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Artwork for Gastropod
Climate Change
Agriculture
Food Security
Shrimp
Rice
Klamath River
Dentistry
Corn
Vanilla
Interstitium
Bagels
David Fairchild
French Fries
Salmon
Pizza
Yogurt
Avocado
Sustainability
Jewish Cuisine
Food Culture

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... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes299Founded12 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
FoodArtsScience

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Artwork for Gastropod

Latest Episodes

For most of human history, humans have fed ourselves by foraging, with a little bit of hunting when we were lucky—think more gatherer than hunter. Picking edible greens, nuts, fruits, roots, and mushrooms kept us alive before the advent of farming an... more

There’s nothing more American than apple pie—or is there? We might prescribe an apple a day and call our largest city the Big Apple, but this legendary fruit originally hails from the mountains of Kazakhstan. This episode, Michael Pollan (something o... more

Move over protein, it's time to fibermaxx! Fiber has always been the neglected stepchild of nutrients: it's never been seen as essential, and some of its earliest enthusiasts were poop-obsessed oddballs. Take the inventor of cornflakes, John Harvey K... more

For tens of thousands of years, North America was bison country. Millions of these giant, shaggy animals—also known as buffalo—roamed from the far north to the Gulf and from the east coast to the west. They defined the land and its people: the animal... more

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Alexis Nicole Nelson
Forager known as the Black Forager and author of Happy Snacking Don't Die
Episode: Free Food: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Foraging
Diana Burnell
Professional forager who leads foraging tours
Edible Excursions Foraging
Episode: Free Food: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Foraging
Eric Burkhart
Botanist at Penn State University
Penn State University
Episode: Free Food: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Foraging
Michael Pollan
Author of The Botany of Desire and other books
Episode: The Big Apple Episode
Amy Traverso
Author of The Apple Lover's Cookbook and senior food editor at Yankee Magazine
Yankee Magazine
Episode: The Big Apple Episode
Soham Bhatt
Co-founder and cider maker at Artifact Cider Project
Artifact Cider Project
Episode: The Big Apple Episode
Dan Bussey
Apple historian and author of The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada
Episode: The Big Apple Episode
Maria Kennedy
Folklorist at Rutgers University who studies cider
Rutgers University
Episode: The Big Apple Episode
James Crowden
Author of Ciderland and other books about cider
Episode: The Big Apple Episode

Hosts

Cynthia Graber
Food and science journalist
Nicola Twilley
Writer and journalist focused on food, science, and design

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 6.7k ratings
  • Love gastropod

    Love this show. A great blend of science and history. Would love to learn more about microbiome and mental health. Been reading about some linkages …only thing I don’t like are the loud ads!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sharon in Davis
    United Statesa month ago
  • You can boil lettuce.

    It’s called lettuce soup! And it’s delicious.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    aubgrowsfood
    United States3 months ago
  • Problematic

    Enjoyed this podcast until they casually shared a joke from a comedian about buying property in the Golan Heights. Yikes.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    OrdinaryBlues
    Canada4 months ago
  • Disappointed

    I used to love listening to this podcast until they started inserting their politics. Maybe you could do an episode on what foods to eat to cure TDS!

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Kcaeleanor
    United States4 months ago
  • Best podcast ever!

    I’ve listened to every episode in the backlog, and finally get to listen to them as they come out!!! This podcast has kept me company on long car trips and commutes for years. I know I eat healthier because of it, and I know so much more about the world, now!

    Thank you so much for making fantastic episode after fantastic episode!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    TechyTrickster
    United States5 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Several listeners value the hosts' clear, polished storytelling and say the episodes teach them about food and the wider world.
Listeners frequently praise the well-researched blend of food science, history, and culture, describing the subjects as engaging and unexpectedly fascinating.
Some listeners object to political or social commentary, while others appreciate the inclusion of class, race, and colonial history.
Advertising is a recurring complaint, with some listeners finding ad volume or brand endorsements disruptive.
A minority mention delivery issues, including eating sounds, accent choices, and editing that leaves too little pause between speakers.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Spotify
#30
United States/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#5
United States/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#27
United States/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#3
Canada/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#13
United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#30
Canada/Arts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Free Food: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Foraging
Q: What brought it back?
Foraging returned through counterculture interest, the growing popularity of ramps among chefs and food media, and renewed interest during the COVID-19 pandemic as people spent more time outdoors and worried about fragile food systems.
Free Food: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Foraging
Q: So why did we stop eating wild foods?
Foraging declined as laws restricted access to land, urban and industrial life displaced people from familiar landscapes, and postwar consumer culture favored processed and cultivated foods.
The Big Apple Episode
Q: What does cider have to do with the true story of the invention of champagne?
James Crowden describes a 1653 account of adding sugar to cider in bottles to encourage a second fermentation. The episode presents this English cider technique as predating the method later associated with champagne.
The Big Apple Episode
Q: How many thousands of varieties of apples used to grow in America, and why are there only a handful left in grocery stores today?
Around 1900, records counted about 14,000 American varieties. Prohibition damaged cider orchards, while commercial growing and shipping favored a smaller number of large, red, durable apples over variety and flavor.
Where There's Smoke, There's...Whiskey, Fish, and Barbecue!
Q: What is barbecue, exactly, and where did it come from?
Barbecue originated from a fusion of indigenous, European, and African culinary practices rather than a single origin. Virginia and broader American barbecue developed through enslaved Indigenous peoples and African Americans, with regional adaptations over time becoming a central cultural and social practice.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Gastropod

What is Gastropod about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Every other week, Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley turn a food or farming topic into a reported mix of science, history, and cultural context. Episodes move between expert interviews, visits to farms, laboratories and other field locations, archival stories, and hands-on tastings or demonstrations. Familiar foods and ingredients become starting points for exploring agriculture, technology, nutrition, trade, public policy, and the social forces that shape what people eat. Guests include scientists, historians, authors, farmers, chefs, and food-business practitioners, bringing both specialist research and practical experience. The distinctive approach is its range: a single subject can connect biological mechanisms with changing tastes, over... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Gastropod?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Gastropod:

1. The Sporkful
2. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
3. The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
4. Radiolab
5. 99% Invisible

How many episodes of Gastropod are there?

Gastropod launched 12 years ago and published 299 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Gastropod?

Recent guests on Gastropod include:

1. Alexis Nicole Nelson
2. Diana Burnell
3. Eric Burkhart
4. Michael Pollan
5. Amy Traverso
6. Soham Bhatt
7. Dan Bussey
8. Maria Kennedy

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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