You want me to eat what?! An examination of disgust

Okay, this show comes with a trigger warning.

We talk about things people eat, and some of those things are not for the squeamish.

This hour, a look at disgust — and, specifically, how our reflexive disgust response may get in the way of things we probably need to think about doing.

During the next century, the human race probably needs to eat more insects. And we’ll almost definitely need to convert sewage water into drinking water. A lot of people are not going to want to do that. Around the world, there are people eating things like eggs cooked in the urine of virginal boys. One of our guests made cheese from bacteria taken from human toes, noses, and armpits.

That may sicken you, but it won’t make you sick.

GUESTS:

• Christina Agapakis: Microbiologist, writer, artist, founding editor of Method Quarterly, and creative director at Ginkgo Bioworks
• Bun Lai: James Beard Award-nominated chef
• Paul Rozin: Professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Chion Wolf, and Alan Yu contributed to this show, which originally aired January 7, 2016.

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