Being an Ugly American, the subtle nuances of “Thailand was never colonized,” and Laotian food on the upswing in this talk about the ultimate hug in a bowl. Plus guest Shalewa Sharpe's unusual experiences in retail. This episode brought to you by Lobster Gram. Go to https://www.lobstergram.com/smartmouth & use promocode SMARTMOUTHTHANKS to take 20% off all products. Join Katherine on Instagram Live on Thursday, October 31 at 4pm Pacific Time to talk about the episode and other food history stuff: www.instagram.com/smartmouthpodcast/ Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or any podcast app so you never miss an episode! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smart-mouth/id1171755407 Sources: https://amzn.to/2PuFU2h https://amzn.to/2Ps3WLc https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB86728174163740500 https://web.archive.org/web/20070303000031/http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/online_exhibit/odetoFriendship/html/Introduction/index.htm http://gayinfluence.blogspot.com/2013/06/king-vajiravudh-rama-vi-of-siam.html https://www.newhistorian.com/2019/01/08/how-did-siam-thailand-avoid-european-colonization/ https://feastthailand.com/food/food-culture/chinese-influence/