Sheila Dillon investigates what we can learn about food and public health from the extreme case of Nauru. It’s the world’s smallest republic yet has the highest rate of obesity.

In the dark nights of January, celebrating the work of poet Robert Burns by feasting, toasting and speaking poetry has become a much-loved tradition in Scotland and around the world. Sheila Dillon joins Scottish-Malaysian chef Julie Lin in Glasgow as she hosts friends for Burns Night 2024 to share food and ways of celebrating. She also visits the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow to hear more about Rabbie Burns himself. Who was he? And where do the Burns' food traditions come from? After hearing Burns' famous 'address to a haggis', we call in on the recently-crowned world's best haggis maker, Simon Broadribb, at his butcher's shop in Southampton, to see his award-winning recipe in action. Time for a wee dram? Finally, we hear from whisky expert and 'Master of the Quaich' Ann Miller on what to drink alongside your Burns supper, and discover Burns' own links with the whisky industry. Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Jaega Wise is on a mission to find out what she should really be eating while pregnant - from conception to birth. Presented by Jaega Wise Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan

Seaweed farming could be a huge boon for the UK, restoring biodiversity, cleaning the sea and could even be capturing carbon. Seaweed is healthy and delicious but UK grown seaweed has a very low profile with only a handful of farms across the country and few people eating it. In this programme Leyla Kazim finds out why this is and what a future focused on seaweed could look like.She talks to Vincent Doumeizel author of The Seaweed Revolution who believes seaweed is an answer to many of the crises we face as a species. In St Austell bay, Cornwall she meets Tim van Berkel from the Cornish Seaweed Company and sees one of the few seaweed farms in the UK. What is the current state of Seaweed farming? We hear from Elisa Capuzzo CEFAS. Leyla meets Douglas McMaster at his restaurant Silo to talk about seaweed as an ingredient. She also talks to Olly Hicks, adventurer and seaweed farmer who has a licence for a huge seaweed in Devon but is currently selling the seaweed for use in agriculture.Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sam Grist

Join Leyla Kazim for a tour of New Year’s Eve food traditions around the world, from eating lentils in Italy, scoffing 12 grapes in Spain, slurping soba noodles in Japan and Kransekage in Denmark and Norway.We hear from food writer, Rachel Roddy; owner of Japanese Cookery School Hashi Cooking, Reiko Hashimoto; Spanish chef, Omar Allibhoy; co-founder of ScandiKitchen, Brontë Aurell; and author of National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home, Anya Von Bremzen. Presented by Leyla Kazim and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Cooking at Christmas is so much more than just the main meal, so this year Sheila Dillon, and chef Thomasina Miers, show us how to do more with less. Sheila Dillon joins chef Thomasina Miers in her kitchen who shows her why she thinks some of the most delightful meals at Christmas are made with the leftovers, and she shares her family tradition for doctoring mince pies, to make a much more extravagant treat. Plus the pair connect with friends whose lives this Christmas feel far from normal, to hear how tradition and food can bring joy, even in the most strained situations. Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Jaega Wise reflects on her findings and a few surprising moments during the making of this week's rum programme, with producer Nina Pullman.

A refreshing mojito? Rum punch? Maybe just a simple rum and coke? Many of us might think no further about rum than how to mix it within a drink. But it actually has a unique story within our history through its links with slavery and the navy, where it was used as a currency and became an integral part of the maritime trade in people and sugar. Fast forward to today, and the popularity of rum is still rising. But amid the flavours, brands and a vast range of rum-based drinks, there is very little information about how it’s made and where it comes from. In this episode, Jaega Wise visits two British rum producers making it in very different ways. One, Goldstone Rum, is the latest addition to a new group of distillers making rum from scratch in the UK. The other, the BBC Food and Farming Award-winning Isle of Wight Distillery, is part of a long tradition of blending and spicing rum made in the Caribbean. But while rum has a sociable, sunny image thanks to its Caribbean heritage, not many people want to talk about its darker history and how it was once used as currency to buy enslaved Africans, who in turn worked on the sugar plantations that were the source of rum itself. Who better to hear about the history and culture of rum than global rum ambassador Ian Burrell, who meets Jaega at RumFest to explain more about its origins, the rum scene in the UK and mix a cocktail or two. Throughout this journey of rum, Dr Christy Pichichero, professor of history and expert in Black studies at George Mason University, explains why understanding the true story of rum is an important part of our shared history, and what it means to rum makers and drinkers today.Presented by Jaega Wise. Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Dan Buettner believes that "when a ritual lasts for hundreds or thousands of years, like prayer before a meal, it serves some purpose". Dan is the best-selling author of and founder of The Blue Zones; five parts of the world where people tend to live much longer and healthier lives, many into their hundreds. In this programme, Leyla Kazim finds out more about the culinary aspects of his research, discovering what is eaten in the Blue Zones, what isn't being eaten, and some of the practices that exist around meal times. She also meets two academics whose work focuses on how to help people living in the UK live longer and more healthily. Liz Williams from the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield explains that although the current life expectancy for people in the UK is just over 81 years - our average 'healthy life' expectancy is much lower, at around 63. Dr Oliver Shannon from The University of Newcastle explains how some of the Blue Zones observational findings are consistent with research they have been doing into the impact of the Mediterranean diet on brain health. The promise of a long healthy life is all well and good - but as we know the reality of diets is that they are impossibly hard to keep to. So could choosing to make a 'lifestyle' change be any easier to stick with? Leyla hears from Jean Newton who in her 70s has done just that. Presented by Leyla Kazim Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol.

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.