This episode is the Culture Study Podcast’s version of a Just Trust Me. It’s difficult to describe exactly WHY it’s so good, just that after we finished recording (with Lilah Raptopoulos, host of the podcast Life and Art) Melody and I both immediately texted each other with: SO GOOD!!! The episode is ostensibly about figuring out how to cook in the world of infinite recipes, but it’s also about how we pass down recipes (or gatekeep them), recipes as a form of memory making (and retrieval), recipes as heritage… capped off with some practical advice about how to organize the recipes you do have (and how to ascertain if a recipe is “good”).

I can’t wait for you to listen, and if you don’t think you’re a person that invested or interested in recipes: just trust me.

• Follow Lilah on Instagram and listen to Life and Art here (it’s so good!!!)

• Lilah mentions Fuschia Dunlap’s The Food of Sichuan and Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat

• I mention Melissa Clark’s Dinner which is just filled with keepers

• A lot of Culture Study readers swear by the Paprika app for recipe organization (I cannot vouch for it but maybe this is the day I actually try it out)

• SAPPHIC POP, SO HOT RIGHT NOW (especially want to talk about Chappell Roan but we can go in so many directions)

• Women’s sports— our societal thinking on gender and athleticism, broadly conceived

• How we talk and think about cancer

• How do people access/consume celebrity gossip these days

• Midwest [Dad] Masculinity

• WTF is going on with [insert clothing brand/website] here

• Gwyneth? The new Brad Pitt / George Clooney movie?

• We’re definitely doing a Paul Mescal episode but I’d love your ideas about who should be my co-host

• Still want to do a Sydney Sweeney and Gen-Z Stardom ep!!!!!

• Why does it feel like thrifting sucks now

• Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment

• You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (this is the subscriber-only form!)