There’s nothing left to say. I’ve read every editorial, every FaceBook post, every HuffPo screaming front page rant. I’m done. I’m done with the election, and I’m done even discussing it, or him. He who shall not be named. I had been calling him the apricot barbarian, but you know what? I love apricots, they’re delicious and pretty and when they’re ripe, they smell how I imagine Eden might have smelled, if Eden had been a real place and not just a setting for a fairy tale. Apricots are an incred...
Oct 11, 2016•34 min•Ep. 124
We're all really, really scared these days. Scared for the future, scared for the planet (well, some of us), scared of scary scaring clowns scaring kids, scared of scary clowns pretending to be legit candidates...OMG, so much scariness! And it's not even Halloween yet! But even worse than all that scary stuff...is GLUTEN! Oh no, GLUTEN! The big scary monster lurking in all our most delicious foods, like bread! Well, you all know how I feel about this, that unless you are straight-up legit diagno...
Oct 04, 2016•40 min•Ep. 123
It's special guest day here in the Foodiness Fallout Shelter! My new, once-in-a-while co-host, Emily Peterson, has taken time out from her busy life of cheffing, motherhood, chicken raising and occasional taxidermy to join us down here. You may know Emily from her HRN show, Sharp and Hot , but today we're doing a mini-series within my show, called Sharp and Blunt. Guess who's Blunt? Ha. We have lots of stuff in common and lots of similar food issues, so we're gonna kinda free-form it today, and,...
Sep 27, 2016•43 min•Ep. 122
@KarlMeltzer just broke the world record for the being fastest ever finisher of the entire Appalachian Trail, you know the Appalachian train, right? It’s a 2,190 mile hiking trail that runs along the East coast of the US, from Georgia to Maine. Now, I hike, and I’ve done little bitty bits of it, 4-5 miles here and there, on DAY hikes. I see people on the trail, with their huge packs and gaunt faces, and their lingering clouds of BO trailing behind them…and I give them major respect for undertaki...
Sep 20, 2016•33 min•Ep. 121
Today, on the season premiere of Let's Get Real !!! Ok, so a couple of changes are afoot here in the Foodiness Fallout Shelter. Well, no, actually the shelter is the same, I barely touched the place over the summer. It looks really great, and the biomass fuel HVAC system I built last winter is working great, too. Biomass is awesome, you guys know about biomass right? It’s using stuff like agricultural waste products to create energy? Like threshed wheat stalks and orange peels and broccoli stems...
Sep 13, 2016•34 min•Ep. 120
Today, on Let's Get Real ... It's the extended live version of "Cod Worms and Devil Dogs"! Can't remember what that is? It's the live theater piece I did back in March. This is the extended version, that I performed on Saturday. I worked so hard on this as a live show, that I'm not ready to put it to bed yet. So all you lucky listeners get to hear it today, instead of a regular episode. Live at 1:00 p.m. on www.heritageradionetwork.org as always, and later on letsgetrealshow.com, iTunes and Stit...
Jun 21, 2016•30 min•Ep. 119
I’m hiding out down here in the fallout shelter this week. I’m safe here, since we’re so deep underground and we filter our air. I can’t go outside anymore, since I seem to have developed terrible seasonal allergies, all of a sudden. Twice this spring I’ve been hit with weeks of a sore throat, major congestion, coughing. It’s not a cold, I feel fine underneath it all, and I’m convinced that it’s related to climate change. I never had any allergies before, so why now? I think there are invasive s...
Jun 07, 2016•34 min•Ep. 118
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in a very dark, grim place in my past... I waited tables at TGI Friday's. Yes, really. Hard to believe, I know, but I needed a job, I couldn't get hired anywhere else, and a friend got me the job. It was the early 90's, we were in a recession, I was depressed and dumpy looking, and no higher-end restaurant would give me the time of day, so I went the corporate route. For a few months... Suffice it to say, TGI and me...we didn't really, uh, "mesh"? My flai...
May 31, 2016•37 min•Ep. 117
Here, in corporate Big Food America, we apparently hold certain Foodiness truths to be self-evident, which is that all industrially produced foods are created Equal, that they are endowed by their corporate Creators with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are potentially destroying Life, crushing the Liberty of the small farmer and the pursuit of profitable Happiness for those running the corporations.- Sorry, I’ve been thinking about American holidays, and the 4th is right around the ...
May 24, 2016•31 min•Ep. 116
So I’ve got babies on the brain. Everywhere I go, everyone I know and see is breeding, birthing, being fruitful and multiplying as if babies were going out of style or were about to be banned or rationed by the government. Brooklyn is baby-breeding central. I miss the old NYC where once you had kids you moved out, fearing for their lives. Not me, of course, I’m too old, that ship has sailed and there’s no turning back into the wind now. Oh sure, so-called well-meaning people say to me, “Oh no, i...
