Comedian Margaret Cho has struggled with eating disorders for most of her life. When she was starting out in comedy, she used alcohol and drugs to mask her hunger, and later resorted to other methods of controlling her weight. When we received a note from a teenage listener struggling with her own eating issues, we invited Margaret to share her story and advice with the listener and other young people who might be headed down the same path.

Margaret Cho Has Always Been ‘Hollywood Obese’

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.

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In 2016, the Library of Congress posted Rosa Parks' personal documents online for the first time. Buried under postcards from Martin Luther King and lists of volunteers for the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a pancake recipe, written on the back of an envelope — which included the addition of peanut butter to the batter. On this week's episode, we visit Adrienne Cannon, a specialist in African-American history at the Library of Congress, to see the recipe firsthand. Then we travel to Detroit to share a meal with Mrs. Parks' nieces, who published their aunt's favorite recipes in their book, Our Auntie Rosa. Finally, Dan heads to Nicole Taylor's kitchen to make those peanut butter pancakes. This episode originally aired on May 1, 2017, and April 12, 2021, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Shoshana Gold, with editing by Dan Charles. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Jared O'Connell, and Nora Ritchie. Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at hello@sporkful.com, and include your name, your location, which episode, and why. Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Reheat: In Search Of Rosa Parks' Pancakes

For years, chef Yia Vang operated his restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen in a trailer outside of a brewery in Minneapolis. Last year, he finally opened his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, and it already feels like a neighborhood institution — especially in the region of the U.S. with the largest community of Hmong refugees from southeast Asia. Over a meal of whole grilled branzino, Hmong sausage, purple sticky rice, and a lot more, Yia tells Dan about his mission to tell his parents’ story — and the story of the Hmong people — through his cooking. Yia also talks about his own journey: he was born in a Thai refugee camp, moved with his family to Amish country, and then worked as a church “lunch lady” before breaking out on his own. Now he’s fighting tooth and nail to open a new restaurant that will fully celebrate Hmong food the way he envisions. The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen. Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Yia Vang Says Hmong Food Is His Family's Legacy

In the second half of our Best of the Book Tour series, we’re answering your questions! We’ll tackle the most frequently asked questions Dan got on the tour, and the ones he never saw coming. Plus we’ll hear from other folks who worked on Anything’s Pastable about the recipes that were cut from the book, and the ones that created the most conflict between Dan and his collaborators. Finally, Dan answers the question on everyone’s mind: Now that he’s conquered pasta, which food will he take on next? The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer and editing by Tomeka Weatherspoon. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen. Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Book Tour 2: How’d You Get So Good At Failure?

The comic, actor, writer, and podcast host, best known as Conan O’Brien’s late night TV sidekick, tells us why he chose a really nice refrigerator over a sports car. And he traces his issues with weight back to a childhood ice cream outing with his grandmother.  This episode originally aired on July 29, 2019 and January 31, 2017, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Ngofeen Mputubwele. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell. Every other Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at hello@sporkful.com, and include your name, your location, which episode, and why. Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Reheat: Andy Richter Bought A Midlife Crisis Fridge

For six weeks this spring, Dan hit the road for the biggest tour in Sporkful history, all in celebration of his cookbook Anything’s Pastable. He traveled to ten cities and spoke with a stacked line-up of chefs, comedians, and journalists in front of live audiences. In this first of two episodes we’re releasing of the best moments from the tour, Claire Saffitz, Sam Sanders, Lindy West, Joanne Lee Molinaro, Pati Jinich, Andy Richter, Kae Lani Palmisano, Kim Severson, Dan Souza, and Ann Kim sit in the host chair and ask Dan questions about the book, his strongly-held food opinions, and more, covering ground we didn’t get to in our original series about the cookbook. Nothing is off the table. Claire Saffitz admits to ruining her pan making spaghetti all'assassina. Pati Jinich processes her shock over Dan’s pasta enchiladas. And Lindy West plays a game with Dan that’s definitely not appropriate for the whole family. The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer and editing by Tomeka Weatherspoon. Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Margaret Cho Has Always Been ‘Hollywood Obese’

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