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The Sporkful
30 episodes
Who Killed The Florida Orange?
Ep 913 · Aug 17, 2026 · 48 min
Like palm trees, the Everglades, Disney World, and “Florida Man,” the orange is a classic symbol of the Sunshine State. But maybe not for much longer. Production has declined more than 95% in less than 25 years, setting off alarm bells across the industry. So what happened? It’s a produce murder mystery—and reporter Alex Sammon and our friends at Decoder Ring are on the case. The suspects include insects, hurricanes, mortgage-backed securities, and the American habit of not reckoning with enormo…
The Rise, Fall, And Redemption of Belgian Waffles (Reheat)
Ep 912 · Aug 14, 2026 · 44 min
At the 1964 New York World's Fair, Belgian waffles were introduced to America. They became a sensation. But a half-century later, the woman who sold those waffles says her family's legacy has been co-opted. She joins Dan to share her memories of that World's Fair, and to explain why her mother still blames her father for everything that went wrong. Plus, we introduce her to an innovative, young waffle-maker who’s shaking things up. And then, in part two of this Reheat, Sporkful listeners call in…
This Rare Condition Causes Extreme, Insatiable Hunger
Ep 911 · Aug 10, 2026 · 44 min
The Rao family in Maryland knew that something was different about their younger daughter, Ayoni, almost as soon as she was born. But it took them until she was five to get a diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes extreme, insatiable hunger. Food needs to be locked away from many of these patients, or they might eat until their stomachs actually rupture. Dan visits the Raos at their home to learn more about how they manage Ayoni’s condition, then cooks and eats…
Meat Pies In Sweeney Todd On Broadway! (Reheat)
Ep 910 · Aug 7, 2026 · 31 min
The musical Sweeney Todd is about a barber who goes on a killing spree and disposes of his victims by baking them into meat pies. In an off-Broadway production, they serve you an actual meat pie before the show begins. Dr. Pamela Dalton, a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, helps us understand how food flavors and smells can affect our brains while we’re watching this kind of immersive theater. Then, food Helen Rosner joins Dan to eat the pies, see the show, and report back. This e…
How Do You Prep For The Hardest Beer Test In The World?
Ep 909 · Aug 3, 2026 · 40 min
Mandy Naglich is an award-winning home brewer who also writes and teaches about beer. Now she wants to become a Master Cicerone — basically the beer equivalent of a master sommelier. There’s only a handful in the world, and the majority are men. If Mandy wants to join this rarefied group, she’ll need to pass a grueling two-day exam that includes identifying beers by taste and smell, pairing beers with food, and fixing a broken draft line. Dan selflessly offers himself up as Mandy’s beer-tasting…
This Is Your Brain On Cheesesteak (Reheat)
Ep 908 · Jul 31, 2026 · 26 min
Why do our brains go crazy for the melted cheese on Philly's iconic cheesesteak? What is it about scrapple’s crispy fried goodness? How does surface-area-to-volume ratio make the roast pork sandwich more delicious? This week, we take a road trip to the City of Brotherly Love to feast on some classic Philadelphia fare. We also learn about the science of appetite with a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in West Philadelphia. It's hard work, but we're making the big sacrifices for sci…
The Ice Cream Truck Kingpins Of Southern California
Ep 907 · Jul 27, 2026 · 44 min
Is there anything better than hearing the sound of an ice cream truck approaching? Today we’re bringing you two stories of ice cream trucks, past and present. First, Sporkful managing producer Emma Morgenstern tells the tale of her great-uncles, who owned a fleet of trucks starting in the 1940s — complete with sibling rivalries, California dreaming, and the exact right speed to drive a truck to maximize profits. Then, Dan hangs out with Caner Halis, a soft-serve truck driver and local celebrity…
Carla Hall Isn't Going Back To The Frozen Food Section (Reheat)
Ep 906 · Jul 24, 2026 · 36 min
Carla Hall is known for her quirky, energetic personality on TV. But in some ways she’s very different today from the woman who first appeared as a contestant on Top Chef almost two decades ago. "I didn't want to show up as my Blackness if it wasn't going to be accepted," the former co-host of The Chew says of her first foray into food media. When Carla started her career, she turned her back on the food she grew up with. Her journey back included false starts, U-turns, and a mail truck full of…
