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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 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
  • Sugar's Dark Shadow

    Sugar's Dark Shadow
    May 28 2024
    Your pantry's sweetest ingredient has an extremely bitter history. The sap-producing grass known as sugarcane has been grown and enjoyed by humans for at least 10,000 years, but it was only relatively recently that it went from a luxury to an everyday ingredient—a change that also triggered genocide, slavery, and the invention of modern racism. In this episode, how the Crusades got Europeans addicted to the sweet stuff, and how that appetite deforested southern Europe and kicked off the trade in enslaved Africans, before decimating indigenous populations in the New World and codifying racism into law. It's a dark story that involves Christopher Columbus' mistress, the early human rights advocate whose campaign to save indigenous people encouraged the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, and a trip to southern Louisiana, where we met Black sugarcane farmers to explore sugar's troubling legacy there. No sugar coating here: join us for the fascinating and horrifying history of this household staple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 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

What listeners say about Gastropod

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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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