In this engaging discussion, food researcher Dan Saladino takes us on a journey through a unique library in Belgium that showcases sourdough starters from around the globe. He highlights the fascinating microbial relationships that influence sourdough's flavor and health benefits. Saladino shares personal stories connecting sourdough to cultural history and communal baking, as well as its recent renaissance in the culinary world. Dive into the rich biodiversity of ingredients that not only elevate baking but also promote environmental sustainability and public health.

Professor James Dale, a leading geneticist at Queensland University of Technology, shares insights on genetically modified bananas designed to fight Panama disease. Fernando Garcia Bastidas, head of the Yellow Whey Banana Breeding Program, discusses traditional breeding methods and their role in developing resistant banana varieties. BBC journalist Dan Saladino highlights the biodiversity of over 1,500 banana types, stressing the risks of monoculture. Together, they emphasize the urgent need for innovative solutions to safeguard this essential fruit against extinction.

Sheila Dillon, Leyla Kazim, and Dan Saladino choose their favorite food books of 2023, discuss the rise of Korean cuisine, and explore the changing landscape of cookbooks. They also debate the impact of TikTok on recipe books and discuss the significance of food books in the digital era.

Food is the best medicine, believes genetics expert Tim Spector, but most of the dietary advice that we are given is wrong, he claims. In his latest bestselling book, Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We’ve Been Told About Food Is Wrong, he argues that the most dangerous myth of all about food is the assumption that we all respond to the same foods in the same way and the food industry's oversimplified approach to diet. For this discussion, Tim is joined by Dan Saladino, the award-winning food writer and broadcaster. Dan's new book, Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them, is a love letter to the world’s great food traditions and a wake-up call to protect the planet’s genetic biodiversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vox's Benji Jones talks with food journalist and author Dan Saladino, whose new book Eating to Extinction documents rare foods and food cultures from around the world, showing how they are being affected by climate change, globalization, and industrial agricultural practices. Dan shares many incredible stories from his travels and reporting, including the last known garden growing a unique soybean, a 16-foot high corn that produces its own fertilizer, and a complex symbiosis between man, bird, and bee in remote Tanzania.Host: Benji Jones (@BenjiSJones), Environmental reporter, VoxGuest: Dan Saladino (@DanSaladinoUK), food journalist & authorReferences:  Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them by Dan Saladino (FSG; 2022) The Food Programme (BBC Radio 4; also on Apple Podcasts) The Ark of Taste (Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity) "The Corn of the Future Is Hundreds of Years Old and Makes Its Own Mucus" by Jason Daley (Smithsonian; Aug. 10, 2018) Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcastsThis episode was made by:  Producer: Erikk Geannikis Editor: Amy Drozdowska Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices