While the villages to the east and west have charming Main Streets, the small town of Greenlawn, sandwiched in between, has pickles. Dan stops by the annual Pickle Festival before diving into the story of Samuel Ballton, the formerly enslaved man who became Greenlawn’s Pickle King. Dan meets some of Samuel’s descendants as they celebrate the recognition he’s started to receive, and hears how learning about his story has affected them.

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 this week by Kameel Stanley.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Today we tackle news in the world of food that’s at turns substantive, silly, and surprising in a new series we’re calling Salad Spinner! Take a spin with us as Dan chats with journalists Amanda Mull (The Atlantic) and Dennis Lee (The Takeout) about Instant Pot’s parent company declaring bankruptcy, Burger King’s rollout of a cheese sandwich monstrosity in Thailand, and what it means that the World Health Organization now deems aspartame “possibly carcinogenic.” Then the Spinner speeds up for a lightning round.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

A few years ago, Tommy Pico, a queer indigenous American poet, and lover of junk food, set out to learn how to cook. He wanted to get healthier, but also, he wanted a food culture to replace the one that was wiped out when the federal government forced his ancestors onto a reservation. Rather than turn to the past to connect with that culture, Tommy turned to friends to build a new one. His book Feed, an epic poem, is the result of that journey. Tommy and Dan chat about the horrors of airport vegetarian options (pesto-basil-mozzarella with soggy bread smh), what it’s like when the food you grow up with is connected to trauma, and how queerness and looking to the future creates an opportunity to make your own legacy. Tommy also reads his poem, “I See The Fire That Burns Inside You.”

This episode originally aired on November 4, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Peter Clowney, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O’Connell. The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

When the first Barbie Dreamhouse came out in 1962, it didn’t have a kitchen. Fast forward to today and there are a dozen chef Barbies. What does that say about Barbie, and about American food culture? We talk with Helene Siegel, author of The Barbie Party Cookbook (1991), about why Mattel resisted having Barbie cook for so long. Then Dan dines with food writer Helen Rosner at the pop-up Malibu Barbie Cafe in New York City. They debate whether a breakfast burrito is Barbie food and receive a show-stopping pink dessert.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Once known for its glacial pace, ice news today is breaking. In the wake of Starbucks’ recent announcement that they’re changing their ice, we’re devoting an entire episode to the drink chiller in all its forms: pellet ice, giant ice cubes, bagged ice, and more. Ice cube reporter Camper English, author of The Ice Book, tells us about his breakthrough method for making crystal-clear ice, and which shapes work best for which drinks. Plus he helps us distill the Starbucks news, and we carve out some time to learn about ice history.

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.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

It’s time for our annual game show, 2 Chefs And A Lie! The game is simple. Dan talks with three “chefs.” Two are real, and one is an actor with a made-up resume. He’s gotten no info on these people in advance and cannot look online while playing. He can ask each participant just five questions, then he has to guess which chef is the impostor. The best part: You can play along! Dan has lost the game both times we’ve played before. Can he finally redeem himself? Can he, and can you, spot the fake chef? 

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with help this week from Katherine Moncure.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

This week in honor of July 4th, we’re exploring an important part of American history – the contributions of enslaved Black chefs, whose work influences American cuisine to this day. In 1784, Thomas Jefferson brought the enslaved chef James Hemings, brother of Sally Hemings, with him to France to train under the French culinary masters of the day. Hemings created a cuisine that was half French, half Virginian, and brought it back to Jefferson's plantation, Monticello. This week, Dan tours the kitchens at Monticello with three descendants of enslaved Virginians: Michael Twitty, culinary historian and historical interpreter; Niya Bates, public historian of slavery and African American life at Monticello; and Gayle Jessup White, community engagement officer at Monticello.

This episode originally aired on October 21, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Ngofeen Mputubwele, with editing by Peter Clowney. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

How do you feed yourself on a hike that’s more than 2,200 miles long and takes six months to complete? Every summer, hundreds of people attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine, are faced with that question. This week senior producer Emma Morgenstern heads to Pine Grove General Store, the trail’s halfway point, and enters a world where most typical rules of eating seem not to apply. Hikers tell her about trash potatoes, ramen bombs, and a famous ice cream-eating challenge. Then we continue on the rest of the journey with Cricket, a hiker from Ohio. When things get tough, Cricket has to rethink her approach to food.

This episode contains some discussion of disordered eating.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

The stand-up comedian Zarna Garg spent 16 years as a stay-at-home mom. Now she sells out shows across the country and has her own special on Prime Video. In her stand-up and her social media videos, food is often a main character. But Zarna has mixed feelings when it comes to cooking. As a teenager, she wasn’t always sure where her next meal would come from. And as a parent, she came to resent the burden of feeding her family of five. She talks with Dan about her frustration with American parenting, why her kids eat steamed broccoli for breakfast, and how Indian Americans fought to bring back Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production on this episode by Grace Rubin.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Remember that time you bought an apple in Canada or a piece of cheese in France and “forgot” to declare it when you crossed the border into the U.S.? That makes you a food smuggler. It can feel pretty innocent, but sometimes, food smuggling can have big consequences. On today’s show, we talk with a small-time haggis smuggler in Toronto, learn about the Mexican bologna racket, and meet a contraband-sniffing beagle at JFK Airport.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.