Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle

Berkeley-raised rapper/producer Lyrics Born has been in the music business for 25 years, and the rich, deep purr of his speaking voice will make you swoon. LB (as his friends call him) is a blend of Asian and Western influences, and so is his last meal! Host Rachel Belle talks all things kimchi with four-time James Beard Award nominated Chef Rachel Yang. From the history of "bloody lettuce" to its...

Emily Nokes and Bree McKenna are half of Seattle-based band, Tacocat! Host Rachel Belle chats with the owners of Pat's and Geno's, two much beloved, rival Philly Cheesesteak shops and we'll learn the history of the s'more! Follow along on Instagram ! Please subscribe to the *new* Your Last Meal newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subsc...

Keiko Agena is best known for playing Rory's BFF, Lane, on Gilmore Girls , but when she's watching TV, she loves to snack on the couch while binging cooking competitions! A Hawaii native, Keiko's comfort food is a classic plate lunch, so host Rachel Belle will dig into the history of loco moco and, a Hawaiian favorite, SPAM. Follow along on Instagram ! Please subscribe to the Your Last Meal newsle...

Dan Pfeiffer hosts the political podcast Pod Save America, but before that he was senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Dan tells Host Rachel Belle what it was like eating inside the White House, and what he would do to unwind on the weekends. Clarrisa Wei joins the show to share the history of dim sum and, although fun, explains why the carts are not the best vehicle to receive the delicious...

Allen Stone doesn't usually write songs about food, but one evening his wife cooked something so fantastic, he felt moved to sing about it! Allen tells Host Rachel Belle the story behind his song Voodoo , talks about the mobile kitchen his crew brings on tour and admits that his last meal wouldn't actually be his last meal. We'll learn the history and origin story of everyone's favorite late night...

OG food blogger (since 2003!) Deb Perelman is the author of three best-selling cookbooks, but she does NOT want to cook her last meal! She talks about how she turned her blog into a career, the pressure she feels when it's her day to bring snacks to her kids' school & why she does not want to be called a Domestic Goddess. Travel writer Susan Van Allen shares the history of carciofi alla Giudia...

Host Rachel Belle grew up listening to Adam Carolla co-host the radio sex advice show Love Line, and in 2011 his podcast became the Guinness World Record holder for the most downloaded podcast of all time. Adam talks Hungarian food and his wine brand: Mangria! In this episode, we learn the history of Hungarian goulash, which is a WHOLE LOT different than the goulash one listener grew up with: past...

Host Rachel Belle talks with the reliably wry and clever comedian, author, actor, and podcaster (Judge John Hodgman) about whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich, the dangers of vacationing in Maine, and the egg-istentially steadying quality of a hot plate of scrambled eggs. Speaking of a plate of eggs... how many can you hork down? Rachel and Producer Aaron head to Seattle's legendary Beth's Cafe...

Boots Riley is a musician, writer, filmmaker, and activist. He's fronted the political hip hop group The Coup since 1991 and just wrote/directed his first feature film "Sorry to Bother You." On this episode we celebrate the "all you can eat" buffet - from its humble Scandinavian origins to the gluttonous Las Vegas sized American adaptation we know today. And Taichi Kitamura, chef/owner of Sushi Ka...

Actor, filmmaker and restaurant-owner Zach Braff (Scrubs, Alex Inc, Garden State) was born and raised in New Jersey - home to the highest percentage of Italian Americans in the country. And for his last meal, he's sticking close to his roots!  Host Rachel Belle digs into the cheesy, saucy and fascinating history of Italian food in America with Krishnendu Ray, Department Chair of the Food Studies P...

Jennifer Pharr Davis is a long-distance hiker, speaker, and author who's hiked over 14,000 miles on 6 continents. Host Rachel Belle consults rock climber and James Beard Award winning chef Maria Hines, and "Dirty Gourmet" author Emily Nielson, about how to step up your outdoor food game, whether it's hiking, backpacking, or car camping. Check out Jennifer's book "The Pursuit of Endurance" and all...

Kenny G is the best selling instrumentalist of all time. He has sold over 75 million albums, tours all over the globe, and holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for holding the longest note on a saxophone. But he's also very into cooking! Kenny G spills the beans on the iconic coffee drink he helped invent and which supermodel gave him his pie crust recipe. Special thanks to Ellia Kassof...

