Explore the past, present and future of food in Austin with local legend Hoover Alexander alongside the hosts of The Secret Ingredient (Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy). Hoover’s long career in cooking tracks incredible changes that have taken place in Austin— from The Night Hawk, to Good Eats, to Hoover’s—and his perspective can shed light on what gentrification means for the culinary life of our city.
Tom Philpott
School Food: Alexa Delwiche (Ep. 19)
“As the food movement has gotten stronger and stronger, and people have been asking many more questions, not just about, where is my food coming from? But, how is it produced? Who’s being harmed along the way? Food service directors have been asking those same questions.” -Alexa Delwiche
When you think about school food, certain repressed memories might bubble to the surface – boneless BBQ rib patties, mystery loaf, blocks of government cheese, or expired chocolate milk. But today’s food consumers are proving to be a little more savvy than those of us who fell for ketchup as a vegetable back in the day. Students and their parents are asking not only about the quality of the food they’re eating, but also about the choices food purchasers are making when it comes to how this food is produced.
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient, Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy speak with Alexa Delwiche about ethics when it comes to food purchasing and the school system. Delwiche is the executive director of the Center for Good Food Purchasing (CGFP). The work she and her team are doing in the Los Angeles public school system serves as a model for ethical food purchasing for the nation.
TSI Live: Feeding Austin’s Hungry
In this special edition of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins the hosts of The Secret Ingredient, Raj Patel and Tom Philpott, as they talk with guests Edwin Marty, the Food Policy Manager for the City of Austin, and Erin Lentz, from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, to ask: Why are people starving in one of the foodie capitals of the world? And what can be done about it? It’s a look at Feeding Austin’s Hungry.
V&B – Feeding Austin’s Hungry
In this special edition of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins the hosts of The Secret Ingredient, Raj Patel and Tom Philpott, as they talk with guests Edwin Marty, the Food Policy Manager for the City of Austin, and Erin Lentz, from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, to ask: Why are people starving in one of the foodie capitals of the world? And what can be done about it? It’s a look at Feeding Austin’s Hungry.
Whiteness: Breeze Harper (Ep. 18)
“America was built on a white supremacist caste system which centers whiteness as the norm…”-Dr. A. Breeze Harper
On this edition of the Secret Ingredient the secret ingredient is whiteness. Join Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy as they sit down with Dr. Amie Breeze Harper, author of Scars: A Black Lesbian Experience in Rural White New England, as well as the creator of the Sistah Vegan project and blog, www.sistahvegan.com, as they discuss what it really means to be vegan, how “whiteness has been a part of every movement in this country”, and how Harper is combating the inter-sectional racism that occurs even in the most ethically driven of foodscapes such as veganism.
Cotton: Sven Beckert (Ep. 17)
Cotton. Not quite a food item, but a plant nonetheless with a rather complicated history and an enduring relevance in our lives. Today, a typical day cannot pass without using this pillowy crop that rules our commodified lives.
In this edition of the Secret Ingredient with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy: Sven Beckert, Harvard University professor, historian, and author of the 2014 book “Empire of Cotton,” discusses the significance of cotton as the most important commodity of the 19th century, as well as the violent history cotton production has in the Southern United States, and most importantly the pivotal role cotton plays in the enterprise of capitalism we know today.
We ‘d also like to welcome a very special guest to our show for a new segment called “Letter From a Correspondent,” it’s the world-renowned economist Dr. James K. Galbraith; author of, most recently, “Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice The Destruction of Greece and the Future of Europe.”
Pathogens: Rob Wallace (Ep. 15)
In this episode of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Rob Wallace, author of “Big Farms Make Big Flu: Dispatches on Infectious Disease, Agribusiness, and the Nature of Science,” about pathogens, zika, bird flu, capitalism, and so much more.
Nationalism: Arjun Appadurai (Ep. 14)
People are interesting animals. We look to many things to help us understand our place and identity in this world. We have maps, passports, languages, families, clothes, books and (among so much more) we also have food.
At first thought, we might not consider food as part of our identity. We might have toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, soup for dinner and go to bed not thinking much about how that relationship to food constructs, not only your psychical bodies, but also our national identities.
We might not think much of it, but anthropologist Arjun Appadurai does.
“It is the most artificial thing that humans have ever built,” says Appadurai of nationalism. “That seems the most natural.”
