147 | Rachel Laudan on Cuisine, Culture,...

At any given moment, an uncountable number of events are happening, but only some of them matter to us. What does it mean for something to matter, and more importantly, what does it mean for us to matter -- to ourselves as well as to others? The need to matter can be motivation t ... Show More

It's become increasingly clear that the Turing Test -- determining whether human interlocutors can tell whether a conversation is being carried out by a human or a machine -- is not a good way to think about consciousness. Modern LLMs can mimic human conversation with extraordina ... Show More

Time for the holiday message! Rounding off the year with a brief and casual reflection on some issue that doesn't quite rise to the level of a full solo podcast. And hopefully something uplifting.This year, I offer a short apologia for higher education in the liberal arts and sci ... Show More

EDU Headline Roundup: Supreme Court Rulings Impacting U.S. SchoolsLast week saw historic rulings from the Supreme Court on President Biden's student debt relief plan and affirmative action in college admissions. SCOTUS' rulings on these two issues have far-reaching implications. ... Show More

Sami Zubaida talked about culinary cultures of the Middle East, drinks and social boundaries, and the history of his chosen single dish: Koshari.Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London and has held visiting positions in Cairo ... Show More

What’s in a calorie? So much more than what you see on a box of cereal or a restaurant menu. The story of the nutritional calorie is the story of U.S. empire, dating back to the late 1800s when government agencies used it to determine just how little they could feed people in the ... Show More

<p>Gail Simmons is the ultimate culinary multi-hyphenate. Though she’s perhaps best known for her 21-season tenure as judge on the competition reality show <em>Top Chef</em>, which debuts its latest season on March 20, she’s also made a lasting impact on so many other areas of fo ... Show More

Hillary is joined by chefs Samin Nosrat and José Andrés to discuss all things food, from the struggle too many Americans are facing to feed their families to the lighter side of things – like what it takes to make delicious beans. Then, Hillary chats with Rocco DeFazio, the owner ... Show More

This week Lilah goes to Savannah, Georgia, to visit chef Mashama Bailey. In 2022, Mashama won Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Awards. Since 2014, she has been chef and partner at The Grey, a restaurant located in a formerly segregated bus station. And she has been redefining ... Show More

<p>In this Matbakh event, we talked to Bethany Kehdy about her writings on cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. Bethany was elected one of the four Mediterranean Food Ambassadors in 2012 and won several awards for publishing “The Jewelled Kitchen” in 2013. ... Show More

<p>Daniel Newman talked about his work on travel, geography and food in the 19th century.</p><p><strong>Daniel Newman </strong>holds the Chair of Arabic Studies at the University of Durham (UK). His research and publications have centred on Arabic geographical and travel literatu ... Show More

This weekend, we look at our culture through new lenses. First, we go to Mexico. Lilah speaks to James Beard Award-winning chef Pati Jinich about how diplomacy is sometimes better achieved through the language of food. Then, anthropologist and FT columnist Gillian Tett looks at s ... Show More