Linda Perry is singer, songwriter, and producer behind massive hits for Adele, Weezer, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Pink, and, of course, the writer/singer behind the 90s hit "What's Up" by her former band 4 Non Blondes. But what would this musical maestro choose for her last meal? Spoiler alert: She's way more into music than food. Which got us thinking - is there any correlatio...

Lindy West is a New York Times best-selling author, including the book Shrill , which was turned into a TV show. Lindy details a six course last meal feast that features smorkage, a flaky, buttery, custardy Danish pastry only available at a single bakery in the United States. Host Rachel Belle travels to Seattle's Larsen's Bakery to taste the impossible-to-pronounce Danish pastry. Lindy, a self-de...

Maria Shriver wants a burger and fries for her last meal. But it's WHERE she wants to eat it that's most interesting of all! We'll learn the earliest origins of the hamburger from burger authority, documentarian, and TV host George Motz, author of "The Great American Burger Book." Thrillist writer Kevin Alexander spent a year traveling the USA with the express mission of eating 330 burgers and com...

Travel expert, TV & radio host, author, and activist Rick Steves has been taking people all around the planet for decades. And his passion for unique and authentic experiences, living in the moment, and trying new things matches perfectly with how Rick chose to have his last meal. Rick has also been a longtime proponent of legalizing marijuana, so host Rachel Belle gets to the bottom of how ca...

Nicki Bluhm is one of Rachel's favorite singer/songwriters, touring with the likes of Josh Ritter and The Wood Brothers. She's also the fourth person to choose steak as their last meal! So on this episode of YLM, Rachel covers something she hasn't in any of the previous beefisodes: the history of the American Steakhouse. But steak isn't usually on the menu for Nicki, who eats according to a 5000 y...

In 2004, Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings won 74 episodes in a row, making him the record holder for longest winning streak. And 14 years later, host Rachel Belle decided it would finally be a good idea to interview him. Ken shares Alex Trebek's strange and sugary breakfast choice (you'll never guess), he explains why Jeopardy contestants have to eat lunch together and tells us why he doesn't want t...

Greta Gerwig is the Golden Globe winning writer/director of "Lady Bird," and star of one of host Rachel Belle's all-time favorite films "Francis Ha." And her last meal is pure nostalgia. Food Network star Molly Yeh shares the secrets behind perfecting her own Funfetti cake - which she makes from scratch. Even the sprinkles! Greta shares what it's like to meet Justin Timberlake, the surprising orig...

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth​, Hellboy) dishes about his two homes full of monster memorabilia, about his obsession with monsters, his latest Golden Globe nominated project "The Shape of Water," and more! We also learn about the fairy-tale origin, and incredibly complicated process, of making mole from Iliana de la Vega, a Mexican-born chef, restaurateur and fo...

Top Chef judge Gail Simmons travels the world eating incredible cuisine made by some of the best chefs on the planet. So what would she choose for her last meal? Banoffee Pie is a ubiquitous dish in British culture, but host Rachel Belle had never even heard of it! So she talks to its creator Ian Dowding to get the scoop on the history and incredible popularity of this delicious dessert. Follow al...

D'Arcy Carden is on fire! Best known as Janet, the Siri-esque robot (not a robot) concierge on NBC's hit show "The Good Place," the veteran Upright Citizen's Brigade performer played Gemma on Comedy Central's "Broad City" and just happens to be old pals with our very own Rachel Belle! Rachel talks to Alan Finklestein, McDonalds owner and American success story, about one of the world's most perfec...

There is nothing celebrity chef Paula Deen won't put butter on, and that includes her last meal, which is topped with a big ol' dollop. She tells host Rachel Belle that her love of cooking blossomed during the two decades she spent in her house, dealing with agoraphobia. Plus, a little history lesson from the Idaho Potato Commission on how steak became best friends with the baked potato. And Rache...

Controversial "shock jock" Tom Leykis has been on the air for decades and made his fair share of enemies with his polarizing views on women and relationships. But nobody is one-dimensional, and in her effort to get to the bottom of why Tom is the way he is, Rachel discovered a man who makes his own wine, loves to experiment in the kitchen, and refuses to buy meat from a grocery store. We talk to T...

The "Clueless" star admits that although she's been vegan since 1998, she's most tempted by delicious cheese, so we talk to Youssef Fakhouri, owner of Alicia's (and LA's) favorite vegan cheese shop, Vromage. And remember that 2012 video of Alicia feeding her child like a baby bird? It caused quite the stir, so Rachel gets to the bottom of "premastication" with Melanie Martin, post-doctoral associa...