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September 25, 2025 48 mins

In contemporary cookbooks—and in the burgeoning realm of online cooking content—there’s often a life style on display alongside the recipes. Samin Nosrat is a fixture of this landscape, and her new book, “Good Things,” aims to pick up where her mega-best-seller “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” left off, giving people a new framework for feeding themselves and loved ones. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz share their personal experiences making dishes from “Good Things.” Then, New Yorker staff writer Helen Rosner joins them to explain the state of home cooking today, from the rise of culinary influencers and the New York Times Cooking app to the aspirational dimension of what’s on offer. “Not only is cooking supposed to be part of a life, but, specifically, it can be a part of the life of the mind,” Cunningham says. “Your choices in the kitchen can be deeply connected to your desires outside of the kitchen.”

Read, watch, and cook with the critics:

Tender at the Bone,” by Ruth Reichl
Heartburn,” by Nora Ephron
Good Things,” by Samin Nosrat
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” by Samin Nosrat
The Joylessness of Cooking,” by Helen Rosner (The New Yorker)
All-Consuming,” by Ruby Tandoh
@wishbonekitchen
Jerusalem,” by Yotam Ottolenghi
Ottolenghi Simple,” by Yotam Ottolenghi
Dining In,” by Alison Roman
Nothing Fancy,” by Alison Roman
Alison Roman Cooks Thanksgiving in a (Very) Small Kitchen” (The New York Times)
Let’s Party,” by Dan Pelosi
How to Cook Everything,” by Mark Bittman
Serial Monogamy,” by Nora Ephron (The New Yorker)

New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.

Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker that explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and po… Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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