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Cider Shortcake:
"Cider cake is very good, to be baked in small loaves. 1 1/2 lb. of flour, half a pound of sugar, quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of cider, 1 tea-spoonful of pearl ash; spice to your taste. Bake till it turns easily in the pans. I should think about half an hour."
Pumpkin Pie (American)
"Take out the seeds, and pare the pumpkin or squash; but in taking out the seeds do not scrape the inside of the pumpkin; the part nearest the seed is the sweetest, then stew the pumpkin, and strain it through a sieve or cullender. To a quart of milk, for a family pie, 3 eggs are sufficient. Stir in the stewed pumpkin with your milk and beaten-up eggs, till it is as thick as you can stir round rapidly and easily. If the pie is wanted richer make it thinner, and add sweet cream or another egg or two; but even 1 egg to a quart of milk makes " very decent pies.” Sweeten with molasses or sugar; add 2 tea-spoonsful of salt, 2 table-spoons-ful of sifted cinnamon, and 1 of powdered ginger; but allspice may be used, or any other spice that may be preferred. The peel of a lemon grated in gives it a pleasant flavor. The more eggs, says an American authority, the better the pie. Some put 1 egg to a gill of milk. Bake about an hour in deep plates, or shallow dishes, without an upper crust, in a hot oven."
Twenty three years ago, John Eger, a presidential advisor to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, predicted a digital "hell," in which the internet will fuel social divisions and spread misinformation so unchecked that it can threaten our sense of reality.
We talk with Eger about how he could predict our current problems with such accuracy in 1995, what his proposed solutions were, and what he predicts for the next 20 years.
Also, we debut a new feature: time capsule -- looking at some of what has been on our collective minds since our last episode. On our debut edition, we talk about the feud between Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian-West, the hashtag campaign #WhyIDidn'tReport, and the video game phenomenon Fortnite.
The migrant family separations that were undertaken by the Trump administration, in an effort to discourage immigration through the unequivocal prosecution of migrants and the separation of their children at the US-Mexico border, have taken a profound toll on the children and the adults.
Much of that toll has been hidden from the public, but details are now beginning to emerge. Testimonies filed in federal court offer am arresting look at the suffering incurred by migrants during the months that the policy was in place.
In this episode, we hear excerpts from some of those testimonies, read by actors.
We are also looking at new summer food trends in our latest episode -- from the croissushi -- cross between a croissant and sushi -- to freak shakes. Not all of these are a good idea, but all are on the agenda during our conversation with CultureCast Food Editor Sasa Woodruff.
CREDITS: Thanks to actors Zamara Jimenez, Jim McCaffree, Debba Rofheart and Jaime Soria for contributing to this episode.
(Photo Courtesy: Nina Robinson / BBC World Service via Flickr-Creative Commons )
An unlikely video has gone viral online -- sparking debate over whether it is an example of the type of sexism women have had to battle for generations or an innocent relic of its time.
The video is of a 1970 BBC interview with Janet Fookes, at the time a newly-elected member of Britain's parliament. In it, the interviewers seem more interested with the lawmaker's personal life and looks than her opinions and politics.
The video has inspired recent news stories. But no one has heard from the subject of the video: Janet Fookes.
On our latest episode, the Baroness Fookes of the UK's House of Lords joins us for an extended interview about that BBC appearance five decades ago, her sudden Internet celebrity, and her assessment of women's progress over the decades.
(Photo by: Jaap Buttendijk / Copyright: © 2017 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.)
On this week's episode, CultureCast book editor Loretta Williams focuses on two books lighting up the Internet.
"Ready Player One," a book by Ernest Cline and "Warcross" by Marie Lu are getting a lot of comparisons to one another.
"Ready Player One" was adapted by Steven Spielberg into a movie that comes out in March. The sci-fi story tells of a future dystopia where the virtual world is as -- if not more -- important as the real one.
"Warcross" is a novel with a heroine as its protagonist, that tells of yet another dystopia where virtual reality tail wags the real world dog.
Are these novels a lot a like? Is one better than the other?
Listen to this week's episode to find out!
(in the photo above: TYE SHERIDAN as Wade Watts in Warner Bros. Pictures,' science fiction film "READY PLAYER ONE.")
Christmas time brings us scores of familiar songs. Many of them include references to foods and drinks that we may not really know much about in our modern times.
We explore the myths surrounding the origins of candy canes, the reason figgy pudding is actually an example of GOOD British food, the wassail drink, and how to make the dreaded fruit cake actually taste good -- and the historic reason why it usually doesn't.
We discuss all of these in our latest episode looking at Christmas foods in Christmas songs!
Until recently, James Comey's twitter handle was "Reinhold Niebuhr." Not exactly a household name, but a significant figure in American culture and political thought throughout World War II and the Cold War.
And what Niebuhr had to say gives us insight into Comey's thinking, how he handled Trump and the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
In this week's episode, we explore Comey, Niebuhr, and the FBI's fraught relationship with religion.
The podcast currently has 16 episodes available.