Meat + Three

There's a lot of science involved in our meals -- from how we make food to what we like to eat. Put on your lab coats because this week on Meat and Three , our team looks at the chemistry of cream cheese, how fermented foods can help your immune system, the science behind food preferences, and how archaeologists are discovering what people ate thousands of years ago. Further Reading: Check out Dr....

This week on Meat and Three we explore all things tangy, sour, and sharp in an episode about acid. We look at how one bar is finding creative ways to stop wasting citrus. Then we hear from an HRN host who travelled the world to learn about vinegar and we experiment with reducing acidity in coffee. We also continue our conversation about grog, jumping from the 18th century to the present day to dis...

This week on Meat and Three we’re diving beneath the waves for an episode all about oceans. We visit underwater farms to learn about the current oyster boom and the benefits of growing kelp. Then, we climb on deck to understand how lobsters and fishermen are being impacted by the changing climate and travel back in time aboard British naval ships to sip on a game-changing cocktail.  Further readin...

From hot sauce to hot temperatures, we’re bringing the heat this week. We talk about premium peppers from China’s Sichuan province and visit a Bay Area tea shop to see what we can learn about staying cool. We bring you a story from a beach in Brooklyn famous for its classic summertime snack and take a hard look at how climate change is affecting growers in the Pacific Northwest. Further reading an...

This week on Meat and Three we’re looking at some of the secret and unseen aspects of food. From speakeasies around New York City to what goes on underground in our soil, to little-known sweetening additives in cigarettes, there’s alway more to food than meets the eye. Further Reading and Listening: While Threesome Tollbooth is currently closed, you can stay up to date with the bar as they navigat...

Pandemic restrictions are easing and things are changing quickly. We can eat indoors at restaurants again and host dinner parties. It’s exciting to go back to some of our favorite activities, but it can also be nerve-wracking. There might even be some pandemic-era changes that are worth keeping around. This week on Meat and Three we bring you a survival guide for re-entering society. We offer dinn...

Have you ever heard the saying you should never judge a food by its label? Probably not since labels are supposed to give you useful information about the food within. What happens when that doesn’t hold true? This week on Meat and Three we’re looking at instances where labels mislead consumers; whether that’s claims of environmentalism, beautiful imagery used to obscure real practices, or food de...

When we talk about agriculture in the U.S. there is often an archetypical  American farmer that comes to mind. Perhaps they’re in overalls, maybe a cowboy hat, but they’re almost always white. The white farmer trope has become a fixture in America’s invented agricultural past. However, American agriculture has long relied on  the labor and expertise of Black people, while perpetually writing them...

How food is presented can shape the way we interact with it. Just take a look at your phone, for instance. Today’s world of social media is inundated with pictures of pretty food that make our mouths water. A picture is worth 1000 words, and looking good implies tasting good. This week, we bring you an episode on the ways that food and style play off each other, from culinary photography to fashio...

There are edible plants all around us, but without an expert, you shouldn’t go tasting random bushes.  So where should you start? It may feel daunting, but the ability to find your own food, whether in urban parks or an untouched forest, opens up a world of cultural and culinary opportunities. A plant you may have considered a weed could be a salad for six the next time you have friends over. A mu...

This week we're featuring an episode of HRN's newest series: Pizza Quest . Before the episode, Kat Johnson speaks with Jeff Michael and Peter Reinhart about the formation of Pizza Quest, the stories they are trying to tell, and how this particular project was born out of quarantine last year.   Pizza Quest is certainly about pizza, but it’s so much more!  It’s an engaging celebration of artisanshi...

We might think of insects as pests, annoying little creatures that enter our homes uninvited, that buzz incessantly and bite us without cause. But insects make the world go round. They can be found in nearly every environment, and it’s estimated that over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. The balance of the natural world depends on them.  This week, we’re putting insects front and...

