When we relaunched in October 2019, we had no idea what kind of a season it would be. Looking back at our episodes, we're proud of the work we've done – just the two of us (and Jess!). And we're so bummed that we're leaving you right now, when all this *gestures wildly* is still unfolding, and while many of you may be hurting and needing respite in podcasts the most. We'll be back in no time, promise. With more conversations, stories and collaborations. In the meantime…you can always catch us on...
Apr 29, 2020•13 min
It's often said that the Coronavirus does not discriminate. This is true, but how the virus affects communities varies depending on the resources a community has access to and what that community has historically faced. This is especially true in Detroit, where, according to CNBC, "African Americans make up about 14 percent of Michigan's population, but 33 percent of its coronavirus cases and 40 percent of all COVID-19 deaths." In this special episode, we welcome back co-founder and former co-ho...
Apr 15, 2020•45 min
This week has been rough y'all. But we're finding small comfort in this conversation with Candice Fortman , a Detroit-based journalist ( Outlier Media , MuckRock ) and founder of Ladies Who Pizza – a social group for women to have fun, be vulnerable, be free and, as the name suggests, eat pizza. The concept sounds simple, but Candice says the stories and experiences that have come out of it have made an indelible mark on their lives, especially in a world where women are often made to bear the b...
Mar 25, 2020•34 min
This week, we sat down with The Glutster a.k.a. Javier Cabral — Editor-in-Chief of the LA Taco, co-author of Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico , and associate producer of Netflix's Taco Chronicles — to talk about code-switching, food writing, and the diversity of Mexican food in Los Angeles. Javier tells us how his rebellious teenage years and eating disorder lead him to write about food and why he decided to focus on Oaxacan food, in particular. He also gives us a brief Mexican migr...
Mar 11, 2020•32 min
Whoa, it's been a full year since Racist Sandwich switched off the lights and took what was, then, an indefinite hiatus. We're so glad we made the decision to come back. We may be down two essential members, but we're stronger and hungrier than ever! To celebrate how far we've come, we wanted to highlight one of our proudest moments of the past year: getting nominated for a James Beard Award for our episode on the erasure of barbecue's Black roots in America. -- We're talking barbecue. It's deli...
Feb 26, 2020•32 min
This week, it's the Stephanie show! Stephanie Kuo talks to artist Stephanie H. Shih about her collection of Asian pantry items. She hand-makes everything from ceramic Chinkiang black vinegar bottles and Yakult containers to Morinaga caramel boxes and packets of instant Indomie. Through her work, Stephanie hopes to free Asian imagery from the Western gaze, which rests on clichés (ahem, the Chinese takeout box). Stephanie and Stephanie talk about childhood memories, making art that's "for us by us...
Feb 12, 2020•33 min
This week, we're talking bodegas. What's a bodega? Well, for a lot of us (New Yorkers, especially), it's a corner store that sells food and other household goods. But for our guest, Quizayra Gonzalez, who grew up in a bodega, they're a lot more than that. She and Stephanie talk about how bodegas are such a thriving nexus of cultural and economic activity, how they anchored immigrant communities in the U.S., and how they're being gentrified out of their neighborhoods today. But first, Stephanie a...
Jan 30, 2020•39 min
This week, we're talking about Korean food with Noah Cho, who writes " Bad Kimchi ," a column on the online magazine Catapult . The name of the column says a lot: the most egregious crime against Korean food, he believes, is getting kimchi wrong. But the title also signals some of Noah's struggles with his identity as a biracial person, who didn't feel Korean enough to cook or write about Korean food "authentically." He and Stephanie talk about what it means to let go of those expectations and t...
Jan 15, 2020•34 min
Happy New Year! We kick off 2020 with someone you may already know: our fearless founder and friend, Soleil Ho. She's about to celebrate her first anniversary at the San Francisco Chronicle , and she sits down with Stephanie and Juan to reflect on the year as the paper's new and revolutionary food critic. They talk about her favorite (and most ruffling) pieces, what it's like to eat out 350 times in a year, and how she's coped with people who aren't *ready* for her hot takes. But before all that...
