The Spoon Podcast

By Michael Wolf

Join host Michael Wolf as he explores the world of food, ag and how innovation is changing what we eat.... more

· Technology

4.8

1818 ratings

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FAQs about The Spoon Podcast:

How many episodes does The Spoon Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 276 episodes available.

The Spoon Podcast episodes:

April 09, 2026 Is Brain Health Optimization The Next Big Wave in Wellness?
In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike catches up with Mo Abouelsoud, CEO of U The Mind Company, about the emerging intersection of brain health, wellness, and consumer technology.
Abouelsoud explains how his company’s non-invasive brain stimulation devices are designed to help treat neurological conditions while also opening the door to cognitive enhancement, better focus, and long-term brain wellness.
The conversation explores whether brain health could become the next major category in wellness, alongside sleep, metabolism, and fitness, and looks at how new technologies might one day give consumers a more complete picture of how their brains and bodies work together.
You can find out more about U the Mind Company at https://uthemind.company/

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26min
April 07, 2026 Is AI an Enemy or Ally for Recipe Creators?
In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike catches up with Will Templeton, co-founder and CTO of Allspice, about how the traditional recipe blog model, laden with ads, pop-ups, and static content, is breaking down as users increasingly “lift” recipes into apps, screenshots, or AI tools.
The conversation explores how Allspice is building a new infrastructure layer for recipes, using structured ingredient data and vector databases to make sense of messy, inconsistent inputs from across the web. They also dig into the role of AI in the future of cooking, from conversational interfaces and guided cooking to the tension creators feel between embracing AI as a tool and fearing it as a threat.

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27min
April 02, 2026 Talking About Nature's Trickster Protein With Ali Wing
In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike catches up with Oobli CEO Ali Wing to discuss what Wing calls "nature's trickster protein", the sweet proteins they develop for products like ice teas and chocolate bars.
Wing talks about how the company is positioning its sweet protein technology at the center of two major shifts reshaping the food industry: the rise of GLP-1-driven dietary behavior and the growing demand for protein-forward, lower-sugar products. She also explains why the company has shifted from consumer-facing products like teas and chocolate to a B2B ingredient platform, and how partnerships with companies like Ingredion and Mars are helping drive scale.
The conversation also explores the future of sweetening systems, the role of fermentation in food innovation, and why the industry may be entering a new era of large-scale product reformulation.

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35min
March 25, 2026 Where Are Grocery Stores With AI Adoption in 2026?
Mike is joined by Matthew Schwarz, CEO of Afresh, who discusses the company’s expansion from fresh produce to an all-in-one AI solution for the entire grocery store. Matt explains how the company's AI tech has prevented 200 million pounds of food waste annually and explores the rise of agentic AI, the balance between automation and humans, and more.

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31min
March 13, 2026 Why The Future of Food Testing May Be in Your Brainwaves
In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Michael Wolf talks with Mario Ubiali, founder and CEO of neuroscience company THIMUS, about how brainwave data and AI could reshape how food companies develop new products.
Ubiali explains how his company uses wearable EEG technology to measure consumers’ neurological responses to food, capturing signals around liking, familiarity, and emotional engagement that traditional surveys often miss.
The conversation explores why consumers frequently say one thing but feel another when tasting food, how neuroscience can reveal those hidden reactions, and why combining brain data with AI could create a new generation of predictive tools for food and beverage innovation.

You can find more about THIMUS at their website, https://thimus.com/

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47min
February 19, 2026 Are Home Kitchen Marketplaces the Future or a Risk to Consumers?
In this episode, Mike sits down with friend, food systems thinker and The Food Corridor founder Ashley Colpaart to talk about the rise of Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) and what they mean for the future of food entrepreneurship.
Ashley shares why she believes lawmakers are trying to avoid an “Uberfication moment,” and why she thinks shared commercial kitchens remain a critical access point for food founders. Drawing on her own origin story growing up in a family hot sauce business that couldn’t scale without infrastructure, Ashley explains why she became interested in shared kitchens as her professional focus and explains how it led her to build her company.
You can read Ashley's recent essay on MEHKO movement here on her blog: https://www.thefoodcorridor.com/blog/mehkos-2026-2/

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42min
February 12, 2026 From Wallaby Milk to AI: Nora Khaldi on Decoding Nature’s Molecular Code
In this episode, Mike sits down with Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas, to explore how a postdoctoral epiphany about wallaby milk led her to build one of the first AI-powered molecular discovery platforms in food.
They discuss how Nuritas uses AI to uncover, validate, and scale molecules into clinically validated ingredients, why ingredient discovery has historically taken decades, and what she's learned over the past decade building Nuritas.

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41min
February 05, 2026 So You Wanna Know When You're Going to Die? Download This App
In this conversation, Mike interviews Brent Franson, CEO of Death Clock, a company that uses AI to predict when you're going to die (aka life expectancy) based on health data.
Brent and Mike discuss the origins of Death Clock, the importance of preventative health, and the role of consumer responsibility in managing health. Brent shares insights on the demand for longevity solutions, his entrepreneurial journey, and the potential for health tech to democratize access to quality healthcare.
The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities in the longevity movement, including the impact of big tech companies.

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23min
February 04, 2026 What Should Impossible Foods Do Now?
In this episode, Mike sits down with Rachel Konrad, former head of communications at Impossible Foods and now a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, to talk about the state of alternative protein and where Impossible lost its way.
Drawing on her experience as the company's first communications hire, Konrad argues that Impossible’s biggest mistake wasn’t market headwinds but a strategic shift away from its original biotech ambition toward a conventional CPG playbook.
Mike and Rachel discuss founder vision, venture capital incentives, and the missed opportunity to license core technology to major food brands. They also discuss what a real turnaround would require if Impossible hopes to reclaim its original mission and relevance in the future of food

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35min
February 03, 2026 Writing The Cookbook for Cultivated Meat With Alex Shirazi
In this episode, Mike sits down with Alex Shirazi, a food technologist, conference organizer, and longtime observer of the cultivated meat industry, to talk about his latest project, A Scientist’s Cookbook.
Shirazi explains why he chose to launch a cookbook via Kickstarter as cultivated meat products inch closer to market. They discuss writing a cookbook for products that aren't yet widely available, the cooling of investment in the sector, hybrid products as a bridge to scale, and the political pushback against alternative proteins. Alex also talks about the origin story and the future of the Cultured Meat Symposium.

You can find and support Alex's Kickstarter for The Scientists's Cookbook here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hotdogfyi/a-scientists-cookbook/description

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25min

FAQs about The Spoon Podcast:

How many episodes does The Spoon Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 276 episodes available.