It’s bought, it’s sold, it’s debated. But what is organic food? This week on Meat and Three , we travel into the world of organics. In the land we now refer to as the “United States,” indigenous communities have been growing their food “organically” for centuries. But “organic food” in the U.S. is now tied to a slew of technical regulations required for certification. The United States Department...

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we dedicate our episode to memory and how it has shaped AAPI food experiences. Many of us have probably eaten meals where long after the plate has been cleared, the taste still lingers in our mind. But we don’t just remember food — food can spark and capture memory as well. For those who have immigrated across countries, food ca...

In honor of May Day (celebrated world-wide on May 1st), we bring you four stories about workers organizing and unionizing around the country. First, we’ll start in our own backyard: New York City. We dive into the world of  food delivery workers and their efforts to legislate the delivery apps that push them around the City. Next, we’ll move upstate to and look at farm workers fighting for more ov...

This week we're presenting another Heritage Radio Network show, which gives us a glimpse into the culinary culture of the 1970s. The Shameless Chef was developed for public radio in 1977 but many of these audio treasures have never been heard before. The show’s original host, Michael A. Davenport shares his fearless attitude towards food and encourages home cooks to have fun and take risks in the...

When someone you love is sick, sending food is often the first way we show our love and support. It can offer satisfaction and heartiness when a hug is not possible. This was definitely true for Eric Poretsky, a close friend of Meat and Three producer and episode host, Dylan Heuer. Eric was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and talking to him, Dylan noticed that food has played a big role dur...

For this special episode, we teamed up with Discover South Carolina and Charleston Wine and Food to celebrate the state’s incredible restaurant and agriculture scene. Who better to hear from than the state’s chef ambassadors? Each year, a group of chefs is tapped to elevate visitor awareness about the state’s restaurants, farms, food producers, and tourism locales. We got to speak to this year’s g...

We know and take for granted that foods will look and feel like we expect them to. So it’s especially disorienting when food doesn’t give us that anticipated sensory experience. This week, we’re looking at food that is not as it seems. We’re peeling back the layers of texture, taste and technique that help some foods imitate others. First, we’ll savor the layered and whimsical field of artificial...

Many of us probably have family recipes that have been passed down from generation to  generation. These recipes, which have transcended time, are a reminder of how elders in our family tree continue to have lasting influences on our lives, even and especially in a time of isolation. This week, we dedicate our stories to elders, grandparents and family members who came before us. First, we follow...

When you think of bubbles, what pops into your mind? Is it rainbow colored soap? Carbonated soda? Perhaps even social distancing bubbles?  This week, we’re jumping into a world filled with fizz, iridescence and deliciousness. We’re talking about how to make bubbles. How to eat them. And the unexpected ways in which they’ve shaped our culture and history.  We’re looking at how the pandemic led to a...

When you think of corn, you might think of the 90s metal band (spelled with a ‘K’ and embodying a raucous explosion of angst and anger). More likely, corn conjures images of a summer barbeque: bright yellow ears grilled, buttered, and eaten straight off the cob. However, the story of corn is more expansive and complicated than these contemporary reference points. Right now, industrial corn farming...

We’re spotlighting a new show on HRN: Fields . Fields brings you the stories of people who are working in urban agriculture—for money, for fun, to feed the hungry, and for entirely other reasons. In each episode, hosts Melissa Metrick and Wythe Marschall delve into different foods grown in cities. Moreover, they investigate the whys behind getting up in the morning and working as a farmer in the s...

Surplus is usually defined as what’s left over when the demand, or need , of a population has been met. However, in the context of the food system, this definition leaves us with more leftovers than answers. What might be referred to as surplus food faces a core contradiction: while approximately 35% of the food we produce goes to waste, about 50 million people in the U.S. are experiencing food in...

From coffee shops to cocktail bars, the world of beverages has been turned upside down by the pandemic. You can’t always drink what you want. And now, more than ever, you can’t always drink where you want. But even before Covid-19, transformations in the production line, farming practices, and workplace inclusivity have affected what we drink.  In this episode, splash into the world of beverages –...