The Secret Life Of Cookies

This week’s episode marks the one-year anniversary of the podcast. One whole year of baking and talking politics and current events with some of the best and, definitely brightest, of the bunch. To celebrate, Marissa welcomes one of her favorite authors, Charles Finch. Yes, he of the Inspector Lennox mysteries, and a new non-fiction book, What Just Happened: Notes On a Long Year. Together they bak...

This week, Marissa is joined by Katie Phang, a great legal mind, trial lawyer and MSNBC host and contributor. Katie brings a breaking scoop on Roger Stone’s defense strategy. plus Katie and Marissa bake a buttery, zesty citrus cake. Hoping to understand all the crazy ins and outs of legal trials over the past month? Katie explains them all.  And you’re not imagining it, there have been a lot of hi...

This week, Marissa is joined by defense intelligence officer, veterans’ affair advocate – and one of the few people who bring sense and joy to Twitter--Travis Akers. Together they take on what has been a grueling week of news and Travis manages to carve out some hope in a dark, dark week. The smell of melted chocolate and butterscotch chips as they recreate a favorite recipe from his childhood hel...

This week, we’ll be discussing something people find nearly as scary as the idea of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as running mates in 2024. Something more daunting than trying to turn Wyoming into a blue state. Deep breaths, friends, it’s pie crust week! Mollie Katzen, all-around wonderful human and world-famous cookbook author joins us. Yes, she of The Moosewood Cookbook, Pretend Soup and more. M...

This week’s episode is very special for a whole slew of reasons, including guests Dr. Allison Gill of The Daily Beans podcast and Dr. Mary Trump, author of “The Reckoning.” It’s also the first episode done in-person—with nary a Zoom in sight. Marissa and guests drink a fancy new cocktail named after Mary’s bird and discuss the good and bad news about Attorney General Merrick Garland, the January 6...

Writer David Kamp (The United States of Arugula, Sunny Days: The Children’s Television Revolution) and proud son of New Jersey shares the shocking secret behind his mom’s Sunday gravy, talks about his collaboration with Ron Howard and Clint Howard on their new autobio, plus: David and Marissa discuss why New Jersey is the greatest food state in the Nation and ponder what would make the ultimate Ne...

Whether you fancy yourself the Rebecca Welton character, or Ted Lasso himself, you know you have a need to eat or make shortbread one way or another. Marissa’s guest this week, Professor Jennifer Taub, had the brilliant idea to make the “official” Apple+ Ted Lasso recipe – with a few tweaks c/o Marissa. While uncovering the secrets of Lasso’s shortbread, they also discuss Jennifer’s book Big Dirty...

This latest podcast has everything we need to keep ourselves afloat in these challenging times: hope, cheesecake and Mary Trump. Join Marissa and Mary as they bake a really, actually very delicious vegan berry cheesecake and talk about Mary’s new book, The Reckoning. Plus:The importance of giving yourself a time-out. Yes, we’re talking to you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informat...

This week, Marissa’s guest is the prolific and brilliant Jennifer Senior, a staff writer for The Atlantic, who has also been a writer for the New York Times, New York Magazine and is author of the book All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenting. Marissa and Jen discuss Jen’s latest for The Atlantic --a profile of a friend who died on 9/11, and what she learned about grief and hope. Also:...

This episode features the author of my summer history book must-read, Dr. Marcia Chatelain. We discussed her insightful, important, Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, about McDonald’s impact on African Americans over the past 60 years, all while making another summer must: a blueberry, peach buckle. Also revealed inside: the greatest sandwich known to human...

This week’s podcast features Sonoma vintner and guy-who-actually-did-something-with-his-midlife-crisis, Nate Miles. His Groove wines are organic, sustainably sourced and…canned. And will change your view on canned wines. Join us as we make mindlessly easy snacks for effortless entertaining because we vaccinated types can finally start gathering in person. Also: we discuss the differences between w...

Many brownies were made and eaten in the making of this episode, which features, Rachel Vindman, who reappears this week, transformed from National Security Amateur to podcast co-host of The Suburban Women problem. Rachel shares the podcasts noble goals, which include harnessing the power of the suburban woman and mobilizing us chicks politically. We also discuss why so many adults act like the bo...

