For decades starting in the 1940s, Ebony was one of the only magazines created by Black people that spoke directly to Black people. It showed Black Americans falling in love, playing sports, dressing in style, gathering together – and eating. Freda DeKnight was the magazine’s first food editor, publishing recipes that were international and sophisticated, challenging the stereotype that Black American food was limited to soul food. Dan speaks with historian Donna Battle Pierce about Freda’s lega...
Jun 08, 2026•29 min
Piña coladas are way better in theory than in practice. Take it from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. "The tragedy of the piña colada is that it was never wholesome. From the very start the piña colada was built on something horrible, which is Coco Lopez ," she says, referring to the canned cream of coconut junk that's long been the stomachache-inducing base of the drink. This week Rachel tells us how she fixed the piña colada with her own special recipe . Plus, Rachel advises us on best practices for ...
Jun 05, 2026•30 min
Last year we got an email from a young woman named Eleanor Sigel that said: “I’m training for the Taco Bell 50k . With ten Taco Bell stops in thirty miles, it should be a fun run, so I thought I'd invite you to join me.” While Dan had absolutely no interest in running 31 miles, eating that much Taco Bell, or combining the two endeavors into one, we decided to follow Eleanor as she took on the challenge. How do you train for this race? Why would someone sign up for it in the first place? And most...
Jun 01, 2026•36 min
Nicole Taylor went through a phase where she rejected the soul food she grew up with. She called it all "slave food." Truth is, we all make judgments about what food is for which people, whether or not we realize it. Why are we willing to pay more for Italian and Japanese food than Chinese and Mexican? As we find out in this week's Reheat, it has nothing to do with the ingredients. And in the second episode of this Reheat doubleheader, we talk with the actress Rosie Perez live on stage. She says...
May 29, 2026•39 min
Matt Shearer, aka Reporter Matt , has made a name for himself with his social media stories about some of the quirkier denizens of Massachusetts. One of his most famous is about the massive public outcry over the closure of both locations of Dunkin’ in Stow, MA -- which led to a surprising development. Reporter Matt joins us live on stage at WBUR CitySpace in Boston, along with cookbook author Omi Hopper and host of GBH’s The Big Dig podcast Ian Coss . Omi shares what it was like pivoting from b...
May 25, 2026•45 min
Is mulch really necessary in the garden? How should you keep pests away from your strawberries? What’s the best way to keep your tomatoes from toppling over? As the weather warms up, we answer your most pressing gardening questions, with Keyatta Mincey . She’s the founder of A Sip of Paradise , a community garden for people in the hospitality industry in Atlanta. Keyatta tells us how she got this garden off the ground during COVID and why a community garden is so meaningful to people. This episo...
May 22, 2026•26 min
Caity Weaver is a journalist who lives for a food quest. Her latest adventure has her crisscrossing the country in search of the best free restaurant bread in America. Now, after polling hundreds of people and traveling 13,000 miles, she’s convinced she’s found it. Read Caity’s cover story in The Atlantic : “ I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread In America .” The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Right now, ...
May 18, 2026•35 min
Allie Rowbottom ’s great-great-great uncle bought the patent to Jell-O from its inventor in 1899 for $450, then sold it in the 1920s for $67 million — nearly a billion dollars in today’s money. Lately, Allie’s been obsessed with how all that Jell-O money shaped America, and her own family. It’s funded generations of Rowbottom women, including Allie, but it’s also been a shadow they can't escape. Jell-O became a twisted metaphor for all the bad things that happened to them, to the point that they...
May 15, 2026•35 min
Over the past few years, Houston has taken in more Afghan refugees than any other American city. When refugees arrive, Omer Yousafzai is there to welcome them. He owns The Afghan Village restaurant, which has become a community hub and gathering place for Afghans and non-Afghans alike. This week Dan heads to Houston to share a meal with Omer at his restaurant. Over palau and kabobs — cooked with the help of Omer’s nine-year-old son — they discuss how Omer’s time as a defense contractor in the Af...
May 11, 2026•41 min
Humorist, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, and former Cooking Channel host Mo Rocca joins Dan to talk about his grandma, debate whether square or round ravioli is better, and tell us which variety is the Kenny G of ravioli. Plus Mo and Dan debate Latin grammar, and Mo tells us about a meal that almost killed him. This episode originally aired on September 22, 2014, and September 19, 2016, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Kristen Meinzer. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morge...
