Point of Origin

Introducing the Whetstone Radio Collective Feb 11, 2022

Hello Point of Origin fans, your host Stephen Satterfield here! I want to tell you about Whetstone Radio Collective, a brand new podcast venture from Whetstone Media now streaming. Whetstone Radio is like nothing else in the food podcast space and touches thematically on similar topics from Point of Origin—from politics, to culture, to global gastronomic histories, and of course, as always, centering on human empathy. With more in-depth conversations and more space to explore origins— and with unique cinematic and musical production—we think WRC is something really special and we have a strong feeling you’re going to think so too.

We have some incredible shows for you. Climate Cuisine, from Taiwanese American journalist Clarissa Wei, takes a journalism-style look at the way the climate crisis is fundamentally shaping our relationship with food. Fruit Love Letters, from chef Jessamine Starr, is like a valentine to all your favorite fruits. This spring, writer Debra Freeman will invite you to a seat at The Table, an insightful show about Southern foodways. If you’ve been missing Point of Origin, I encourage you to check out some of the programming at Whetstone Radio Collective, search for the individual shows by title on your favorite podcast platform, and continue to discover the immense power food has on our collective/communal lives.

Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/whetstone-radio/id6442689915

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Food Apartheid: (And Why We Don't Call it a Food Desert) Nov 25, 2020

Point of Origin friends this is our last episode of the season and a very special one to capstone the season. Today we’re talking about justice in food systems, its absence within those systems and the circumstances that lead to lacking. Now, maybe you've heard heard of the term “food desert” as a means of describing these circumstances, but food apartheid is more forceful, more succinct and frankly, more accurate language.

To discuss the importance of language specificity when discussing food justice, we have just the right guest to speak on it, the same person who coined the term, Bronx resident and activist Karen Washington. We also chat with Mr. Bryant Terry, award-winning author, chef in residence of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and long-time food justice activist. And finally we close with author, educator and anthropologist, Dr. Hanna Garth. We compare and contrast food systems in the US and Cuba, and the ways in which each system undermines their respective constituents, and how, ultimately, systemic racism endures in both.

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The Morality of Meat Nov 18, 2020

What does it mean to eat meat in 2020? What it means to consuming it, to abstain from it and how, as always on matters of so called morality are murky, and impossible to detangle from the influence of culture, society, and privilege.

To lead the conversation we're joined with writer Alicia Kennedy, one of the clearest and most compelling voices in food media today on, among other things, veganism, and more broadly the politics of eating. We then travel to India where we’re Dr. Yamini Narayanan discusses the politicization of beef in India, and in particular, what happens when cow protection laws and diet regulations are coded as a means of marginalizing lower castes and Muslims. And finally, we go to the Dominican Republic with Ysanet Batista, activist and owner of Woke Foods who discusses her ongoing activism work through plant based recipes as a means of healing and restoration.

Join us as we consider as we consider the associated environmental burdens, veganism, it's misconceptions, the politics of meat, and diet identity.

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Black Coffee Nov 11, 2020

So often in “specialty” food and coffee, those are being marketed to and those on the ground who is a commentary on who gets to indulge and who must labor. Reclaiming stories of origin helps erode the idea that those who labor are helpless, and ideally, should push us to ask, why those with the history, knowledge and craft are relying on consumers — who rarely share any of these attributes — are the ones who ultimately uphold these systems. Who it's for becomes a question that is open for interrogation, as we learn more about, "where it's from."

In this episode, we pay homage to coffee’s African origins and Black entrepreneurs and laborers across the supply chain, highlighting stories from Burundi to California. We begin with artist turned coffee entrepreneur Keba Konte of Red Bay coffee, a pioneering African American coffee roaster. Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian teaches us what makes Burundi an ideal coffee supplier and the unique challenges facing the women on the ground, and finally, we chat with Doug Hewitt of 1951 Coffee in Oakland, California, a nonprofit organization providing job training for refugees. Today on Point of Origin, it's Black Coffee.

