Politics of Food

Today we’re taking a trip to Dayton Ohio to speak with 2 people dedicated to bringing diversity to the table, literally and figuratively, and how that action can change a city into a community. First, we’ll hear from Bryan Stewart, founder of the Longest Table Dayton, a community movement that hosts community meals and encourages conversation between neighbors. Second, we’ll

While awareness about eating disorders in America has improved, there’s a misconception about who is experiencing them, why they are experiencing them and while we focus on obesity as a national epidemic, anorexia is on the rise. Today we try to better understand eating disorders with our guests, Dr. Christine Peat and author Anissa Gray. The stress of COVID-19 and the isolation

You may have heard people say ‘Food is my LOVE LANGUAGE,’ meaning that cooking and feeding others is their way of saying, "I Love you" in the most nurturing and generous way possible. In this episode Cristina talks with two chefs who speak the language fluently. First she and Chef Vikas Khanna discuss how Vikas expresses himself either in person, in his Michelin Star restaurant

85% of food consumed in Puerto Rico is imported to the island. How does food dependence on the US mainland affect the relationship between the two? How does the addition of a Category 5 Hurricane affect an already perilous system? Cristina talks with Tara Rodriguez Besosa, an organizer and architect about creating a non-profit collective there called El Departmento de la Comida, an

As kids, a lot of us are taught that it is bad manners to engage in thoughtful political discourse over a meal. Is it based on a fear of causing an argument or is it that we don’t know how to have difficult conversations in a constructive way? To get to the root of the issue Cristina talks with two people who never shy away from giving their opinions, Toure and Danielle Moodie, h

Despite ongoing debate, Capital Punishment also known as the Death Penalty, is still practiced in 27 states in the United States. The act of giving last meals to those on death row has always been a particularly complicated fascination. Why do we choose to do something so humane for incarcerated folks in their last moments? What is that food tied to? In the first half of the show w

Queens, New York, also known as the Melting Pot of New York, is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the entire world. And thanks to its residents, Queens has become a borough filled with highly sought after international dining destinations enjoyed by both visitors and locals. The food not only serves as a bridge to help people from different backgrounds find common ground, b

A push to legalize Marijuana on a federal level gives life to a new type of chef and a new type of food industry in Cannabis. But who has access to these types of enterprises? And how can we ensure that Black and brown folks who have been criminalized for their Marijuana use get to reap the rewards? In this episode Cristina is joined by Chef Andrea Drummer, cannabis advocate, autho

This week we’re headed down South to investigate the culinary and cultural traditions of Southern Cooking. From Native American peoples to slavery, many elements have contributed to the rich history in Southern cooking today, all interwoven in sociopolitical relationships. In the first half of the show Cristina talks with Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller about African heritage fo

We’d like to warn our listeners that some of the material in this episode can be triggering, but though challenging, conversations about abuse in the restaurant industry need to happen so that change can take root. Restaurant workers are some of the most vulnerable people in the workforce, so how do we examine and destroy the culture of abuse when workers don’t feel safe report