New Books in Food

Marshall Poe

Food History

Agriculture

Food Studies

Wine

Climate Change

Animal Rights

Veganism

Water

Milk

Food Security

Cultural Identity

Eating Disorders

Alcohol

Culinary Traditions

Colonialism

Alcohol Consumption

Food Justice

Coca-Cola

Cultural History

Capitalism

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to ... more

19 ratings

Publishes	Twice weekly	Episodes	591	Founded	15 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	FoodArtsBooks

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Guests Host Reviews Charts Talking Points

Latest Episodes

Matias E. Margulis, "Shadow Negotiators: How UN Organizations Shape the Rules of World Trade for Food Security" (Stanford UP, 2023)

Shadow Negotiators: How UN Organizations Shape the Rules of World Trade for Food Security

(Stanford University Press, 2023) by Dr. Matias E. Margulis is the

first book to demonstrate that United Nations (UN) organizations have

intervened to influe... more

15 Aug 2026 • 54 min

Sophie Chao, "Land of Famished Beings: West Papuan Theories of Hunger" (Duke UP, 2025)

In Land of Famished Beings: West Papuan Theories of Hunger (Duke UP, 2025), Sophie Chao examines how Indigenous Marind communities understand and theorize hunger in lowland West Papua, a place where industrial plantation expansion and settler-coloni... more

15 Aug 2026 • 1 hr 2 min

The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods

What role do microbes play in aquaponic farming and cultivated meat production, and how might such novel food technologies impact microbiomes? In this episode, Ishita Dey of Gastronomica hosts Lukáš Senft, Tereza Stöckelová, and Varvara Borisova in a... more

7 Aug 2026 • Most popular

Robert Lee Maril, "Hungry Oklahoma: Confronting Poverty and Food Insecurity" (U Oklahoma Press, 2026)

In Oklahoma, one out of every six residents is poor. One in five children lives in poverty and faces food insecurity. In Hungry Oklahoma: Confronting Poverty and Food Insecurity (U Oklahoma Press, 2026), native son and sociologist Robert Lee Maril... more

30 Jul 2026 • 35 min • Popular

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Recent Guests

Lukáš Senft

Researcher focused on mushroom foraging and precision agriculture implementations

Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Beyond Security project

Episode: The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods

Tereza Stöckelová

Researcher at the intersection of metabolism, nutrition, and food systems

Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Gastronomica article author

Episode: The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods

Varvara Borisova

Researcher focusing on cultural dimensions of food and biopolitics

Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Beyond Security project

Episode: The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods

Samantha Iyer

Author of Agrarian Superpower, Food Development and the Global Ascendancy of the United States

Columbia University Press

Episode: Samantha Iyer, "Agrarian Superpower: Food, Development, and the Global Ascendancy of the United States" (Columbia UP, 2026)

Lily Kelting

Author of Against Heritage: The Reinvention of Traditional Foods

Flame University Pune, India; cultural journalist and performance critic

Episode: Lily Kelting, "Against Heritage: The Reinvention of Traditional Foods" (UNC Press, 2026)

Andrew Flachs

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Purdue University

Episode: Andrew Flachs, "Feeding the World as If People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields" (U Arizona Press, 2026)

Maria Pinto

Author of Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless

University of North Carolina Press

Episode: Maria Pinto, "Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival" (UNC Press, 2026)

Brad Bouley

Author and history professor

University of California, Santa Barbara

Episode: Bradford A. Bouley, "The Barberini Butchers: Meat, Murder, and Warfare in Early Modern Italy" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2026)

Paul Stangl

Author of San Francisco Seafood, A History from Ocean to Table

Western Washington University

Episode: Paul Stangl, "San Francisco Seafood: A History from Ocean to Table" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

Host

Miranda Melcher

Host of The New Books Network, and appears across episodes.

Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars from 19 ratings

Perk of Knowing the Author's Perspective
I teach a university course every semester on the history of human nutrition. My students have to write a book review, which some confuse with a book report despite my efforts but that's another matter, after reading a non-fiction book about the history of nutrition, food studies, sports studies, and other related disciplines. New Books in Food is great for my students and for me. I learn about recently released books, which I add to my students' list of possibilities for the book review, and my... more
Apple Podcasts
5
Dr.Jeff.H
United States13 years ago

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Listeners Say

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

Great depth and breadth; you'll hear authors discuss their books with rigorous context.

High-quality guest selections that bridge scholarship and public understanding of food culture.

Excellent for students; useful resource for finding primary ideas and questions to explore in class.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts	#234	United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts	#80	Austria/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts	#87	South Africa/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts	#115	Singapore/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts	#135	Philippines/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts	#213	Hong Kong/Arts/Food

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Lily Kelting, "Against Heritage: The Reinvention of Traditional Foods" (UNC Press, 2026)

Q: Tell me a little bit about your background and what steered you towards this book in particular, this subject matter.

Lily explains a long, international academic journey from studying ancient theater to researching traditional foods, detailing how personal movements across the US South, Europe, and India shaped the three-case study structure and convinced her that heritage in food is a globally relevant, experiential topic.

Samantha Iyer, "Agrarian Superpower: Food, Development, and the Global Ascendancy of the United States" (Columbia UP, 2026)

Q: What unites or differentiates the agricultural policies of the US, Egypt, and India across the 19th to mid-20th centuries?

All three adapted to market volatility by developing state-led mechanisms to control crop production and distribution, but the US built a more expansive, rights-bearing framework for farmers, whereas Egypt and India faced stricter colonial or post-colonial constraints, resulting in different levels of policy autonomy and impact on national economies.

Samantha Iyer, "Agrarian Superpower: Food, Development, and the Global Ascendancy of the United States" (Columbia UP, 2026)

Q: Could you introduce yourself and explain why you decided to write this book?

I teach political economy and environmental history at Fordham and wrote this book to link agricultural development in the US, Egypt, and India to the broader story of how national economies emerged and how food policy helped drive global power dynamics, challenging a purely military or industrial narrative.

Andrew Flachs, "Feeding the World as If People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields" (U Arizona Press, 2026)

Q: What would a world look like if we prioritized feeding people and nourishing communities over pure commodity production?

A shift toward diverse farms, local hubs, and redistribution of resources to ensure access to nutritious food for all, supported by policy that values reproductive labor and community well-being over extraction and export profits.

Andrew Flachs, "Feeding the World as If People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields" (U Arizona Press, 2026)

Q: What are the biggest ramifications of industrial agriculture and plantation ecology on our food system and consumption habits?

Industrial plantation systems centralized control, created deep hierarchies, and redirected production toward capital-intensive outputs, often at the expense of ecological and social well-being; the discussion highlights need for regional resilience and rethinking value.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Food

What is New Books in Food about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A scholarly, book-centric interview series that brings authors, researchers, and practitioners in food studies, culinary history, anthropology, philosophy, and related disciplines into conversation with fellow scholars. Each episode centers on a recently published work, often exploring how food, culture, and food systems intersect with politics, society, and daily life. Listeners can expect rigorous analysis, cross-disciplinary perspectives, and vivid case studies—from urban self-sufficiency and urban gardening to culinary histories across the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean. A notable strength is the show's ability to connect theoretical ideas with tangible cultural practices, making academic topics accessible to a broad audience while... more

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Which podcasts are similar to New Books in Food?

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1. The Book Review
2. Good Food
3. The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker
4. Maintenance Phase
5. Pop Culture Happy Hour

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New Books in Food launched 15 years ago and published 591 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 New Books in Food?

Recent guests on New Books in Food include:

1. Lukáš Senft
2. Tereza Stöckelová
3. Varvara Borisova
4. Samantha Iyer
5. Lily Kelting
6. Andrew Flachs
7. Maria Pinto
8. Brad Bouley

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