The Sporkful

Comedian Matteo Lane Says ‘Your Pasta Sucks’

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Matteo Lane comes from a large Italian family, which gave him his passion for food and his sense of humor. A few years back he started postin...

Malcolm Gladwell Only Drinks Five Liquids (Reheat)

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Author and podcast host Malcolm Gladwell immigrated to Canada when he was young, the child of an English father and Jamaican mother. He’s always fel...

All Aboard The Pizza Bus!

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Wiener, founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours, has made a name for himself as one of the most knowledgeable and passionate pizza experts in America. ...

Green Apple Bad Apple (Reheat)

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Dan hit 40, he noticed his body wasn't feeling as good. So recently, he embarked on a journey to change his lifestyle. Today, you'll meet the thr...

“Crying In H Mart” Helped Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner Grieve Her Mother

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Indie musician Michelle Zauner (leader of the band Japanese Breakfast) always had a complicated relationship with her mother, Chongmi. Michelle was bo...

Who Invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? (Reheat)

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For two decades, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos has been one of the most popular snacks in America. In recent years its legend has grown, as word spread that t...

Is A $1 Slice Of Pizza A Snack? (with Katie Nolan)

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is wine actually better than beer when watching football? What would a Thanksgiving feast prepared with recipes from Tom Brady’s cookbook taste like...

A Priest Walks Into A Bar (Reheat)

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do a great bartender and a great priest have in common? We ask a Catholic priest who moonlights as a mixologist. Plus, Dan revisits a beloved pub...

Working With Bourdain And Batali, Laurie Woolever Saw It All

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Laurie Woolever is a food writer in New York, but she’s probably best known for two other jobs she’s held: an assistant to Mario Batali, and an as...

Pizza Legend Patsy Grimaldi (Reheat)

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

81-year-old Patsy Grimaldi may be the last person making pizza today who trained under someone who trained at Lombardi's—the first pizzeria in Ameri...

Eggs, Raw Milk, And Tariffs, Oh My!

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why is the bird flu outbreak that’s currently driving up egg prices different from past outbreaks? Are new tariffs about to make your groceries more...

Ask Mimi With Mimi Sheraton (Reheat)

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mimi Sheraton has seen it all in her 92 years. In this Reheat of our spinoff podcast from 2018, Ask Mimi, the legendary food critic offers advice on f...

The Pitmaster With A Pulpit

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Monday through Saturday, Devin Pickard and his family run Papa KayJoe's BBQ in Centerville, Tennessee. But on Sundays, Devin trades the BBQ pit for th...

Pho The Love Of Slurping Noodles (Reheat)

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We're reheating this episode in honor of Chef Charles Phan, owner of The Slanted Door, who recently died. In 2016, he showed us the right way to eat t...

Southern Cooking Icon Edna Lewis Gets Her Due

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Edna Lewis was one of the first Black women to write a successful mainstream cookbook about the South. She talked about seasonality and farm-to-table ...

Hot Chicken Is Hot, But Who's Benefiting? (Reheat)

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the last 15 years, Nashville hot chicken has become a hot trend. But for decades before that, hot chicken was well known among Nashville’s Black ...

A Southern Gas Station Road Trip

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The South is known for fantastic gas station food, and on today’s show, Dan takes a road trip from Birmingham to Memphis to try some out for himself...

The Search For Perfection In Buffalo Wings And Love (Reheat)

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan talks to Matt Reynolds, director and star of the new documentary comedy The Great Chicken Wing Hunt, about the search for perfection in love and B...

This Memphis Restaurateur Thrives On Chaos (Live)

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan is live on stage in Memphis with famed local restaurateur Karen Blockman Carrier! Karen grew up Orthodox Jewish in Memphis, and she wanted to be a...

Two Call-In Smorgasbords (Reheat)

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We're revisiting two "Call-In Smorgasbord" episodes from 2011, which were all about settling scores, issuing opinions, and learning about your kitchen...

The Joy Of Recipe Writing

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why do some recipes just work while others are hit-or-miss? And is there a better way to write recipes overall? Last week we talked about how some rec...

Eating Throughout History (Reheat)

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What did dinosaur eggs taste like? In what shape would Jane Austen likely have had her dessert served to her? What does one of the world's leading pal...

Is Your Recipe Lying To You?

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you look at any list of best-selling cookbooks, certain words come up over and over again: quick, easy, fast, effortless. But is it actually possib...

Weird Al Yankovic: The Sporkful Interview (Reheat)

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan sits down with the one and only "Weird Al" Yankovic, the man behind "Eat It," "Fat," "My Bologna," and so many other classic food-related parody s...

Our 15th Anniversary Sporktacular

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy anniversary to us! This week The Sporkful is celebrating our 15th anniversary with a special episode sharing the story of the show’s creation,...