May 08, 2026•27 min
Do you need to ask your partner if you can double dip? How guilty should you feel about not eating leftovers? We’re taking your calls and helping you settle your food disputes! Joining Dan to help are Ham El-Waylly , author of Hello, Home Cooking , and Pailin Chongchitnant , who just released a tenth-anniversary edition of her book Hot Thai Kitchen . We also puzzle through questions about when to take the best bite of a meal and the merits of salted butter. Subscribe to our newsletter by May 15 ...
May 04, 2026•48 min
First up in this Reheat double-header: The comedian and podcast host Phoebe Robinson tells us how to navigate a big meal in tight jeans, who should pay on a first date, and what it’s like to go out to eat when you’re in an interracial relationship. In the second half: Husband-and-wife comedians Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher co-host a podcast and often perform standup together. In their Netflix special they offer couples relationship advice, and the occasional roast. Natasha and Moshe help Dan...
May 01, 2026•51 min
Eva Longoria is a household name for her work as a TV star, director, and producer. But when she sits down with Dan, she reveals another side of her personality: She’s a huge food nerd. She explores this side in her new CNN show, Searching for France , and on her podcast Hungry for History . This week, Eva shares some of the most surprising things she’s learned in the Searching For series, from how jalapeños got their name to how modern French bakeries are connected to the French Revolution. Plu...
Apr 27, 2026•40 min
Is a buttered roll a sandwich? What about a hot dog? Is it still brunch if it’s 2pm? Should sparkling water be called water? Dan debates food and language with Peter Kim , formerly of the Museum of Food and Drink in NYC, and Helen Zaltzman from The Allusionist podcast. This episode originally aired on April 27, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was pro...
Apr 24, 2026•29 min
Years ago, when Dan was at Disney World with his family, he saw a gumbo recipe on the wall in the queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Since then, he’s wondered: Is the recipe real? Where did it come from? This week, he finds out the answer, and much more, when he gets a rare look behind the scenes at Disney World. Dan meets several Imagineers, the designers behind so many of the magical elements at Disney, as he stops for a drink at the Star Wars bar Oga’s Cantina, and grabs a bite at the Toy Sto...
Apr 20, 2026•38 min
Live on stage from Chicago! Hot Doug explains why he turned down millions and closed his famous sausage shop. Plus, filmmaker and food writer Kevin Pang talks about his documentary, For Grace , about Chef Curtis Duffy . Chef Curtis joins us to discuss his journey to the top, and to reveal his favorite candy. This episode originally aired on August 3, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, ...
Apr 17, 2026•30 min
For the first 40 years of her life, Amy Pearl was a card-carrying member of the meat club; she literally had a credit card from the famous Brooklyn steakhouse Peter Luger . Then one day she ate a porterhouse steak, and nearly died. This week we join forces with our friends at Radiolab to tell the story of how Amy's mysterious allergy was identified by scientists. Plus, she tells us how the allergy has changed her relationship to food — and we find out if it’ll ever go away. This episode original...
Apr 13, 2026•40 min
Chef, YouTuber , and cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt joins Dan on stage at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco to celebrate the release of Kenji's new book, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques . It wouldn't be a Kenji interview without some science, so we delve into what's happening, thermodynamically, when you cook with a wok. But we also go deep on how Kenji became the internet cooking science guru that he is today – and how his feelings about that role have changed in recent years. If you'v...
Apr 10, 2026•43 min
Should bagels ever be toasted? Why does the restaurant industry have so many scandals? And what could possibly possess someone to feed their baby a straight-up stick of butter? We answer all these questions and more in this very special live edition of the Salad Spinner — our rapid-fire, roundtable discussion of all the biggest and buzziest food news of the moment. Joining us in the Spinner are best-selling cookbook author and YouTuber Kenji López-Alt and legendary comic Judy Gold . The Sporkful...
Apr 06, 2026•41 min
We ponder the question that Jews have been pondering since they crossed the desert: Can matzoh be salvaged? We also discuss techniques for dipping your egg into salt water, and trivia that will make the Earl of Sandwich tremble in his grave. Plus, in preparation for Easter Sunday, we debate whether spiral cut ham represents one of humanity's greatest achievements or its impending downfall. Co-host Mark Garrison explains why the Easter Bunny is like a benevolent dragon, and guest Win Rosenfeld su...
