Don't Pretend We're Dead Podcast

About Don't Pretend We're Dead Podcast

For Season 2 of the Don't Pretend We're Dead podcast, we're talking with women shaping the food and drinks industry in roles that don't always make the headlines - but should. Hosted by Corina Zappia and Caroline Marie. dontpretendweredead.substack.com (https://dontpretendweredead.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Corina Zappia and Caroline Marie

Category

arts · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Jan 2025

Latest episode

1 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

9 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Nov 2026

   What does a flavour expert actually do?

   On this episode: Corina Zappia and Caroline Marie sit down with Manon Galizzi, a food scientist and flavor specialist who worked at flavor houses and at McVitie’s before launching EPICSI, her own flavor consultancy. We talk about the two routes into a career in flavor, what a flavor house actually does, how Gen Z is changing what we eat, and her honest advice for women starting out in the industry. For season 2 of the Don’t Pretend We’re Dead podcast, we’re talking with women in the food and drink industry, in roles that rarely make the headlines but should. Subscribe for free to learn about new episodes. Logo: Simon Inkpen at simoninkpen.co.uk Animation: David Cohen and Lisa Jellinek at thatonenyc.com Music: The Dead Zoo at thedeadzoo.com About Manon Galizzi Manon Galizzi is a flavour expert and food scientist with over years in the UK food and drink industry. In addition to working at one of the UK’s leading flavour houses , Manon has been a flavour specialist for McVities – where she worked on developing the flavour profiles Hobnobs, Digestives and Jaffa Cakes. In addition to her consultancy EPICSI (https://www.epicsi.co.uk/), where Manon helps UK food and drink brands diagnose what’s really going wrong with their flavour and how to fix it, she also hosts the Food Lab Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/5UFK5dYwqJstHxTBvESeUA), where she talks with UK food and drink producers about avoiding flavour complaints and getting outperformed by the industry. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dontpretendweredead.substack.com (https://dontpretendweredead.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   13 Feb 2026

   Inside the world of snakes, snake experts and "snake bros"

   On this episode: What is it like to search for 14-foot-long Burmese pythons in the Everglades? What is it like to wrestle with sea turtles in the water? And what exactly is a “snake bro”? I talk with herpetologists Dr. Hayley Crowell and Dr. Leonard Jones about common snake misconceptions, hypermasculinity in snake-expert world, and Hayley’s advice to women who want to work in the male-dominated field of herpetology.. For each episode of the Don’t Pretend We’re Dead podcast, I’ll be talking with women doing cool work right now in the fields of advocacy, arts, culture, food, journalism, science and technology. Let’s meet them together. Subscribe for free to learn about new episodes. About Dr. Hayley Crowell Dr. Hayley Crowell (https://sites.google.com/view/hayleylcrowell) is an evolutionary ecophysiologist interested in the secret world of animal coloration. The majority of her work focuses on large-scale patterns and physiological consequences of “hidden colors” (i.e., UV and NIR) in snakes and lizards (see her article about this in (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49506-4.epdf?sharing_token=O-zQwe6_e9g0pNZCMaOP3tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OiTNd7tHSC8FVAXMlnohHdrAHGseqNkdoCd7-EqH41jNTBqiB4TdmJE2Q7LjhLWqksrLBN531oKKIHNI0sLjzW5Y7Q6DBUK_fgaaM_qH6QelGQIQ3UrG0MCQix3TZpAIM%3D)Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49506-4.epdf?sharing_token=O-zQwe6_e9g0pNZCMaOP3tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OiTNd7tHSC8FVAXMlnohHdrAHGseqNkdoCd7-EqH41jNTBqiB4TdmJE2Q7LjhLWqksrLBN531oKKIHNI0sLjzW5Y7Q6DBUK_fgaaM_qH6QelGQIQ3UrG0MCQix3TZpAIM%3D)). She is currently a lecturer and researcher at the University of Michigan’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dontpretendweredead.substack.com (https://dontpretendweredead.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   12 Jan 2026

   Why we should still be talking about internet inequity in 2026—and not just AI

   Dr. Henna Zamurd-Butt from the Internet Inequity Initiative discusses internet inequity, unequal pricing, service disparities in cities like Chicago, and decolonizing the internet in this interview.

4. 

   22 Oct 2025

   “As a black trans woman, I'm painfully aware that conforming is not an option”

   Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, founder of Trans Legal Clinic, discusses the UK Supreme Court ruling and its implications for all women, highlighting the unique challenges faced by black trans women in an interview.

