The Secret Ingredient

The Secret Ingredient episodes:

• 10.25.2021

  Hope: Frances Moore Lappé

  “[Hope] is a key source of energy to enable us to seek solutions together.” -Frances Moore Lappé Hope is different from faith in that we need to act in hope as opposed to just having faith that everything will be...

  
• 07.14.2021

  Guam

  “We’re fighting for a worldview. We’re fighting for a different version of what it means to be human on the planet. We’re fighting for a different version of what just relations look like between the human and non-human world.” –Julian...

  
• 07.15.2020

  Each Others: Rita Valencia and Charlotte Sáenz

  “How do we build these understandings from a decolonial, antiracist and antipatriarchal basis? How do we build real solidarity bridges that do not replicate patronising structures of power? How can we learn and build with those who have resisted and...

  
• 05.01.2020

  COVID-19 Series: Rob Wallace

  The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott welcome back Rob Wallace an evolutionary biologist for his take...

  
• 02.07.2020

  Politics and The Green New Deal: Ben Lilliston

  “The climate crisis is an emergency, it is a crisis and so we need to make major, major changes in our agriculture system.” Ben Lilliston is the Director of Climate Change and Rural strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and...

  
• 01.22.2020

  The Green New Deal for Agriculture: Jim Goodman and Raj Patel

  “We need to change society so everybody can fit in and everyone can afford to live in a decarbonized society.” – Jim Goodman  In this episode of The Secret Ingredient host Raj Patel plays double-duty — he is not just...

  
• 12.10.2019

  The Green New Deal in Texas: Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez

  Explore the future of the Green New Deal and what it means for Texas with Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez. Tzintzún is challenging John Cornyn for the 2020 US Senate seat for the State of Texas. She is the Co-founder of the...

  
• 11.11.2019

  Social Movement: Naomi Klein

  The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott explore the future of the Green New Deal with  Naomi...

  
• 09.27.2019

  TSI Live: The Green New Deal

  The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott to talk about what the Green New Deal is, what...

  
• 09.25.2019

  Trailer: Season 3–The Green New Deal

  Season 3 of The Secret Ingredient will focus on The Green New Deal (GND). Listen this season as Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy discuss the future of agriculture, climate change, economic inequality and what it will take to create The Green New Deal...

  
• 04.26.2019

  Economic Man

  The Secret Ingredient is “Economic Man.” Swedish economist Katrine Marçal, author of “Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?” guides the conversation on the role of gender in economics and food politics along with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy.

  
• 03.05.2019

  Prison Labor on Farms

  The Secret Ingredient is “Prison Labor on Farms.” You might not expect where prison-produced food may show up! Listen back as agriculture farmer and former inmate Jahi Ellis guides the conversation on food production in prison along with Raj Patel,...

  
• 11.02.2018

  Solidarity (Ep. 35)

  The Secret Ingredient is “Solidarity.” Listen back as Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebeca McInroy talk with organizers Hodaliz Borrayes, Diana Sierra, and Andrea Schmid from The Pioneer Vally Workers Center, about their profound backgrounds and how they come together...

  
• 08.01.2018

  Communes (Ep. 34)

  Dr. Joshua Eisenman author of Red China’s Green Revolution: Technological Innovation, Institutional Change, and Economic Development Under the Commune is our guest on this edition of The Secret Ingredient with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy. Join us as we...

  
• 07.20.2018

  Mushrooms (Ep. 33)

  “We just assume our everyday normal consciousness is the one and the most accurate…there are unseen worlds, there are unseen forces, and you can look them in a religious sense, but you don’t have to.” –Michael Pollan On the latest...

  
• 07.11.2018

  Eliminating Tipping in Austin?

  Hosts Rebecca McInroy and Tom Philpott of The Secret Ingredient Podcast talk with restaurateurs Adam Orman from L’Oca d’Oro, Jodi Mozeika from Black Star, and Jam from Thai Fresh about why they’ve eliminated tipping at their restaurants, how they make...

  
• 06.27.2018

  Decolonization (Ep. 32)

  “We can’t even talk about decolonizing our medicine until we talk about decolonizing our food.”  –Rupa Marya On this edition of The Secret Ingredient hosts Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk with Dr. Rupa Marya. Marya teaches and...

  
• 05.29.2018

  Special: Pesticides, Science, and Subterfuge

  In the 1970s Monsanto unveiled a miracle herbicide–Glyphosate. The pitch: it was as safe as table salt for people, but could flatten even the peskiest weeds. Farmers and homeowners alike have used the product ever since. Now, it shows up...