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Beyond the Wheat Nov 04, 2020

In many ways, no other food represents the center of culinary and communal life more than bread. It is likely the most consumed food in the world, but as it has been a staple food over the millenia, when we think of "bread", the images that come to mind are as diverse as the cultures of the world. Though it is a staple of just about every culture on earth, the contents of the bread we eat have become wildly disconnected to the grains of our ancestors. Today on Point of Origin we're looking at why that is, and how it came to be.

In this episode we examine the whitewashing of wheat and the emergence of the whole grain revival. Our guests are a smattering of whole grain bakers, farmers and scholars from around the world. We begin in Oaxaca with Mixtecan bakery owner Martina Julieta Castellanos Lopez from Rincón de la Grana bakery, then we move to Nova Scotia Canada where food writer, author and amateur whole grain baker Simon Thibault breaks down the industrial grains along with some home baking tips. In Puglia Italy, multigenerational grain farmer Leonardo Petruccelli and writer Marissia Tiller discuss the transformation of his family farm from into a whole grain enterprise, and finally, in Washington DC, Jonathan Bethony, baker and co-owner of Seylou Bakery talks about his whole grain journey as a baker. Today on point of origin, we're going Beyond Wheat.

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What Do We Mean When We Say Food Anthropology? Oct 28, 2020

What do we mean when we say anthropology? And specifically food anthropology? We're talking about a word we use often and a word embedded in Whetstone lexicon and ideology. But it's also a word we have never defined. While it is a generous term that at its core is about the relationship between human beings and the world, we recognize the problematic history of the genre, one historically comprised of white male academics who brought their biases with them into the field.

To help us properly define the term food anthropology, we're joined by two women anthropologists, GinaRae LaCerva and Hanna Garth. Ecologist and anthropology GinaRae LaCerva is the author of Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food and her work is in an exploration of the modern-day implications of wild and foraged foods, including wild meat, and what it tells us about the current state of the world. Sociocultural and medical anthropologist Hanna Garth [http://www.hannagarth.com] work specializes in the anthropology of food, while addressing issues of inequality and structural violence in Latin American, the Caribbean, and the United States.

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Spoiled Milk Oct 21, 2020

You're familiar with those "Got Milk" commercials. You've seen the billboards a hundred times. Those milk mustaches seemed innocuous enough. What you may not have considered is how Americans have been coerced into believing milk is an essential part of our healthy diet. We discuss how milk is the perfect microcosm for the many maladies plaguing our corporate food system. Currently, in the US an estimated 2.7 million - 3.7 million gallons of US milk is dumped every day as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate why. Join us as we uncover the politics rife in the US food systems, the everlasting systemic problem of money shaping policy, and how the joint actions of industry and government lead to the creation and perpetuation of health disparities. Andrea Freeman, author of The Unbearable Whiteness of Milk: Food Oppression and the USDA helps us navigate this landscape.

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Green Gold: Avocado Farming in Mexico Oct 14, 2020

The Hass avocado boom has driven significant change, both positive and negative, in the communities of those growing and harvesting the fruit. While the revenue created by this cash crop has led to improvement in living conditions for many, its popularity is threatening avocado's biodiversity and the business has become deeply entwined with political corruption and violent crime. We're learning about the history of the avocado farming in Morelos, Mexico, government intervention, and the farmers dedicated to the important work of preserving heirloom avocado varietals.

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Wine of Volcano and Sea Oct 07, 2020

Whetstone contributor Mónica R. Goya takes us to La Palma, part of the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands, to meet winemaker Victoria Torres Pecis. Pecis owns and runs the oldest winery on the island and is one of the few women winemakers in La Palma using a vinification process that relies on spontaneous fermentation and natural yeasts to produce “free” wine. Join us as we learn about colonial expansion and its effect on wine, and how Spain’s female winemakers are playing a critical role in revitalizing the industry.

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Fulani Foodways with Chef Binta Sep 30, 2020

Host Stephen Satterfield connects with Chef Binta, an ambassador for the ancient grain fonio and self described modern nomadic chef. Her Fulani roots, classical training from the Kenyan Culinary Institute and love for rural life and nature inspire her dishes and pop up “Dine on a Mat” events, resulting in a modern, and environmentally engaged experience. Chef Binta helps us answer: What is Fulani food?