Sporkful Episode #1 And Sandwich Science With Robert Krulwich (Reheat)

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of The Sporkful’s 15th anniversary, for our Friday Reheats this month we’re pulling especially old episodes out of the darkest recesses o...

The Secret Society With A Giant Omelet Tradition

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What makes the taste of a Meyer lemon so special? And why is there a secret society in Louisiana that holds a giant omelet festival every year? This w...

Michael Ian Black Is A Man Who Eats Salads (Reheat)

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why does eating alligator seem more manly than eating chicken? Is coffee more “masculine” than tea? This week, comedian Michael Ian Black talks wi...

Jamie Oliver Doesn’t Listen To The Skeptics

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Despite being the best-selling nonfiction author in UK history, Jamie Oliver didn't read a whole book until he was 38. He's dyslexic, and writes by di...

A Trunk Full Of Truffles (Reheat)

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We follow a young truffle dealer as he hustles his way across New York City selling white truffles out of a styrofoam cooler in his car for thousands ...

New Year’s Food Resolutions 2025

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What foods do Sporkful listeners resolve to eat more of in the new year, and why? And what’s Dan’s New Year’s food resolution for 2025? All is r...

Reheat: Hari Dreams Of Donuts

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When comedian Hari Kondabolu isn't delivering incisive jokes about politics and identity, he's dreaming of being locked inside a magical bakery. Hari ...

Defending Seed Oil: Salad Spinner Year In Review

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time for our Salad Spinner Year In Review! On today’s show, we discuss the strangest and most surprising food stories from the past year with...

Reheat: Samin Nosrat And Hrishikesh Hirway Are Just Here For The Cookies

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, Samin Nosrat, author of the bestselling cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, and Hrishikesh Hirway, host of the podcast and Netflix show Song Explode...

Trading Architecture And Accounting For Cookbooks

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kristina Cho and Bryan Ford have a lot in common. They’re both children of immigrants, third-culture kids who got into food not through restaurants ...

Reheat: This Puerto Rican Drink Puts The Feliz In Your Navidad

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We learn about the holiday drink that’s the centerpiece of Puerto Rican Christmas celebrations, and we hear how Hurricane Maria changed Christmas fo...

The Mixologist Who Stopped Drinking

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The holidays are a time when many of us have a few extra drinks — or spend time with people having a few extra drinks. This week we’re talking wit...

Reheat: Monologues Are Like Meatballs, Says Actor Michael McKean

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The comedy icon discusses the role food can play in comedy and drama. Plus, he tells us why learning a new part is like eating spaghetti and how he re...

Comic Fortune Feimster Joined The Swim Team For The Fun Dip

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"I've always been a fan of food," comedian Fortune Feimster says in her 2020 stand up special, Sweet and Salty. She joined the swim team in grade scho...

Reheat: These Chefs Want You To Talk Politics At Dinner

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tunde Wey learned to cook at home with his family in Nigeria. Sean Sherman grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Today they're both u...

A Salty Medical Mystery

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A couple years ago, Abigail Keel started having debilitating attacks of vertigo. Once she got a diagnosis, the treatment seemed simple enough: reduce ...

Reheat: Can A Restaurant Be For Everyone?

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"White people are comfortable anywhere," says restaurateur Andy Shallal. "In order for a Black person to walk into a space, there need to be signals t...

How Judith Jones Changed Cookbooks Forever

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What do Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Diary of Anne Frank have in common? A woman named Judith Jones fought for both of ...

Reheat: The Rice Cooker That Changed Jake Cohen’s Life

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jake Cohen didn’t care much about Jewish food when he went to culinary school and worked in high end restaurants. But when he met his future husband...

Who Really Was James Beard?

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Before the James Beard Awards, there was the man himself. Beard was the first celebrity chef of the TV era, preaching home cooking and fresh, local fo...

Reheat: The Pasta That Won Obama Re-Election

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Kass shares stories of his time as the Obama family’s chef — cooking on Air Force One, smuggling special ingredients into the White House, and...

Bobby Flay Wins A Lot — But Also Knows How To Lose

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bobby Flay has competed in more than 700 TV cooking challenges and written a dozen cookbooks. But at heart, he still thinks of himself as a restaurant...

Reheat: A Very Trini Punjabi Diwali (with DJ Rekha)

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We cook up a Diwali feast with a Trinidadian mother and daughter and discuss straddling cultures with the Indian-American DJ who introduced a blend of...

“Super Size Me,” Twenty Years Later

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, Morgan Spurlock released his low-budget documentary Super Size Me, and achieved success that most documentary filmmakers can only dr...

Reheat: Jet Tila Cooks Pad Thai For 20,000 People

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Food Network star Jet Tila’s parents opened the first Thai market in the US in 1972. Now he’s trying to introduce people who aren’t Thai to the ...

