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Gastropod

Gastropod

By: Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley
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Food with a side of science and history. Every other week, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode exploring the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food- or farming-related topic, from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. We interview experts, visit labs, fields, and archaeological digs, and generally have lots of fun while discovering new ways to think about and understand the world through food. Find us online at gastropod.com, follow us on Twitter @gastropodcast, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/gastropodcast.2021 Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley Art Cooking Food & Wine Science World
Episodes
  • A Dog's Dinner: What Should We Really Be Feeding Our Pets?

    A Dog's Dinner: What Should We Really Be Feeding Our Pets?
    May 19 2026
    In millions of homes, humans aren’t the only creatures sitting down to dinner. So what's on the menu for pets—and what impact does it have on their health, as well as the environment? This episode, we go back thousands of years to figure out what our first furry friends ate, how that's changed over the years, and why. Is serving your dog raw meat and bones more ancestrally appropriate? Can cats be vegetarian? What goes into that dry, brown, extruded industrial kibble? This episode, Gastropod is getting tails wagging with a look at the what our four-legged friends should really be eating to stay healthy and happy. You'll have to sit, stay, and listen to find out what the best options are, for our pets and the planet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Feel the Beet: The Most Fascinating Woman You've Never Heard Of

    Feel the Beet: The Most Fascinating Woman You've Never Heard Of
    May 5 2026
    For those who like its earthy flavor, the humble beet can do a lot for a salad or a soup. But could it help end slavery? In the 1800s, one woman believed it could—and she wasn't just any old woman. This episode, meet Lydia Maria Child, who wrote the first children's periodical magazine, the first New England historical novel, and one of America's first successful self-help books—all before she turned thirty, in an era where women were still considered property. This episode, we've got the fascinating story of why she bet big on beets, as well as how, more than a century later, Wolfgang Puck and Martha Stewart paired this much maligned vegetable with goat cheese to spark today's beet renaissance. Meanwhile, for the haters among us: is it possible to de-beet the beet, and get rid of that earthy flavor altogether? Listen in now as we meet the astonishing Lydia Maria Child, in the curious tale of the beet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • White vs. Wheat: The Food Fight of the Centuries

    White vs. Wheat: The Food Fight of the Centuries
    Apr 21 2026
    White or whole wheat: while today the question is most frequently asked at the sandwich counter, the debate over the correct answer goes back literally thousands of years. This episode, we dive into the world's longest-running, highest-stakes food fight. Along the way: the invention of sliced bread, the science behind Wonder Bread's curious bounce, and a light dusting of eugenics. Will either win the bread war once and for all? (encore) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    53 mins
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