The Hungry Historians
Join Kelly Spring and Matt Phillpott for interviews and conversations with leading writers on the history of food and drink. New episodes fortnightly.
Episodes
Tomatoes arrived in Egypt in the 16th century but quickly became ubiquitous with Egyptian foodways. In this episode we talk with Anny Gaul, an assistant professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Maryland. Anny published in 2025, Nile Nightshade: An Egyptian culinary history of the tomato, through the University of California Press. She also runs the popular food blog Cooking with Gaul.
How do people think about their own cuisines and those of their neighbouring countries? How does this ‘feeling’ reflect on our political attitudes and our defence of what we see as ours? In this week’s episode of The Hungry Historians Matt and Kelly talk with Hanna Kassab, Associate Professor at East Carolina University. Hanna describes his discoveries from travelling to various countries and exploring their attitudes to their cuis...
Food is politics, and politics is food. In this week’s episode Matt and Kelly talk with Andrea Freeman about her 2024 book Ruin their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food, in the United States, from the trail of tears to school lunch, which was published by Macmillan.
Andrea’s study makes the argument that food policy and laws in the US have created and maintained racial and social inequality. Using history to understand this ...
Widely available in nature, berries are of such significance to Northern and Eastern Europeans and have become essential foods across the world. Berries are more than what you think they are; bananas are berries for example! In today's discussion with Heather Arndt Anderson we learn about the historical use of berries, our attempts to make artificial versions, and what might happen to berries in the future.
Vanilla has become a slightly more expensive condiment in our lives, but for a long time it was simply impossible to grow outside of its native Mexico. In this episode we explore the history of Vanilla, how it was propagated, and its use in various foods. We look at the connection to slavery and its artificial version vanillin.
We are joined by Rosa Abreu-Runkel who, in 2020, published Vanilla: A Global History with Reaktion Books.
...Are children naturally picky eaters? Are there really some foods that we shouldn't feed them and are we damaging their mental health by pushing too hard? These questions and more form the topic of today's discussion as we explore the truth of picky eaters (particularly children) in America in the 20th and 21st centuries, based on research stretching back to the 19th century.
We are joined by Helen Veit, who has just published Pick...
What happens when we examine diet books as a form of literature that addresses some of the deeper existential questions of our identity and our understanding of our own bodies and those of others? In this episode Kelly and Matt interview Adrienne Bitar about her book Diet and the Disease of Civilization, published by Rutgers University Press in 2018.
Adrienne focuses her interest on American diet books and specific diet types - the...
Cocktails are not just enjoyed in bars but also at home. Join us, Kelly Spring and Matthew Phillpott, in this week's episode of The Hungry Historians, where we explore the world of the cocktail parlor with Nicola Nice. In 2024, Nicola published The Cocktail Parlor with Countryman Press, and in the episode we discuss the history of cocktails at home, how women are crucial to the development and uses of cocktails, and much more.
In this episode of The Hungry Historians Matthew Phillpott and Kelly Spring interview Eric C. Rath about his book Kanpai: The History of Sake (Reaktion Books, 2025).
Eric brings us into the world of sake, both in Japan and its increasing popularity internationally. You can find out more about Eric C. Rath on his profile page. Kanpai is available from Reakton Books and all good bookshops.
This episode is sponsored by Bloomsbury Foo...
Welcome to the second episode of season 2 of The Hungry Historians. In this episode Kelly A. Spring and Matt Phillpott interview educator, scholar and creator Marcus Weaver-Hightower about his book Unpacking School Lunch. In this episode we explore the challenges and politics of school lunches, mainly in the US, but also with a quick excursion into the UK system.
You can find out more about Marcus Weaver-Hightower at his websit...
Welcome to the first episode of season 2 of The Hungry Historians. In this episode Kelly A. Spring and Matt Phillpott interview historian and writer, Or Rosenboim on her 2024 book Air and Love: A Story of Food, Migration and Belonging. This book is one part history told through the story of food, cooking, and eating, and one part family history. The book follows Or's family as it migrates from Samarkand, Riga, Jerusualem, and Tel A...
This month's episode of The Hungry Historians turns our attention to our host Kelly A. Spring, who has just released her new book with Reaktion Books as part of their 'The Edible Series'. This book is a study of Spam, looking particularly at its origins, importance during World War II, and its afterlife, especially in Korea, the USA.
In this episode, Matt interviews Kelly about her book to learn more about this fasinating food prod...
In this month's episode of The Hungry Historians, Kelly and Matt chat with Alex Ketchum and Megan Elias about their book "Queers at the Table". This is an anthology of essays, comics, and recipes that reveals the dynamic and transformative relationship between queerness and food.
In this episode we discuss the nature of putting such a book together, what the intended purposes were, and what they hoped their readers will do with the...
Is food waste a modern creation or does it have a long and interesting history? In this month's episode Matt and Kelly interview Eleanor Barnett about her book "Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation" which can be found at Bloomsbury Publishers and other book retailers.
In this month's Hungry Historians, Kelly A. Spring and Matt Phillpott discuss the history of menus with Nathalie Cooke (McGill University). We were surprised by just how much can be learned from menus and excited to hear about the various tricks used to encourage certain choices and illustrations used to excite interest. We also discuss cryptic menus and who is left out.
You can find out more from Nathalie's latest book, Tastes ...
What information do food labels provide and what is the history of providing regulatory information to consumers? In this month's episode, Kelly and Matt interview Xaq Frohlich (Auburn University), about his book "From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age. You can learn more about Xaq and his book from his website www.xaqfrohlich.com.
What are the foodways in Ghana and how has this changed over the last 200 years? In this episode Kelly Spring and Matt Phillpott interview Brandi Simpson Miller about her book Food and Identity in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Ghana: Food, Fights, and Regionalism (2021).
How does food packaging work? What is its purpose? Is it really all just about marketing or is it there for a reason? In this episode Kelly Spring and Matt Phillpott interview Professor Anne Murcott about her book The (Not So) Secret Lives of Food Packaging.
Are you interested in the history of food? In this introduction, Dr Kelly A. Spring and Dr Matthew Phillpott share their ideas and thoughts about what the study of food history is about and what The Hungry Historians podcast is going to focus on over the coming months.
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