Ed Gamble Is More Than A Diabetic Comedian (Live)

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Ed Gamble calls himself a “very greedy boy.” That’s because he’s always loved food, from the diary entry he wrote at six years old ab...

Reheat: What Rock Star Sammy Hagar And Chef Jacques Pepin Have In Common

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dan eats fresh mozzarella with the former Van Halen frontman and drinks beer out of paper cups with the legendary French chef. It turns out neither of...

How Cascatelli Ended Up In A German Museum

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of National Pasta Month, Dan shares the story of how his pasta shape, cascatelli, ended up in a design museum in Germany. When he travels wit...

Preserving Jewish Food And Pushing It Forward, With Joan Nathan And Jeremy Salamon

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, we’re talking with two cookbook authors about how Jewish food around the world has evolved, and where it’s goin...

Reheat: A Brief History Of Cereal And Milk

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We explore the history of an iconic American food couple — cereal and milk — with help from New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson and aut...

The Inside Story Of How Taco Bell Created The Big Cheez-It

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're bringing you a rare behind-the-scenes look at a collaboration between two giant American food brands: Taco Bell and Cheez-It. (And no, the...

The Enslaved Man Who Taught Jack Daniel How To Make Whiskey

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016, Jack Daniel’s announced the company would make changes to its official history. They planned to honor Nathan “Nearest” Green, the forme...

Reheat: Why You Should Listen To Your Food

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In cooking and eating, sound is the forgotten sense. But you can tell whether you're cutting scallions correctly, or how good your chocolate is, by th...

The Pashman Family Takes Your Calls 2024

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dan brings his whole family on the podcast this week to answer your questions, just as they did in an episode six years ago. When a couple in South Da...

Hitting The Taco Trail With José Ralat

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

José Ralat’s job at Texas Monthly magazine is so unique that when he got it five years ago, it made national news. One headline read: “The Job Yo...

Reheat: Beyond Pot Brownies (with Radiolab's Jad Abumrad)

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dan and Radiolab's Jad Abumrad explore the new frontier of weed-infused foods with a pastry chef. They'll tell you how it tastes. They'll tell you how...

Bea Ojakangas, From Finnish Food To Pizza Rolls

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the Minnesota State Fair kicks into high gear, we’re talking with one of the state’s most iconic food personalities. Beatrice Ojakangas, who tu...

When Is A Taco Legally A Sandwich?

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why are politicians trying to ban lab-grown meat? Is Chipotle secretly serving smaller portions? And just how good is that new cereal mix by Jason and...

Reheat: Christopher Kimball Finds Pleasure In Pain

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The founder of Milk Street hates celebrations and says pleasure is annoying. This week, Chris Kimball tells us why he thinks cooking is supposed to be...

A Car Crash Saved Jameela Jamil’s Life

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jameela Jamil may be best known for her role on the NBC show The Good Place. On the show, her character’s nonprofit work is a punchline, but in real...

We Can Do Better Than “Obligation Salads”

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pretty much every restaurant has salads, and yet how often do you get really excited to eat one? In restaurants and at home, most salads seem to be th...

Reheat: How To Be A Good Ice Cream Citizen

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is it unethical to sample an ice cream shop's flavors and not buy anything? A married couple calls in for advice, and Cooks Illustrated's Dan Souza re...

When Celery Was More Expensive Than Caviar

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Celery doesn't get a lot of love these days. But it was the avocado toast of the late 1800s and early 1900s. People thought it had magical powers, and...

Cookbooks That Need ‘The Grandma Disclaimer’ (Live)

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Food writer Khushbu Shah and chef Edy Massih each released their first cookbooks this spring. Both works are part of a new generation of cookbooks tha...

Reheat: Confessions of a Ballpark Food Vendor

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Sporkful, a former Shea Stadium food vendor tells Dan about the worst gig in the ballpark. Plus a North Carolina peanut man tel...

2 Chefs And A Lie: Deconstructed Coney Dog Edition

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with our annual game show Two Chefs And A Lie! Here’s how it works. Dan talks with three “chefs.” Two of them are real chefs, one i...

Why Does Gluttony Get Such A Bad Rap?

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, a friend of restaurant critic Tim Hayward called him a glutton. This week, our friends at the Life and Art from FT Weekend podcast dig into ...

Searching For The Donut King Part 2

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After months of searching, we finally meet Ted Ngoy, aka "the Donut King", and learn what happened to him. He's returned to the Cambodian community se...

Searching For The Donut King Part 1

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After escaping Cambodia's Killing Fields, Ted Ngoy built a donut empire in California. Then he lost it all, and disappeared. This week we're searching...

Molly Baz Has Confidence In Her Taste

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Everything Molly Baz puts out — from her best-selling cookbooks Cook This Book and More Is More, to her Instagram pics and YouTube videos, to her wi...