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Reviving Arak in Palestine Sep 23, 2020

Most people have heard of ouzo from Greece, pastis from France or Italian sambuca but few know that they're all derived from the mother spirit, arak - the oldest spirit in the world. Nader Muaddi, a Philadelphia-born Palestinian, is working to change that while restoring arak to it's former glory. Join us as we launch season 3 of Point of Origin, in conversation with journalist Lyric Lewin as she travels to Muaddi's distillery and learn what makes this milky distillate unique.

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Season 3 arrives September 23 Sep 18, 2020

Food is, and always has been, political. If that wasn’t clear before, the events of 2020 have revealed this truth in spectacular fashion. So this season, we’re diving deeper, learning about the nomadic roots of the Fulani people and the cultural significance of the mat, we travel to Palestine to taste the milky distillate, arak. And then to La Palma in the Canary Islands to drink local wine froma woman winemaker, while considering the industry’s male dominance. We’re questioning the morality of eating meat, the politics of language and why we don’t say food dessert, but rather, food apartheid.This season we’re bringing you into the policies thatinfluence and shape our food system. And along the way drinking coffee with you while discussing its African origins. From the makers of Whetstone media, it's PoO S3. on September 23! I’m inviting you to travel with me, your host Stephen Satterfield, for another tour of the world of food worldwide.

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Indigenous Foodways: The Decolonized Diet Apr 29, 2020

Recent media attention surrounding native indigenous foodways has brought to light what a decolonized diet means. This is in part thanks to individuals like Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef, places like the Ohlone Cafe in Berkeley, Ca, Andi Murphy the host of Toasted Sister podcast and Brit Reed who works at Tulalip clinic. Through their work, and the work of many other indigenous people, they are revitalizing and bringing attention to the precolonial foods of their local indigenous tribes.

On this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine we explore how can we truly honor indigenous foodways, without it becoming the new, then forgotten trend? And why land and gathering are essential to indigenous foodways. Learn more about this episode.

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A New, New Nordic? Apr 22, 2020

Over last 20 years, there is perhaps no name more important in the world of contemporary dining culture than Chef René Redzepi and his restaurant, Noma. After two decades, many of the same people who helped create the phenomenon are asking: Does the movement need to live to continue or die? On this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we speak with Jeff Gordinier, author of "HUNGRY: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World."

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Culinary Commodities Apr 16, 2020

Did you know that the coconut is one of the only seafaring, self-propagating crops? Or that most of the world’s olive oils are produced in Spain, but end up blended, imported then exported, far from their country of origin? How about the fact that organized crime infiltrated the Italian food system for decades? Climate, locality and even human welfare by way of Fairtrade have all seeped into the consciousness of many well informed and capable shoppers. But, when it comes to the complexities of the commodification of our food, what facts do we consider when we grocery shop? We explore on this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine.

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Third Culture Apr 08, 2020

Diasporic foodways looks at the ways identity and food evolve in new home countries. Join Whetstone Magazine’s Point of Origin podcast as we speak with Asleigh Shanti, Aarohi Narai, and the team from Third Culture Bakery on the power of diasporic foodways.

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One-on-One with Reem Assil Apr 01, 2020

Just days before her second restaurant was set to open, we spoke to Bay Area-based chef and restaurateur Reem Assil. We discussed her feelings on the precipice of opening, but also, about the industry at large. Her answers about the state of the restaurant industry would prove painfully ominous. What they revealed are some of the pitfalls of the industry prior to its COVID-19-related collapse and underscores some of the challenges it now faces in rebuilding.

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Natural Wine: Part 2 Mar 25, 2020

In part 2 of our series on natural wine we delve deeper into the what makes the term natural wine controversial, why the qualifier alludes us and if natural wine is trend or here to stay. In part episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we’re joined by New York based sommelier Amanda Smeltz, who currently works as a wine director at both ESTELA and Cafe Altro Paradiso, who breaks down the cultural significance of natural wine.