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient, Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk with Dr. Arjun Appadurai about food and nationalism – food trucks, Maggi noodles, cook books and much more.
V&B – The Past, Present, and Future of The Greek Economy
In this episode of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins the hosts of KUT’s The Secret Ingredient podcast, Tom Philpott and Raj Patel, as they sit down with the eminent economist James K. Galbraith author of the forthcoming “Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice: The Destruction of Greece and the Future of Europe” to talk inequality, the Greek debacle, prospects for social democracy in America, and more.
The Peasantry: Blain Snipstal (Ep. 13)
Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk with peasant farmer Blain Snipstal about the history of agriculture and racism in America, power, food sovereignty, La Via Campesina, land, and much more.
SXSW: Tech & The Future of Food
In this special SXSW edition of The Secret Ingredient, Tom Philpott, Rebecca McInroy and Raj Patel talk about technologies that will shape the future of food. Technologies, as it turns out, that might surprise you, mainly biodiversity, and gender equality.
Listen back to this discussion, recorded live at the Convention Center in Austin, Texas for SXSW 2016.
Quinoa: Tanya Kerssen (Ep. 12)
“While no one would argue that Bolivian farmers shouldn’t get a good price for their crop, these trends cannot be ignored—or left up to global market forces. Perhaps most tragic of all is that this boom (and booms are always followed by a bust) is leading the poorest, most vulnerable farmers to degrade their own environment—i.e. the material basis for their very survival and cultural identity—in the name of short-term food security.” Tanya Kerseen “Quinoa: To Buy or Not to Buy…Is This the Right Question?”
In this edition of TSI, Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy talk qunioa with Tanya Kerssen, author of Grabbing Power: The New Struggles for Land, Food, and Democracy in Northern Honduras.
Golden Rice: Glenn Davis Stone (Ep. 11)
What is Golden Rice? If you know the answer to that question chances are you have a strong opinion on it. That is because a lot of the rhetoric swirling around Golden Rice is heated, but many times ill informed.
Golden Rice is a technology that was developed in the 1990s to try to make the endosperm of rice contain beta-carotene. It’s been hailed as having nutritional possibilities that could, “save a million kids a year,” according to Time Magazine.
Yet, as Tom Philpott asks in his article for Mother Jones, “If golden rice is such a panacea, why does it flourish only in headlines, far from the farm fields where it’s intended to grow?”
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Dr. Glenn Davis Stone. His research on environmental anthropology, political ecology, food studies, and science & technology studies, takes a deep look into the world of GMOs and the science behind them.
About the hosts:
Raj Patel is an award winning food writer, activist and academic. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller.
Tom Philpott is an award winning food writer for Mother Jones, who’s ground-breaking work on almonds exposed a myriad of environmental and ethical issues around almond production in California.
Rebecca McInroy is an executive producer and host for KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. She is the co-creator, producer and host of various podcasts and shows including, Views and Brews, Two Guys on Your Head, Liner Notes, The Write Up, and The Secret Ingredient.
In each episode we chose one food to investigate, and talk with the people who’s life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact, these foods have on our lives.
Hot Peppers: Gary Nabhan (Ep. 10)
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Gary Nabhan, author of: Chasing Chiles – Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail; Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes and Cultural Diversity; and Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey. Nabhan is an internationally-celebrated nature writer, food and farming activist, and proponent of conserving the links between biodiversity and cultural diversity. He is also the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Arizona Southwest Center, where he works to build a more just, nutritious, sustainable and climate-resilient foodshed spanning the U.S./Mexico border.
About the hosts:
Raj Patel is an award winning food writer, activist and academic. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller.
Tom Philpott is an award winning food writer for Mother Jones, who’s ground-breaking work on almonds exposed a myriad of environmental and ethical issues around almond production in California.
Rebecca McInroy is an executive producer and host for KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. She is the co-creator, producer and host of various podcasts and shows including, Views and Brews, Two Guys on Your Head, Liner Notes, The Write Up, and The Secret Ingredient.
In each episode we chose one food to investigate, and talk with the people who’s life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact, these foods have on our lives.
Salmon: Valerie Segrest (Ep. 7)
As we observe Thanksgiving in the U.S. The Secret Ingredient takes a step back with this episode on Salmon with Valerie Segrest. Valerie is a native nutrition educator who specializes in local and traditional foods. As an enrolled member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, she serves her community as the coordinator of the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project.
