Salt is one of those things most people think they understand because there is a little container of it in the kitchen.

You shake it on food.

You move on.

Then you talk to Mark Bitterman and realize salt is tied to civilization, trade, preservation, cooking, flavor, farming, community, weather, food systems, restaurants, capitalism, environmental impact, and the strange fact that a steak in France can apparently redirect a person’s entire life.

In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, I talk with Mark Bitterman, James Beard Award-winning author, selmelier, owner of The Meadow, and founder of Bitterman Salt Co., about salt history, food culture, finishing salt, salt blocks, cooking, eating with awareness, and why salt is not just salt.

We get into industrial salt vs. handmade salt, why humans need salt, how traditional salt works operate, Mark’s years in France, the steak that changed how he understood food, why kosher salt became standard in American kitchens, and how salt can carry place, texture, moisture, minerals, and history.

This conversation also goes bigger than salt: food as connection instead of fuel, local food systems, restaurant culture, imported ingredients, plastic waste, meat, animals, backyard gardens, cooking for people, and why paying attention to what we eat changes the whole experience.

In this episode:
• The history of salt
• Why salt is not just salt
• Industrial salt vs. handmade salt
• Finishing salt and flavor
• Why humans need salt
• Salt, preservation, trade, and civilization
• Mark’s years in France
• Food culture and community meals
• The steak that changed how Mark understood salt
• Traditional salt works in France
• The Meadow and Bitterman Salt Co.
• Why kosher salt became standard in American kitchens
• Salt blocks and salt block cooking
• Food systems, restaurants, and profit
• Meat, animals, and eating with awareness
• Local food, plastic, and sustainability
• Why cooking and sharing meals still matter

Guest:
Mark Bitterman is a selmelier, food writer, entrepreneur, and James Beard Award-winning author. He is the owner of The Meadow and the founder of Bitterman Salt Co.

His first book, Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes, won a James Beard Foundation Award. He has also written books on salt, salt block cooking, bitters, and food.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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Sex trafficking is one of those topics most people understand in the broadest possible way.

They know it is horrible.
They know it exists.
But a lot of people do not understand how it actually works, how often manipulation is involved, how vulnerable people are targeted, and why victims may not always recognize what is happening while they are still inside it.

In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, I talk with Janna Piper about sex trafficking, human trafficking, coercion, survivor support, Portland-area resources, and why awareness matters.

This is a heavy conversation, but the goal is not fear or sensationalism. The goal is to understand the real version a little better: how people are targeted, how trust is exploited, how trauma complicates recovery, and how support systems can help people find a way out.

We talk about domestic minor sex trafficking, Romeo pimps, coercive relationships, labor trafficking, foster youth vulnerability, homelessness, trauma, substance abuse, sex work laws, strip clubs, worker protections, online exploitation, pornography, consent, and prevention.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline:

Call: 1-888-373-7888
Text: 233733
Website: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

In this episode:
• Sex trafficking and human trafficking
• Coercion, manipulation, and Romeo pimps
• Why trafficking is often misunderstood
• Vulnerability, poverty, foster care, and trauma
• Labor trafficking and documentation control
• Sex work laws and worker protections
• Online exploitation, pornography, and consent
• Substance abuse and trafficking
• Survivor support and Portland resources
• Education, prevention, and awareness

Guest:
Janna Piper is a professional pet sitter and dog walker, personal trainer, boxing and self-defense instructor, MMA fighter, poler, author, musician, composer, audio engineer, and longtime advocate for education and awareness around human trafficking.

She was a member of the Junior League of Portland’s Stop Human Trafficking Committee for 9 years.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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I recorded this the day after my first ayahuasca ceremony because I wanted to get it down before the details started disappearing.

This is not advice, a recommendation, or me pretending to be some psychedelic guru. It is a personal story about walking into something I was genuinely scared of, trying to let go of control, and having one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life.

I talk through the fear before the ceremony, the room, the mats, the guides, the idea of “the medicine,” the possibility of purging, the moment it started, the visuals, the music, the feeling of being completely inside my own mind, and the flood of gratitude, forgiveness, and love that came later.

The experience was intense, beautiful, terrifying, confusing, and impossible to fully explain. At different points, it felt like Rainbow Road, Willy Wonka’s tunnel, the control room from Inside Out, and a thousand voices asking questions inside my head.

Then it softened.

I started thinking about my kids, my family, my friends, people I work with, people I had been angry with, people who had helped me, and people I needed to forgive. By the end, I was grateful for the experience and also very grateful to come back to regular life.

Reality felt good.

In this episode:
• My first ayahuasca ceremony
• Fear before taking psychedelics
• Setting an intention
• Drinking “the medicine”
• Purging, crying, and release
• Trying not to control the experience
• Visuals, colors, and overwhelming thoughts
• Music during the ceremony
• Gratitude, forgiveness, and family
• The fear of not coming back
• Feeling connected to everything
• Coming back to normal life
• Why the experience stayed with me

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

Contains video posted on Instagram by:

@visualspirits

@minelauvart

@r_is_ris

Opening music recorded and manipulated by Cody Maxwell.

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Recording music sounds romantic until you remember that someone has to actually make it work.

The band has to show up prepared enough to capture something real. The engineer has to understand the room, the microphones, the gear, the people, the time, the money, the tension, and the tiny psychological disaster that can happen when someone has to do the same take 47 times.

In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, I talk with Adam Lee, an audio engineer at Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon, about recording bands, making records, studio life, and what actually happens on the other side of the glass.

Adam has worked with artists including Portugal. The Man, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Black Thought, Dame D.O.L.L.A, Built to Spill, Quasi, The Decemberists, Red Fang, and Jerry Joseph.