  
• 01.24.2018

  Update

  This is just a note to let you know what we’re up to with the podcast. We have a three-part piece on the herbicide glyphosate coming out soon, and then we’ll be back on track for the bi-monthly shows. Until...

  
• 11.10.2017

  Democracy (Ep. 31)

  “Our enemy is apathy.” –Yanis Varoufakis In 2015 today’s guests were propelled onto the global stage by their efforts to take on the European banking establishment and restructure the Greek government’s financial system.  For 5 months they worked to negotiate alternatives to further austerity measures; trying to extend loans while moving Greece toward...

  
• 10.17.2017

  Cheap Food (Ep. 30)

  “[Reparation Ecology] is an invitation to observe these big transformations as reparation. Moving away from capitalism moving toward something much better…it is a deeper way of engaging with the  politics of possibility after capitalism.” -Raj Patel On this edition of...

  
• 09.30.2017

  Tomatoes: Coalition of Immokalee Workers (Ep. 29)

  “The work we do is too important to the nation. We are the people who make it possible for every meal to exist. We feed the nation and we ask, have always asked, for the possibility to feed our own...

  
• 09.22.2017

  Sidney Mintz (Extended Interview)

  “Most of all I would like more coming to terms with what happened…I think what needs to be done is for all of my fellow citizens in this country to understand what happened and to be able to say, this...

  
• 08.07.2017

  Land Reform: Suzan Erem (Ep. 28)

  “We have to do something to take us off this treadmill of ratcheting up land prices.” -Suzan Erem, The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust On the latest edition of The Secret Ingredient Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy talk with...

  
• 06.14.2017

  Strawberries: Julie Guthman (Ep 27.)

  “Strawberries is kind of the quintessence of industrial agriculture in California. It’s the fifth highest value crop in the state. It also got the most heavy pesticide regime, by far, of any other crop in the state. And it kind...

  
• 05.10.2017

  Seed Saving: Janet Maro (Ep. 26)

  “Life begins with the seed germinating…we depend on seed and most of the seed is the seed we will produce, have it, save and use in the next planting season. That’s what most of the farmers in Tanzania still do…...

  
• 04.10.2017

  Nutritionism: Aya Kimura (Ep. 25)

  James Baldwin said, “the purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers.” When considering this sentiment in relationship to “nutritionism” one might look at Aya Kimura‘s book, Hidden Hunger: Gender and the...

  
• 03.28.2017

  V&B Extra: Food and Trump’s Border Wall

  The Lorano Long Conference brought many great thinkers and activists to the campus of The University of Texas in February to talk about, “New Perspectives on the Contemporary Food System in Latin America.” The Secret Ingredient Podcast’s Raj Patel, Tom...

  
• 03.27.2017

  Nutrition: Joan Gussow (Ep. 24)

  “Once in a while, I thin I’ve had an original thought, then I look and read around and realize Joan said it first.” -Michael Pollan We take for granted now that part of being healthy is eating a variety of...

  
• 01.11.2017

  Tips: Saru Jayaraman (Ep. 23)

  “Building unity across divide is possible. Building something even better than we had before, out of terrible tragedy, is possible. A movement for change is never more ripe than when we are, in some cases, at our lowest moment. Because...

  
• 12.21.2016

  Op-Ed Teaching Public Policy In A Trump Administration: James K. Galbraith

  From The New Deal until the present moment the architecture of The United States formed around some basic principles of public policy; principles that will no longer apply under a Trump administration. With all the questions that are on the...

  
• 12.19.2016

  Ethnic Food: Krishnendu Ray (Ep. 22)

  Krishnendu Ray is the chair of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University, and author of The Ethnic Restaurateur. Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy spoke to him Ray on the day after the 2016 presidential election about...

  
• 11.29.2016

  (Bush) Tea: Annalee Davis (Ep. 21)

  “The history of slavery in the Caribbean is traumatic. It’s a difficult legacy and I don’t think that it’s been well processed. So the serving of tea becomes this way to sort of address that. To consider, how can we...

  
• 11.08.2016

  Spin: Anna Lappé (Ep. 20)

  “There isn’t a single aspect of what we eat that is not touched by industry spin.” -Anna Lappé There are so many logistical barriers to healthy, fresh, ethically produced and farmed foods — from food deserts to our busy daily...

