logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
27m 18s

Table talk

Bbc World Service
About this episode

What do you and your family chat about at dinner? We eavesdrop on conversations over food all over the world, hearing about poetry, politics, what is on TV and how Morag’s leg is recovering.

Whether you gossip or have more philosophical debates find out how integral good communication is while we are eating, often marking the only point in the day or week when a family gathers together.

We learn why a matchmaker thinks a dinner date might not be such a good idea after all if you want the conversation to flow. And, psychotherapist Philippa Perry tells us how to keep the peace with the family over Sunday lunch.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Hannah Bewley and Rumella Dasgupta

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Image: Family and friends sit around the dinner table. Credit: BBC)

Up next
Jan 15
Should we all eat the Mediterranean way?
The Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, pulses and olive oil and traditionally includes small amounts of fish and very little red meat. Thousands of studies back its health benefits. In fact, it's considered to be one of the most widely researched diets in the world. But wh ... Show More
26m 27s
Jan 8
Tweaks for 2026: How to eat better
Ruth Alexander gathers the most useful, actionable nutrition advice from our episodes of 2025 to help set you up for 2026. Things like how to nourish your brain, keep an eye on portion sizes, and why it’s important to focus on fibre. Experts from around the world tell us about th ... Show More
26m 29s
Dec 25
Family ties
Food is at the centre of family life – on ordinary days, in the everyday rush, during the dramas, and the quieter moments too. In this episode, Ruth Alexander looks back at some of The Food Chain's most moving and intimate moments of 2025, all revealing the power food has to bind ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2021
Tracey Emin
<p>This is a conversation about food between two friends - Ruthie Rogers a chef, and Tracey Emin, an artist. Listen when you have a quiet time - time to hear Tracy convey to Ruthie what it meant to have the Salvation Army cook her and her brother Christmas dinner. </p> <p>Time to ... Show More
24m 35s
Jun 2020
Shared Plates: How Eating Together Makes Us Human
We love eating dinner together with friends and extended family, and we miss it! But why does sharing a meal mean so much—and can we ever recreate that on Zoom? As we wait for the dinner parties, cookouts, and potlucks of our post-pandemic future, join us as we explore the scienc ... Show More
43m 49s
Nov 2021
How to Disagree Productively and Find Common Ground | Julia Dhar
<p>Often it feels like the only thing we can agree on is that we can't agree on anything. World debate champion Julia Dhar offers three techniques to reshape the way we talk to each other so we can take our disagreements somewhere fruitful — over family dinners, during work meeti ... Show More
22m 1s
May 2022
Christiane Amanpour
<p>There is no such thing as a simple phone call with my beautiful friend Christiane Amanpour. Asking, as I did yesterday, where she’s been she answers “Ukraine”, asking where she is going, she says, “Afghanistan”.</p> <p>This is what it is like having a fearless friend you love, ... Show More
29m 23s
Dec 2021
Nigella Lawson
<p>For more than 30 years The&nbsp;River&nbsp;Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen,& ... Show More
21m 45s
Feb 2022
David Adjaye
<p>Architect Sir David Adjaye fuses beautiful design with strong values in everything he creates.</p> <p>Now living in Ghana, in episode 22 of Ruthie's Table 4, David talks with Ruthie about how food intimately connects him to the projects he works on, and what it means to him as ... Show More
23m 20s
Jan 2022
Kathleen Kennedy
<p>In a career that has spanned over four decades, Kathleen Kennedy has produced more than 60 movies. </p> <p>On Episode 19 of Ruthie's Table 4, she talks to Ruthie about <em>Star Wars </em>and <em>Indiana Jones,</em> telling stories of the food they ate on location. When sharing ... Show More
21m 39s
Jan 2022
Roo Rogers
<p>Social entrepreneur and family cook Roo Rogers had no ordinary childhood, but then his mother, Ruthie Rogers, was no ordinary mother.</p> <p>In episode 18 of Ruthie's Table 4, Ruthie talks with her son about his memories of growing up in Paris, visiting food markets and the qu ... Show More
21m 26s
Feb 2022
Maggie Gyllenhaal
<p>Tell anyone who works at The River Cafe that Maggie Gyllenhaal is coming in, and you will see a happy face.</p> <p>And if you listen to Episode 23 of The Ruthie's Table 4, you will understand why. She talks to Ruthie about eating only spinach pie while directing the Academy Aw ... Show More
21m 59s