May 17, 2016•35 min•Ep. 115
Today, an ALL-NEW episode of Let's Get Real ! Yes, it's a new show, after a long break to develop the new weekly Heritage Radio Network News show, of which I'm the co-anchor! But I'm back, this week with tales of finger-lickin' weirdness. On today's show I revisit my invitation to the BIG Kentucky Fried Chicken event where I was taken way, way down the Foodiness rabbit hole, to the place where the chicken is fried, the slaw is sweet, and @RachelDratch gets hired to demo breading. Yes, Debbie Dow...
May 03, 2016•33 min•Ep. 114
I like to write, and I like to talk into a microphone. And I also like to talk in front of a live audience, I’ve discovered. Teaching all those years gave me the confidence to stand up in front of a group and tell a story, even if that story was about kitchen sanitation or pork butchering. I have a lot of stories, after being in this crazy industry for over 20 years, and I wanted to turn them into something entertaining and live, much like this very show, but in front of a live audience. So, eig...
Mar 29, 2016•24 min•Ep. 113
On this week's episode of Let's Get Real , Erica celebrates the eve of the joyous holiday of Purim, aka "The Jewish Halloween." Among many other reasons, this holiday is exciting because it heralds the coming of spring! Also this week was National Slurpee Day, when 7-Eleven invited customers to bring in their container of choice for a free fill-up – whether it was a cup, an oil drum, or even an inflatable kiddie pool. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice ...
Mar 22, 2016•31 min•Ep. 112
On this week's episode of Let's Get Real , Erica waxes nostalgic about the classic film Annie Hall , and its derisive depiction of California health food restaurants in the 1970s. Before arugula and Whole Foods were invented, California pioneered the health and organic food craze, which has become ubiquitous in today's society. However, it seems the glimmering, shimmering bubble of The Golden State may have burst, according to some new statistics which indicate that 55% of the adult population i...
Mar 15, 2016•35 min•Ep. 111
On this 15oth episode of Let’s Get Real , host Erica Wides opens with a revelation she had about cooking while swimming, before diving into the problem of fish ingesting plastic refuse such as microbeads while feeding, and the merits of sunblock versus face wash. Finally, she lays out the three “planks of her platform” that have sustained the show through 150 episodes. “You know, life is just full of conundrums and hypocrisy, and we all just have to learn to deal with it. That’s part of getting ...
Mar 01, 2016•33 min•Ep. 110
On this week’s Let’s Get Real , the theme is “one of these things does not belong.” Chef Erica Wides reminisces about the darker, grittier days of Sesame Street, expresses bewilderment at the new McDonald’s chicken-and-pancake sandwich, and reveals her current favorite food item: the Okinowan sweet potato. “Once Guiliani and Elmo took over Sesame Street, the whole scene changed.” [8:20] – Erica Wides See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.c...
Feb 23, 2016•33 min•Ep. 109
Can you make make pickles in space? Can you rely on your dreams to write your shows? Do you get gloomy in February? All this and more this week on Lets Get Real . Chef Erica Wides discusses growing vegetables in The Martian , literally dreaming of future shows, and the possibility of pickling on foreign planets. “If Matt Damon had grown a lot of vegetables, he would have had to preserve them… maybe he could have made pickles on Mars.” [20:00] – Erica Wides See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com...
Feb 16, 2016•27 min•Ep. 108
Today is February 9, 2016. We are now 39 days into the year. At the end of this week, on the 14th of February, the “holiday” season, will be officially over. The end, Done. Until…of course, Easter rolls around. Then we begin the next round of sugar-gorging, present shopping, holiday madness. Because people buy Easter presents now, apparently! It’s a thing. Hey! Let’s celebrate the crucifixion and mythological resurrecting of a Jew, by buying each other new X-boxes or pink Uggs! I know, let’s fil...
Feb 09, 2016•35 min•Ep. 107
Erica Wides is back for a brand new episode of _ Let’s Get Real _ with her good friend Kristin Wartman ; Let’s Get Real’s resident nutrition guru and food policy wonk! She has her own little office down here in the #Foodiness Fallout Shelter, where she sits and works on her forthcoming book “Formerly Known as Food”, and then her and Erica hang out and eat grass-fed burgers. Today they are “discussing” the new #USDA food guide “ #MyPlate ” recommendations. “The idea we can eat 12 tableso...
Feb 02, 2016•38 min•Ep. 106
From Erica Wides: So I had to go to Whole Foods a few days ago, to buy unflavored gelatin. You know, like Knox gelatin in the little packets? I needed it for a private cooking class I was teaching, the clients wanted to make soup dumplings, those Chinese dumplings that are filled with ground pork and cabbage and also scalding hot soup stock. To make the soupy filling you make a strong chicken stock and add gelatin to it, or use a lot of extra bones to get the gelatin out that way, but we were us...