5. 

   10 Jul 2025

   Using food "as a lens to interrogate power"

   Feminist Food Journal founding editors Isabela Bonnevera and Zoë Johnson discuss using food as a lens to interrogate power and explore exploitation and politics within food systems in this interview.

6. 

   6 Jun 2025

   "I realized why this harmful side of beauty culture isn't really talked about”

   Beauty critic Jessica DeFino and Corina Zappia discuss the challenges of critiquing the beauty industry, the self-care rebrand, and concerning trends, revealing the industry's harmful aspects in this interview.

7. 

   11 Mar 2025

   "Innovation can exacerbate inequalities in society"

   For each episode of the Don’t Pretend We’re Dead podcast, I’ll be talking with women doing interesting work right now in the fields of advocacy, arts and culture, food, science and technology. Ladies who give me a shred of hope in these dark times—and who doesn’t need more of that? Subscribe for free to learn about new episodes. Mentioned in this episode with Dr. Moupali Das: 2024 Breakthrough of the Year, (https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2024)Science (https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2024), December 12, 2024 (https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2024). “This Woman of Color Led a Groundbreaking New PrEP Study,” (https://www.thebody.com/article/moupali-das-designed-len-study-with-black-brown-girls-in-mind)TheBody.com (https://www.thebody.com/article/moupali-das-designed-len-study-with-black-brown-girls-in-mind), June 24, 2024. (https://www.thebody.com/article/moupali-das-designed-len-study-with-black-brown-girls-in-mind) Dr. Paul Farmer: World-renowned infectious disease doctor, anthropologist, and global health visionary (https://www.pih.org/paul), PIH.org Moupali Das, MD, MPH, is Vice President, HIV Prevention and Virology Pediatric Clinical Development at Gilead Sciences. She is the Franchise Head for HIV Prevention and oversees Gilead’s landmark PURPOSE program, which is evaluating the efficacy and safety of lenacapavir for HIV prevention. In 2024, the unprecedented positive results from the PURPOSE 1 and PURPOSE 2 trials were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and led Science Magazine to name lenacapavir its 2024 “Breakthrough of the Year.” Since joining Gilead Sciences, Moupali has leveraged her clinical HIV and ID expertise, clinical trial design and epidemiology skills, and passion for coaching and mentoring to build and lead high-performing cross-functional teams in HIV treatment and prevention. For the past approximately five years, Moupali has led the PURPOSE program and HIV Prevention Clinical Development with passion and empathy, revolutionizing how Gilead develops drugs, innovating in the science and in health equity, and laying the groundwork for global access. Her scholarly and intentional approach to clinical trial design and implementation with a focus on diversity and equity has been celebrated internally and externally by the scientific and advocacy community, as this brief profile on TheBody.com highlights: https://www.thebody.com/article/moupali-das-designed-len-study-with-black-brown-girls-in-mind (https://www.thebody.com/article/moupali-das-designed-len-study-with-black-brown-girls-in-mind) Moupali has committed her entire educational and professional career to HIV. After completing her A.B. in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard College, medical school and internal medicine residency training at Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, she came to University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for fellowship training in Infectious Diseases and to University of California, Berkeley for her MPH in Epidemiology. She cared for HIV patients at San Francisco General’s storied Ward 86 clinic and attended on the inpatient ID Consult Service. Her research prior to joining Gilead included the development of a novel population-based indicator, community viral load (CVL), to evaluate the impact of treatment as prevention. Her CVL research was the basis for measuring CVL and using viral suppression to evaluate the effectiveness of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). She served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Data Systems for Monitoring HIV/AIDS care. See here for a brief profile of Moupali’s pre-Gilead career: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2012_07_13/caredit.a1200079 (http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2012_07_13/caredit.a1200079) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit corinazappia.substack.com (https://corinazappia.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

8. 

