Lola and Chris interview Nicola Twilley

In January 2015, Chris Seigel and I interviewed one of my favorite writers for our podcast Underground Airwaves. This remains one of my favorite episodes that we recorded, simply because Nicola Twilley has the most fascinating stories!

Have you thought about the effect of refrigeration on the food system? Nicola Twilley has thought about it. A lot. She explores the inner workings of the food system in her writing for the New York Times and New Yorker, as well as on her website, Edible Geography. In 2014, she started a food history and science podcast called Gastropod, which she co-hosts with Cynthia Graber. The thread that ties all of her reporting together is a curiosity for the stories that arise when digging below the surface of how the food system works.

In this episode, Nicola tells a story about visiting a banana ripening facility in New York and the secret world this everyday fruit passes through on its way to our groceries. She also talks about her podcast, Gastropod, the impact of refrigeration on food culture, and how she finds the information that leads her to reporting so many interesting food stories. The story and interview were recorded simultaneously at Nicola’s podcasting studio in New York City and at KBOO Community Radio in Portland, Oregon.