This week, we’ve got suggestions to start your summer reading list. First, we sit down with bestselling author and poet  Aimee Nezhukumatathil to talk about her upbringing and the nature of her poetry. She writes about her parent’s gardens and their food, and how she carries her childhood experiences with her today.  Her latest book is Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. Then, we learn about the life and legacy of the iconic book editor Judith Jones through her biographer Sara B. Franklin. Sara documented Judith’s amazing journey from her first job at a publishing house to transforming the cookbook industry at large. Plus, we hear from Judith herself from an interview we did several years ago with our former host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Sara B. Franklin’s book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 24, 2024 (originally aired)
• May 2, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we’re bringing you two guests that will get you excited about cooking and baking. First, New York Times food desk reporter Priya Krishna tells us about her food writing career, building connections through her stories and travels and her most recent book, Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids. In her book, she draws recipes from different cuisines worldwide and tells us what working with kids as recipe testers was like. She leaves us with a recipe for Life Changing Udon. Then, Baker Yossy Arefi talks us through what it takes to make delicious and simple baking recipes. She talks about making desserts without occasion and finding freedom in combining flavors in her recipes, like her delicious Pink Cookie Bars with cardamom and almond cream cheese frosting. Plus, she sticks around to answer your baking questions. Yossy Arefi’s latest book is Snacking Bakes, Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More.  

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 3, 2024 (originally aired)
• April 25, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we’re shining a light on the absolutely magical, life-changing, the world-changing thing that you already have in your kitchen. The refrigerator. Maybe nothing in your home has changed the world more. Historian Jonathan Rees author of Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America talks about its origins and influence on cultures worldwide. Then, Editor in Chief of Cooks Illustrated, Dan Souza, teaches us how to get the most out of the fridge we already have - from what to keep in your fridge door to why you might reconsider where you are storing your milk, and then Philadelphia Chef Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen tells us how to think of the fridge as a tool to becoming a better cook. Think crispier chicken and root vegetables so delicious you will have no problem moving them to the center of your plate.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 18 2022 (originally aired)
• March 24, 2023 (rebroadcast)
• April 18, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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We're back on the road to celebrate our 30th Anniversary! This week, we’re headed to Los Angeles, in partnership with LAist, to talk about the world-influencing food scene in LA and the community that brings it together. First, we dig into how LA dining influenced the country and the world with KCRW's very own Evan Kleiman, Host of Good Food, and Gab Chabrán, Associate Editor of Food and Culture at LAist. Then we talk community and the restaurants that foster those connections with chef-owners Uyên Lê, who makes delicious Vietnamese comfort food at her take-out, Bé Ù, Keith Corbin, executive chef and co-owner of Alta Adams, and bestselling author of his memoir, California Soul and Elvia and Alex Garcia, the James Beard nominated chef-owners of Evil Cooks, one of L.A.’s most lauded taqueria pop-ups now transformed into a full restaurant.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 11, 2025 (originally aired)

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This week, it’s the food journeys of two chefs. First, TV Star and author Carla Hall joins us to talk about her latest show, Chasing Flavor. She brings us stories about her filming and travels and the connection between people and their food. She sticks around to answer some of your cooking questions. Carla Hall hosts the MAX series, Chasing Flavor, and is the author of Carla's Soul Food: Every Day and Celebration. Then, we sat down with Atlanta chef Todd Richards to talk about the interesting and varied influences on soul food. He talks about the foods from West Africa, how they traveled across the Caribbean, and how the dishes have evolved. He left us with his recipe for Haitian Oxtail in Beef Broth with Pikliz. Todd's new book is Roots, Heart and Soul: The Story, Celebration and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 19, 2024 (originally aired)
• April 4, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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We are looking at food stories from different cultures this week. First, documentarian and journalist Von Diaz joins us to talk about her latest book, Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking.  She writes about island cuisine from all over the world and talks about her academic field research, the connections she feels when she is on an island, and the unique dishes she cooked and tasted for her book research. She found commonality among the islands in their cooking techniques, from grilling to smoking and marinating, and shares a delicious, iconic island recipe for CHamoru Barbecue Chicken with Juanita’s Fina’denne’. Then, best-selling author and  Jewish food authority Joan Nathan joins us to talk about her latest book, a memoir My Life in Recipes, Food, Family and Memories. Joan chronicles her start in food, the people she met along the way, her passion for elevating the home cook and her devotion to the regular ritual of sitting down together for a meal.  

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 5, 2024 (originally aired)
• March 28, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we’re all about the diverse and delicious foods of Ghana and Nigeria. First, Food Network Star Eric Adjepong joins us from his childhood home to talk about the connection to food when eating with his hands, the community that happens around the Ghanain table, and his take on traditional dishes like his recipe for Roasted Banana Grits with Seasoned Shrimp. Eric is the chef and owner of Elmina in Washington DC and the author of Ghana to the World: Recipes and Stories That Look Forward While Honoring the Past. Then, geologist turned food blogger Ozoz Sokoh takes us into the world of Nigerian cuisine. From iconic Nigerian breakfasts like sweet fermented rice cakes known as Māsā̀, to corned beef sauce paired with West African Yams. We couldn’t leave without getting a recipe for her Classic Nigerian Jollof Rice. Ozoz is the author of Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria and the blogger behind Kitchen Butterfly. 

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 21, 2025 (originally aired)

  
  

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This week, we spend the hour with cooking columnist and internet sensation, Sohla El-Waylly. We talk about her connection to food and how she got her start as a pastry chef, writer, and recipe developer. She talks about her work in restaurants and her passion for teaching people how to cook. And she answers your cooking questions, from the best way to cook rabbit to her favorite ice cream flavor. Her latest book is Start Here, filled with recipes that teach techniques, as shown in her Bisteeya Inspired Phyllo Chicken Pie recipe.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 22, 2024 (originally aired)
• March 14, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we dedicate the entire episode to answering your bread baking questions with two brilliant bakers and teachers, King Arthur’s very own Jessica Battilana, Staff Editor, and Martin Philip, King Arthur’s Baking Ambassador. While King Arthur has taught millions of people to bake through their school, website, and classic cookbooks. They only now have published a book devoted entirely to bread, The King Arthur Baking Company’s Big Book of Bread.  Francis, Jessica, and Martin take listener questions on everything from the “why” behind the flavor of English Muffins, best proofing practices, what to do with extra laminated dough (if you can imagine having that problem!), and why they consider "toast" a food group all its own. Don't miss their recipe for Masa Honey Toasting Bread.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 7, 2025 (originally aired)

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This week, we're all about the world of restaurants and flavor. First, we talked with Andrew Friedman about his career, writing about American food culture, chefs, and the restaurant scene. He talks to us about his latest project, spending time behind the swinging doors of a restaurant and how all the kitchen roles—from the butcher to the delivery drivers to the dishwasher make the dish you sit down to enjoy.  His latest book is The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food. Then we sit down with Flavor Scientist Arielle Johnson, who talks about the science behind flavor, from flavor perceptions to aroma and the laws of flavor. Arielle's latest book is Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor, and she leaves us with her recipes for Smoke Oil & Smoke Oil Infused Fish.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 8, 2024 (originally aired)
• February 28, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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