Stand back; we're going to try science! In our first "Japan-isode," Nicole takes Julia on a scenic bus tour through the kelp forests to see three colorful characters: brown, green, and red algae. We learn about the many ways of eating and preparing seaweed (blancmange, anyone?) before arriving at our final destination: nori. We also meet an unlikely heroine who saved Japan's nori industry from halfway across the globe. Grab your sushi and waka-make yourself comfortable for this one!
Special thanks to our friend John for his scientific review and our friend Emma for her help with Japanese pronunciation! One correction: carrageenan is technically an extract from Irish moss. Irish moss refers to the seaweed itself, and carrageenan is a carbohydrate that's extracted from it. Nicole apologizes for the oversight.
Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul
We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at girlslunchpodcast@gmail.com and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects.
"How an unpaid UK researcher saved the Japanese seaweed industry," by Esther Inglis-Arkell in Ars Technica
"'Mother of the Sea' – How Kathleen Drew-Baker Saved Sushi," by Joe Shervin for University of Manchester
The Omori Nori Museum in Ota City, Tokyo
Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us, by Ruth Kassinger
Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water's Edge, by Susan Hand Shetterly
Dr. Plimmer's "Square Meal" food diagram, courtesy FoodTimeline.org, https://foodtimeline.org/squaremeal.pdf
"What Is a 'Square Meal'?", FoodTimeline.org (http://foodtimeline.org), https://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq7.html
10 Jul 2026
28. Girls' Club: "Yesteryear" and the Specter of the Tradwife
Welcome to our club, welcome to our club! In the first installment of what we expect to be a recurring segment called Girls' Club (or Girls' Lunch Book Club, or Girls' Book Club, or some other to-be-determined combination of these words), Nicole and Julia review the book Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke. Nicole also provides some history and context about the phenomenon of tradwives, which feature heavily in the book and sneakily in the background of many of our episodes.
Timestamps for content warning: Discussion of a sexual assualt scene in the book (26:38 - 28:21) and brief mention of sexual assault (47:37 - 47:54)
Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul
We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at girlslunchpodcast@gmail.com and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects.
Sources:
Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke
"#Tradwife Life as Self-Annihilation," by Anne Helen Peterson on the Culture Studies Substack
"Episode 18: Trad Wives," In Bed With the Right podcast
"TikTok Gets the Boot, Plus a 'Tradwife' Fantasy," NPR's It's Been a Minute
"The Agoraphobic Fantasy of Tradlife," by Zoe Hu for Dissent Magazine
1 Jun 2026
27. Have Your Gay and Eat It Too: A Queer History of Cake
As Marie Antoinette definitely once said: Let them serve 💅🏼 cake. In our first standalone episode in literal months, Julia and Nicole talk about what this episode is NOT about, the historical layers of cake, and the popcorn crimes of Mary Hamilton Talbott. Join us from our flying kitchen as we answer two of life's greatest questions: what is cake, and is it gay?
Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul
We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at girlslunchpodcast@gmail.com and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects.
Sources:
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, by Harold McGee
Cake: A Global History, by Nicola Humble
"History of bread and cakes," The History of Food, by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (p. 223-246)
Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, by Tamra Andrews (p. 52-54)
Lynne Olver, foodtimeline.org
"Cake Mixes: CU's consultants tasted and examined ready-mix cakes to find which brands were best," Consumer Reports, September 1953 (p. 385-7)
What is Queer Food? How we Served a Revolution, by John Birdsall
"News of Food," New York Times, November 17, 1949 (p. 39)
Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America, by Andrew F. Smith
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
39
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
Host of Girls' Lunch?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
