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The Walk-In considers the reality of "making it" in the culinary industry. Chef Elle Simone Scott explores the unheard stories of the food world’s difference makers. What really happens between their first day and overnight success? A lot—but it's rarely discussed beyond a small circle of trusted friends. Unfiltered and unexpected, The Walk-In has the conversations you won’t hear anywhere else. A production of America’s Test Kitchen.
A disappearing food franchise. The story behind how a Vietnamese spring roll ended up on the menu of Senegalese restaurants. We take America's Test Kitchen's inquisitive and relentless approach to telling unexpected, funny, and thought-provoking narratives about food and drink. This is not a recipe show. And this is not a show about celebrity chefs or what they like to eat. Proof plunges into history, culture, science, and the psyche to uncover the hidden backstories that feed your food-obse ...
Handpicked podcast episodes
On lucky season 13 of Proof, we travel to Argentina where workers are fighting hard to save their national desert: The alfajor. We follow one reporter’s attempt at improving routines and mealtime during the month of Ramadan. We learn how to grocery shop while blind, and we also hear about one man’s quest to find the truth behind a family legend: Wa…
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Going Deep on Italian Beef on City Cast Chicago
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Kevin gives City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran a behind-the-scenes look at the making of our Proof episode on the World’s Greatest Italian Beef. Catch City Cast Chicago every weekday and wherever you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.…
One of the hottest TV shows of the past year was FX’s The Bear, about a fine-dining chef who takes over the family Italian Beef sandwich business in Chicago. Host Kevin Pang is a former food critic in the Windy City, having consumed hundreds of Beefs. In this episode, Kevin attempts to engineer the World’s Greatest Italian Beef sandwich. See Privac…
Reporter Halley Bondy came upon an autobiography written by her grandfather, who she called Poppop. His life was astonishing: Poppop grew up in the grips of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, escaping fascism to create a new life for his family. As part of his new life in America, Poppop brought over a semi-sweet braided bread called vanocka eaten every…
America's Test Kitchen PR Director Brian Franklin's job? Spread the good word about the delicious food the company creates. There's just one problem: Brian has the palate of a 5-year-old (his words!). On this episode, the producers of Proof stage an intervention. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https…
A breakfast cereal created by religious leaders. Chicken wings, infidelity, and revenge. In this episode, two foods we know and love born from accidents. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Travel writer Doug Mack felt trapped. Winter was approaching in Minnesota. Another surge of lock-downs and travel restrictions loomed. Staring at his blank passport pages, Doug turns to his keyboard and encounters a Twitter post about ... strawberry bon bons. In this episode, we take a trip into the colorful world of old-timey candies. Voice acting…
We think long and hard about what we feed our families. What about our canine friends? In this episode, reporter Varud Gupta goes on a quest to feed his Jack Russell Terrier mix, Luna. Not satisfied with standard dog food, Varud wants to know: Should I cook for Luna? He talks to eccentric dog parents, dog chefs, vets, and pet influencers to navigat…
In Season 12 of Proof from America's Test Kitchen, we're bringing you stories from wartime Czechoslovakia to an Italian beef shop in Chicago. Meet eccentric dog owners and pet personalities as we investigate whether or not we should cook for our dogs. We search for connection down a rabbit hole of old-fashioned candies. The Proof staff stage an int…
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Best of Proof: Cheater Cheater Chili Eater
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This week, we bring you a story of a major scandal in 2003 at a Texas chili cook-off. A newcomer turns in a cup of chili to the judges filled with samples of everyone else’s chili mixed together. And then, he wins first place. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i…
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Ross Meets Sanal Edamaruku: Indian Superstition Edition