2 Chefs And A Lie 2026 With NPR’s Rachel Martin
Ep 905 · Jul 20, 2026 · 42 min
We’re back with our annual game show: Two Chefs And A Lie! This year our contestant is Rachel Martin, host of the NPR podcast Wild Card and an old friend of Dan’s. The game goes like this: Rachel talks with three guests. Two of them are real chefs, one is an impostor. She can ask each of them just five questions, then has to guess who the liar is. You can play along too! Can Rachel, and you, spot the fake chef? The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, K…
The Man Who Made 5 Million Burritos (Reheat)
Ep 904 · Jul 17, 2026 · 52 min
Is the perfect burrito a feat of engineering or art? We debate burrito construction and the Los Angeles/San Francisco rivalry with Jesse Thorn (founder of Maximum Fun and host of Bullseye) and Evan Kleiman (host of KCRW's Good Food). Matt Yglesias (cofounder of Vox Media and author of the Slow Boring newsletter) compares Chipotle burritos to iPhones. And then, Dan and cookbook author/YouTuber Kenji López-Alt take some calls: A wife objects to her husband's embarrassing food hacks, and Kenji expl…
Can You Be On A GLP-1 And Still Love Food?
Ep 903 · Jul 13, 2026 · 31 min
Recent studies say that somewhere between 12 and 16 percent of Americans have used GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound. Many people who take these drugs report that the meds have fundamentally changed their relationship to food. Jason Diamond is a writer who covers food, men’s fashion, and culture. Throughout his life he’s had a complicated relationship with both food and medication, which played a big role in how he thought about whether or not, as a new dad, to start taking GLP-1s. Jason’…
The Great Office Coffee Election (Reheat)
Ep 902 · Jul 10, 2026 · 29 min
“The time has come for us to change the coffee brand that we offer and we want your input!” The email came from Myiesha Gordon in the HR Department at WNYC. Like many others, Myiesha hated the office coffee. This week we follow her as she sets up a taste test and an office-wide coffee election. We'll find out why office coffee is so important to people, plus we'll talk to a caffeine researcher about whether it makes us better at our jobs. Then a behavioral economist weighs in about whether coffe…
Does McDonald’s Want Their Soft-Serve Machines To Stay Broken?
Ep 901 · Jul 6, 2026 · 32 min
McDonald’s soft-serve machines break down so often that a corner of the internet is awash in memes and videos about their unreliability. Enter Jeremy O’Sullivan and Melissa Nelson, two entrepreneurs who wanted to fix the broken machines. They thought they'd succeeded — until McDonald’s told its franchisees to stay away. This week we talk with Jeremy, Melissa, and Andy Greenberg, the Wired reporter who first broke this story of ice cream intrigue, and we hear about the 900 million dollar lawsuit…
The Enslaved Chefs At Monticello Who Created American Cuisine (Reheat)
Ep 900 · Jul 3, 2026 · 34 min
In honor of July 4th, we’re exploring an important part of American history – the contributions of enslaved Black chefs, whose work influences American cuisine to this day. In 1784, Thomas Jefferson brought the enslaved chef James Hemings, brother of Sally Hemings, with him to France to train under the French culinary masters of the day. Hemings created a cuisine that was half French, half Virginian, and brought it back to Jefferson's plantation, Monticello. This week, Dan tours the kitchens at…
Welcome To The Clam Capital Of America
Ep 899 · Jun 29, 2026 · 49 min
Summer is here, and for years, Dan has spent part of his summer in New England visiting family and friends. This week he’s visiting two New England summer institutions. First is Woodman’s—known as the place where fried clams were invented—in Essex, Massachusetts, the clam capital of America. Dan chats with the owner, Steve Woodman, about the origin of their fried clams, and sits down for a meal with someone who's been coming to Woodman’s for decades: his mom. Then, Dan heads to Grace Church on M…
Inside The Consumer Reports Test Labs (Reheat)
Ep 898 · Jun 26, 2026 · 37 min
Dan goes inside Consumer Reports, the independent nonprofit that tests and rates everything from toaster ovens to frozen pizzas to luxury cars. CR takes testing very seriously, and Dan gets to see their process in action. It all starts with an undercover shopper who goes by the pseudonym Jim. Then Dan visits the labs at HQ, where he sees how a gas range is poked, prodded, and brought to its limits. This includes testing the oven’s self-cleaning feature against a mixture so foul, it’s legendary.…
How Much Should You Tip At A Coffee Shop?
