Award-winning novelist Tayari Jones speaks on her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was raised in the midst of the historic civil rights movement, women’s liberation, and the tragic Atlanta child murders. She reflects on the role feminism played in her home life and how she learned to love cooking by cooking things she liked. Plus, she tells us about her delectable red velvet cake. Tayari Jones is a writer and novelist. Her 2018 novel An American Marriage won the Women’s Prize for ...
Feb 28, 2024•36 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Bryant Terry – cookbook author, chef, food activist, conceptual artist and publisher – joins Michele at his University of California Berkeley art studio to discuss one of the biggest influences behind all of his work: his grandmother, Margie Bryant; or, as his family affectionately called her, Ma’dear. In Ma’dear’s Memphis, Tennessee kitchen, Bryant spent hours helping her shell peas, peel potatoes or pour sugar into the pot for her sweet fruit preserves. It was in her kitchen that Bryant learne...
Feb 21, 2024•38 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Comedian and actress Leslie Jones makes us laugh and gets philosophical about the gift of comedy in this episode. We get a glimpse into her childhood kitchen in Southern California, where her father was the primary cook and funnyman. She opens up about dealing with the loss of both her parents and using humor as a form of therapy. We also get to hear her talk about her grandmother’s cornbread stuffing that is so good, Leslie has it all year round, not just on holidays. Leslie Jones is a s...
Feb 14, 2024•30 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey bring listeners into their marriage, from how they first met over margaritas to cooking steak sushi to make amends. Matthew’s sometimes chaotic upbringing in Texas could not be more different from Camila’s family-filled, farm-to-table childhood in Brazil, but they found ways to connect and thrive together in their kitchen in Austin. Plus, Camila teaches us how to make her family’s Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff, which is apparently ...
Feb 07, 2024•44 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Michele is joined by author, civil rights activist, and famed Star Trek actor George Takei. George’s story of his mother’s kitchen is far different than our other guests—he didn’t have one growing up. He shares his harrowing experiences living in an internment camp as a child, how he adjusted to life after, and what led to becoming Sulu. He’ll also share two foods that gave him solace throughout his life: his mother’s East LA-influenced tacos and her “footballs,” or Inari. George Takei is a soci...
Dec 27, 2023•41 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Singer, songwriter, composer, and genuine music lover Jon Batiste serenades us with his harmonica-keyboard while reminiscing on the sounds of his childhood kitchen in New Orleans. He describes what it was like to grow up in a big, musical family of jazz legends, and shares some of their favorite Christmas traditions—including competing to see who could make the best and truest gumbo. Jon Batiste is a multiple Oscar and Grammy award-winning musician and TV personality. He was the bandleader and m...
Dec 20, 2023•43 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Michele joins chef Samin Nosrat, author of the New York Times bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking , to tell stories of Nosrat’s mother’s kitchen, who and what else shaped her as she grew up, and a very special trip Nosrat took to her native Iran when she was just a kid. Samin Nosrat is a San Diego-born, Oakland-based chef, writer, and teacher. Netflix’s documentary series Salt Fat Acid Heat, based on her book, was released in 2018. She has also starred i...
Dec 13, 2023•36 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy discusses cherished memories from his childhood kitchen in Illinois, and the invaluable time he spent at his kitchen table with his mother, and he explains how his favorite home-cooked dish today–known simply as The Dish–became a Tweedy family hit. Jeff Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Born and raised in Belleville, Illinois, Tweedy started his music career in high sch...
Dec 06, 2023•41 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Author, journalist, and professor Michael Pollan talks about the influence Julia Child had on his mother’s kitchen and the nature of kitchens in America today, and shares his unexpected favorite dish growing up. Michael Pollan is a renowned advocate for responsible farming, gardening, and slow, local eating. Pollan has been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine since 1987 and is the author of several successful books. Pollan writes about “the places where the human and natur...
Nov 29, 2023•34 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast On this special Thanksgiving episode, we’re joined by America’s weatherman Al Roker. He shares Thanksgiving traditions new and old, plus tips on how to perfect his mama’s oxtail stew with dumplings. Al Roker is the longtime host of Today’s weather programing on NBC. He led NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade 26 years in a row, up until 2021. He had his own program on Food Network called Roker on the Road and a podcast, Cooking up a Storm with Al Roker. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
Nov 22, 2023•39 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, comedian, writer and TV host Hari Kondabolu talks about growing up in Queens, New York City, where his mother brought her native South India to the dinner table with an unforgettable peanut chutney. Hari also discusses his parents’ quiet activism – and how, from his mother, Hari learned to use humor to confront the world’s injustices. Hari Kondabolu is a comedian, writer, TV host, and podcaster based in Brooklyn, New York. His comedy covers sub...
Nov 15, 2023•37 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Uzo Aduba is an actress best known for her roles in television shows like Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and Hulu’s Mrs. America , but her talents extend beyond the screen and into the kitchen, where she deftly cooks up the Nigerian staples she was raised on in Boston’s outer suburbs. Throughout her childhood, Uzo and her siblings learned to cook alongside their mother, who taught them how to create Nigerian dishes like jollof and fufu. Although she loved her mother’s delicious food, at times...
Nov 08, 2023•36 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Actor Andy Garcia is someone who loves everything about food. Cooking it, shopping for it, talking about it. And that might be a surprise to some, because Andy Garcia is more known for his roles in iconic films such as The Untouchables, When a Man Loves a Woman, Ocean's 11 and, of course, The Godfather Part III. But Andy was born into a different life and a different culture in Havana, Cuba. His family escaped Fidel Castro's regime with Andy and his two siblings in tow to join a community ...
Nov 01, 2023•36 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast TV’s funniest redhead, Conan O’ Brien, talks about growing up in a big, loud Irish-Catholic family in Massachusetts. He opens up about being an insecure kid and how he first learned to be funny at the kitchen table. We learn about why Halloween is his favorite holiday, and he shares his favorite childhood meal: fried ham. Yes, you heard that right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 25, 2023•40 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Matthew Broderick has been celebrated for the iconic characters he’s played on stage and on screen. In this episode, he talks about what it was like to grow up in New York City with a family of artists, and how he prefers to eat when he’s on the road for different roles. He shares fond memories of the housekeeper who helped raise him and her recipe for ratatouille that he cherishes to this day. Matthew Broderick is a two-time Tony award-winning actor best known for his iconic portrayal of the ch...
Oct 17, 2023•33 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Kerry Washington is many things—actress, producer, director, activist, mother, and wife. She’s always projected a strong, family-focused persona, but in a new memoir called Thicker than Water, she details the struggles that sometimes roiled beneath that perfect veneer. She joins the show to discuss her book, the importance of a kitchen in the Catskills, and how a pit stop in India changed her life and career. Additionally, she shares her family’s delectable Jamaican Black Cake recipe. Host...
Oct 11, 2023•43 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Comedian, activist, and creative executive W. Kamau Bell talks about growing up in different cities across the country with his mother and spending summers with his father’s side of the family in Mobile, Alabama. He opens up about what it means to be a good parent and reminisces on his grandmother’s lost recipe for her fried pies. W. Kamau Bell is known for his social commentary on race, justice, and inequality. He hosts and executive produces the Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries United Shades ...
Oct 04, 2023•34 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés shares tales about his upbringing in Spain, where croquettes, paellas, bread crumbs, and fire taught him valuable life lessons. After ruminating on the impact his parents had on him, José jumps into the kitchen with Michele to show her—and listeners—how to cook a favorite recipe of his: his mother’s roasted red peppers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 27, 2023•38 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Author Glennon Doyle and retired US soccer player Abby Wambach, who had drastically different upbringings around the kitchen and food, share how they’ve nonetheless found middle ground in their marriage. Abby shares her mama’s hearty Pasta for Thousands recipe, a beautiful mélange of pizza, pasta, and lasagna. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 20, 2023•37 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Talented multi-hyphenate DJ D-Nice reflects on his humble upbringing in the Bronx, from sleeping on a couch and a motel desk to becoming a world-renowned DJ. D-Nice also discusses the pain and beauty he discovered in himself and others during the pandemic. Additionally, we hear how he found grace in his mother’s cabbage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 13, 2023•42 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Television titan Gayle King reflects on her and her mama’s tight-knit relationship including her upbringing in Turkey and then Maryland. Gayle famously doesn’t cook, but she shares not one… but TWO recipes with us. Her mama’s traditional Mac & Cheese and her famous Thanksgiving Jello Dessert. Gayle King is a TV personality and broadcast journalist. She’s about to host a new, weekly primetime show on CNN with Charles Barkely set to launch this fall. She’s received the Walter Cronkite Award fo...
Sep 06, 2023•37 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast On the very first episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen , we’re joined by former First Lady, Michelle Lavaughn Robinson Obama. Mother, lawyer and author of her latest title The Light We Carry , Michelle talks about her beginnings in a working class family on the South Side of Chicago and the delicious Red Rice her mother made that she says is perfect to take anywhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 30, 2023•47 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast “Tell me about your mama's kitchen.” That’s the simple request which begins each episode of this Audible Original podcast from acclaimed journalist Michele Norris. Episodes available weekly starting August 30th anywhere you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 16, 2023•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
