Eat, THINK, & Be Merry: Recent Episodes
Missouri Humanities
“Eat, THINK, & Be Merry”, part of Missouri Humanities’ 2022 Signature Series, features “food thinkers” and other special guests with exciting, inspiring, and down-right delicious stories that consider the role food plays in shaping our society–how it connects us to each other, to our own pasts and identities, and to the world around us. We invite you to feed your mind and join us “around the table” as we dig into food-related themes presented through a humanities lens.
Family historian and genealogist Kate Huffman helps us answer questions about finding our roots. She has over a decade of experience in the field and even started her own genealogy firm, "Historic Kate Genealogy." We discuss the drastic increase in public interest in genealogy, how technological advancements have changed the field, and the most fascinating parts of her job. We hope this conversation helps shed some light on this complicated and certainly hot topic, and maybe helps guide you in the right direction to discover some of your own family’s roots & routes!
The 2022 Hunt. Fish. Gather. Program, presented by Missouri Humanities, The Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, and Washington University Dining Services, took place on November 3rd and 4th, 2022. This program creates an educational opportunity for Washington University and the local community, focused on an Indigenous model of health and wellness by incorporating traditional Native foods and decolonizing the Westernized food system here in the United States.
This year, we were joined by Chef Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache/Navajo), a pioneer in the development of restorative indigenous food practices, a term critical for social recovery and indigenous resurgence during an age of fast food and disease. Chef Nephi has 24 years of culinary experience and is the founder of the Native American Culinary Association, a network dedicated to the research, refinement, and development of Native American cuisine. Craig provides training, workshops, and lecture sessions on Native American Cuisine to schools, restaurants, and tribal entities across America and abroad.
In this episode, we integrate the humanities and science with our conversation with Bo Brown, outdoor wilderness educator, biologist, author of “Foraging the Ozarks,” and musician. We discuss the abundant plant biological diversity of the Ozarks, the popularity of foraging wild edibles—the history, the benefits, the dangers, the ethics and sustainability of foraging—and touch on cultural traditions, indigenous land management and the spiritual relationship with the earth, and the health impacts of humans transitioning from a hunting/gathering diet to an agrarian one.
This special episode is a recorded panel discussion that followed the premiere of our debut short film, "Won't You Feed My Neighbor", which highlights some of the work being done in our Missouri communities to combat food insecurity and improve access to food. The panel features Maile Auterson (Springfield Community Gardens), Jocelyn Fundoukos (Operation Food Search), and Dr. Mary Hendrickson (Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, University of Missouri).
Adrian Miller, known as the “soul food scholar”, is a lawyer turned food writer who has written three books on the impact of African American foodways. He joins us for this special episode as we discuss his research on soul food, barbecue, and how he thinks food brings us together.
Adrian served as the keynote speaker for our 2022 MOmentum Gala, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ special initiative “A More Perfect Union”.
In this episode, our conversation with Suzanne Corbett–acclaimed writer, producer, and food historian–digs into the many ways cookbooks, recipes, and ingredients serve as a unique kind of cultural heritage. We also discuss what it’s like to write about such an experiential topic as food, and how we can look to food writing, like cookbooks, as a way to learn more about ourselves and our collective past.
This special episode is a recording of our 'Think-N-Drink" event that took place on April 20th, 2022, at Mother's Brewing Company in Springfield, MO. In this conversation with three local restaurateurs, we dive into how they are helping their community--and beyond-- think critically about the relationship between food, community, sustainability, and cultural ties. This event kicked off our symposium entitled "Humanities & Food: Sustenance & Sustainability in Our Communities" in partnership with Drury University.
In this episode, we highlight the surprising history of women in the beer brewing industry, and talk with two women who have made their mark brewing beer here in Missouri: Abbey Spencer of Third Wheel Brewing Co in Saint Peters, MO, and Bri Burrows at Big Rip Brewing Co. in Kansas City, MO. They discuss their unexpected career paths, some great resources available to aspiring brewers, and their varied experiences in this beloved, fast-paced, ever-changing world of beer.
In this inaugural episode, we discuss Columbia's Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) and their Henry Kirklin Black Farmer Scholarship Fund with Executive Director, Billy Polansky, and their first scholarship recipient, Eddie Linzie, who operates a small farm in Boone County.
During our conversation we delve into the topic of representation of Black farmers in Missouri, the story of Henry Kirklin and his namesake scholarship, Billy and Eddie's agricultural backgrounds, and how their work impacts their local communities.
Our podcast hosts, Lisa and Caitlin, introduce listeners to our 2022 Signature Series and tease upcoming episodes.