Was Is Could Be

Was Is Could Be

By Liz RussellSociety & CultureDocumentaryHistory
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Was Is Could Be episodes

  • Dieting: What's Old is New Again
    BONUS EPISODE! From my interview with Michael Lansing, a very truncated history of dieting, and the way that industrialization impacted our understanding of how we should eat.
    7 min
  • No One Would Dig a Canal Sober.
    BONUS EPISODE! An excerpt from my interview with Derrick Pratt from the Erie Canal Museum. In this episode: the intersection of whiskey and the building of the canal, how out of control canalers influenced temperance, the infamous Bloody Alley of Watervilet, and some beef between the canalers and... well... everybody else.
    14 min
  • From Wheat to Wheaties

    BONUS EPISODE! From my interview with Michael Lansing, a look at how industrialization eventually led to product diversification, marketing and advertising, and more sophisticated food distribution.

    8 min
  • "I don't know."

    BONUS EPISODE! From my interview with Michael Lansing - a somewhat rude awakening about food choices, virtue signaling with food, and why going local may not be all its cracked up to be when it comes to changing the food landscape of the U.S.

    8 min
  • A Conclusion of Sorts

    It's time to admit that I came to the season with some firmly held beliefs that I expected to confirm. But what I learned was far more storied and complicated than I had assumed. 

    In this episode of Was Is Could Be: An inconclusive conclusion.

    19 min
  • America's Favorite Food Group: Beer

    Hops held a special place in my heart and a month into our move we were ready to pick the ones that had been growing on our property. It would end up being the most memorable day of my life so far.

    In this episode of Was Is Could Be: America’s favorite food group - beer.

    25 min
  • A Cow and A Pig Get Into a Volkswagen
    My Tiguan can fit exactly one half of a cow and one whole pig, once they've been butchered and frozen. They fit best when they're kept in big plastic totes and are slid in one after another, in two rows of three. I know this is a weird level of specificity, but it's knowledge that was well earned. Because once you buy an entire half of a cow, there's actually a lot to be considered. 

    In this episode of Was Is Could Be: Surprising facts about meat and meat history.

    35 min
  • A Little Food History
    It was a $1.38 worth of tomato seeds that changed my life forever. I don't remember where I got them. I don't remember what brand they were, but I do remember this: those seeds refused to grow. Which got me to thinking: How hard is it to grow food anyways? And how did food start being something from far away, instead of something from right in our own backyards in the first place?

    This is Was Is Could Be and on this season: how we get our FOOD.

    28 min

About Was Is Could Be

From the publisher's feed

Was Is Could Be is Liz Russell's journey to find the joy in things past - plain and simple. Through interviews with historians, authors, hobbyists, and average Joes we rediscover the lifestyles of…