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Podcast: Oh No, Ross and Carrie (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?) Episode: Ross Meets Sanal Edamaruku: Indian Superstition Edition Pub date: 2022-10-10 Ross talks from across the globe with Sanal Edamaruku, Indian-born author, rationalist and free speech activist, about his investigations into tantric curses, weeping Jesus statues, moving Mary stat…
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Best of Proof: Oyster Mushroom Revolution
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This week, we bring back another all-time favorite episode about a fungi and its critical role in one of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa. Set in the thriving tech hub of Rwanda, oyster mushrooms are at the center of this story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy…
Podcast: Invisibilia (LS 80 · TOP 0.01% what is this?) Episode: Therapy Ghostbusters Pub date: 2022-09-23 In San Jose, California, a community clinic was stumped as to why their clients were seeing ghosts. This week, a story about grappling with ghosts of our past and one clinic's attempt to heal intergenerational trauma. The podcast and artwork em…
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Best of Proof: The Plan to Kill the Chinese Restaurant
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This week, we bring back a listener favorite that dives into the consequences of a legislation that tried to prohibit young white women from eating at chop suey houses. This episode tells the story of an organized effort to wipe out Chinese eateries altogether and how these restaurants survived in spite of it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co…
This week, we bring back Proof's very first episode, which takes a deep dive into the former “it” vegetable of the Victorian era: Celery. Before it was relegated to a bloody Mary garnish, celery was considered a status symbol and displayed proudly on restaurant menus and well-to-do families’ tablescapes. So what caused the vegetable’s fall from gra…
What's actually going on in our bodies when we experience a hangover? In this last episode of the season, host Kevin Pang takes you through a Bill Nye The Science Guy-esque journey. Got an idea for a story you want us to cover in a future episode? Got a suggestion? Let us know by filling out our Season 11 survey! https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6979…
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These Are a Few of Our Favorite Meals
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Bigma's Blackberry Pie. A warming bowl of chicken pho. Diner coffee, and a nostalgic meal at a Chinese restaurant in Japan. On this episode of Proof, the staff bring you stories of their ultimate favorite foods and meals. We here at Proof are always thinking of ways to make our show better. Got an idea for a story you want us to cover in a future e…
Ever wish you could settle--once and for all--the question of whether triangular-shaped pizzas are better than square-shaped pies? The Court of Historical Review in San Francisco once decided pressing cases on pop culture, sports controversies, and of course, food. Where was the fortune cookie created? Does the San Francisco bagel live up to its ri…
What does it mean to be a dapperqueer homesteader? Author M Shelly Conner explores this question as she recounts her move from the city life in Chicago, Illinois to Conway, Arkansas, where she begins her journey of living off the land. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-…
Host Kevin Pang takes a trip to the Southside of Chicago to tell the story of Chicago's most famous culinary exports--and it's not about deep-dish pizza or hot dogs. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Ever wish you could spend the day immersed in the fantasy worlds from your book, show, or game? Meet the characters, travel the land - or if you’re like most of us at Proof - eat the food? From the Legend of Zelda to Dungeons and Dragons, reporter Sarah Vitak talks to the fan cookbook authors who are transforming pixelated foods into irl dishes you…
Leafcutter ants have been a traditional Colombian food for millennia, long predating Spanish colonization. But the ants, eaten by Colombians since the indigenous Guane peoples inhabited the area of Santander, are now in peril. What does the future hold for this ancient food source? Reporter Camilo Garzón reports. See Privacy Policy at https://art19…
As one of the most commonly consumed berries in the world, strawberries are a beloved household snack. But this soft, sweet fruit has a rocky history. From immigration to incarceration, Japanese Americans are integral to the California Strawberry origin story. Through three generations of Japanese strawberry farmers, reporter Hannah Kirshner brings…