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Natural Wine: It’s Alive! Mar 18, 2020

Natural wine is farmed organically biodynamically, using permaculture, and made without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. Neither fining nor filtration are used. The result is a wine that’s truly “alive”, full of naturally occurring microbiology. In this two part episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we’re joined by the owners and wine makers from Donkey & Goat winery in Berkeley, California and The Other Right in the Adelaide Hills of Australia. Join us as we explore how to taste the differences between traditional wine and natural wine.

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Korean Food and Modernity Mar 11, 2020

Guided by the stories of Sonja Swanson, Seoyung Chung of Bburi Kitchen and Ji Hye Kim of Ms Kim restaurant, this episode explores ancient Korean recipes and how they are taking on modern adaptations. Swanson came to Korea to learn about her cultural heritage, and a one-year stay became a seven-year journey. Together, Swanson and Seoyung are using food to tell a story about the culinary history of Korea, through adaptations of ancient recipes.

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Tea Time: Ceylon, Oolong, and Assam Mar 04, 2020

Travel with us to the rolling hills of Sri Lanka and the high mountains of Taiwan to sample teas and learn about their origins. We explore how decisions like harvesting, processing and fermentation impart flavor, and how its consumption is deeply ingrained in Asian cultures. Meet our guests Elena Liao from Te Company a premium tearoom in New York City, as she discusses Oolong tea is and how Taiwan’s history plays a role in its taste, and Waris Ahluwalia, a designer and actor whose newly launched tea line, House of Waris was inspired by the traditional medicinal uses of tea.

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Naija! Examining Nigerian Food Feb 26, 2020

Point of Origin Season 2 kicks off by honoring Black History Month. We’re exploring Nigerian foodways, what Naija is and how it’s expressed through food.

Chefs Tunde Wey, Yewande Komolafe, and Michael Ade Elebede join us to discuss the origin of Nigerian dishes, and how they champion their food to interrogate systems of power. See more.

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Season 2 arrives February 26 Feb 20, 2020

iHeartRadio and Whetstone Magazine's Point of Origin is back. On February 26, join host Whetstone co-founder Stephen Satterfield as he connects with the people most immersed in defining and preserving global foodways. Along the way we’re drinking natural wine in Australia, sipping tea — Taiwanese Oolong and Sri Lankan Ceylon — and eating frejon, a Nigerian staple with Brazilian origins.

The power of food is that it has a story to tell.Each week, Point of Origin will enthusiastically uplift the voices of women and people of color. We believe that this diversity isn’t just noteworthy but part of what makes our work essential and distinguished. When the gatekeepers are diverse, so too are the stories, its tellers and their experiences.

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Farming While Black Part 2 Oct 10, 2019

On matters of African Americans and farming, many narratives have centered the ways in which enslavement, and an assumed progress “off the plantation” have contributed to the apathy or absence of black folks on the land.

In this episode we hear from black farmers and scholars who are challenging those narratives, instead centering resilience, survival and activism at the core of historical narratives around African Americans and agriculture. Featuring Gabrielle Eitienne and Dr. Monica White.

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Farming While Black Oct 03, 2019

On matters of African Americans and farming, many narratives have centered the ways in which enslavement, and an assumed progress “off the plantation” have contributed to the apathy or absence of black folks on the land. In this episode we hear from black farmers and scholars who are challenging those narratives, instead centering resilience, survival and activism at the core of historical narratives around African Americans and agriculture.

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Cider Coast to Coast Sep 26, 2019

Cider in the United States is having an explosive moment. Bolstered by a new generation of growers in California and New York, plus a thirsty generation of millennials, it is the fastest growing among all alcoholic beverage categories. In this episode we meet the makers and protagonists of this emergent movement.

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Earthenware Cooking: Japan | Greece Sep 19, 2019

When we think about food origins, often we talk about the movement of people, plants, animals and ideas. But the study of humans would be an incomplete one without the study of the clay and ceramic vessels, one of humankind’s earliest innovations. If pottery is a conversation with the past, archeologists are our interpreters.

Today we’re talking to a whisperer of ancient history, culinary archeologist Jerolyn Morrison. Jerolyn has a Ph.D in archeology specializing in the cooking vessels of ancient Crete.

