For most of us, the calorie is just a number on the back of the packet or on the display at the gym. But what is it, exactly? And how did we end up with this one unit with which to measure our food? Is a calorie the same no matter what type of food it comes from? And is one calorie for you exactly the same as one calorie for me? To find out, we visit the special rooms scientists use to measure how many calories we burn, and the labs where researchers are discovering that the calorie is broken. And we pose the question: If not the calorie, then what? (This is an encore presentation.)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meet the Most Famous American You’ve Never Heard Of: His Legacy is Excellent French Fries and Monsanto
All You Can Eat: The True Story Behind America's Most Popular Seafood
The World Is Your Oyster: How Our Favorite Shellfish Could Save Coastlines Worldwide
Eat This, Not That: The Surprising Science of Personalized Nutrition (encore)
Bam! How Did Cajun Flavor Take Over the World?
Anything's Pastable (Guest Episode)
Can You Patent a Pizza?
Super Fry: The Fight for the Golden Frite (encore)
Dining at the (Other) Top of the World: Hunger, Fruitcake, and the Race to Reach the South Pole
Dining at the Top of the World: Arctic Adaptation, Abundance, and...Ice Cream
Cork Dork: Inside the Weird World of Wine Appreciation (encore)
It's Tea Time: Pirates, Polyphenols, and a Proper Cuppa (encore)
The Case of the Confusing Bitter Beverages: Vermouth, Amaro, Aperitivos, and Other Botanical Schnapps
Rice, Rice Baby
Ask Gastropod: White Chocolate, Jimmies, Chile vs. Mustard Burns, and Asparagus Pee
Pumpkin Spice Hero: The Thrilling But Tragic True Story of Nutmeg
Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit
Raised and Glazed: Don’t Doubt the Doughnut
We'd Like to Teach The World to Slurp: The Weird and Wonderful Story of Ramen's Rise to Glory
First Foods: Learning to Eat (encore)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Stuff You Should Know
On Being with Krista Tippett
TED Radio Hour
The Turn of the Screw
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Planet Money
The Dinner Party Download