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D&D's 'Radiant Citadel' changes the game for BIPOC players
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Podcast: Soundside (LS 30 · TOP 5% what is this?) Episode: D&D's 'Radiant Citadel' changes the game for BIPOC players Pub date: 2022-07-18 If you’re a fan of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, then you know that the fantasy tabletop-role playing game Dungeons & Dragons has come roaring back into the mainstream in the past few years… But for most…
This season, we’re bringing you food stories from all over--from South America to the South Side of Chicago. We travel to Colombia to find out why leaf cutter ants–a common snack in the country–are disappearing. We drive around Chicago in search for one of the city's most famous culinary exports (and no, it's not deep-dish pizza or hot dogs). And w…
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As New Variant Surges, Officials Warn More Will Follow Without Global Vax Effort
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Podcast: Consider This from NPR (LS 66 · TOP 0.05% what is this?) Episode: As New Variant Surges, Officials Warn More Will Follow Without Global Vax Effort Pub date: 2022-07-12 A new omicron subvariant is now the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. It's called BA.5 — and it appears to evade neutralizing antibodies, making it easier for ful…
Podcast: Revisionist History (LS 87 · TOP 0.01% what is this?) Episode: The Satire Paradox Pub date: 2016-08-18 In the political turmoil of mid-1990s Britain, a brilliant young comic named Harry Enfield set out to satirize the ideology and politics of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His parodies became famous. He wrote and performed a vicious sen…
This week, we're bringing you a collection of some of our favorite Proof episodes. Our friends at Hark Audio curated this list so you can relive or be introduced to some of the best moments from our feed. Hark editors pick and choose these compelling podcast moments and transform them into one-of-a-kind playlists--kind of like creating a special mi…
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[Bonus] New Orleans: Anybody’s Gumbo from the Not Lost podcast
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Here’s a special preview of Not Lost, a new podcast about finding yourself in places you’ve never been from our friends at Pushkin Industries! Host Brendan Francis Newnam takes us around the world, learning about new places by getting invited to a stranger’s house for dinner. From Montréal to Mexico City, Brendan and his guests drink, dance, and ea…
For the season finale, we're bringing you three short stories on the theme: One person's trash is another person's treasure. Reporter Stephen Calabria digs into the story of a famous half-eaten piece of toast, ATK assistant editor Eden Faithful goes dumpster diving, and reporter Eliza Rothstein traces the life cycle of a pastry that turns into a sp…
Baskets of bok choy, galangal, collard greens, epazote. We often take these United Nations of produce for granted, but it’s the deliberate work of farmers cultivating heritage seeds that ignites the growing diversity of fruits, grains, and vegetables. In this episode, reporter Jean Trinh chronicles the lives of three farmers who have made it their …
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173 - Betty Reid Soskin, Celebrating the 100th Birthday of the Oldest Park Ranger in America
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Podcast: The Kitchen Sisters Present (LS 59 · TOP 0.1% what is this?) Episode: 173 - Betty Reid Soskin, Celebrating the 100th Birthday of the Oldest Park Ranger in America Pub date: 2021-09-21 Betty Reid Soskin, the nation's oldest serving Park Ranger, works at the Rosie the Riveter Home Front World War II National Historical Park in Richmond, CA. …
The McDonald’s vegan cheese slice. Botanical flavors for your next latte. A patent to cure meats with...celery juice. Many of the next it-food innovations are engineered by a company you’ve probably never heard of but touches almost food product you know: The Kerry Group. Reporter John Ringer goes behind the scenes at this food factory and lab, as …
Black Americans have deep historical connections and ownership over vegan and plant-based cuisines. But after the Great Migration, many left farms and the Jim Crow South to cities where urbanization and the advent of fast food changed the landscape of accessibility to fresh foods. In this episode of Proof, writer Gabrielle Lawrence-Cormier reconnec…
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Build Back Never: What the Hell Happened to Biden's Agenda?
