Gastronomica

About Gastronomica

The Gastronomica podcast is where the academic field of food studies meets a public appetite for gastronomy and the culinary arts. Tune in to hear interviews with authors whose articles or books have recently been featured in the journal (published by University of California Press since 2001), as we showcase diverse voices in the food world, tackle complex questions about cooking, cuisine, culinary traditions, food justice and equity. Each episode is hosted by a member of the journal’s Editorial Collective, representing food scholars, perspectives, and disciplines from around the world. Gastronomica's theme song is by Robert T. Valgenti and mixed by Samuel N. Ortiz. The photo, "A Wise Crack,” is by Carl Fleischhauer. Gastronomica can be found at this link here.

Publisher

Heritage Radio Network

Category

arts · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Feb 2022

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

107 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   A Mellified Redemption? Learning to Live with a Pest Through Spotted Lanternfly Honey

   Rosi Song of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective hosts authors Eve Z. Bratman and Anna Purchase in a discussion of their newly published research article on lanternfly honey. Eve and Anna bring a social science perspective to their study of the spotted lanternfly. Noting the spotted lanternfly’s arrival to Pennsylvania a little over a decade ago and its spread in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, they highlight the complexity of insect invasivity, its impacts on local economies and ecologies, and the range of responses. Drawing from their research on bees and beekeeping, they share how a novel food product, honeydew honey from the spotted lanternfly, provided insight into the changing relationships between different species. The conversation details the qualities of lanternfly honey and the context that led to its commercial production, and concludes on a hopeful note for human-nature relations amidst uncertainty. “A Mellified Redemption? Learning to Live with a Pest Through Spotted Lanternfly Honey,” by Eve Z. Bratman and Anna Purchase, appears in the latest issue of Gastronomica (26.3). Read the article here. Eve Z. Bratman is an associate professor of Environmental Studies at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and author of the award-winning book Governing the Rainforest: Sustainable Development Politics in the Brazilian Amazon (Oxford University Press, 2019). She is currently writing a book on the politics of saving the bees. Anna Purchase studied Government and Environmental Studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and is now completing a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at the National University of Singapore. H. Rosi Song is a professor of Hispanic Studies at Durham University in the U.K., co-author of A Taste of Barcelona: The History of Catalan Cooking and Eating (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and a member of the Editorial Collective at Gastronomica. She leads a Horizon Europe project on food, culture, and recipes titled RELISH (Reframing European Gastronomy Legacy through Innovation, Sustainability, and Heritage). Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies is published by the University of California Press. Quarterly issues are available in print and online. Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

2. 

   4 Sept 2026

   The Next Issue: Fall 2026 (26.3)

   In this episode, Melissa Fuster and Rosi Song of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective introduce the journal’s latest issue, Fall 2026 (volume 26, issue 3), now available online. Melissa talks with Rosi about what goes into putting a Gastronomica issue together and the backstory of issue 26.3. Rosi shares the inspiration behind her editorial letter and the issue’s thematic focus on migration and food networks, recounting her own journey moving and living across the globe, from South Korea to Paraguay, the United States, and now the U.K. Their discussion highlights new research articles, creative nonfiction writing, and photography from the pages of the journal on topics related to trust building, food networks, provisioning, and nourishment, including a special feature on migrant foodways and culinary mobilities in Japan. Read Rosi Song’s editorial letter here for the Fall 2026 issue of Gastronomica and access the articles in this latest issue online at the University of California Press here. H. Rosi Song is a professor of Hispanic Studies at Durham University in the U.K., co-author of A Taste of Barcelona: The History of Catalan Cooking and Eating (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and a member of the Editorial Collective at Gastronomica. She leads a Horizon Europe project on food, culture, and recipes titled RELISH (Reframing European Gastronomy Legacy through Innovation, Sustainability, and Heritage). Melissa Fuster is an associate professor of Public Health Nutrition at Tulane University, author of Caribeños at the Table: How Migration, Health, and Race Intersect in New York City (UNC Press, 2021), and a member of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective. Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies here is published by the University of California Press here. Quarterly issues are available in print and online. Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network here. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

3. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Gastronomy as Sensory Engineering

   One year after the publication of Gastronomica’s special feature on food and philosophy, Robert T. Valgenti of the Editorial Collective revisits the question of what a philosophical perspective could bring to addressing food-related issues. In this episode, he talks with Gastronomica author and philosopher Sascha Benjamin Fink about human perception and how people experience the world, taking up questions at the cutting edge of science, art, and gastronomy. Sascha discusses the role of the senses and sensory manipulation in gastronomy and explains how common experiences of eating can lend real-world insights into sensory engineering. Over the course of their conversation Bob and Sascha consider different examples – such as the setting of the table, spatial design, experimental cuisine, and the use of AI in recipe development – and weigh in on what sensory engineering can also reveal about gastronomy. The article Gastronomy as Sensory Engineering, co-authored by Sascha Benjamin Fink and Brandon Ashby, appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Gastronomica. “Gastronomy as Sensory Engineering” was one of fifteen short papers in a special section dedicated to philosophical perspectives on food issues. Access the articles in volume 25.3 of the journal here and learn more about the special section in Episode 53: Mapping Food and Philosophy of the Gastronomica podcast. Sascha Benjamin Fink works on the philosophy of mind with research interests in consciousness, sensory engineering, and new technologies, and most recently has been Director of Research at the Centre for Philosophy and AI Research (PAIR) at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. As of August 2026, he works at the University of Cologne on sensory engineering in the DFG-AHRC Project SENSOR (DFG 527947799). Robert T. Valgenti is a professor of liberal arts and food studies at The Culinary Institute of America. A philosopher and translator, he works on the philosophy of food, Italian philosophy, and hermeneutics and is a member of the Editorial Collective at Gastronomica. Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies is published by the University of California Press. Quarterly issues are available in print and online. Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network here. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Gastronomica

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

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

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Gastropod

• 

  Good Food

• 

  The Sporkful

• 

  Radiolab

• 

  99% Invisible

• 

  This American Life