Jan 05, 2016•34 min•Ep. 105
From Erica Wides herself: Speaking of soda, and Mormons, (we are, in today’s show) in yesterday’s edition of the paper of record there was an article about a lawsuit that is raging between two Utah drink companies, Swig v. Sodalicious. Have you heard of either of these chains? No, you wouldn’t unless you lived in the Mormon enclaves of Utah. Swig and Sodalicous are drinks stores, much like Starbucks, but they sell giant cups of soda, mega-slushies, so-called “energy” drinks, and giant cookies. W...
Dec 01, 2015•33 min•Ep. 104
This week’s episode of _ Let’s Get Real _, as explained by host Erica Wides herself: So just imagine my joy and happiness upon learning that Organic Avenue, the juice and raw-vegan “food” chain has landed on the giant compost heap of nutritional trends. The entire chain has gone under. Way under. Bankruptcy, Out of biz! Whoohoo! They went under, had huge debt, owe hundreds of people thousands of dollars, and the founders made millions off a sale to an investment company. How utterly American of ...
Nov 24, 2015•37 min•Ep. 103
Today, on a new Let’s Get Real! Erica Wides: “In Italy, in 1984 I drank my first cappuccino, I’d never really had anything in the espresso family, and this foamy, dark, rich creature was something else. I was hooked on the capp. But, as I was quickly admonished after ordering one late in the day, you don’t drink cappuccino anytime after breakfast. Milk is a morning item for Italians, once you drink it in the morning, that’s it. Cut off. Unless… you’re American, then they’d just roll their eyes a...
Nov 10, 2015•32 min•Ep. 102
Live from the Foodiness Fallout Shelter…It’s the 2nd or 3rd annual (I can’t remember) Golden Uncrustables awards show! Starring….your host, Erica! With Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet, and Jack Inslee on the Twitter feed! Before we get started, let’s just re-introduce all of our 87 million global listeners and viewers to the Golden Uncrustable, and give a little historical information about the awards. The Golden Uncrustable is an award for Foodiness atrocities committed, Foodiness audaciousness...
Nov 03, 2015•30 min•Ep. 101
Does Foodiness cause wrinkles? Erica Wides is back with a heartfelt episode on apples, aging, Laura Ingalls, Ira Apfel and .. yes, wrinkles. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Oct 20, 2015•31 min•Ep. 100
How does Erica Wides come up with the topics featured on _ Let’s Get Real _? Usually during a hike or at the gym great ideas pop up, but, she has one big problem: the loud music! Is it possible to just turn down sometimes? After the break, Erica pulls this all together with food and foodiness by means of the term: misophonia. Tune in to hear Erica’s spin on this clamorous claim. “Misophonia is the intolerance or hatred of the sound of food… or the sound of people eating food.” [17:00] –Erica Wid...
Oct 13, 2015•28 min•Ep. 99
Erica Wides is not happy. Pumpkin spice is everywhere, Burger King is making black buns, foodiness has taken over and everybody is trying to sell you a pink ribbon (or a donut). She wonders if these ribbons and donuts really do anything to make us healthier and proposes something entirely new – Foodiness Awareness Month. You might want to sit down for this one. “Going back 3,000 years in food history, the pumpkin spice mania has never been as high as it is today. It’s a true sign of the apocalyp...
Oct 06, 2015•29 min•Ep. 98
How does foodiness trash find its way to the woods? Erica Wides shakes her head at diapers on the hike trail this week on Let’s Get Real. Why do so many food brands package their “food” in layers upon layers of unnecessary plastics? Why do those plastics end up everywhere? Tune in and lament with your faithful host. rubbish in the forest under tree “We are drowning, dying and suffocating in plastic packaging. More than half the fish caught now have tiny plastic pellets in their stomachs.” [17:00...
Sep 29, 2015•35 min•Ep. 97
Why are Americans so afraid of food? We are so afraid of the safeness of the food that we are eating, that it’s preventing us from allowing ourselves to see it as it truly is. Our perceptions of what food is safe and what isn’t have been completely warped by strict health codes and air-tight packaging. This week on Let’s Get Real , Erica Wides examines the tendency that Americans have to let their fear of food prevent them from eating some of the most delicious things nature has to offer. “I thi...
Jul 28, 2015•32 min•Ep. 96
What does the word “done” mean to you? Is it a raw slab of red meat served as is on a plate, or do you like it cooked into a greyish-black oblivion? This week on Let’s Get Real , Erica Wides discusses the concept of “doneness”. Can doneness function on a spectrum similar to autism or sexuality? Erica argues that the amount of “doneness” depends on the person preparing the meat and how they enjoy to cook and eat it. But even though there is a wide range of “doneness” preferences, we can all still...
Jul 21, 2015•32 min•Ep. 95
