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 327: Pierre Thiam on FONIO: History and Future of the African Supergrain
Episode 326: Lost and Disappearing Dishes of the Italian South
Episode 325: Pintxos and Food of the Basque Country
Episode 324: The Ancient Secret of Cetara: Colatura di Alici
Episod 323: Irish Classics
Episode 322: Bartolomeo Scappi: History Reimagined
Episode 321: Accidental Farmers: How the Jamisons Became part of the Food Revolution
Episode 320: 30 generations of Olive Oil - Frescobaldi
Episode 319: Food of the Republic of Georgia
Episode 318: Sustainable Culinary Travel
Episode 317: The Eternal Table - History of Roman Food
Episode 316: Feast of the Seven Fishes with Michele Scicolone
Episode 315: Street Food of China
Episode 314: The Cries of Street Food Vendors: 19thC Public Culture of Food in New Orleans
Episode 313: Katie Parla Talks Classic Comebacks
Episode 312: Sicilian Influence in New Orleans Food Culture
Episode 311: Galloping Gourmet Redux
Episode 310: Historic Foodways in Montgomery County, Maryland
309: The Bitter Flavors of Sicily
Episode 308: Oreos and the Giant Cookie Factory, Nabisco
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