We also talk to Naoko Takei Moore about the miracle of donabe, the ceramic pot that is one of the oldest Japan. Naoko is a food expert, and author of the Donabe cookbook and owner of Toiro Kitchen in Los Angeles, a purveyor of fine Japanese ceramic cookware.

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Pan-African Libations: Anomalies and Disrupters Sep 12, 2019

Ntsiki Biyela was the first black woman in South Africa to become a winemaker. Andre Mack was the first to be awarded the Best Young Sommelier in America. Keba Konte is the largest African-American owned coffee roaster in the world. In this episode of Point of Origin, we learn about the pressures and pride that go along with being the first or only one of your kind.

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Rice and Resilience Part 2: The Story of Manoomin Sep 05, 2019

The sacred wild rice that grows on the water. Hundreds of years ago, the people called the Anishinabek, were visited by several prophets, two of which told them that people with white faces were going to be coming across the ocean and they needed to leave their homeland and travel westward to the place where the food grows upon the water, or risk being destroyed. So they followed those prophecies, and though it took a few hundred years, they made their way down the Saint Lawrence River and then into the Great Lakes region where they found wild rice. See more.

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Rice and Resilience Part 1 Aug 29, 2019

When we talk about terroir, it’s usually in the context of wine, and the human and environmental conditions that influence the characteristics. But on a recent visit to California, writer and cook Jasmine Lee began to ask questions about this framing, inspired by an heirloom variety of rice with a beautiful name called, Kokuho Rose. Jasmine, who comes from a lineage of rice merchants in Hong Kong, wondered whether it was possible to think about expressions of the land; ie, terroir, without thinking of about the history and politics of land use in the United States. If this heirloom rice is an expression of the land it was grown on, it is also an expression of the trauma and perseverance with the family who worked that land.

Next, Chef BJ Dennis tells us about his move to St. Thomas in 2004, where he encountered black folks from around the West Indies. Upon learning he was from the lowcountry, they preceded to share stories and insight about the Gullah Geechee, a distinctive culture of the descendants of West Africa’s rice coast. The experience changed the trajectory of BJ’s career, catalyzing his calling as a chef and scholar of the culture.

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From a Flower Aug 22, 2019

All fruit come from flowers, but not all flowers become fruit. Once you start to see the two as the same, the world of both grow more interesting. Dates, honey and saffron: we’re gettin sweet and spicy with stories from Egypt to Iran.

In episode 3, we meet Leila Elamine of The Recipe Hunters, Gordon Hull of Heidrun Meadery, and spice expert Ethan Frisch of Burlap and Barrel.

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Icelandic Foodways Aug 19, 2019

In episode two of Point of Origin, we continue on our theme of preservation, and bring you on a trip to Iceland where we meet a chef turned geothermal salt maker, and a farmer there who’s making an extremely regionally specific dairy product.

Thanks to our friends in Iceland, Gisli Grimmson, Bjorn Jonsson of Saltverk, and to Thorgumir Gubratsson of Erpstadir Skyr. Special thanks to Abbie Richert of Finca Coffee for bringing us a salty dispatch!

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A Tale of Two Yoghurts Aug 19, 2019

The tale of two yogurts and the fight to protect Goa’s fishing villages and waters, it’s all about preservation. It keeps us alive and teaches how to live.

Our inaugural episode features guests Amrita Gupta of the Food Radio Project, Sana Javeri Kadri of Diaspora Co. and food writer and cookbook author Priya Krishna.

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Introducing: Point of Origin Aug 07, 2019

Point of Origin is a podcast about the world of food, worldwide. From the makers of Whetstone Magazine. Each week we travel to the countries, cultures and culinary traditions that gave birth to what we eat and drink. The in-depth conversations and field recording are augmented by new explorations of ingredients and dishes in the context of their culture of origin. In addition to taking listeners around the globe, whether it’s to Indonesia for coffee or India for turmeric, the show’s mission is also to elevate the voices of indigenous people and women of color. Point of Origin is about deepening our understanding by going to the source, as the study of food, of its past and present, teaches us who we are and how we came to be.

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