Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Earth Eats

“Studying food is a way to study how we are connected to the world of life around us. Whatever we think about humans being so cerebral, so intellectual–it really breaks down because we are a part of everything else around us.” 

This week on the show we talk with the author of The Book of Yerba Mate, Christina Folch about how one plant can tell us so much about ourselves, and the world around us. 

Christine Folch is the Bacca Foundation Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Sciences & Policy at Duke University.

She spoke with Kayte Young about The Book of Yerba Mate: a stimulating history, released in 2024 with Princeton University Press. 

And, Earth Eats producer Leo Paes brought his Yerba Mate kit into the WFIU studios for a tasting session.

“There is a beautiful Hindustani saying, ‘Kosa kosa per pani badle, chare kosa per vani,’ which means "Every two miles the water changes, and every four the language." So that, in fact, is the geography of taste and terroir in India.”

This week on the show, we talk with sociologist Krishnendu Ray about place and food and caste in India and how identity can be defined as much by what you DON'T eat, as by what you DO eat.  

And we share a recipe for a home grown hot sauce that cannot be prepared indoors.  

“I’ve been mushroom hunting before and you'll kind of squat down and look in between all of the low plants, and then you move to the other side and you look on the other side and all of a sudden you see like four, and they’re right there.”

This week it’s the third installment of our special series, Earth Eats Eats Wild– a nine-part seasonal special all about foraging for wild food. We couldn’t wrap up our spring season without a morel hunt–where we share secrets that might help YOU spot a few this year. 

And we talk with The Forager Chef, Alan Bergo, about  what it’s like to eat a pine tree, and we walk through the steps of making spruce tip ice cream. 

“And that’s why we call it a food value chain.You know, it’s a supply chain but it’s based on the values that you have as far as how the land is treated, how people are treated, what kind of nutrition contents in your food–all those things [that] people up and down–from the farmer to the consumer have an interest in. And so, this system that we’re developing is about addressing those values and making sure they happen.” —Patty Cantrell

This week on the show, an uplifting conversation with Katie Nixon and Patty Cantrell with West Central Missouri Community Action Agency and New Growth Community Development Corporation.

We talk about organizations and coalitions working together for stronger rural economies and robust local food value chains. We talk about micro lending, food hubs, farm-to-school programs and more. 

Conversations with a farmer at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company and the owners of Lost Farm Meal Service.

A conversation with geographer Jen Watkins on her experience as a server and her research on the industry.

Huge wooden foeders, wild yeast, and hundreds of pounds of fruit make Upland’s sour beer program one of a kind.

A recent fellowship for young farmers focuses on Black, Indigenous and People of Color in Monroe County, Indiana.

A how-to episode for growing your own figs and for preserving your tomato harvest.

A conversation about a non-profit organization working to build a resilient and equitably green city for all.

A conversation with chef and anthropologist, Nafsika Papacharalampous about changes in high-end dining in Greece, sparked by the financial crisis.

Treatment for eating disorders is often inaccessible and ineffective, especially in communities of color. The founder of Nalgona Positivity Pride has a program that aims to meet people where they are.

Local ice cream shop puts the focus on community with Food Truck Fridays.

“She introduced me to Susan Weed’s books, and chickweed is in one of the herbal healing books. And it’s talked about as this star-shaped plant that kind of dances–that that’s it’s energy [laughs].”

This week on our special series, Earth Eats Eats Wild, we’ll be talking chickweed with Stephanie Solomon, preparing purple deadnettle deviled eggs, harvesting spicebush and ramps in the woods with Jill Vance, and frying up crunchy fritters made with dandelion flowers.

A visit to a cooking session at the IU Food Institute where an IU language professor shares traditional Indian foods.

Frances Moore Lappé continues the work she began more than 50 years ago with Diet for a Small Planet. Now she’s challenging us to save our Democracy.

Everybody eats, including animals at the zoo. Producer Toby Foster talks with the curator of nutrition at the Cincinnati Zoo.

A conversation about the The Smell of Money–a documentary film about environmental justice in rural communities

A conversation with dietician Jessica Wilson about what we get wrong when we focus on weight.

