Five centuries ago, before Spanish conquistadors arrived, what's now Mexico City was the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan—and it took the European invaders' breath away. It was built on an island threaded with canals; it was one of the largest cities in the world; and the Spanish could hardly believe the sheer volume of food sold in the city's main market, let ... Show More
Jun 24
Ask Gastropod: Bubblegum, Meal Kits, and the Real Truth About Rooibos
What do bubblegum, rooibos tea, and meal kits have in common? They’re all topics that puzzle and fascinate you, dear Gastropod listeners. This episode, we're getting to the bottom of your most pressing culinary questions! Such as: Are meal kits really better for the planet than b ... Show More
50m 13s
May 27
Bananageddon! Say Goodbye to *the* Banana, and Hello to the Weird and Wonderful World of Bananas, Plural
Yes, it's true: the banana we know and love is going the way of the dodo bird. An incurable strain of the fungal Panama disease known as TR4 is currently wiping out tens of thousands of acres of banana plantations, from Malaysia to Australia and Mozambique to El Salvador. But wha ... Show More
54m 13s
Jan 2025
Steven Shapin, "Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Ourselves" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
What we eat, who we are, and the relationship between the two. Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Ourselves (University of Chicago Press, 2024) is a history of Western thinking about food, eating, knowledge, and ourselves. In modern thought, eating is about w ... Show More
44m 31s
Jan 2025
Steven Shapin, "Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Ourselves" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
What we eat, who we are, and the relationship between the two. Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Ourselves (University of Chicago Press, 2024) is a history of Western thinking about food, eating, knowledge, and ourselves. In modern thought, eating is about w ... Show More
44m 31s
Feb 2019
Animal Facts Part 3: A Doughnut Brain, Dung and the Milky Way, Ant Overlords and More
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start by looking at the massive creature that has a doughnut shaped brain with its esophagus running right through the middle.
Next we discuss Wix! Go to https://www.wix.com/go/brainfood to get started on your website today!
Check out ou ... Show More
57m 16s
Nov 2021
Demet Güzey, "Mustard: A Global History" (Reaktion Books, 2019)
Whether grainy or smooth, spicy or sweet, Dijon, American, or English, mustard accompanies our food and flavors our life around the globe. It has been a source of pleasure, health, and myth from ancient times to the present day, its tiny seed a symbol of faith and its pungent fla ... Show More
22m 50s
Sep 2023
395. Facing the Politics of Our Food System Head On
Following a sneak peek screening of the new Food, Inc. 2, Dani sat down with Michael Pollan of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Marion Nestle of Food Politics, and the filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo. They discuss the biggest changes they have observed since the release of Fo ... Show More
51m 13s
Jul 2024
Fed: The invention of chicken
Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken.He’s ... Show More
26m 28s
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
Sep 2024
The Times They Are a-Changin'
This episode first aired back in December of 2013, and at the start of that new year, the team was cracking open fossils, peering back into ancient seas, and looking up at lunar skies only to find that a year is not quite as fixed as we thought it was.With the help of paleontolog ... Show More
24m 54s