Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Let food do the talking
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Let food do the talking
Does food have the power to send messages when words aren’t enough? This week Ruth Alexander finds out how food can sometimes speak much louder than words.
Lecturer in Chinese Cultural Studies Dr Zhaokun Xi explains why gifting a pear in China can quietly suggest separation — and how it still carries weight today. Chef Beejhy Barhany reflects on the role of Ethiopian food in expressing care and welcome through gursha, the act of feeding people with your hands.
We find out how food can be used as a signal of protest from historian and food researcher Aylin Oney Tan. From the Janissaries tipping their cauldrons of soup to signal unrest, to black pepper in a wedding dish to symbolise the role of the mother in law. And we learn about the power of food in mourning; Greek food writer Aglaia Kremezi tell us about koliva, a sweet dish served at funerals in Greece — and how it attempts to soften the bitterness of loss.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]
Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Izzy Greenfield
View all episodes
By BBC World Service
4.7
324324 ratings
Does food have the power to send messages when words aren’t enough? This week Ruth Alexander finds out how food can sometimes speak much louder than words.
Lecturer in Chinese Cultural Studies Dr Zhaokun Xi explains why gifting a pear in China can quietly suggest separation — and how it still carries weight today. Chef Beejhy Barhany reflects on the role of Ethiopian food in expressing care and welcome through gursha, the act of feeding people with your hands.
We find out how food can be used as a signal of protest from historian and food researcher Aylin Oney Tan. From the Janissaries tipping their cauldrons of soup to signal unrest, to black pepper in a wedding dish to symbolise the role of the mother in law. And we learn about the power of food in mourning; Greek food writer Aglaia Kremezi tell us about koliva, a sweet dish served at funerals in Greece — and how it attempts to soften the bitterness of loss.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]
Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Izzy Greenfield
More shows like The Food Chain
View all
Global News Podcast
7,584 Listeners
More or Less
889 Listeners
Newshour
1,048 Listeners
In Our Time
5,458 Listeners
The Documentary Podcast
1,796 Listeners
6 Minute English
1,756 Listeners
Learning English Conversations
1,046 Listeners
The Infinite Monkey Cage
2,085 Listeners
Health Check
90 Listeners
The Food Programme
261 Listeners
BBC Inside Science
411 Listeners
Science Weekly
419 Listeners
Inside Health
87 Listeners
Science In Action
336 Listeners
Unexpected Elements
351 Listeners
All in the Mind
67 Listeners
CrowdScience
476 Listeners
People Fixing the World
245 Listeners
Sliced Bread
128 Listeners
Good Food
43 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,186 Listeners
Americast
718 Listeners
The Bomb
1,017 Listeners
What's Up Docs?
103 Listeners