The Sporkful

Some people say that when they eat pasta in the US it makes them feel like garbage, but when they eat it in Italy they feel great. Is that legit? What does the science say? Also, why is the food at many tony restaurants so mediocre? And should you stop eating bagged salad greens? We dig into these questions and more in this edition of the Salad Spinner, our rapid-fire roundtable discussion of the latest food news. Joining us for this spin are Amanda Mull, senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek, and Swetha Sivakumar, a recipe developer and industrial engineer who writes for Serious Eats and Hindustan Times. 

Check out Swetha’s recipe for 3-ingredient ice cream!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fifty years after the panic about "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" began, we explore how faulty science and perceptions of race and class contributed to the making of a food myth that persists today. And we tell you how to make the best Bloody Mary ever.

This episode originally aired on January 6, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini, and edited by Margaret Kelly. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Every 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 [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, we have an update on one of our most popular Sporkful episodes ever, about a beloved sandwich shop in Aleppo, Syria, and an exiled aid worker named Shadi Martini. When the brutal regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad fell last December, we got back in touch with Shadi. Earlier this year, after 12 years in exile, he returned to Aleppo, and visited his favorite sandwich shop. He tells us about the whole experience in this week’s update.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When we left off, Shadi Martini was getting increasingly worried that his efforts to help those targeted by the Syrian regime would be discovered. A doctor who was known to treat protestors had been arrested and tortured. Shadi took it as a message – someone was telling him to stop. But he didn’t stop. Instead, he started doing a lot more.

This is part two in our series. If you didn’t listen to Part 1, please go back and listen to that one first. We originally aired this series in 2017. This Monday we’ll have a brand new update on this story, in the wake of the fall of the Syrian regime last year.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. 

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Back in 2017, we aired one of our most popular Sporkful episodes ever, about a beloved sandwich shop in Aleppo, Syria. At that time, Syria was reeling from years of civil war, and the country’s leader, Bashar Al-Assad, had been brutally targeting his own citizens. Aleppo was especially hard hit. We heard about that sandwich shop and set out to find out what made it special, and whether it was even still there. 

At the end of last year, when rebel fighters toppled the Assad regime, we heard from so many of you asking for updates. Well, big news — we have a brand new update to share with you. We’ll have that for you next week, but ahead of that, we’re resharing this two part story. We’ll share Part 2 this Friday, then the new update next Monday. 

Here in Part 1 we’ll take you from Aleppo to Austria, from Detroit to New York to Istanbul, all in search of a sandwich.

This episode originally aired on November 6, 2017, and was produced by Anne Saini and Dan Pashman. It was edited by Dan Charles, and engineered by Casey Holford. Additional production and editing help from Peter Clowney, Dalia Mortada, Eva Deutsch, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, Zak Rosen, and Dustin Consentino. Special thanks to Adam Davidson and Jen Banbury. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The owner of Big Mike’s Soul Food in Myrtle Beach is also a city councilman, a church deacon, and a real estate agent -- so helping people is at the core of his work. The general manager at Croissants Bistro & Bakery went to coffee school and ice cream school. At Rivertown Bistro, chef Darren Smith’s lowcountry spring rolls are so popular, they paid for his daughter’s college tuition. As Dan found when he went there, Myrtle Beach is full of great food, and great stories of the people behind the food. 

This episode is sponsored by Visit Myrtle Beach. The city has more than 2,000 restaurants along 60 miles of beaches, and is now one of the major food destinations in the south. So plan your trip today!

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Max Miller, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you do the cooking, should your partner do the cleaning? Are savory oats underrated? Are broccoli stems better than the florets? This week we’re taking your calls, tackling your food disputes, and hopefully bringing some peace and resolution to your homes. Helping Dan mediate (and sharing some hot takes of their own) are Paola Velez, author of Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store, and James Park, author of Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes to Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings. 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Shantel Holder, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We take you to two iconic hot dog joints in Detroit and New Jersey to find out what makes them special. Plus Kenji Lopez-Alt schools us on the science of deep-fried hot dogs, and Dan's parents make a special cameo.

This episode originally aired on June 26, 2016, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini, edited by Shoshana Gold, and mixed by Chase Culpon. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Every 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 [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dan Rossi sells hot dogs in the most coveted spot for a street vendor in all of New York City – outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He’s been in this location for nearly twenty years, and he’s spent much of that time fighting politicians, public health officials, the NYPD, the Met, and other vendors to hold on to his precious location. In recent years he’s taken to sleeping in his van next to the spot, to be sure nobody takes it. But vending outside The Met is actually Dan’s second act. Long before he was there, he rose to prominence as one of the most successful people in New York’s street vending industry – then lost it all. We hear the whole story, including how Dan clawed his way back, in this week’s show.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Grace Rubin, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How the (part veggie) sausage gets made...Cara Nicoletti comes from a long line of butchers, but her grandfather didn’t want her to follow in his footsteps. It’s physical work, it requires long hours, the pay isn’t great, and the path is even tougher for women. Cara went against her grandfather’s wishes anyway and became a butcher — but she hasn’t followed a traditional path. She spent ten years developing a type of sausage that none of her ancestors could have imagined. When it came time to start selling them on her own, it took a woman entrepreneur to tell her, “You’re not thinking big enough.” Cara tells us about the challenges of getting her business off the ground, what makes her sausages special, and why she named the company after her grandfather.

This episode originally aired on July 24, 2020, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara and Julia Shu, edited by Tracey Samuelson and mixed by Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Every 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 [email protected], and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.