Jan 01, 2020•39 min
This week, we're talking to José Ralat, the taco editor at Texas Monthly and author of the forthcoming book, American Tacos: A History and Guide . It sounds like arguably the best job in the country (and yes, it is), but it's not just about eating great tacos. José has committed the position to being as much about the history, the culture, and real voices as it is about the food itself. Juan and José chat (for a long time) about what makes for the perfect taco, the gentrification of tacos in the...
Dec 11, 2019•39 min
Juan catches up with Karla T. Vasquez , a food justice advocate by day and a food historian by night, on a journey to preserve Salvadoran culture one recipe at a time with SalviSoul . When a Google search turns up just two existing cookbooks and just as few narratives, Vasquez says "documentation is power." Vasquez is currently researching and writing a Salvadoran cookbook, highlighting the stories of Salvadoran women. She and Juan talk about learning from her mother, the power of cookbooks to p...
Nov 27, 2019•34 min
This week, Racist Sandwich is going international. Juan interviews Dany, who's cooking up spectacular meals from inside his prison cell in France. He makes everything from Moroccan tagine to tiramisu with nothing more than a small induction burner and a few items from the prison commissary (and sometimes a little something extra smuggled in from the outside). They talk about Dany's passion for cooking, how his Instagram page went viral , the politics of prison life and his plans to start a caree...
Nov 13, 2019•33 min
Hello listeners! We're back after a long break, with more conversations about the intersection of food, race, gender and class,. in the first part of the episode, Stephanie and Juan (your new co-hosts) catch up, reflect on the podcast's successful past and discuss how they plan to move the project forward into a successful future. In the second part of the episode, Juan speaks with Nikeisah Newton , a Portland, Oregon-based chef and owner of Meals 4 Heels — a food delivery company that caters sp...
Oct 30, 2019•24 min
We have big news. Our beloved hosts are starting amazing new chapters in their lives: Soleil is settling in as food critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, and Zahir is now in his first year of fiction writing at the University of Michigan. What does that mean for Racist Sandwich? For now, we'll be taking some time off to reflect and to plan for the future of the podcast. We (co-producers Stephanie and Juan) are working hard to figure out how we can continue to bring you all more conversations a...
Feb 20, 2019•34 min
In the final installment of our Toronto series, producer TK Matunda sits down with three community organizers to unpack Toronto's food justice scene. This episode, we hear from Vanessa Ling Yu , Director of caterToronto ; Paul Taylor, Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto ; and Hywel Tuscano , Co-Operator of Nish Dish . Produced by TK Matunda. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions. Photo by Vanessa Ling Yu....
Feb 06, 2019•42 min
In this episode, Juan travels to Puerto Rico and interviews people affected by Hurricane Maria. He reminisces on his own encounters with hurricanes and how Hurricane Maria's destruction reminds him of these experiences. First, Juan visits the town of Utuado to meet with Ruben Ramos, owner of a coffee plantation. The Puerto Rican coffee industry suffered a devastation from the hurricane. Mr. Ramos was among the hardest hit. Then, in San Juan, in the Santurce District, Karla Quiñones and Abner Rol...
Jan 23, 2019•27 min
Happy new year, everybody! You know what they say…new year, new episode. New hosts? Producers Stephanie Kuo and Juan Ramirez take over the mic this week to bring you this episode on the diversity of food media in Los Angeles. But first, in part one, Juan and Stephanie talk about big life changes in 2019. Then in part two, Juan sits down with Daniel Hernandez, editor of LA Taco, to talk about everything from the decimation of true local LA media, Latinx identity, immigration and how going to Mexi...
Jan 09, 2019•30 min
Producer TK Matunda sits down with four Foodies of Colour to unpack what's going on in Toronto's food scene. The Panel: Eden Hagos – Founder of Black Foodie Ryan Hinkson – Curator behind Eat Famous Andrew Do – Curator behind 6ixspots Aisha Silim – Curator behind Salt & Saffron Foodies of Colour is a Toronto-based network that brings together people of colour who are passionate about food. They are a community of bloggers, writers, photographers, and food enthusiasts — and every once in a whi...
