Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen

About Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen

In Northern Minnesota, food isn't just about what's on the plate. It's about how we show up for each other and the stories we tell. Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen is an hour of authentic conversation, listener call-in and recipes to share. It’s cooking from here, for the people who live here, and for anyone hungry for something real. Hosted by James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Amy Thielen, with producer Heidi Holtan, this KAXE / KBXE radio show and podcast celebrates the creativity and resourcefulness of rural home cooks. Each episode features a rogue band of culinary visionaries — from northern neighbors and foragers to cookbook authors and food thinkers from across the country.Made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of Minnesota. Scroll down for our Community Recipes!

Publisher

Amy Thielen, Heidi Holtan

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 May 2025

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

3 of 15 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Slice of Ham (Radio): Fall disasters and rendering your own lard with Amy and Heidi

   James Beard Award-winning author Amy Thielen and KAXE Director Heidi Holtan share fall kitchen and garden mishaps and lessons learned in this interview.

2. 

   25 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Slice of Ham (Radio): Jeremy Messersmith seeks blue ribbon glory at the State Fair

   Musician Jeremy Messersmith and host Amy Thielen discuss State Fair food competitions and baking blue ribbon worthy treats.

3. 

   1 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Ham Radio: New MN cookbook spotlights comforting family recipes

   Cookbook author Sarah Peterson shares comforting family recipes and the importance of connection from her new book "Dish and Tell" in this interview.

4. 

   14 May 2026

   Side of Ham (Radio): Amy Thielen's got a clogged sink problem

   Amy Thielen is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and cohost of "Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen" on KAXE. She lives in the rural Minnesota town of Two Inlets, where she occasionally has issues requiring her to wash dishes in the bathtub.

5. 

   30 Dec 2025

   From Minnesota to the Borderlands: Amy Thielen and Hank Shaw in conversation

   Minnesota James Beard Award-winning authors and chefs Amy Thielen and Hank Shaw talk about the new cookbook "Borderlands: Recipes and Stories from the Rio Grande to the Pacific."

6. 

   19 Dec 2025

   Cookies become our holiday currency, according to Amy Thielen

   Amy Thielen joined the KAXE Morning Show for a live conversation about holiday baking traditions.

7. 

   15 Oct 2025

   Amy talks sloppy Joes, apple cider, giant cabbages on the KAXE Morning Show

   "Ham Radio" host, cookbook author and James Beard award-winning Amy Thielen weighs in on sloppy Joes, fall harvests and recipes in Northern Minnesota, and Heidi and Amy share plans for the future of "Ham Radio"!

8. 

   28 Jun 2025

   Preserving Summer Through Memories, Recipes and Community

   Chef Karyn Tomlinson and Alena Levina join Amy Thielen on Ham Radio to discuss summer recipes, farmers markets, and the importance of local produce, highlighting how food creates community and inspires culinary creativity in this interview episode.

9. 

   21 Jun 2025

   More Than A Recipe: Do You Cook by the Book or Off the Map?

   Chef Amy Thielen interviews author Natasha Pickowicz about the changing expectations of recipes and how baking connects people through precise methods, while food photographer Nick Torres shares a unique Ohio recipe.

10. 

    14 Jun 2025

    Harvest Abundance in Minnesota: Gardening, the Advanced Class

    Chef Amy Thielen and Heidi Holtan discuss utilizing fundamental cooking methods like roasting, grilling, and pickling to manage harvest abundance, featuring insights from Erin Haefele and Beth Friedrichson in this interview episode.

11. 

    7 Jun 2025

    Friends and Family: Cooking for Company

    Host Amy Thielen discusses cooking for large gatherings, featuring stories from Chef David Kinch, Bill Dinger, and musician Jeremy Messersmith about feeding friends and family, and listener contributions, highlighting community and generosity.

12. 

    31 May 2025

    More Time Than Money: Resourcefulness and Creativity in the Kitchen

    Chef Amy Thielen shares resourceful and creative recipes that prioritize time and skill over expensive ingredients, offering listeners budget-friendly culinary inspiration in an interview with Heidi.

13. 

    24 May 2025

    Risky Business: The delicious science behind cooking with lye and more

    Chef Amy Thielen explores the delicious science and risky techniques behind cooking with lye, pickling lime, and other hazardous ingredients in an interview with Heidi.

14. 

    14 May 2025

    Why are we doing this show? Amy shares her inspiration for 'Ham Radio'

    Amy Thielen discusses her inspiration for creating "Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen," offering insights into her culinary journey and passion for food; this is an interview.

15. 

    9 May 2025

    Trailer: Introducing 'Ham Radio'

    Amy Thielen introduces "Ham Radio," a show celebrating the creativity and resourcefulness of rural home cooks, with Heidi Holtan producing.

Inside a recent episode

Slice of Ham (Radio): Fall disasters and rendering your own lard with Amy and Heidi

Published 25 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Yes, you get defined by, you know, there are these stereotypes that, you know, so there's a lack of it's not a two way movement. street. It's like a one-way mirror. In rural places, everybody gets the same culture on the TV that's national, but yet the national culture doesn't see you. You know what I mean? So that's something I'm always really aware of, especially when I wrote the book about Midwestern cooking, because then I was out promoting it and such, and I was really careful to make sure that every single thing I was saying was authentic and everything I was saying about Midwestern food was something I would say, you know, that felt true to my neighbors or it's really easy. […]

Who has been a guest on Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen

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

• Jeremy Messersmith
• Sarah Peterson
• Karyn Tomlinson
• Alena Levina
• Natasha Pickowicz

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

24 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

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

Quality

40

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

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

Questions about Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen