Who is harmed by pesticides? A child eating a big, red, conventionally grown Driscoll’s strawberry. Or a bowl of Cheerios. Or does the chain of harm go back further? To a farmworker, spraying pesticides up and down a row of crops. Or a farming family, living on the land where the crops are grown. Or a community, breathing the air and drinking the water downstream from the farm. Are these foods bad for us to eat? Are they bad for us, collectively, to grow? And if so, who should pay the price?
Jun 16
59 min
Over a hundred years ago, we started drinking soda. Today, soda is part of a larger category called sugar sweetened beverages, that includes energy drinks, Dunkin’ frozen matcha lattes, giant Boba teas and Starbucks strawberry acai refreshers. How did these companies tap into our innate cravings to sell us more drinkable calories than we are supposed to eat in a week? In this episode we explore why we are so susceptible to sugar and how soda companies influenced the way we drink today, marketing their drinks aggressively (especially to children), externalizing costs, and making the consumer and society at large responsible: for our excess calorie consumption and for the waste created by single use drink containers.
Jun 4
1 hr 14 min
In this episode we talk about bearing witness to the way animals are raised for us to eat. And about the laws that have been passed in states around the country to keep us from doing so. Who benefits from us staying in the dark? And what are the larger repercussions of hiding these truths behind factory farm walls?
Dec 2, 2025
1 hr 4 min
On this episode we are joined by Helena Bottemiller Evich and Theodore Ross, the co-hosts of the podcast “Forked.” Every two weeks, they discuss “the politics and policy that are turning the American food system on its head.” For much of the past year, they have spent a huge amount of time discussing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, its connections to de-facto leader, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the ways in which he and the movement are shaping policy and practice, from federal and state laws to food companies’ promises to change the formulas of their products. Together we talk through who makes up this movement, what their priorities are, what progress MAHA is making towards its goals — and where it is falling short. Can it make America healthy again?
Nov 19, 2025
1 hr 1 min
If we all ate less meat and more beans, it would be a terrific win for the environment. And that’s not the only thing to love about them! They are very good for you. And satisfying. And versatile. They are also culinary mainstays for a huge number of people from a wide variety of cultures. Beans have all the protein that the protein obsessives want right now. And they are very affordable during a time of true economic hardship. Also, they’re delicious. In this episode, we went looking for the bean freaks, to learn from them how we can get everyone as excited about beans as they are. Can they help us persuade the world to fall in love with beans?
Nov 4, 2025
54 min
In this episode we speak with Alice Driver, author of the 2024 book "The Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company.”
Oct 21, 2025
37 min
Suddenly, it feels like pistachios are everywhere. From Dubai chocolate to pistachio lattes, croissants, nut butters and more … For two years now, pistachio has appeared on several lists of upcoming food trends. On this episode, we hunt for the origins of a trend and try to tease out the implications of a food going viral.
Apr 1, 2025
1 hr 11 min
In this episode we talk with philosophy professor Matthew Halteman about his new book, Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan.
Mar 11, 2025
56 min
A special episode from the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) podcast Buzzkill, presented by REAP/SOW
Mar 4, 2025
31 min
In this episode we talk with Brea Baker her about her book, "Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership," in which she clearly maps out the United States’ progression from slavery to Emancipation and Black land acquisition — followed almost immediately by a pattern of violent land theft and devastating loss.
Feb 25, 2025
33 min
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