2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and for the first episode of Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg of the year, we're kicking things off with a special conversation about the essential role that women play across food and agriculture systems. Dani sits down with Monicah Yator, Founder of Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative, to discuss the cross-cutting benefits of investing in and uplifting women farmers, exciting progress in East Africa to protect smallholder producers and promote agroecology, and Yator's hopes for the future of food and farming systems.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani author, nutritionist and Professor Emerita Marion Nestle about her new book, What to Eat Now: The Indispensable Guide to Good Food, How to Find It, and Why It Matters. They talk about the problem with ultra-processed foods, the rise of dynamic pricing, and how eaters can navigate the thousands of options in grocery stores.

Plus, hear about the funding shortfall to conserve biodiversity, a leading science journal's retraction of a study on glyphosate safety, a new regenerative agriculture pilot, and more.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Sieglinde Snapp, Director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems program at CIMMYT, and Eske Willerslev, a Professor and evolutionary geneticist at the University of Copenhagen and Cambridge University. They talk about the interdependence of the biodiversity above and below ground, what ancient DNA reveals about climate adaptation solutions, and the toolkit that will get us where we need to go.

Plus, hear about the newly announced $12 billion bailout for American farmers, the UAE's investment in AI-powered agricultural technologies, and legislation to tackle contamination from forever chemicals.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani shares some updates and news that makes her excited, energized, infuriated, or curious:

Court Rules to Protect Seed Saving in Kenya

Australia's Government to Expand Right to Repair

Nigeria Launches Initiative to Support Sustainable Farming

San Francisco Sues Producers of Ultra-Processed Foods

Microbes with an Appetite for Methane

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Johanna Hellrigl Wilder, the Chef & Founder of Ama, a mission-driven Northern Italian restaurant in Washington D.C. They talk about creating a restaurant model that does right by the people who work there, the diners they feed, and the planet; the issues that are encouraging lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to lean in; and the policies needed to ensure that food businesses at the heart of communities can thrive.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Dr. Christina Economos, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. They talk about democratizing food and nutrition education, the community-led Food is Medicine research the Friedman School is advancing in the Mississippi Delta, and creating pathways for the next generation of leaders working to improve food, nutrition, and public health systems.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

This week, the 30th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP30) kicks off in Belem, Brazil; a new report reveals that hundreds of millions of people have been displaced by changing weather patterns in the last decade; and East Africa countries take steps to boost trade of agroecological produce.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with LaMonika Jones, Director of State Initiatives at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), who oversees three initiatives of the organization: D.C. Hunger Solutions, Maryland Hunger Solutions, and the New Jersey Food Security Initiative. They discuss the millions of families waiting to receive their SNAP benefits this month, why states lack the bandwidth to fill gaps left by the federal government's inaction, and how you can take action to help neighbors in your own community.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

This episode of Food Talk features two conversations from Food Tank's recent Summit in Washington D.C.

First the chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, Founder of the Global Food Institute at GW and World Central Kitchen, joins Dani to talk about changing outdated policies to meet the current moment, food as a universal human right, and finding opportunities in today's challenges.

Then James Beard Award-winning author and culinary historian Michael Twitty sits down with Tim Carman of the Washington Post to discuss his new book Recipes from the American South, the pain and pleasure in our food and farming systems, and the meanings and languages of plants.

This event was held in partnership with the Global Food Institute at GW, the Culinary Institute of America, and Jose Andres, in collaboration with Driscoll's, Meatable, and Oatly.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

This episode of Food Talk features two conversations from Food Tank's first annual Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in Washington D.C.

First Congressmember Nikki Budzinski, who represents Illinois' 13th District, joins Dani to talk about the legislation that's needed to connect local farmers with food pantries and the hunger crisis that's about to worsen as we hurtle toward the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding cliff.

Then Congressmember Shontel Brown, who represents Ohio's 11th District, sits down with Politico's Marcia Brown to talk about her own experience relying on SNAP, dispelling myths around those reliant on nutrition assistance programs, and what she's learned through her meetings with family farmers who are looking for more certainty in chaotic times.

This event was held in partnership with the Global Food Institute at GW, the Culinary Institute of America, and Jose Andres, in collaboration with Driscoll's, Meatable, and Oatly.

While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.