Episodes

  • What's the Buzz on Eating Bugs? Can Insects Really Save the World?

    What's the Buzz on Eating Bugs? Can Insects Really Save the World?
    Aug 20 2024
    About ten years ago, insects were constantly being hyped as the future of food. Headlines proclaimed that, within the decade, everyone would be eating bugs as part of their daily diet—and saving the planet in the process. But while the buzz on edible insects hasn’t completely turned to crickets, the ento-revolution hasn't proceeded exactly as planned. In the Western world, insects are not yet what's for dinner, and, even in parts of the world where bugs are a traditional and treasured part of the cuisine, their consumption is on the decline. So what's the deal? Can edible insects really help solve climate change and world hunger? And, if so, what's stopping us from jumping on the bug bandwagon? Listen in this episode as we debunk insect conspiracy theories and sexist archaeology, savor tangy ants and a cicada bonanza, and visit Madagascar to tell the heart-warming tale of how a bacon-flavored bug is helping feed villagers, while saving an adorable primate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • The Billion Dollar War Behind U.S. Rum (Planet Money)

    The Billion Dollar War Behind U.S. Rum (Planet Money)
    Aug 6 2024
    When you buy a bottle of rum in the United States, by law nearly all the federal taxes on that rum must be sent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's an unusual system that Congress designed decades ago to help fund these two U.S. territories. In 2021 alone, these rum tax payments added up to more than $700 million. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands split the money according to how much rum each territory produces. And the territories produce a lot of it — especially Puerto Rico, which single handedly supplies the majority of the rum that Americans drink. But in 2008, the U.S. Virgin Islands pulled off a coup. It convinced one of the largest rum brands in the world, Captain Morgan, to abandon Puerto Rico and to shift its operations to the tiny island of St. Croix. This was the beginning of the Rum Wars. Listen in to the story of how this war turned the two territories into bitter rivals—and put hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer money in the pockets of big liquor companies. (Guest episode) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • The Interstitium (Radiolab)

    The Interstitium (Radiolab)
    Jul 23 2024
    Guest episode: In this episode we introduce you to a part of our bodies that was invisible to Western scientists until about five years ago; it’s called "the interstitium," a vast network of fluid channels inside the tissues around our organs that scientists have just begun to see, name, and understand. Along the way we look at how new technologies rub up against long-standing beliefs, and how millions of scientists and doctors failed to see what was right in front (and inside!) of their noses. We also find out how mapping the anatomy of this hidden infrastructure may help solve one of the fundamental mysteries of cancer, and perhaps provide a bridge between ancient and modern medicine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • Are Hush Puppies Racist? Is A2 Milk Really Healthier? And What's Up With Wedding Cake? Ask Gastropod!

    Are Hush Puppies Racist? Is A2 Milk Really Healthier? And What's Up With Wedding Cake? Ask Gastropod!
    Jul 9 2024
    You asked, and we’re answering—again! Ask Gastropod returns to answer some of our listeners’ most pressing culinary queries: how did elaborate, expensive cakes become the standard dessert for weddings? Did the deep fried cornmeal blobs known as “hush puppies” get their name from Confederate soldiers or racist stories from the plantation-era South? And could a trendy "new" variety of milk (that's actually ancient) allow the dairy-intolerant to snarf down cheese and ice cream without digestive consequences? This episode, we’re diving deep on the science, dispelling some myths, and correcting the historical record with the help of a team of experts. Listen in now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • Why Does Everyone Have Food Allergies These Days?

    Why Does Everyone Have Food Allergies These Days?
    Jun 25 2024
    It's not your imagination, food allergies are really on the rise. One recent study found that severe allergic reactions to food have increased by more than 300 percent over the past decade. And they don't just affect Americans or kids—they're on the rise in adults around the world. Even pets are getting food allergies. So what's going on? Why would your body decide that food—something that's actually essential to keeping you alive—needs to be attacked like a dangerous invader? And why would we evolve a defense mechanism that can end up killing us? This episode, we've got the history and the latest scientist on food allergies: what they are, what causes them, how they're different from food intolerance and sensitivity, and what we can do about them. Join us on a wild journey from ancient Pharoahs to the future of medicine, via jellyfish, Calvin Coolidge, and "rose fever," as we figure this all out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • The Bagelization of America (encore)

    The Bagelization of America (encore)
    Jun 18 2024
    Today, it’s a breakfast staple, but, as recently as 1960, The New York Times had to define it for readers—as “an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis.” That’s right, this episode is all about the bagel, that shiny, ring-shaped, surprisingly dense bread that makes the perfect platform for cream cheese and lox. Where did it come from? Can you get a decent bagel outside New York City? And what does it have in common with the folding ping-pong table? Come get your hot, fresh bagel science and history here! (encore edition) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • The Birth of Cool: How Refrigeration Changed Everything

    The Birth of Cool: How Refrigeration Changed Everything
    Jun 11 2024
    For as long as we’ve been making Gastropod, co-host Nicky has also been working on another project: writing a book all about refrigeration. Well, time to pop the champagne you’ve had stashed in the icebox, because that book comes out June 25—and we’re giving Gastropod listeners an exclusive preview! This episode, Cynthia and Nicky talk about how a high school dropout's get-rich-quick scheme, some deadly explosions, and lots and lots of beer brought us the humming boxes of cold now ubiquitous in the modern kitchen—and how the proliferation of this portable, on-demand winter has transformed our food (not always for the better) while heating up our planet. It's almost impossible to imagine living without a fridge, but Nicky’s book totally changed the way we look at preserving food. Is there a better way? Listen to find out, and for the rest of the story, be sure to pre-order Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Omega 1-2-3 (encore)

    Omega 1-2-3 (encore)
    Jun 4 2024
    Based on all the hype, you'd be forgiven for believing that the fish oils known as omega-3s are the solution to every problem. Heart disease, dementia, depression, even obesity—the list of ailments that experts claim a daily dose of omega-3 can help prevent seems endless. And with more than ten percent of Americans taking a capsule of fish oil daily, omega-3s are one of the most profitable supplements in the world, too. Listen in this episode, as author Paul Greenberg and scientist JoAnn Manson help us figure out what these supposedly miracle molecules are, and what consuming them is doing to our bodies—and to our oceans. (Encore presentation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins