All Of It with Alison Stewart

[REBROADCAST FROM MAY 26, 2020] Former Vogue creative director André Leon Talley discusses his new memoir, The Chiffon Trenches. Talley passed away this week at age 73.

New York City's business landscape is always in a state of flux, with or without a global pandemic, and New Yorkers tend to be opinionated and sentimental about their neighborhood favorites. Gothamist Arts & Culture Editor Ben Yakas join us as we ask listeners about which shuttered New York City businesses would they bring back.

Many recent films have sought to document and explore our current global pandemic, both through fiction and real life events. The 2021 documentary 'In The Same Breath' takes us back to the very beginning of the outbreak, in Wuhan, China. Director Nanfu Wang, known for her 2019 documentary 'One Child Nation,' returns with another deeply personal take, this time bridging her background in China and her current residency in the United States, where she is based. The film looks at the misinformation and coverups around the coronavirus outbreak, while also highlighting those who were, and are still, on the ground, from healthcare workers to distraught family members. Wang joins us to talk the film, which recently made the Oscar's shortlist for Best Documentary Feature.

On Age of Apathy, the new album from Grammy-winner and I'm With Her bandmember Aoife O'Donovan, the singer-songwriter explores experiences from the last two decades, beginning with her early adulthood. O'Donovan joins us for a Listening Party Preview of the album, which comes out Friday.

Cook, writer and stylist Anna Jones comes on the show to talk her newest cookbook One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You and Your Family. In the new cookbook Jones continues her work in creating delicious vegetable-centered cuisine, this time with a focus on easy-to-prepare recipes (over 200!), that center sustainability.

Quick squash lasagna Anna Jones

Pasta has my heart like nothing else. My love affair with it was cemented when making stuffed agnolotti, caramelle and everything in between in restaurant kitchens, but it started with something simpler: my mum’s lasagna. This lasagna is something slightly different but still as nostalgic and comforting. It is the quickest I’ve made, ready for the oven in 10 minutes (not the hour it normally takes), yet there is still a rich deep tomato sauce and those crisp baked edges to fight over. I don’t pre-cook my lasagna sheets, as they cook in the sauce and I like them a little al dente. If you prefer them softer, you could use fresh pasta sheets here. This recipe was originally inspired by one of my all-time favorite cooks, Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com.

SERVES 6

2 ¾ cups/690 g tomato passata/purée/crushed canned tomatoes 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped a good pinch of dried chili flakes 2 x 15-ounce/400 g cans green or Puy lentils, drained (or 9 ounces/250 g home-cooked) 1/2 a butternut squash (about 1 1/3 pounds/600 g), peeled and grated 1/3 cup/50 g black olives, pitted and chopped 2 tablespoons capers the zest of a lemon, unwaxed or organic a small bunch of basil, leaves picked 2 x 4-ounce/125 g balls of mozzarella or vegan-style mozzarella 9 ounces/250 g dried lasagna sheets

Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. In a large bowl or jug, mix the passata (or purée/crushed canned tomatoes) with the oil, half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt, the chopped garlic, chili flakes, drained lentils, grated squash, chopped olives, capers and lemon zest. Tear the basil leaves in half. Spoon a quarter of the sauce into an ovenproof dish roughly 8 inches x 12 inches/20 cm x 30 cm (I use an oval roughly the same size), tear over a third of one of the balls of mozzarella, then cover with pasta sheets. Repeat for another two layers: a quarter of the sauce, a third of a ball of mozzarella, a layer of pasta. Finish with a final layer of sauce, then tear over the whole second ball of mozzarella, sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with the basil, and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the mozzarella is deeply golden. Serve with a sharply dressed salad (I mix lemon juice, cider vinegar, mustard and extra virgin olive oil, and toss through a bowl of green leaves). From One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones. Copyright © 2021 by Anna Jones. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Meal prep and cooking subscriptions were seeing a steep decline before COVID struck. Now the business is booming. Eater's associate editor Nick Mancall-Bitel, picks the best services and talks about what makes some more successful than others for those of us doing more cooking at home.

From the mushroom renaissance to the rise in popularity of hibiscus, New York Times food writer Kim Severson has some predictions for what food trends will be prominent in 2022. She joins us to discuss, and to break down her piece "How Will Americans Eat in 2022? The Food Forecasters Speak."

Every January, up-and-coming musicians from around the world are featured at globalFEST. This year is no exception, though the shows will be held remotely in partnership with NPR's "Tiny Desk" series. The event's co-founder and co-director Isabel Soffer joins to talk about this years globalFEST.

The "Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST" concert series runs from Tuesday, Jan. 18 through Thursday, Jan. 20, and can be streamed online.

Roy Wood Jr., comedian and correspondent for "The Daily Show," speaks with us about his new comedy special, "Imperfect Messenger," out on January 19 on Paramount+.

WNYC news editor Kate Hinds joins us as we take calls from listeners about the top headlines of this week.