The Table Rock

What does it take to build a creative career that lasts? Chef, educator, and creator Justin Khanna joins Alx and Julie to talk about growth, sustainability, and the balancing act between ambition and burnout. From Michelin-starred kitchens like Per Se and Noma to launching his own hospitality education company, Repertoire, Justin shares the pivots that shaped his path and the rituals that keep him grounded. This conversation explores how to sustain creativity — not just in food, but in any passion that demands everything you’ve got.

 Why put fries before burgers? In this Red Meat Nation episode, Alx and Julie sit down with Blake Lingle, founder of Boise Fry Company, to explore Idaho’s dual love affair with beef and potatoes — and how one restaurant turned that identity into an art form. Blake shares how a creative concept became a local staple, what sustainability means in the restaurant world, and why representing Idaho’s food culture matters. From sourcing spuds to shaping community, this is a story about roots, risk, and the flavor of home.

In this installment of the Red Meat Nation series, Alx and Julie sit down with Tori from the Desert Mountain Cooperative to talk about the backbone of the American dinner table: ground beef.

We’re tracing the journey of beef from the open rangelands of Idaho to the vintage hand-crank grinders of our grandmothers’ kitchens. Whether you're a fan of the classic 80/20 burger or looking to stretch a meal with the "saltines and egg" method, this episode explores why ground beef remains the most versatile player in the meat case.

• The Cooperative Advantage: What it means to be part of the Desert Mountain Cooperative and how local ranchers are joining forces.

• The Anatomy of a Burger: Is 80/20 the gold standard, or does a custom brisket and short rib blend reign supreme?

• Modern Ranching: How drones and electric fencing are changing the way cattle are managed in the 21st century.

• The Idaho Identity: What truly makes "Idaho Beef" unique? We answer listener questions about local sourcing and the legacy of Gem County farmers.

• Beyond the Bun: From "One-Pan Wonders" to the nostalgia of Meatloaf and Chili—how families are using ground beef to stay on budget without sacrificing flavor.

Listener Question Highlight: Is it actually more cost-effective to buy a whole cow from a local rancher, or should you stick to the grocery store aisles?

In this episode, we discuss:https://desertmountaingrassfed.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoo9y3VHco8-jZPXmX3_xdx09FbqxlWZSYsyv0vkjI28Nc8LJok5

In this episode of Red Meat Nation, hosts Alx and Julie sit down with rancher, entrepreneur, and community builder Jessie Jarvis to unpack what beef really represents in the American West.

Raised on a multi-generational cattle ranch in Southern Idaho, Jessie offers a grounded, first-hand perspective on ranching not as myth, but as daily labor—shaped by land, weather, responsibility, and care. Together, they explore how beef has come to symbolize strength and masculinity in American culture, and how those narratives both support and strain the people who live within them.

The conversation moves beyond consumption to examine visibility, emotional labor, and the growing distance between rural food producers and urban eaters. Jessie also shares the vision behind Of The West, her platform dedicated to connecting people to opportunity and purpose within agriculture and Western industries.

This episode asks listeners to reconsider beef not as an abstraction or a political talking point, but as a story—one rooted in people, place, and the evolving identity of the nation itself.

https://ofthewest.co/

Beef doesn’t just appear at the grocery store — it moves through systems built on labor, logistics, and trust.

In this episode of Red Meat Nation, hosts Alexander Milles and Julie sit down with Andrea from Bruce Ranch Beef to talk about the customer-facing side of local beef CSAs — where education, access, and expectation-setting do as much work as the cattle themselves.

Andrea doesn’t raise the cattle — that labor belongs to her brother and family on the ranch — but she operates at the intersection of consumers and producers, navigating price conversations, misconceptions about “local,” and the real challenges facing small-scale beef programs today.

This conversation explores why local beef programs matter, what consumers often misunderstand, and what it actually takes to sustain alternatives inside an industrial food system.

https://www.bruceranchbeef.com/

What does a perfectly seasoned hamburger have to do with revolution?

In this episode of Red Meat Nation, Alx and Julie sit down with James Beard Award-winning author and historian John Birdsall to peel back the layers of queer identity hidden within American foodways. From the coded intimacy of a neighbor’s kitchen to the rugged, mythologized landscapes of Western ranching, we explore how meat has been used to both enforce and escape the confines of traditional masculinity.

John takes us on a journey through his landmark book, What Is Queer Food?, challenging us to look past the "macho" symbolism of beef to find the care, intention, and quiet resistance of those who cooked on the margins.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Gay Hamburger": How simple meals served as the first invitations to queer community.

• The Meat Mythos: Why beef became the ultimate performance of mid-century masculinity.

• Queer Cowboys: Reclaiming the hidden history of LGBTQ+ folks in ranching and the rural West.

• The Sensual Table: How queer perspectives transform menus from lists of ingredients into narratives of pleasure.

Join us for a conversation that is as tactile as it is political. Because if food is a language, it’s time we started listening to the voices that have been whispering from the kitchen for decades.

https://www.john-birdsall.com/

In the first episode of Red Meat Nation, Julie and Alx dig into one of Idaho’s most iconic—and controversial—foods: beef. Joined by University of Idaho expert Dr. Philip Bass, a butcher, researcher, and author of It’s Not a Cow, the conversation explores why beef matters so much to Idaho’s economy, how cattle turn grass into high-quality protein, and what challenges the industry is facing today—from drought and rising costs to environmental and health concerns. With listener questions, honest reflection, and a little humor, this episode asks a simple question with a complicated answer: what’s the beef, really?

https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Cow-Phil-Bass-ebook/dp/B0C24T24YV?dplnkId=cf8b2be9-246b-459c-ba7e-738dff910a9a&nodl=1

Red Meat Nation is a podcast about beef—but not the way you’ve been taught to think about it.From ranching families and food writers to activists, chefs, and policymakers, Red Meat Nation digs into America’s most charged protein to ask bigger questions:Who benefits from our food system? Who bears the cost? And why does beef sit at the center of our politics, culture, and identity?Hosted by Alexander Milles, this season of Table Rock Podcast explores the labor behind the label, the myths we’re sold at the meat case, and the deeply human stories often erased from the conversation. This isn’t a call to cancel beef—or to defend it blindly—but to slow down, listen, and reckon with the systems we participate in every day.Food is never just food.Welcome to Red Meat Nation.

Red Meat Nation is a podcast about beef—but not the way you’ve been taught to think about it.From ranching families and food writers to activists, chefs, and policymakers, Red Meat Nation digs into America’s most charged protein to ask bigger questions:Who benefits from our food system? Who bears the cost? And why does beef sit at the center of our politics, culture, and identity?Hosted by Alexander Milles, this season of Table Rock Podcast explores the labor behind the label, the myths we’re sold at the meat case, and the deeply human stories often erased from the conversation. This isn’t a call to cancel beef—or to defend it blindly—but to slow down, listen, and reckon with the systems we participate in every day.Food is never just food.Welcome to Red Meat Nation.

The Tablerock duo, Alex and Julie wrap-up by chatting about people they have met and foods they have shared over three seasons of the podcast.  Season 1 was the State of Food, Season 2 focused on Neighborhoods and in Season 3, the duo interviewed Influencers.  The podcast endsas Alex heads to Massachusetts. Listeners can join Julie on her new podcast, Dame Julie, playing on all podcast platforms.  Thank you for your time. We’ve loved having you listen in.

Recorded and produced by TMA Studios