Fasting from food is a controversial, dangerous, and yet utterly normal human practice. Christine Baumgarthuber discusses our fascination with restrictive eating in cultural history from her new book, Why Fast? If fasting offers few health benefits, why do people fast? Why have we always fasted? Does fasting speak to something deep and immutable within us? Why are our bodies so well adapted to intermittent fasting? And, what might this ancient, ascetic ritual offer us today?
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Episode 287: Rediscovering Acadian Cuisine
Episode 286: History of Professional Cooking in America
Episode 285: Keeping Traditions Alive: Authentic Italian
Episode 284: The South, A - Z
Episode 283: Gourmands Way...
Episode 282: How Tea Shaped the Modern World
Episode 281: Paris: History of a Food Lover's Paradise
Episode 280: Big Chicken, History of How Antibiotics Changed Modern Agriculture
Episode 279: Vinegar: The Alchemy of Acid
Episode 278: Culinary Biographies of Women with Laura Shapiro
Episode 277: Ancient Syrian Cuisine
Episode 276: Baking Powder Wars: a History
Episode 275: The Evolution of Grocery Stores
Episode 274: Food History of the Modern South
Episode 273: Slow Food in Denver: Regenerating Heirloom Flavors
Episode 272: Cookbook Temptation in American Culture
Episode 271: Evolution of Industrialized Meat
Episode 270: Rose Water Festival and Saffron Tales
Episode 269: America's First Foodie
Episode 268: Popular History: Food
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