Apr 03, 2026•35 min
Last year, in the midst of a political spat between China and Japan, China enacted a ban on importing Japanese seafood and warned Chinese citizens that visiting Japan was unsafe. But the impact of these policies hasn’t been quite what China intended. This week Dan visits Tsukiji Market in Tokyo with reporter Kurumi Mori , then eats at one of Beijing’s many sushi restaurants with local food experts Weihang Li and Jason Tang , to explore the surprising ways people in both countries are adapting. T...
Mar 30, 2026•34 min
How much foam is too much? Bottles or cans? Pint glasses or tulip glasses? Plus we discuss beer-filled guitars and absurd beer packaging gimmicks. This episode originally aired on September 13, 2010, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Mark Garrison. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer. Every Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're...
Mar 27, 2026•21 min
In the 1980s and ‘90s, China went through a massive economic transformation. New government policies allowed everyday people to open their own businesses and accumulate wealth. Rural folks moved to cities in huge numbers in search of opportunity. And for the first time, privately-owned restaurants were allowed to open. In the 40 years since, an entire restaurant scene has been created — something prior generations could never have imagined. So what does this scene look like? Dan travels to Beiji...
Mar 23, 2026•37 min
Is Padma Lakshmi a model-turned-TV-star who's grown accustomed to the finer things? Or a down-to-earth mom who reuses takeout containers for her leftovers? Is she warm and hospitable, the kind of person who's excited to share her food with you? Or is she frank and snarky, the kind of person who compares her favorite dish to old bong water? Is she an Indian who grew up partly in America, or an American who grew up partly in India? Or is she all of the above? Dan sits down with cookbook author, fo...
Mar 20, 2026•29 min
Somali cuisine is a mixture of many traditions, from meat prepared according to nomadic customs, to a spice mix made possible by medieval Indian Ocean trade routes. There are even pasta dishes, owing to Italian colonization until 1960 – and you’ll often find a banana served on the side. Ifrah F. Ahmed has made it her mission to document and preserve the food of Somalia in her new cookbook, Soomaaliya: Food, Memory and Migration . At a time when Somali and Somali-American culture is under threat,...
Mar 16, 2026•35 min
Dan fills a taxi full of food and takes it to JFK Airport at sundown to break the Ramadan fast with Muslim cab drivers. What could go wrong? Plus a Texan talks about embracing her Muslim roots after 9/11 and fasting on Ramadan for the first time when she was in her thirties. And Arab-American teens reveal the best and worst parts of Ramadan. This episode originally aired on June 29, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Tim Ruggeri. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Em...
Mar 13, 2026•28 min
The London restaurant Darjeeling Express is the place to go for an outstanding mutton kebab, and for celebrity sightings. But the chef behind this hotspot has no formal culinary training. Asma Khan started her cooking career hosting secret supper clubs in her apartment, when her husband was traveling for work. Now she's staffed her restaurant entirely with women, all of whom learned to cook as housewives and nannies. As she tells Dan, her advocacy is driven by the pain she faced as the second da...
Mar 09, 2026•32 min
Danny Trejo is a Hollywood legend. He's been in nearly 400 films, often playing the kinds of characters you wouldn't want meet in a dark alley. When he was in his seventies, his career took a turn: The L.A. native became a successful restaurateur. This new chapter is especially surprising considering that 50 years ago, Danny was a drug addict who couldn't stay out of prison. In this show taped live in L.A., he traces his path from heroin dealer to drug counselor to beloved actor, and tells us ho...
Mar 06, 2026•32 min
El Burrito Mercado has been a bedrock of West Side community in St. Paul for nearly 50 years. It’s changed a lot over that time, evolving from a small grocery store into a restaurant, deli, bakery, and so much more. Now, it’s had to change again, as thousands of federal immigration agents have descended on this Twin Cities neighborhood over the past few months. Milissa Silva, the co-owner and CEO of El Burrito Mercado, tells us the story of how her immigrant parents’ business became a community ...
Mar 02, 2026•38 min
Professor Steven Alvarez believes you can read a taco. Look at the meat, the spices, and the tortilla. Each ingredient has a story that unlocks something about Mexican and American history and culture. This idea is the basis for Steve’s “ Taco Literacy ” course at St. John’s University in New York City. This week, we go on an end-of-semester taco crawl with Steve’s class. Turns out, you can judge a taco by its tortilla. This episode originally aired on May 21, 2018, and December 6, 2021, and was...
Feb 27, 2026•33 min
