In this episode of True Crime Culinary, Leah tells the story of Emily O’Brien, a young Canadian entrepreneur whose life took a dramatic turn after being caught carrying drugs across a border. What followed was incarceration — and an unexpected turning point.

While serving time, Emily noticed how food became a rare point of connection inside prison. With limited resources and a small weekly allowance, she gravitated toward popcorn: inexpensive, customizable, and comforting. That simple snack sparked an idea that eventually became a gourmet popcorn business built around second chances and fair employment for formerly incarcerated people.

But popcorn’s role in this story goes deeper.

Popcorn itself has a long history as a survival food — cultivated for thousands of years and valued because it’s easy to store, simple to prepare, and transforms dramatically under heat. Long before movie theaters, people ate popcorn at home, sometimes even for breakfast, mixed with milk or sweeteners.

Its modern association with cinema emerged in the early 20th century, when popcorn vendors began selling outside theaters. During the Great Depression, popcorn’s low cost and high profit margins helped struggling movie houses stay afloat. Eventually, theaters embraced it fully, turning popcorn into the defining movie snack we know today.

This episode weaves Emily’s comeback story with popcorn’s cultural journey — from humble kernels to silver screens — exploring how pressure reshapes both people and food. It’s a story about consequences, resilience, and how something ordinary can become a pathway forward.

References:

Emily O’Brien’s story and founding of Comeback Snacks
Toronto Life — I Started My Popcorn Business From Behind Bars. It Gave Me a Second Chance at Life
https://torontolife.com/memoir/i-started-my-popcorn-business-from-behind-bars-it-gave-me-a-second-chance-at-life/

Why popcorn became a movie theater staple
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Why Do Movie Theaters Serve Popcorn?
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-movie-theaters-serve-popcorn

Popcorn and cinema culture
Smithsonian Magazine — Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-do-we-eat-popcorn-at-the-movies-475063/

Overview of popcorn’s long history
SeatUp — History of Popcorn
https://seatup.com/blog/history-of-popcorn/

Early household uses of popcorn (including breakfast myths)
History Myths — Revisited Myth #91: Popcorn Was the First Breakfast Cereal
https://historymyths.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/revisited-myth-91-popcorn-was-the-first-breakfast-cereal/