Once a month, Melody and I pick an episode of the Culture Study pod to share with newsletter readers. This week's episode, as I note below, is the podcast version of a "just trust me." Lilah Raptopoulos joins me to talk about recipe culture, about how recipes get passed down (or gatekept), about old church cookbooks and plastic binders full of recipes torn from cooking magazine.....and about how we can possibly even begin to organize recipes now. If you like what you hear today, remember that Culture Study newsletter subscribers get a major discount on a subscription to the pod! Read on for details, and thank you so much for your support!
This episode is the Culture Study Podcast’s version of a Just Trust Me. It’s difficult to describe exactly WHY it’s so good, just that after we finished recording (with Lilah Raptopoulos, host of the podcast Life and Art) Melody and I both immediately texted each other with: SO GOOD!!! The episode is ostensibly about figuring out how to cook in the world of infinite recipes, but it’s also about how we pass down recipes (or gatekeep them), recipes as a form of memory making (and retrieval), recipes as heritage… capped off with some practical advice about how to organize the recipes you do have (and how to ascertain if a recipe is “good”).
I can’t wait for you to listen, and if you don’t think you’re a person that invested or interested in recipes: just trust me.
My grandma’s recipe for Banana Cookies (which is actually quite excellent)
We’re so grateful for all of you who’ve helped us make the podcast a reality through your monthly and yearly subscriptions. We love being able to take this show wherever we want, and we’re able to do that because we’re truly independent — and don’t have to read any weird ads for women’s supplements!
Right now, we’ve made enough through subscriptions to pay Melody through EARLY NOVEMBER (!) but without more… we can’t keep making the show. (And if you’re already a Culture Study newsletter subscriber, you get a screaming deal, but you have to click there to use it; it is *not* applied automatically).
And if you’d like to add the subscriber-only podcast to your podcast app, here’s how. Also, you can now access the subscriber-only feed in Spotify!!! Go here to set it up.
Show Notes:
Follow Lilah on Instagram and listen to Life and Art here (it’s so good!!!)
A lot of Culture Study readers swear by the Paprika app for recipe organization (I cannot vouch for it but maybe this is the day I actually try it out)
We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
SAPPHIC POP, SO HOT RIGHT NOW (especially want to talk about Chappell Roan but we can go in so many directions)
Women’s sports— our societal thinking on gender and athleticism, broadly conceived
How we talk and think about cancer
How do people access/consume celebrity gossip these days
Midwest [Dad] Masculinity
WTF is going on with [insert clothing brand/website] here
Gwyneth? The new Brad Pitt / George Clooney movie?
We’re definitely doing a Paul Mescal episode but I’d love your ideas about who should be my co-host
Still want to do a Sydney Sweeney and Gen-Z Stardom ep!!!!!
Why does it feel like thrifting sucks now
Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment
You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (this is the subscriber-only form!)
For today’s discussion: What recipes does your family pass down or gatekeep — and how do you think about recipe organization (and preservation)?
