Talking to Smart People

When I heard that my dear friend Vicky Bram was running for the select board in our hometown of Hopkinton, New Hampshire I knew I wanted to have her on the podcast.

If you’re thinking, “Catherine, what does a small town local election have to do with your podcast about curious creatives??”, stay with me.

This episode is (at least mostly) not about specific political issues.

It’s about recognizing that listening to your neighbor, espec...

We are back with a new episode of Talking to Smart People! I know I was just in your inbox yesterday with the latest Smart Cooks on White Hot Chocolate, but I wanted to get this lovely chat about flowers out to you on Valentine’s Day proper.

A brief programming note: No Smart Cooks next week as I’ll be on February break with the family! Going forward, I’m going to experiment with alternating traditional Smart Cooks recipe newsletter...

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Ali’s fans know her as the host of The Ali on The Run Show, the world’s top rated running podcast. She’s a race announcer, broadcast correspondent, and community builder extraordinaire in the running world. She’s also a mom, a cancer survivor, and a fellow 2003 graduate of Hopkinton High (Go Hawks!)

I’m lucky to have known Alison since kinder...

This week, Smart Cooks and Talking to Smart People are coming together to share the kitchen wisdom (and an excellent recipe) from Meghan Splawn.

I was lucky to meet Meghan at an IACP conference many years ago. I was in a weird place professionally, I knew it was time to think about moving on from Milk Street to pursue my own projects, but not just co. was not yet a thing. Meghan, who was an editor at The Kitchn at the time, approach...

I was lucky to meet Andrew “Kappy” Kaplan, in the process of fulfilling a lifelong dream of doing some recipes for the Rachael Ray Show. Kappy is technically Rachael’s Vice President of Culinary Operations and co-founder and Director of Yum-o!, but he’s basically Rachael’s right hand man in all things culinary production, and philanthropy. Kappy is also host and creator of the fantastic Beyond the Plate podcast where he interviews ...

What a joy to talk with Southern storyteller Landon Bryant (@landontalks). Landon is a former art teacher and current content creator, stand-up comedian, and author of the forthcoming book “Bless Your Heart: A Field Guide to All Things Southern”.

Maybe you’ve seen (or participated in) Landon’s social media discussions on how to take care of cast-iron skillets, the origins of “haint blue” porch ceilings, and whether or not cornbread ...

In this episode of Talking to Smart People, host Catherine Smart talks with cookbook and drinks author and editor Maggie Hoffman, discussing her journey from writing about drinks to launching new projects focused on cocktails and dinner planning. They explore the evolution of food media, the challenges of kitchen burnout, and the importance of finding joy in cooking. Maggie shares insights on her new Substack newsletters, 'What To ...

In this episode of Talking to Smart People, host Catherine Smart interviews Caitlin Murray, known on social media as @bigtimeadulting, who shares her journey as a millennial mom and content creator. Caitlin discusses her experiences with motherhood, the challenges of parenting, and how she finds humor in the chaos. The conversation delves into the pressures of being a mother, the mental load women carry, and the balance between per...