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Gastropod

By: Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
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  • Summary

  • Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.
    2021 Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
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Episodes
  • The World Is Your Oyster: How Our Favorite Shellfish Could Save Coastlines Worldwide

    The World Is Your Oyster: How Our Favorite Shellfish Could Save Coastlines Worldwide
    Apr 2 2024
    If we at Gastropod were asked to name a perfect food, the oyster would be at the top of our list. Oysters are pretty much always our answer to the question of what we'd like to eat this evening—but are they also the answer to the slow-motion disaster of disappearing coastlines worldwide? Join us this episode as we discover how this magical mollusk contains a pearl of hope in the fight to counter rising sea-levels, prevent erosion, and buffer storm surges everywhere from hurricane-hit New Orleans to New York City's flood-prone fringes. But be prepared: you just might join the ranks of the oyster obsessed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Eat This, Not That: The Surprising Science of Personalized Nutrition (encore)

    Eat This, Not That: The Surprising Science of Personalized Nutrition (encore)
    Mar 26 2024
    This episode, we've got the exclusive on the preliminary results of the world's largest personalized nutrition experiment. Genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector launched the study, called PREDICT, to answer a simple but important question: do we each respond to different foods differently? And, if so, why? How much of that difference is genetic, how much is due to gut microbes, and how much is due to any one of the dozens of other factors that scientists think affect our metabolic processes? You’ve heard of personalized medicine, will there be such a thing as personalized diets? And should there be? Can teasing out the nuances of how each individual body processes different foods make us all healthier? To find out, we signed ourselves up as study participants, sticking pins in our fingers, weighing our food, and providing fecal samples, all for science—and for you, dear listeners. Listen in now as we take part in this ground-breaking study, discover our own differences, and find out the early results! (Encore episode) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • Bam! How Did Cajun Flavor Take Over the World?

    Bam! How Did Cajun Flavor Take Over the World?
    Mar 19 2024
    If "Cajun-style" only makes you think of spicy chicken sandwiches and popcorn shrimp, you need to join us in the Big Easy this episode, to meet the real Cajun flavor. Cajun cuisine and its close cousin, Creole, were born out of the unique landscape of the Mississippi River delta, whose bounty was sufficient to support large, complex Indigenous societies, without the need for farming or even social hierarchies, for thousands of years. Europeans were slow to appreciate the wealth of this waterlogged country, but, as waves of French, Spanish, and American colonists and enslaved Africans arrived in Louisiana and the port of New Orleans, they all shaped the food that makes it famous today. But it would take a formerly enslaved woman turned international celebrity chef, a legendary restaurant that's hosted Freedom Riders, U.S. presidents, and Queen B, and a blackened redfish craze to turn Louisiana's flavorsome food into a global trend. Come on down to the bayou this episode, as we catch crawfish and cook up a storm to tell the story of how Cajun and Creole flavors ended up on home-cooking shows, in Disney movies, and at drive-throughs nationwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
Art World Food & Wine Science
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Featured Article: Go Beyond the Lab with the Best Science Podcasts for Curious Listeners


Our picks for the best science podcasts run the gamut from general scientific trivia to earth science, outer space, food, plants, the human body, and much more. They're all accessible—any listener can learn about scientific history, breaking science news, and visions for the future from these shows, which often feature interviews with a variety of interesting experts who provide valuable insight, perspective, context, and clarity.

Featured Article Go Beyond the Lab with the Best Science Podcasts for Curious Listeners

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Profile Image for Emleo

The perfect podcast for foodies

Lovers of food, science and history will love Gastropod. My daughter and I have been learning all sorts of interesting facts about random foods. I appreciate how deep Cynthia and Nicola dive, and their interview and conversational style is engaging and witty.

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Profile Image for Bookwyrme

So much fun, so much information!

These two know their stuff & have fun sharing their knowledge. They cover history, science, taste, and travel with flair. They invite plenty of knowledgeable people to share as well. And the production value is good. I have been listening to Gastropod for a couple of years now and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

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Profile Image for Dylan Graves

Absolutely Amazing

I’ve been listening to Cynthia and Nicky for years. Their dynamic together is incredible. I love how through it all they’ve kept to form as a food podcast, where others have strayed from their original content. Everything from curry to bagels and even now during the pandemic they are going strong. I eagerly await each new episode by revisiting old ones.

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