We talk about Adam starting on a four-track reel-to-reel, moving from Phoenix to Portland, getting into Jackpot!, learning Pro Tools, working on tape, recording bands, studio psychology, first takes, live performances, imperfect records, Radiohead, Kid A, the 27 Club, burnout, budgets, and why making records still feels like black magic.

In this episode:
• Recording bands in the studio
• Audio engineering and music production
• Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland
• Tape machines, Pro Tools, and digital recording
• Moving from Phoenix to Portland
• Working with bands and artists
• Why engineers shape the final record
• Studio psychology and trust
• First takes vs. too many takes
• Live performances vs. perfect recordings
• Radiohead, Kid A, and music memories
• Budgets, burnout, and surviving in music
• Why making records still matters

Guest:
Adam Lee has been making records in Portland for over 10 years. Some of the bands he has worked with include Portugal. The Man, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Black Thought, Dame D.O.L.L.A, Built to Spill, Quasi, The Decemberists, Red Fang, and Jerry Joseph.

Adam moved from Phoenix to Portland in 2009 after studying audio at MCC, and landed at Jackpot! shortly after. Aside from engineering, he has also scored and mixed films, produced children’s audio books, and captured live performances around the city.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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This episode of Why Is This Song So Good? is a little different.

There is no talking in this one. No breakdown. No explanation. Just a visual full-band cover of NOFX’s “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock.”

I play both guitar parts, bass, and drums along to the original recording, with three versions of me on screen at the same time like I cloned myself into a very small punk band.

The idea is simple: instead of explaining why the song works, this one shows how the parts fit together.

In this episode:
• NOFX “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock”
• Visual “Why Is This Song So Good?” episode
• Guitar cover
• Bass cover
• Drum cover
• Full-band playthrough
• Two guitar parts, bass, and drums
• Playing along to the original NOFX recording

Written by:

Fat Mike – lead vocals, bass guitar, producer

El Hefe – guitar, backing vocals

Eric Melvin – guitar, backing vocals, additional engineering

Erik Sandin – drums

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The Pacific Northwest looks normal because we are used to it.

The Columbia River Gorge, The Dalles, Eastern Washington, Portland, Lake Oswego, the Willamette Valley. It all just feels like the landscape we happen to live in.

Then you learn about the Missoula Floods and realize a lot of this place was shaped by repeated Ice Age mega floods that tore through the region with enough force to rearrange the map.

In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, I talk with geologist Scott Burns about the Missoula Floods, Glacial Lake Missoula, J Harlen Bretz, the Channel Scablands, Portland geology, ice-rafted boulders, the Willamette Meteorite, Ice Age animals, wine terroir, climate change, and how to read the landscape around us.

Scott is Professor Emeritus of Geology at Portland State University and co-author of Cataclysms on the Columbia: The Great Missoula Floods.

We talk about how an ice dam created Glacial Lake Missoula, how the dam failed, why the floods repeated many times, and how geologists figured out what happened by reading the land. Scott also explains how the floods shaped Oregon and Washington, including the Columbia River Gorge, The Dalles, Portland, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, and the Willamette Valley.

This conversation also gets into mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed cats, giant beavers, the Willamette Meteorite, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, radiocarbon dating, radiometric dating, wine soils, climate change, glaciers, sea level rise, and nuclear power.

In this episode:
• The Missoula Floods and Ice Age Floods
• Glacial Lake Missoula
• How an ice dam created repeated mega floods
• J Harlen Bretz and the Channel Scablands
• How the floods shaped Oregon and Washington
• The Columbia River Gorge and The Dalles
• Portland, Lake Oswego, and the Willamette Valley
• Ice-rafted boulders and the Willamette Meteorite
• Mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and giant beavers
• Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and volcanic history
• Radiocarbon dating and radiometric dating
• Geology, soil, grapes, and wine terroir
• Climate change, glaciers, sea level rise, and nuclear power

Guest:
Scott Burns is Professor Emeritus of Geology at Portland State University. His areas of expertise include environmental and engineering geology, geomorphology, soils, landslides, earthquake hazard mapping, Missoula Floods, paleosols, radon, heavy metals and trace elements in Oregon soils, alpine soil development, and the terroir of wine.

He is also co-author of Cataclysms on the Columbia: The Great Missoula Floods.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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A trivia game featuring Sketchy Scott & Jabroni.

Categories played in this episode include Dead or Alive, Cartoon Characters, Lines from Movies - 2, US Presidents, Lines from Movies - 3, DeLorean, Russell Crowe, and Ciggies.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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A trivia game featuring Sketchy Scott & Jabroni.

Categories played in this episode include 80's Hair Bands, What Theme Song Is This, Random, 1960's Music, Breakfast Cereals, 90's Hip-Hop, Italy, Sneakers, and Spice Girls.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms.

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Steve is a professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon. As a paleontologist and paleoanthropologist his interests are in human and primate evolution as well as ways to quantify biological shape and how it changes. He has conducted field and museum research in eastern Africa over the last 3 decades, which has primarily focused on the evolution of African monkeys and its relationship to climatic change. He is particularly interested in understanding what roles they played in their ecosystems, what those past ecosystems were like, and what larger aspects of Earth history and evolution they can help us to understand.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by UlyanaStudio and Grandphic.

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How to install Bruce Hydropel waterproof flooring, the IKEA bathroom vanity - Godmorgon, recessed LED ceiling lights, and paint walls with Sherwin-Williams paint.

All production by Cody Maxwell.

Artwork by Cody Maxwell.

Opening graphic assets by UlyanaStudio and Grandphic.

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