Reheat: In Search Of Rosa Parks' Pancakes

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016, the Library of Congress posted Rosa Parks' personal documents online for the first time. Buried under postcards from Martin Luther King and l...

Yia Vang Says Hmong Food Is His Family's Legacy

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For years, chef Yia Vang operated his restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen in a trailer outside of a brewery in Minneapolis. Last year, he finally opened hi...

Book Tour 2: How’d You Get So Good At Failure?

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the second half of our Best of the Book Tour series, we’re answering your questions! We’ll tackle the most frequently asked questions Dan got o...

Reheat: Andy Richter Bought A Midlife Crisis Fridge

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The comic, actor, writer, and podcast host, best known as Conan O’Brien’s late night TV sidekick, tells us why he chose a really nice refrigerator...

Book Tour 1: Do You Really Need That Many Recipe Tests?

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For six weeks this spring, Dan hit the road for the biggest tour in Sporkful history, all in celebration of his cookbook Anything’s Pastable. He tra...

How You Can Taste Food Like A Flavor Chemist

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Natural flavors” show up on ingredient lists for all kinds of foods. But what does that mean exactly? We get a peek into the secretive science of f...

Reheat: Why Roy Wood Jr. Sees Pros To Bad Service And Confederate Flags

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian and Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. is known for his thoughtful and pointed takes on race. He joins us to discuss McRib conspiracy theo...

When Mom Forgets Her Favorite Foods, With Michele Norris

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Tell me about your mama’s kitchen.” That’s how Michele Norris, former host of NPR’s All Things Considered, starts conversations with the li...

Bridgerton’s Claudia Jessie Likes Life At A Low Simmer

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Claudia Jessie is just as nonconformist as Eloise, her character on the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. She lived on a houseboat for three years, d...

Reheat: What Dumplings Can’t Fix

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do parents who adopt kids from other countries use food to connect their children to their birthplace? And what happens when those kids grow up an...

Bringing Georgia O’Keeffe To Life With Her Recipes

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sotheby’s is about to put a trove of Georgia O'Keeffe items up for sale. While the auction will include paintings likely to go for millions of dolla...

benny blanco Says Apple Fritters Are Better Than Sex

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Music producer and artist benny blanco has credits on 29 number one songs, working with stars such as Katy Perry, SZA, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Halsey,...

Reheat: Jim Gaffigan Lies To His Kids About Food

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The food-obsessed comic discusses eating with his five children, navigating birthday parties and buffets, his dad's steaks, and when it's OK to lie to...

Priya Krishna Writes The Kids Cookbook She Wished She'd Had

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cookbook author Priya Krishna was a world traveler as a kid. Because of her mom’s job in the airline industry, Priya was able to go to China, Egypt,...

Alyse Whitney Brings Big Dip Energy

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dips are having a moment — from a dips-only restaurant in Atlanta to Martin Short playing a character who only eats dips. But TV host and Cosmo colu...

Reheat: LeVar Burton Even Reads Recipes Dramatically

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You may think you know LeVar Burton. After starring in the seminal 1977 mini-series Roots, he hosted Reading Rainbow and starred alongside Sir Patrick...

Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Naama Shefi remembers visiting her husband’s grandmother for the first time, and being astonished by the stories tucked into each dish on the dinner...

In Defense Of Picky Eating

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Laura and Beth Winters are fraternal twins who come from a family of proud picky eaters. But after high school, Laura left home for college and starte...

Reheat: Guy Fieri Hates That Flame Shirt

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You probably know Guy Fieri from his TV shows: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and Guy's Grocery Games. Or maybe you remember Pete Wells's epically scath...

Anything’s Pastable 4 | A Cookbook Is Born

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of “Anything’s Pastable,” the recipes are done — but they’re all in Google Docs. Now Dan has to bring them together in...

Anything’s Pastable 3 | Searching For A Spark

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Dan’s cookbook deadline approaches, recipe testing kicks into high gear — and he attempts to develop a few recipes on his own. But scorched pan...

Anything’s Pastable 2 | Eat Sauté Love

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of “Anything’s Pastable,” Dan embarks on an epic trip across Italy in search of lesser-known pasta dishes — and to learn about the...

Anything’s Pastable 1 | Every Grain Of Salt

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After Dan’s pasta shape, cascatelli, went viral, people everywhere were cooking with it and sending him photos of what they were making. As exciting...

Gary Gulman’s Ice Cream Joke Was A Cry For Help

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Gulman did so many food bits early in his stand-up career that he joked he was "a strictly food-based comic." But as his comedy started to evolve...

Deep Dish With Sohla And Ham: Bagels

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Violence, death threats, and bagels, oh my! In this final episode of Deep Dish season one, Sohla and Ham explore the origins of bagels, and the tough-...