Ep 897 · Jun 22, 2026 · 43 min
How do restaurants decide who gets the worst tables? Why are Americans obsessed with the German supermarket chain Aldi? And should iced coffee only be consumed in hot weather? We get into all that and more in our Salad Spinner! Dan is joined by Deena Shanker, who covers food and health for Bloomberg Businessweek, and Elazar Sontag, food critic at The Washington Post. They discuss why Diet Coke’s biggest rival may be Coke Zero, and weigh in on the latest wellness product: cookies. The Sporkful pr…
Modern Family’s Ty Burrell Cases Hollywood Parties For Free Food (Reheat)
Ep 896 · Jun 19, 2026 · 34 min
As a struggling young actor, Ty Burrell pretended to be a guest at hotels to get the free breakfast buffet. Now he fights the urge to pocket food at the Emmys. He talks about his hors d'oeuvres strategy at fancy Hollywood events, getting his kids to eat slower, and how Utah's arcane liquor laws actually benefitted the two Salt Lake City bars he owns. This episode originally aired on September 4, 2017, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Dan Charles, and Paul Ruest. The Sporkful team now…
What Will America’s 250th Birthday Cake Look Like?
Ep 895 · Jun 15, 2026 · 50 min
In just a few weeks, the United States will mark its 250th birthday, with celebrations all across the country. But when cake artist Grace Pak started looking into it a few months ago, she realized the festivities were missing something crucial: a birthday cake! Now, she’s been tasked with making it. It’ll take a month to complete and include contributions from dozens of members of Congress. The final cake is supposed to be the size of a car. So how do you make such an ambitious confection? Grace…
Hasan Minhaj Says Life Is Like Biryani (Reheat)
Ep 894 · Jun 12, 2026 · 37 min
For comedian and former Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj, biryani is more than a delicious food. It's a guide to life: pulling out the good bits and pushing the weird stuff to the side. And when you're a third-culture kid, Hasan says, you pick and choose which parts of the two cultures to make part of your life. This week, we get Hasan's take on how performing stand-up comedy is like eating and his tips for mastering the art of eating with your hands. This episode originally aired on May 22…
The Table Freda Built At Ebony Magazine
Ep 893 · Jun 8, 2026 · 29 min
For decades starting in the 1940s, Ebony was one of the only magazines created by Black people that spoke directly to Black people. It showed Black Americans falling in love, playing sports, dressing in style, gathering together – and eating. Freda DeKnight was the magazine’s first food editor, publishing recipes that were international and sophisticated, challenging the stereotype that Black American food was limited to soul food. Dan speaks with historian Donna Battle Pierce about Freda’s lega…
Rachel Maddow Fixed The Pina Colada (Reheat)
Ep 892 · Jun 5, 2026 · 30 min
Piña coladas are way better in theory than in practice. Take it from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. "The tragedy of the piña colada is that it was never wholesome. From the very start the piña colada was built on something horrible, which is Coco Lopez," she says, referring to the canned cream of coconut junk that's long been the stomachache-inducing base of the drink. This week Rachel tells us how she fixed the piña colada with her own special recipe. Plus, Rachel advises us on best practices for co…
Why Would Someone Run 31 Miles While Eating Taco Bell?