In 2010, she co-authored the book “Feeding the People, Feeding the Spirit: Revitalizing Northwest Coastal Indian Food Culture”. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University in 2009 and a Masters Degree in Environment and Community from Antioch University. She was a fellow for the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy and was recently the first Native to receive the King County Municipal League’s Public Employee of the Year Award for 2015. Valerie inspires and enlighten others about the importance of a nutrient-dense diet through a simple, common sense approach to eating.
About The Hosts:
Raj Patel is an award winning food writer, activist and academic. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller.
Tom Philpott is an award winning food writer for Mother Jones, who’s ground-breaking work on almonds exposed a myriad of environmental and ethical issues around almond production in California.
Rebecca McInroy,is an executive producer and host for KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. She is the co-creator, producer and host of various podcasts and shows including, Views and Brews, Two Guys on Your Head, Liner Notes, The Write Up, and The Secret Ingredient.
In each episode we chose one food to investigate, and talk with the people who’s life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact, these foods have on our lives.
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NOTES:
Since we spoke to Valerie The New York Times published an article about USDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon for public consumption. This wields huge blow to the salmon conservation efforts of the Muckleshoot tribe and others. As Valerie says it’s, “a direct attack on our cultural identity, our social fabric, our economic lifestyle and our health system.”
We’ll keep you posted on The Secret Ingredient and let you know how you can get involved with conservation efforts.
Prison Food: Dan Moshenberg (Ep. 6)
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Daniel Moshenberg about the wide-ranging impact of food on prisoners in the US prison industrial complex.
Dr. Moshenberg has worked with women in community-based organizations and social movements which are majority women but are not (yet) identified as women’s organizations or movements. That work has been under the aegis of women’s literacy development and promotion. Most of his hands-on field work has been based in the United States, primarily among immigrant women, and in South Africa. Daniel Moshenberg researches women’s involvement in mass incarceration and in mass household-based labor, largely in the context of global political economies. He is one of the conveners of Women In and Beyond the Global, an open access feminist project.
About The Hosts:
Raj Patel is an award winning food writer, activist and academic. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller.
Tom Philpott is an award winning food writer for Mother Jones, who’s ground-breaking work on almonds exposed a myriad of environmental and ethical issues around almond production in California.
Rebecca McInroy,is an executive producer and host for KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. She is the co-creator, producer and host of various podcasts and shows including, Views and Brews, Two Guys on Your Head, Liner Notes, The Write Up, and The Secret Ingredient.
In each episode we chose one food to investigate, and talk with the people who’s life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact, these foods have on our lives.
Bananas: Cynthia Enloe (Ep. 3)
In this episode our secret ingredient is Bananas! We talk with feminist writer and professor Dr. Cynthia Enloe, who’s latest book, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, investigates the long history of oppression in the banana industry, and the intricate power structures involved in bringing this yellow fruit to grocery stores all over the world.
About The Hosts
Raj Patel is an award winning food writer, activist and academic. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and his latest, The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times best-seller.
Tom Philpott is an award winning food writer for Mother Jones, who’s ground-breaking work on almonds exposed a myriad of environmental and ethical issues around almond production in California.
Rebecca McInroy,is an executive producer and host for KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. She is the co-creator, producer and host of various podcasts and shows including, Views and Brews, Two Guys on Your Head, Liner Notes, The Write Up, and The Secret Ingredient.
In each episode we chose one food to investigate, and talk with the people who’s life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact, these foods have on our lives.
We won’t tell you what to eat, but we can tell you why you’re eating!
Pancakes: Toni-Tipton Martin (Ep. 2)
In this episode of Views and Brews we’ll tour over 100 years of southern cooking with Toni-Tipton Martin author of The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks! Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, along with food writers and hosts of KUT’s newest podcast The Secret Ingredient, Tom Philpott and Raj Patel, as we explore the rich social, political, and economic history of the south, through food.
V&B – Jemima Code/The Secret Ingredient Launch
In this episode of Views and Brews we’ll tour over 100 years of southern cooking with Toni-Tipton Martin author of The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks! Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, along with food writers and hosts of KUT’s newest podcast The Secret Ingredient, Tom Philpott and Raj Patel, as we explore the rich social, political, and economic history of the south, through food.