   19 Feb 2025

   "I'm interested in understanding history, culture and evolution—and I use food as my vehicle"

   For each episode of the Don’t Pretend We’re Dead podcast, I’ll be talking with women doing interesting work right now in the fields of advocacy, arts and culture, food, science and technology. These are ladies who give me a shred of hope in these dark times—and who doesn’t need more of that. Subscribe for free to learn about new episodes. Mentioned in this episode with writer and chef Marie Mitchell: Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Marie Mitchell (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/445747/kin-by-mitchell-marie/9780241541982) “Black Joy, Our Greatest Form of Activism,” (https://blog.resy.com/2020/10/black-joy-our-greatest-form-of-activism/) by Marie Mitchell, Resy London Chishuru (https://www.chishuru.com/), the West African restaurant in London from Adejoké (Joké) Bakare, the UK’s first black female Michelin-starred chef London restaurant recommendations from Marie Mitchell: “Where the chefs eat: Marie Mitchell shares her 7 favourite London restaurants,” Glossary Magazine (https://theglossarymagazine.com/food-drink/marie-mitchell-restaurants/) Marie Mitchell (https://www.instagram.com/marie_mitchell_/) is a writer, chef and was the co-founder of Island Social Club – a space that was aimed at filling the void left by the erosion of London’s once thriving Caribbean social scene. Through her cooking, Marie explores Caribbean culture and food with authenticity and without limits. Conscious of driving British-Caribbean cuisine, and thus culture, forward, she develops her dishes by focusing on history, geography, and contemporary ingredients found in her locale and home in London. Marie is a champion of social, economic and political equity, inclusivity, sustainability, and supporting and creating spaces for self-care and mental health awareness. Marie has written for Observer Food Monthly, Guardian Feast, Borough Market, Waitrose Food and Resy London. She’s spoken live at the DO Lectures, featured on Sunday Brunch, Broadcasting House, BBC Radio 4, and Jamie Oliver’s Meat Free Meals. Her first cookbook, Kin, a collection of recipes from the Caribbean and its diaspora was published in 2024 by Particular Books, and will be published in 2025 by Norton. Thanks for reading Don't Pretend We're Dead! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit corinazappia.substack.com (https://corinazappia.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

9. 

   18 Jan 2025

   "Good writing never ever feels preachy"

   For each episode of the Don’t Pretend We’re Dead podcast, I’ll be talking with women doing interesting work right now in the fields of advocacy, arts and culture, food, science and technology. Ladies who give me a shred of hope in these dark times—and who doesn’t need more of that. Subscribe for free to learn about new episodes. Mentioned in this episode with Ruth Mukwana: Shadow King (https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-shadow-king) by Maaza Mengiste Half of a Yellow Sun (https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/half-of-a-yellow-sun-book-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-9780007200283?price=3.60) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Beasts of No Nation (https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/beasts-of-no-nation-book-uzodinma-iweala-9780719567537?price=3.50) by Uzodinma Iweala The Refugees (https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/refugees-book-viet-thanh-nguyen-9781472153784?price=3.50) by Viet Thanh Nguyen Stories and Humanitarian Action (SAHA) (https://www.youtube.com/@sahapodcast1145) podcast—check out this episode I really liked: Championing Women and Girls: A Conversation with UN Gender Advisor April Pham (https://youtu.be/s-JG6UjLTLs?si=XYnqC7TcrBC0UB-e) Ruth Mukwana (https://www.ruthmukwana.com/) is the former Chief of Section, Asia & Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York. She has held several positions with OCHA including as Chief of Duty of Care, Wellbeing and Capacity Development in the Executive Office and Deputy Head of Office for Sudan. Her experience includes training, protection, internal displacement, voluntary repatriation, advocacy, access and refugee status determination. Currently she is the Helen Hamlyn Senior Fellow at the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs at Fordham University and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, where she teaches humanitarian advocacy. Ruth is also a fiction writer and was the 2020 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil NYC Emerging Fellow. Her work has appeared in several magazines including Bomb, Solstice, Consequence and Black Warrior Review, and she has just completed a novel. She is also the creator and host of the podcast Stories and Humanitarian Action (SAHA) (https://www.youtube.com/@sahapodcast1145), which explored how fiction can be used to raise awareness on humanitarian crises and drive action with a particular focus on war. Set in her home country of Uganda against the backdrop of conflict, poverty, and totalitarian regime, Ruth’s short stories explore what happens when women rise up and dismantle the status quo and become heroes of their own stories. Thanks for reading Don't Pretend We're Dead! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit corinazappia.substack.com (https://corinazappia.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Who has been a guest on Don't Pretend We're Dead Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Henna Zamurd-Butt
• Olivia Campbell-Cavendish
• Isabela Bonnevera
• Zoë Johnson
• Jessica DeFino

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 3 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

6

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact Don't Pretend We're Dead Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.