Dec 26, 2018•48 min
Producer TK Matunda tours the Toronto suburb of Scarborough with food and drink writer Suresh Doss. They talk about Toronto's food scene, being seen by food media and the difference between the downtown core and the suburbs. And this is all while eating delicious food. Produced by TK Matunda. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
Dec 12, 2018•32 min
This episode is all about Somali food: sambusas, bananas with rice and...pineapple upside-down cake? In part one, Soleil sits down with Hamdi Ahmed to talk about a cookbook she co-wrote in high school. Soo Fariista (Come Sit Down) is a collection of family recipes and a portal to her childhood food memories. They discuss her favorite dishes, fusing Somali and American cuisine and how her cookbook is just one way Somalis are becoming more visible in Minnesota. In part two, we do something a littl...
Nov 29, 2018•30 min
In this episode, we dive headlong into how the relationship between Israel and Palestine intersects with food politics. In our first segment, Food Book Fair co-director and organizer Kimberly Chou Tsun An speaks to chef and artist Amanny Ahmad about her advocacy work and about what she misses from Palestine. They also recap a dinner Ahmad cooked last year with Bay Area chef and restaurateur Reem Assil. In our second segment, Soleil talks to chef and organizer Ora Wise about hummus, food media, a...
Nov 15, 2018•31 min
For our 60th episode, Soleil speaks with the inspiring Julia Turshen , author of " Now & Again ," about how cookbooks can be an effective vehicle for social and political conversations. They also talk about Turshen's work forging supportive communities as the founder of Equity at the Table (EATT). But first, Soleil and Zahir reunite! They haven't hosted an episode together since August, and they have a lot to catch up on: Samin Nosrat's new Netflix hit , changes to James Beard Awards submiss...
Oct 24, 2018•30 min
Hey y'all! We're back in Texas with producer Stephanie Kuo, as she takes us on another tasty, tasty trip across her home state. This week, we're talking barbecue. It's delicious, it's trendy, it's decidedly American. But its story today has pretty huge holes. Over the past several years, joints like Franklin Barbecue in Austin have commandeered the barbecue narrative, and mainstream food media have fallen over themselves to give Aaron Franklin and Central Texas pitmasters like him their spotligh...
Sep 26, 2018•30 min
This is our final installment of the Kundiman Series, featuring poetry and prose recorded at the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University over the summer. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. Today, we bring you the works of Sally Wen Mao , Leah Shlachter, Shankar Narayan and Catherine Flora Con . Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer, Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Rosevere. Photo by JESS x S...
Sep 19, 2018•12 min
In this episode, Zahir sits down with Chicago Tribune's Deputy Food Editor Joseph Hernandez to talk about moving to Chicago from Southern California, what it means to be a queer food writer of color, and why people should not be intimidated by wine. Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions. LINKS DU JOUR Make Cachupa Rica while learning some history. The rarest eight dollar bottle in Chicago....
Sep 12, 2018•31 min
This is our third installment of poetry and prose that Soleil recorded when she stopped by the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University this summer. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. This episode includes works by George Abraham , Meng Jin , Jason Bayani , and Susanna Kwan . Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Bad Snacks and Kevin MacLeod....
Sep 05, 2018•10 min
For this episode, we welcome back producer Stephanie Kuo as guest host. She's setting out on a journey to unpack the culinary legacy of her home state: Texas! And today, she sits down with Dan Dao , a NYC-based food writer who also hails from the Lone Star State. She's from Dallas; he's from Houston. And even though they grew up with very different Asian-American experiences, they agree that H-town is America's next great food frontier. Yeehaw? First, though, they talk about the visibility of ma...
Aug 29, 2018•31 min
On this bonus episode, you'll hear the next installment of poetry and prose that Soleil recorded when she stopped by the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University this summer. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. Today, we bring you the works of Kenji C. Liu , Jess Rizkallah , Paul Asta and Marie Avetria. Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer, Blue Dot Sessions, Kaela Drew and Lee Rosevere...
Aug 22, 2018•10 min
Guest interviewer Roxanne Scott chats with chef and television fixture Darnell Ferguson about what it means to be the only Black executive chef in Louisville, Kentucky. In this frank interview, Ferguson reveals his approach to mentorship and the work it takes to ensure his message of positivity gets to the people who need it.
Aug 15, 2018•28 min
This summer, Soleil stopped by the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University to record snippets of poetry and prose from this year's writing fellows. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. On this bonus episode, you'll hear the first of the 16 recordings she made, featuring Aurora Masum-Javed, Doreen Wang, Matthew Olzmann, and Janine Joseph. Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Lobo Loco, Les Cartes Postabl...
Aug 08, 2018•11 min
