The Sporkful

Some people say that when they eat pasta in the US it makes them feel like garbage, but when they eat it in Italy they feel great. Is that legit? What does the science say? Also, why is the food at ma...

28 Jul 202546min

Fifty years after the panic about "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" began, we explore how faulty science and perceptions of race and class contributed to the making of a food myth that persists today. And...

25 Jul 202532min

Today, we have an update on one of our most popular Sporkful episodes ever, about a beloved sandwich shop in Aleppo, Syria, and an exiled aid worker named Shadi Martini. When the brutal regime of Syri...

21 Jul 202537min

When we left off, Shadi Martini was getting increasingly worried that his efforts to help those targeted by the Syrian regime would be discovered. A doctor who was known to treat protestors had been a...

18 Jul 202527min

Back in 2017, we aired one of our most popular Sporkful episodes ever, about a beloved sandwich shop in Aleppo, Syria. At that time, Syria was reeling from years of civil war, and the country’s leader...

14 Jul 202527min

The owner of Big Mike’s Soul Food in Myrtle Beach is also a city councilman, a church deacon, and a real estate agent -- so helping people is at the core of his work. The general manager at Croissants...

11 Jul 202522min

If you do the cooking, should your partner do the cleaning? Are savory oats underrated? Are broccoli stems better than the florets? This week we’re taking your calls, tackling your food disputes, and ...

7 Jul 202536min

We take you to two iconic hot dog joints in Detroit and New Jersey to find out what makes them special. Plus Kenji Lopez-Alt schools us on the science of deep-fried hot dogs, and Dan's parents make a ...

4 Jul 202529min