is also one of the co-founders of Doing Sociology. Patgiri can be reached at @Rituparna37 on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Up next
Oct 7
In The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift Addresses Love, Glamour, and Grit
It’s The Pop Culture Professors, and we review Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl.” We consider the album’s themes: love, nostalgia, how hard it is to be famous, and how the internet is bad. We set the songs in the context of Taylor’s wider career and public persona ... Show More
30m 55s
Oct 4
Audrey Golden, "Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats" (Da Capo Press, 2025)
In Shouting Out Loud: Lives of The Raincoats (Da Capo Press, 2025) Audrey Golden traces the history of the iconic band The Raincoats staring of the founding by Art students Gina Birch and Ana da Silva in 1977. Since the release of their seminal early records, the band has been re ... Show More
43m 17s
Oct 2
Eric T. Jennings, "Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean" (Yale UP, 2025)
Vanilla is one of the most expensive of flavorings—so valuable that it was smuggled or stolen by pirates in the early days—and yet it is everywhere. It is a key ingredient in dishes ranging from crème brûlée to Japanese purin. It is the quintessential ice cream flavor in the Unit ... Show More
51m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
The Patriarchy Playbook: How America’s Gendered Hierarchy Endures with Anna Malika Tubbs
This week on The Monday Edit, we have a very special guest joining in on the Monday fun: best selling author Anna Malaika Tubbs stopped by to tell us all about her new book, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us and helps us hone in on real time examples of our Patr ... Show More
35m 20s
May 2025
Data-Driven Storytelling & Anti-Authoritarian Journalism | Mona Chalabi
In this episode of The afikra Podcast, we're joined by renowned journalist Mona Chalabi who discusses her latest animated series "#1 Happy Family USA" with comedian Ramy Youssef, her unique data-driven and illustrated approach to journalism, and the use of humor as an effective c ... Show More
45m 27s
Oct 6
Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India
Selfies are more than fleeting images—across India, they shape how people imagine themselves, connect with others, and inhabit spaces. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Xenia Zeiler from the University of Helsinki talks to Prof. Avishek Ray about his co-authored b ... Show More
25m 30s
Dec 2023
Dolly Kikon and Joel Rodrigues, "Food Journeys: Stories from the Heart" (Zubaan Books, 2023)
Food Journeys: Stories from the Heart (Zubaan Books, 2023) is a powerful collection that draws on personal experiences, and the meaning of grief, rage, solidarity, and life. Feminist anthropologist Dolly Kikon and peace researcher Joel Rodrigues present a wide-ranging set of stor ... Show More
50m 4s
Feb 2025
Curating Art Shows at Jaou Tunis & Navigating Artistic & Cultural Politics | Taous Dahmani
In this episode of The afikra Podcast, host Mikey Muhanna chats with Dr Taous Dahmani, a London-based art historian, writer, and curator. She discusses her career, her ties to Tunis, and curating the exhibitions Unstable Point and Assembly at Jaou Tunis. She explores the socio-po ... Show More
50m 47s
Sep 8
Photographer Yumna Al-Arashi: Yemen, Identity, and Challenging Perceptions
A captivating episode with Yemeni-Egyptian artist Yumna Al-Arashi who discusses her upbringing in Washington D.C., the impact of the 2017 executive order (often referred to as the "Muslim ban") on her family, and how her art explores themes of identity, feminism, sexuality, heali ... Show More
53m 56s
Jul 30
Zanny Minton Beddoes: What It Takes to Lead The Economist
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, has carved out a remarkable global career in journalism and economics — one that spans continents and cultures. In this special live episode recorded at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Zanny joins Emily for a conversation about he ... Show More
39m 24s
Oct 2023
Chrissy Yee Lau, "New Women of Empire: Gendered Politics and Racial Uplift in Interwar Japanese America" (U Washington Press, 2022)
This episode, which is co-hosted with Mika Thornburg, features a conversation with Dr. Chrissy Yee Lau, the author of the newly published New Women of Empire: Gendered Politics and Racial Uplift in Interwar Japanese America (U Washington Press, 2022). The book centers the compell ... Show More
56m 21s
Nov 2024
Leen Al Zaben | Building a Real Arab Culinary Community
Vanessa Zuabi interviews Leen Al Zaben in this one in two Matbakh special, recorded live on stage at What The Food by alserkal in Dubai. They discuss Leen's unexpected journey into the food industry, which began 15 years ago as a food blog and evolved into a full-blown career. Th ... Show More
29m 39s
Mar 2025
Hemangini Gupta, "Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India" (U California Press, 2024)
Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India (U California Press, 2024) is an in-depth ethnography of the transformation of Bengaluru/Bangalore from a site of "backend" IT work to an aspirational global city of enterprise and innovation. The book journeys ... Show More
41m 59s