Bite

Nigerian chef Tunde Wey talks us through some of the paradoxes of cooking while black, wowed us with anecdotes from his two-week stay at a migrant detention center in El Paso—where the chicken wings are apparently pretty good—and tantalized us with the fundamentals of Nigerian cuisine. He left us hungry to read more of his writing—and try his food.

It may not surprise you that food corporations will say pretty much anything to get us to buy their products. They often promote messages like “exercise more” to divert attention from their high-fat or sugar-laden foods. In this week’s episode we talk to one nutritionist whose goal is to flag differences between Big Food’s marketing schemes and actual science. Tired of seeing his industry getting cozy with corporations, Andy Bellatti founded Dietitians for Professional Integrity. He is known for speaking out against flash-in-the-pan diets and corporate sponsorships. In the episode, Andy shares the good points of fad diets like Paleo and gives us his recipe for a guilt-free treat. Plus, we’ve got an update from Tom Philpott on green smoothies and the latest on what one poultry company is doing to get their chickens to play more.

You know Michael Pollan from his blockbuster book The Omnivore's Dilemma or his most recent title, Cooked, which was adapted by Netflix as a documentary series. But the celebrity author hasn't always been so obsessed with what people eat. "Before I started writing about food, my focus was really on the human relationship to plants," Michael tells us. "Not only do plants nourish us bodily—they nourish us psychologically.” Now he's researching flora with psychedelic properties for a new book. Part of the project covers recent experimental trials using psilocybin (a compound found in magic mushrooms) to treat cancer patients' anxiety about death. Plus: How much do you know about ayahuasca? And what Amazonian creature did Michael munch on in Brazil?

Our guest Monica Jain is the founder of Fish 2.0, a competition that connects seafood businesses with investors. The conference places emphasis on social and environmental impacts in an attempt to spark responsible innovation in the industry. Monica gives us the scoop on some new technologies helping make the fish you eat safer, and also tells us about a tasty ocean creature she recently dined on. Plus: Wacky new food products, news about an ominous merger in the works, and tips for avoiding seafood fraud.

This week, we talk to a guy who deals with food gone bad. Tainted hamburgers, sour burritos, salmonella-laced chicken: Food poisoning attorney Bill Marler confronts the aftermath of foodborne illnesses. Since gaining a reputation through his litigation during the infamous 1993 Jack-in-the-Box E.coli outbreak, Marler has worked on cases involving companies like McDonald’s, Odwalla, and most recently, Chipotle. He’s also a major force in food safety policy and runs a website called Food Safety News. During our conversation, he traces the rise of illnesses like E.coli and salmonella (“We have to keep up with these bugs”), gives us some tips on avoiding them, and reveals the real scoop on thrice-washed-spinach. We also explore some news about the superbugs emerging from antibiotic resistance in the livestock industry, and discover how food changes when in flight.

We're bringing together a professional vegetarian and a professional carnivore. And not just any vegetarian—Amanda Cohen is the chef-owner of the celebrated restaurant Dirt Candy on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Without braising a single pork belly since it opened in 2008, Dirt Candy remains one of New York's hottest restaurants. Our other guest, Adam Danforth, isn't your everyday carnivore. A butcher by trade, Adam has written a James Beard Award-winning guide to meat cutting and worked at New York culinary temples Marlow & Daughters and Blue Hill. Despite his food's popularity, he's the butcher who thinks we should all be eating less meat. Plus: Smoothies! Reality TV! Pig tails!

Did you know that servers and other tipped restaurant workers survive on wages as low as $2.13/hour? That’s the tipped minimum wage, which has remained measly in many states since the early 1990s—and it’s keeping people in poverty. Our guest on this week’s episode, Saru Jayaraman, advocates for better treatment and pay for the country's 11 million restaurant workers. Her latest book, Forked: A New Standard of American Dining, examines the fascinating history of tipping in the United States and how restaurants can take the higher road when it comes to labor standards. We also expose some cracks in the farm-to-table movement, and catch up with some Bay Area restaurateurs about what life is like after abolishing tipping.

Think back to the days of mystery meat, tater tots, and suspicious-looking Jello—we’re taking you inside the school cafeteria. Today’s guest, Bettina Elias Siegel, is an intellectual-property lawyer obsessed with school food. Her blog, The Lunch Tray, dives into topics like the corporations infiltrating our education system and the political battles waged over what kids eat. We’ll also get you up to speed on a juicy new start-up, and hear from our listeners about their favorite school lunch memories.

More than two million years ago, early humans started eating meat. Now considering the harsh climate they inhabited, where every day was a fight for survival, you’d think people turned to eating animals just to stay alive, right? Think again. As journalist and author Marta Zaraska puts it, "man's love affair with meat was as much about politics and sex as it was about nutrition.” Zaraska is the author of the new book Meathooked: The History and Science of our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession With Meat. On today’s episode, we talk to her about the cultural traditions, chemical pull, and masterful advertising that have made meat-eating such a worldwide obsession over the ages. We also get the scoop on why agribusiness is salivating over Cuba and learn some tips on understanding the labels on your egg carton.

Professor Brian Wansink is an expert in eating behavior and the director of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab. Brian reveals some of the fascinating insights from his research, like how you can better arrange your kitchen to avoid eating too much. And you’ll never guess what animal part he dined on during a recent trip to Norway. We’ll also dig into news about the vegan food lobby and give you some tips on how to make green treats on St. Paddy’s Day without using artificial food dyes.