Rephonic
Artwork for New Books in Food

New Books in Food

Marshall Poe
Food History
Food Studies
Agriculture
Wine
Cultural Identity
Animal Rights
Climate Change
Veganism
Water
Milk
Food Security
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

PublishesDailyEpisodes587Founded15 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BooksArtsFood

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for New Books in Food

Latest Episodes

The United States’ superpower status is often associated with its industrial, financial, and military might. Yet its global power after the Second World War hinged in part on something often seen as backward: agriculture. In contrast to Britain, the ... more

Backyard gardens flush with cucumbers, tomatoes, and

peppers where bees buzz and chickens scratch. Beyond, a forest filled

with blackberries and jewelweed. Inspired by childhood memories of his

grandmother’s overflowing backyard garden, author And... more

The rise of “heritage” foods—that is, the reinvention of traditional

foods—has enjoyed a high profile thanks to the oft-praised efforts of

chefs such as Sean Brock and René Redzepi. But Lily Kelting observes the

popularity of heritage foods as som... more

In Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival (University

of North Carolina Press, 2026), naturalist, forager, and educator Maria

Pinto uncovers strange and... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Recent Guests

Meena Khandelwal
Author of Cookstove Chronicles, Social Life of a Women's Technology in India
University of Iowa (affiliation discussed in episode)
Episode: Meena Khandelwal, "Cookstove Chronicles: Social Life of a Women's Technology in India" (U Arizona Press, 2026)
Sarah Elton
Assistant professor and health researcher, co-author of the Gastronomica pieces
Dalla Lana School of Public Health; Gastronomica
Episode: Making Microbes Explicit
Maya Hey
Interdisciplinary researcher focusing on microbes in food systems
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm)
Episode: Making Microbes Explicit
Peter Ross
Author of Insatiable Appetites, Eating Out in Georgian London
The Bodleian Library
Episode: Peter Ross, "Insatiable Appetites: Eating Out in Georgian London" (Bodleian Library, 2026)
Doug Crowell
Co-author, restaurateur, and partner in two Brooklyn restaurants
Buttermilk Channel (Brooklyn), French Louie (Brooklyn)
Episode: Ryan Angulo and Doug Crowell, "Kindness & Salt: Recipes for the Care & Feeding of Your Friends & Neighbors" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018)
Ryan Angulo
Co-author, chef and restaurateur
Buttermilk Channel (Brooklyn)
Episode: Ryan Angulo and Doug Crowell, "Kindness & Salt: Recipes for the Care & Feeding of Your Friends & Neighbors" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018)
Ashok Malhotra
Historian, Queen's University Belfast
Queen's University Belfast
Episode: Ashok Malhotra, "Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969" (UCL Press, 2026)
Helen Zoe Veit
Author; Associate Professor of History
Michigan State University
Episode: Helen Veit, "Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History" (St Martin's Press, 2026)
Jonatan Leer
Dr., professor at Örebro University in Culinary Arts and Meal Science
Örebro University
Episode: Jonatan Leer and Stinne Gunder Strøm Krogager, "Food Porn: Food Aesthetics in a Digital Age" (Bristol UP, 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

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
#81
United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#237
Australia/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#24
India/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#82
Singapore/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#115
Denmark/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#120
Philippines/Arts/Food

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Meena Khandelwal, "Cookstove Chronicles: Social Life of a Women's Technology in India" (U Arizona Press, 2026)
Q: Why have replacement campaigns for cookstoves often failed to diffuse?,
Because traditional stoves remain functional, culturally valued, and stove stacking allows households to keep using familiar devices alongside any new technologies, which undermines campaigns that assume households will abandon old stoves entirely.
Meena Khandelwal, "Cookstove Chronicles: Social Life of a Women's Technology in India" (U Arizona Press, 2026)
Q: What is going on with these stoves, how do they actually work?
She explains the traditional chula and its variations, including the U-shaped design, fuel from the side, and the culturally embedded practices around stove use and maintenance.
Meena Khandelwal, "Cookstove Chronicles: Social Life of a Women's Technology in India" (U Arizona Press, 2026)
Q: Could you start us off, please, by introducing yourself a little bit and tell us why you decided to write this book?
Meena describes her background in anthropology and gender studies, her collaboration with engineers on solar cookers, and how the project evolved into writing a book that foregrounds ethnographic and feminist perspectives on cookstoves, emphasizing women's agency and the social dimensions of technology.
Ryan Angulo and Doug Crowell, "Kindness & Salt: Recipes for the Care & Feeding of Your Friends & Neighbors" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018)
Q: What inspired you to actually write the book?
They wanted to capture the hospitality philosophy, front-and-back-of-house collaboration, and the Brooklyn community they built, turning a cookbook into a narrative about people, place, and generosity, not just recipes.
Ashok Malhotra, "Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969" (UCL Press, 2026)
Q: Do you think Ashok, when these experiments are being developed, is the goal of the scientists to lift up and improve nutrition, health, and with consequences for Imperial utility, or is there something else at stake here?
Ashok argues that while there was a public interest in improving nutrition for public health and military recruitment, the work was deeply entangled with colonial power, eugenics discourse, and racialized assumptions, meaning improvements were often framed to bolster imperial aims rather than purely humanitarian goals.

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 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

Where can I find podcast stats for New Books in Food?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for New Books in Food. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to New Books in Food and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does New Books in Food get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for New Books in Food, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for New Books in Food?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for New Books in Food, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does New Books in Food have?

To see how many followers or subscribers New Books in Food has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to New Books in Food?

These podcasts share a similar audience with New Books in Food:

1. The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
2. 99% Invisible
3. Science Friday
4. The Food Programme
5. Up First from NPR

How many episodes of New Books in Food are there?

New Books in Food launched 15 years ago and published 587 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact New Books in Food?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for New Books in Food?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for New Books in Food from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for New Books in Food?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of New Books in Food. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on New Books in Food?

Recent guests on New Books in Food include:

1. Meena Khandelwal
2. Sarah Elton
3. Maya Hey
4. Peter Ross
5. Doug Crowell
6. Ryan Angulo
7. Ashok Malhotra
8. Helen Zoe Veit

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.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days