Marissa’s guest this week is the magnificent inside-and-out actress and Food Network star, Valerie Bertinelli, who brought joy to the show. The two discussed everything, from the joys of Velveeta to how odd it feels to think nice thoughts about Liz Cheney. Also: How we can (and should) be nicer to ourselves. Marissa baked Valerie’s salted caramel chocolate chip cookies and you should, too.   See a...

This week’s guest is Merrill Markoe, one of the funniest writers around, whether it’s as a trailblazing writer for “The David Letterman Show” or author (and even illustrator) of many novels and non-fiction. Marissa and Merrill attempt to understand many of life’s biggest quandaries, including why in middle school we always fell for the kid least likely to love us back and whether that thing your d...

This week, Marissa is joined by Food Network star, host of the “Eat My Globe” podcast and food historian Simon Majumdar. Surprising things are said about British food and the perfect martini is designed. Marissa and Simon's conversation about food and history culminates in a rhapsody about fish and chips. We bake Simon’s famous almond drop biscuits and try to figure out the correct way to say “sco...

This week's episode features a conversation with Rachel Vindman, whose life changed overnight when her husband Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman testified at He Who Shall Not Be Named’s first impeachment hearing. We talked about the good, the bad and the surprisingly wonderful things that happen when your life goes from private to public overnight. I was inspired by Rachel’s honesty, her fortitude and...

This week’s episode features world-famous cookbook author Rose Levy Beranbaum. Renowned for her cookbooks The Cake Bible, The Bread Bible, and 11 other stellar cookbooks, today she’s here to give us a preview of her latest, The Cookie Bible. Yes, The Cookie Bible on The Secret Life of Cookies. We go super-nerd on flour and how to keep your cakes from falling in the middle, discuss her friendship w...

This week’s episode is very special episode, because it’s my birthday and I’m joined by one of my favorite people, David Kamp. Kamp’s a Vanity Fair contributor, author of The United States of Arugula and Sunny Days – a brilliant, enlightening  history of “Sesame Street,” “Free to Be You and Me,” “Zoom,”  and the other TV shows that shaped me and my childhood. I also share my soft peanut butter coo...

This week I’m joined by Rosa Brooks, Georgetown law professor and author of the new book, Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City. I make my new favorite creation, a scookie – a scone and cookie and we discuss her book, which follows her time as a police reservist. Rosa and I take a deep look into the process of becoming a police officer and the challenges and the complexities of doing the...

This week the podcast is transformed into the Secret Life of Lasagna, as philanthropist, immigration activist and the Second Lady of Pennsylvania, Gisele Fetterman joins us and we bake up lasagna for the nationwide kindness movement called Lasagna Love. As her husband Pennyslvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman prepares to run for Senate, we talk about how she copes with the nastiness that can...

This week I’m joined by New York Times best-selling author, host of Studio 360 and my former boss at SPY magazine, Kurt Andersen. We discuss the murky origins of patriotism and why we should keep blaming the Puritans for everything in this fine country Andersen calls “Fantasyland.” Tune in and learn how we got stuck with true believers like Marjorie Taylor Greene: It’s all about the feelings, baby...

Laurie Garrett, one of the most influential experts on global infectious diseases, joins the podcast this week and, as we slide into the one-year anniversary of lockdown, we cook up what’s left of my pandemic hoarding: black beans and gin. We also discuss the latest news on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the New York variant of Covid virus and whether Trump is responsible for ‘pandemicide.’ See...

My guest this week is the brilliant and incredibly accomplished writer, Nell Scovell, who has written for Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Lisa Simpson. Not to mention, she co-authored Lean In with Sheryl Sandberg, got David Letterman to apologize and was one of the first women to write for The Simpsons. We baked my dad’s favorite biscotti and discussed how humor can make a comeback in the Biden a...

Mary Trump, psychologist, trauma expert and author of "Too Much Is Never Enough" is the guest this week, and we talk about how we’re all coping mentally nearly one year into pandemic. Hint: If you’re not feeling tip-top, you’re not alone, and Trump has tips on self-care. We also discuss the craven remorselessness of certain Congresspeople and bake homey snickerdoodles to self-soothe. See acast.com...

MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance joins the podcast this week, and we discuss highly unrelated topics such as pet chickens and how necessary judicial reforms can create a more equitable legal system. Vance’s straight talk on the future of the Department of Justice and how current laws can handle domestic terrorism offers hope for the future. Cake helps, and Joyce and Marissa make a British Bake-Off-...