A new little bagel shop with a big personality brings an East Coast vibe to Bloomington.

Producer Toby Foster gets in the weeds about home pizza making with Pete Giordano.

Listen to our conversation with the owner and chef of Small Favors, and his recipe for rich and savory cream puffs.

The farm bill isn’t just about farming. It’s about food security for households across the nation.

While peanut butter is one of my favorite foods, I can’t say that I have given much thought to the peanut as a crop, or paid any attention to its role in history.

“And you’re stepping into–sinking really–into this clay that’s surrounding your feet, and there’s also some sticks in there, and you know, there’s bugs and spiders on the water…”

This week on the show we kick off the Eats Wild special series, all about foraging and edible wild plants. Monique Philpot, founder of the forest and folk school Soulcraft Bloomington, takes us out to discover wild food in unexpected places, and shares stories of growing up in two places with different food cultures. We sample treats from feasts prepared by children and by college students, and we talk about what love’s got to do with it…with foraging, that is. 

A conversation with Elizabeth Cullen Dunn about our food system’s dependence on the labor of forced migrants.

The creators of How to Write a Novel in 20 Pies talk with Earth Eats about their book.

Microbiologist Irene Garcia Newton shares her knowledge about the many organisms involved in keeping a colony of honeybees healthy.

A conversation with Korie Griggs of the Color of Coffee Collective.

A conversation with geographer Jen Watkins on her experience as a server and her research on the industry.

A conversation with Dr. Ike Leslie, questioning the traditions and assumptions around the role of family in farming.

What can one commodity reveal about our food systems, about health, about labor and capitalism and about the environmental costs of so-called cheap food production?

When your grandmother tells you it’s time to open a cake business, maybe you should listen.

Goods for Cooks owners Sam Eibling and George Huntington are siblings who make a good team. Hear the story of their independent store–filled with cooking equipment, tableware and specialty food items.

Heather Craig crafts nourishing menus at the Community Kitchen.

“I had six different people’s donations of basil in my dish yesterday, and that’s what made it work.” 

This week on the show, we talk with Heather Craig of the Community Kitchen of Monroe County about cooking for a crowd everyday, improvising in the face of uncertainty, and sourcing ingredients from the community. 

Plus, stories from Harvest Public Media about rural grocery stores and the effects of the Trump administration USDA cuts on farmers and rural residents. 

A winter holiday special with chestnuts roasting, cookies baking and coffee outside.

The owners of a new pop-up talk about Filipino cuisine and their plans for the future.

Stories of ordinary people assisting those fleeing Ukraine at the start of the war earlier this year.

A conversation with chef and anthropologist, Nafsika Papacharalampous about changes in high-end dining in Greece, sparked by the financial crisis.

The future of farming must be inclusive, and the NYFC is intentionally moving agriculture towards racial diversity.

Hear the story of a public health professor with a passion for popcorn.

The Monroe County History Center shares the stories of bygone diners and dives.

Maria Carlassare’s business is called Piccoli Dolci, which is Italian for little sweets. These days she’s making plenty of savory Italian specialties too, from distinct regions in Italy.

A conversation about the The Smell of Money–a documentary film about environmental justice in rural communities

A conversation about the The Smell of Money–a documentary film about environmental justice in rural communities

“At least a hundred years ago, the last robber barons, we got nice libraries out of it. This one, it’s like ‘oh, what is the family using its money for? To gut public education via charter school networks?’ It’s kind of Machiavellian–it’s Machiavellian in a really sad way”

This week on the show, I’m talking with Austin Frerick, the author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry. Frerick uncovers the sometimes shocking facts about seven large companies who play an outsized role in our nation’s food system. From hog barons to coffee barons, to Indiana’s own dairy barons, Fair Oaks farm.

Treatment for eating disorders is often inaccessible and ineffective, especially in communities of color. The founder of Nalgona Positivity Pride has a program that aims to meet people where they are.

Liz Carlisle’s new book explores the origins of the farming practices we need today–in order to reduce the devastating effects of agriculture on our planet’s climate.

Listen to our conversation with the owner and chef of Small Favors, and his recipe for rich and savory cream puffs.