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Podcast: Bloc Party (LS 41 · TOP 1.5% what is this?) Episode: Build Back Never: What the Hell Happened to Biden's Agenda? Pub date: 2022-05-17 Group Chat is back with Guido, Amira, and returning guest Mary Small (National Legislative Director of Indivisible) to process what f*** happened with President Biden’s Build Back Better bill. When did Build…
Many of us have family recipes that have been passed down for generations. For reporter Anh Gray, it's her late mother's piping hot bowl of beef pho. But what do we do when we need to amend these recipes? Is something lost when we make substitutions, or can we iterate and build upon that which is sacred? Anh dives in. Thanks to our sponsor, Naked L…
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You're Invited: A Wine Tasting in Ancient Japan
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Who were some of the first people ever to make wine? Images of ancient people of the Caucasus or France might come to mind. But what if we told you that wine was being made in ancient Japan, around the same time--or even earlier--than it was in the Caucuses? And even before sake was being made in Japan? Reporter Hannah Kirshner investigates. You ca…
Welcome to Bear Grass, North Carolina, where moonshine, tobacco, and bootlegging were once king. Today, a storied dish called chicken mull is a staple of the town's identity and for years, Bear Grass held an annual chicken mull-making contest to see who made the best mull. What happens though, when this humble dish almost tears the small, close-kni…
Black walnuts are probably nature's toughest nut to crack. But one man--television producer and newbie farmer Mike Trinklein--is determined to prove that it's a crop worth farming for. In this episode of Proof, Mike walks us through the history and benefits of these nuts, and shares his own scheme to get rich...slow off the land. See Privacy Policy…
Proof from America's Test Kitchen returns Thursday, April 21st! We kick off Season 10 by traveling to the midwest in search of a tough-to-crack crop. We ask: Who has the right to tweak a national dish? We also try to solve the mystery of The Beatles' George Harrison's piece of toast. All that, and much more on the new season of Proof! See Privacy P…
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Ross Meets Cory Doctorow: Bringing Back Luddites Edition
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Podcast: Oh No, Ross and Carrie (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?) Episode: Ross Meets Cory Doctorow: Bringing Back Luddites Edition Pub date: 2022-02-14 Ross speaks with Cory Doctorow, technology activist and author of How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism, about 5G and fiber, the real conspiracies that the anti-5G crowd is missing, and a host of …
Muhidin Libah was living in Syracuse, New York when he received a call from a Somali Bantu community in Maine. They wanted his help setting up a non-profit organization that would run a farm aimed to serve the growing Somali Bantu émigré community in the Pine Tree State. As Muhidin answered the call, he wondered whether they should stick to setting…
What does it look like when you uproot yourself from a familiar culinary place to an unknown city? The Moth performer and writer Aaron Pang dives in with this audio diary that chronicles his move from San Francisco to Iowa City. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my…
One day in 2012, Proof host Kevin Pang received an email from his father, urging Kevin to watch a video on YouTube that he'd just sent. Reluctantly, Kevin opened it to discover that somehow, his retired father had created a YouTube cooking channel that had nearly a million views. This would kick off a series of events that would forever change Kevi…
Around the world and throughout history, we’ve celebrated the departed with rituals that involve food. Pharaohs were buried with feasts. We pour out drinks in honor of fallen friends and family. But the precision and thought that Zoroastrian priest Marziban Hathiram puts into preparing meals for the departed is in a league of its own. Author Varud …
Charlotte Gill was anguished by the way the lobsters at her lobster pound died a slow death in vats of boiling water. ‘There must be another way,’ she thought. ‘How about getting them high?’ In this episode of Proof, science reporter Sarah Vitak tracks Gill’s quest, invokes David Foster Wallace, and considers the lobster. See Privacy Policy at http…
Jewish delis are a staple of many American cities and neighborhoods. But even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the restaurant industry, Jewish delis were already on the decline. In 1931, there were an estimated 2,000 delis in the Big Apple. Today--almost a century later--there’s fewer than a few dozen. So what accounts of this deli decline? …
We kick off the new season by asking: Why are Jewish delis disappearing? We consider the lobster, and the most humane way to treat them before we eat them. We look at literal soul food--food that's served to the departed, and you'll hear a story from host Kevin Pang about how his dad became an unlikely YouTube cooking star. All that, and much more …
Today we have a special episode from our friends over at Mystery Recipe, a podcast from America's Test Kitchen Kids for young chefs ages 4-10. This episode features Proof host Kevin Pang! If you like Mystery Recipe, you can find their fourth season anywhere you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privac…
Old Bay Seasoning is a hallmark of mid-Atlantic food culture. The yellow and red branding has stood the test of time, and remained unshakably present in grocery stores across the country. It's sprinkled on seafood, fries, and even used in ice cream. But despite its renowned fame and recognition, very few people actually know the man behind this ico…