Ep 891 · Jun 1, 2026 · 36 min
Last year we got an email from a young woman named Eleanor Sigel that said: “I’m training for the Taco Bell 50k. With ten Taco Bell stops in thirty miles, it should be a fun run, so I thought I'd invite you to join me.” While Dan had absolutely no interest in running 31 miles, eating that much Taco Bell, or combining the two endeavors into one, we decided to follow Eleanor as she took on the challenge. How do you train for this race? Why would someone sign up for it in the first place? And most…
Reheat: What's "Poor People's Food"?
Ep 890 · May 29, 2026 · 39 min
Nicole Taylor went through a phase where she rejected the soul food she grew up with. She called it all "slave food." Truth is, we all make judgments about what food is for which people, whether or not we realize it. Why are we willing to pay more for Italian and Japanese food than Chinese and Mexican? As we find out in this week's Reheat, it has nothing to do with the ingredients. And in the second episode of this Reheat doubleheader, we talk with the actress Rosie Perez live on stage. She says…
Live: Why Is Massachusetts So Obsessed With Dunkin’?
Ep 889 · May 25, 2026 · 45 min
Matt Shearer, aka Reporter Matt, has made a name for himself with his social media stories about some of the quirkier denizens of Massachusetts. One of his most famous is about the massive public outcry over the closure of both locations of Dunkin’ in Stow, MA -- which led to a surprising development. Reporter Matt joins us live on stage at WBUR CitySpace in Boston, along with cookbook author Omi Hopper and host of GBH’s The Big Dig podcast Ian Coss. Omi shares what it was like pivoting from bei…
How A Community Garden For Hospitality Workers Came To Life
May 22, 2026 · 26 min
Is mulch really necessary in the garden? How should you keep pests away from your strawberries? What’s the best way to keep your tomatoes from toppling over? As the weather warms up, we answer your most pressing gardening questions, with Keyatta Mincey. She’s the founder of A Sip of Paradise, a community garden for people in the hospitality industry in Atlanta. Keyatta tells us how she got this garden off the ground during COVID and why a community garden is so meaningful to people. This episode…
Which Restaurant Serves The Best Free Bread In America?
Ep 888 · May 18, 2026 · 35 min
Caity Weaver is a journalist who lives for a food quest. Her latest adventure has her crisscrossing the country in search of the best free restaurant bread in America. Now, after polling hundreds of people and traveling 13,000 miles, she’s convinced she’s found it. Read Caity’s cover story in The Atlantic: “I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread In America.” The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Right now, Spo…
Are The Jell-O Heirs Cursed? (Reheat)
Ep 887 · May 15, 2026 · 35 min
Allie Rowbottom’s great-great-great uncle bought the patent to Jell-O from its inventor in 1899 for $450, then sold it in the 1920s for $67 million — nearly a billion dollars in today’s money. Lately, Allie’s been obsessed with how all that Jell-O money shaped America, and her own family. It’s funded generations of Rowbottom women, including Allie, but it’s also been a shadow they can't escape. Jell-O became a twisted metaphor for all the bad things that happened to them, to the point that they…
This Afghan Restaurant In Houston Tastes Like Home
Ep 886 · May 11, 2026 · 41 min
Over the past few years, Houston has taken in more Afghan refugees than any other American city. When refugees arrive, Omer Yousafzai is there to welcome them. He owns The Afghan Village restaurant, which has become a community hub and gathering place for Afghans and non-Afghans alike. This week Dan heads to Houston to share a meal with Omer at his restaurant. Over palau and kabobs — cooked with the help of Omer’s nine-year-old son — they discuss how Omer’s time as a defense contractor in the Af…
Mo Rocca Likes Big Ravioli, And He Cannot Lie (Reheat)
Ep 885 · May 8, 2026 · 27 min
Humorist, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, and former Cooking Channel host Mo Rocca joins Dan to talk about his grandma, debate whether square or round ravioli is better, and tell us which variety is the Kenny G of ravioli. Plus Mo and Dan debate Latin grammar, and Mo tells us about a meal that almost killed him. This episode originally aired on September 22, 2014, and September 19, 2016, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Kristen Meinzer. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morge…
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