The Story Exchange – Details, episodes & analysis

It's not a stretch to say that the way we think, eat and write about food can be traced directly back to MFK Fisher. The prolific California writer, born Mary Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher but better known by her initials, was "not a recipe writer," says her biographer Anne Zimmerman, author of "An Extravagant Hunger." "She was an eater. She was a sensual person. She enjoyed things. She observed things." In this podcast episode, we explore the life of Fisher, born in 1908, whose early musings on food while abroad in France turned into a literary career that produced "The Gastronomical Me," "How to Cook a Wolf" and "Consider the Oyster," among many others. While many write food memoirs today, she is widely credited as inventing the entire genre.

In this episode, we explore Fisher's backstory, including a marriage that ended with her husband's suicide, and her insatiable curiosity with the world. "Women's lives are messy and they're episodic. There's reinvention and rebirth," Zimmerman says. "MFK Fisher, she's just an onion with the layers. It's just constantly morphing and shifting."

(Image credit: Janet Fries/Hulton Archive via Getty Images.)

When Roe fell, no one expected abortion rates to rise. Or pills to get easier to access. We talk to two women about leading the resistance, what the future holds, and how to manage fear. Angel Foster is a university professor who runs a shield-law practice out of Massachusetts that providers mifepristone and misoprostol to abortion seekers in all 50 states. Julie Burkhart, recently named to Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list, is a clinic operator who has seen a colleague assassinated and her clinic fire-bombed. Combined, they have helped thousands of women secure safe abortions in the three years since Roe fell. To many listeners, their stories will inspire and provide hope -- although the future is uncertain. Abortion opponents are doubling down with criminal indictments and lawsuits. "They'll come after us. I'm sure," says Foster. Meanwhile, Burkhart, who's long dealt with intimidation, harassment and violence, shares her thoughts on managing fear. "If we can walk through it, even though it's so frightening and scary and paralyzing, it's okay on the other side," she says. 

We're all about powerful women, so we bring you our interview with Judy Woodruff, the iconic journalist and the longtime anchor of the famed nightly news show, the PBS NewsHour. We had a long conversation about her decades-long career, plus she tells us about the blatant sexism that women in media used to face, and what she's up to now (spoiler: she's never retiring.)

 Photo by PBS NewsHour via Flickr.

It's been two years since the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan. We talk to women -- some who fled, some who stayed back -- about what life is like now. Many of the women expressed frustration that the media often portrays them as victims when they see themselves as fighters. While the Taliban seeks to erase them from public life, we want to give them a platform to speak their minds. These women want you to know: There is still hope in all the fear, and glimmers of defiance in the midst of brutal oppression. These are stories of Afghan women like you haven't heard before.

The power of ancestral foods is on display at Owamni, winner of the 2022 James Beard Award for best new restaurant in the country. Owners Sean Sherman (a.k.a. "The Sioux Chef") and Dana Thompson have created a "de-colonized" menu that exclusively serves Native foods, from lake fish to rabbit to bison. There's no wheat flour, cane sugar or dairy, as those ingredients were brought here by European settlers. The experience is part of a larger trend called "food sovereignty," or the right of Native Americans to have culturally appropriate food, raised sustainably. We check out the restaurant, perched above the swirling waters of the Mississipi, and take a walk at a tribal community farm where many ingredients are sourced.

Anxiety is on the rise, especially among women, so what can we do about it? If you don't have time to meditate or take a yoga class, some new technology products promise near-instant stress relief. We look at Moonbird, a handheld device that teaches you how to breathe; Apollo Neuroscience, a wearable that subtly vibrates and helps you sleep, recover or focus; and Tripp, a digital psychedelic experience served up via virtual reality headset. (And bonus: All of these companies have women founders.) Can the burgeoning field of anxiety tech help remedy our racing thoughts and sweaty palms and intense feelings of panic? We find out in this episode.

With climate change causing more intense storms, flooding and drought, we talk to female scientists with innovative ways to get us out of this mess. Against a backdrop of thunder, we share the story of Paige Peters, who was studying at Marquette University in Milwaukee when a superstorm in 2010 caused raw sewage to seep into people's basements. She has invented technology to treat wastewater at lightning speed -- handy during storms -- and dubbed her company Rapid Radicals. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Brittany Kendrick is working on Hydronomy, her solution to the lack of clean drinking in countless U.S. cities. Her solar-powered invention literally sucks moisture from the sky. In this podcast, learn about the water crisis and how women are fighting back.

Did you know that crickets are considered a "perfect" protein -- and that eating insects could help save the planet? We talk to Claire Simons of 3 Cricketeers, a Minneapolis cricket farm that supplies edible insects to restaurants, food companies and consumers. While there is still an "ick factor," Claire says more people are interested in trying crickets, which can be raised far more sustainably than other sources of protein, particularly beef. Not only do cricket farms require a fraction of the land, feed and water, but the insects themselves emit virtually no greenhouse gas, a big contributor to climate change. In this episode, hosts Colleen DeBaise and Sue Williams sample chocolate-covered crickets and interview Claire about her inspiring statup story.

Crack open a can with us and listen while we share the story of Jacquie Berglund, who sarted Finnegans back in 2000 as the first beer company in the world – that we know about – to donate 100 percent of its profits to charity. We love women entrepreneurs who give back, and she is a great example of how one person can make an incredible difference in this world. Proceeds from Finnegans go to the Food Group and fight hunger and food insecurity.

The little girl who grew up in the public housing projects of New York City becomes an urban farmer, helping establish community gardens around the city and founding Rise & Root farm for the BIPOC community in Hudson Valley. Listen to the remarkable tale of Karen Washington, who fans and food activists now refer to as "Mama K." We share the poignant moments of her long and illustrious career.