Loosen your belts and tuck a napkin under your chin because feasting season is almost here. Katherine Spiers -- journalist, food anthropologist, editor of HowtoEatLA.com and host of the culinary history podcast Smart Mouth -- lets Alie belly up for a buffet of questions about winter gatherings, Thanksgiving myths, green bean casseroles, the hazards of deep frying, holy eels and more.

Follow Katherine Spiers on Instagram and Bluesky

Check out her food review site HowToEatLA.com and podcast network TableCakes Productions

A donation went to: Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Food Anthropology episode + tons of science links

More kid-friendly Smologies episodes!

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow @AlieWard on Instagram and TikTok

Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of Mind Jam Media and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Jacob Chaffee, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White and Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm

Coleman Hughes: Ta-Nehisi Coates is a coward on Israel