  
• 11.03.2016

  TSI Extra – Hoover Alexander [Part Two]

  Explore the past, present and future of food in Austin with local legend Hoover Alexander alongside the hosts of The Secret Ingredient (Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy). Hoover’s long career in cooking tracks incredible changes that have taken...

  
• 11.03.2016

  TSI Extra – Hoover Alexander [Part One]

  Explore the past, present and future of food in Austin with local legend Hoover Alexander alongside the hosts of The Secret Ingredient (Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy). Hoover’s long career in cooking tracks incredible changes that have taken...

  
• 10.26.2016

  Sugar Op-Ed: James K. Galbraith

  The story of sugar in the Western world is sordid and bitter, however this past gets quickly candy coated in our day-to-day lives as consumers. In this special op-ed from the eminent economist, writer and historian James K. Galbraith, we...

  
• 10.10.2016

  School Food: Alexa Delwiche (Ep. 19)

  “As the food movement has gotten stronger and stronger, and people have been asking many more questions, not just about, where is my food coming from? But, how is it produced? Who’s being harmed along the way? Food service directors...

  
• 09.13.2016

  TSI Live: Feeding Austin’s Hungry

  In this special edition of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins the hosts of The Secret Ingredient, Raj Patel and Tom Philpott, as they talk with guests Edwin Marty, the Food Policy Manager for the City of Austin, and Erin Lentz, from the...

  
• 09.06.2016

  Whiteness: Breeze Harper (Ep. 18)

  “America was built on a white supremacist caste system which centers whiteness as the norm…”-Dr. A. Breeze Harper On this edition of the Secret Ingredient the secret ingredient is whiteness. Join Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy as they...

  
• 08.12.2016

  TSI Weekend: Zika

  “If you divorce economy from ecology then you end up crumbling the mechanisms by which the forest has typically been able to keep the worst of the pathogens from emerging beyond merely hitting a village or two.” -Rob Wallace In...

  
• 08.10.2016

  Cotton: Sven Beckert (Ep. 17)

  Cotton. Not quite a food item, but a plant nonetheless with a rather complicated history and an enduring relevance in our lives. Today, a typical day cannot pass without using this pillowy crop that rules our commodified lives. In this...

  
• 07.02.2016

  TSI Weekend: Nationalism

  “It is the most artificial thing that humans have ever built,” says Appadurai of nationalism. “That seems the most natural.” In this edition of The Secret Ingredient Weekend, Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy summarize our show with Dr....

  
• 06.27.2016

  Breast Milk: Kimberly Seals Allers (Ep. 16)

  “When it comes to breastfeeding the ideal of choice verses the illusion of choice are two very different things,” argues Kimberly Seals Allers when talking about her new book, “The Big Let Down: How Medicine, Big Business and Feminism Undermine...

  
• 06.11.2016

  Pathogens: Rob Wallace (Ep. 15)

  In this episode of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Rob Wallace, author of “Big Farms Make Big Flu: Dispatches on Infectious Disease, Agribusiness, and the Nature of Science,” about pathogens, zika, bird flu, capitalism, and so much more.

  
• 05.10.2016

  Nationalism: Arjun Appadurai (Ep. 14)

  People are interesting animals. We look to many things to help us understand our place and identity in this world. We have maps, passports, languages, families, clothes, books and (among so much more) we also have food. At first thought,...

  
• 05.05.2016

  V&B – The Past, Present, and Future of The Greek Economy

  In this episode of Views & Brews,  KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins the hosts of KUT’s The Secret Ingredient podcast, Tom Philpott and Raj Patel, as they sit down with the eminent economist James K. Galbraith author of the forthcoming “Welcome to the Poisoned...

  
• 04.15.2016

  The Peasantry: Blain Snipstal (Ep. 13)

  Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk with peasant farmer Blain Snipstal about the history of agriculture and racism in America, power, food sovereignty, La Via Campesina, land, and much more.

  
• 04.11.2016

  SXSW: Tech & The Future of Food

  In this special SXSW edition of The Secret Ingredient, Tom Philpott, Rebecca McInroy and Raj Patel talk about technologies that will shape the future of food. Technologies, as it turns out, that might surprise you, mainly biodiversity, and gender equality. Listen...

  
• 04.06.2016

  Quinoa: Tanya Kerssen (Ep. 12)

  “While no one would argue that Bolivian farmers shouldn’t get a good price for their crop, these trends cannot be ignored—or left up to global market forces. Perhaps most tragic of all is that this boom (and booms are always...