Cauliflower rice biryani anyone?… When Kumail Nanjiani was cast as a Marvel superhero, he decided to transform his body. Gone was the guy who played a schlubby coder on Silicon Valley — Kumail got jacked. To many of his fans, and to anyone who heard him wax poetic about his favorite foods on The Sporkful four years ago, this change was shocking. But has Kumail himself changed? This week he returns, now with his creative partner and wife Emily V. Gordon. They discuss the surprising ways their relationship to food has evolved since Kumail got ripped — and since the pandemic hit. Plus, they break down their quarantine take-out game, discuss the backlash to their eat cauliflower rice biryani, and unpack some of their body image issues.//

Get 500+ more great Sporkful episodes from our catalog and lots of other Stitcher goodness when you sign up for Stitcher Premium: www.StitcherPremium.com/Sporkful (promo code: SPORKFUL).

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Eat Differently Now

We obsess about food to learn more about people. The Sporkful isn't for foodies, it's for eaters. Hosted by Dan Pashman, who's also the inventor of the new pasta shape cascatelli. James Beard and Webby Award winner for Best Food Podcast. A Stitcher Production.

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Cookbook author Priya Krishna was a world traveler as a kid. Because of her mom’s job in the airline industry, Priya was able to go to China, Egypt, France, and more, chronicling all of the new foods she tried on her travels in her journal. Now, as an adult, she’s turning her childhood travelogs into the cookbook she wishes she had growing up — Priya’s Kitchen Adventures.

Priya Krishna Writes The Kids Cookbook She Wished She'd Had

Dips are having a moment — from a dips-only restaurant in Atlanta to Martin Short playing a character who only eats dips. But TV host and Cosmo columnist Alyse Whitney was a self-described Dip Queen long before they got hot, and she proves it in her new cookbook, Big Dip Energy: 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond.

Alyse Whitney Brings Big Dip Energy

You may think you know LeVar Burton. After starring in the seminal 1977 mini-series Roots, he hosted Reading Rainbow and starred alongside Sir Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation. These days he hosts the podcasts LeVar Burton Reads, in which he reads his favorite short fiction, and Sound Detectives, for kids who want to explore the magic and mystery of sound.

Reheat: LeVar Burton Even Reads Recipes Dramatically

Naama Shefi remembers visiting her husband’s grandmother for the first time, and being astonished by the stories tucked into each dish on the dinner table. That moment led her to start the Jewish Food Society, an organization that preserves and celebrates the diversity of Jewish food from around the world, which as Naama is quick to point out, goes far beyond Eastern European classics like brisket, kugel, smoked fish, and potato knishes.

Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

Laura and Beth Winters are fraternal twins who come from a family of proud picky eaters. But after high school, Laura left home for college and started exploring new foods, while Beth stayed close to home and continued to eat the same way she did growing up. What does their story tell us about nature vs. nurture, and the kinds of judgments we make about picky eating?

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Eat Differently Now

Download our free app to listen on your phone