Best PIPE LAYER Podcasts (2025)

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An Orthodox Jewish Congregation Keeps on (Food) Truckin' in Birmingham 23:34

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3d ago23:34

23:34

In “An Orthodox Jewish Congregation Keeps on (Food) Truckin' in Birmingham,” Gravy producer Margaret Weinberg Norman documents the story of JJ’s Sandwich Shop, a glatt kosher deli on wheels operated by the oldest Orthodox Jewish congregation in Birmingham, Alabama. In the Magic City, food trucks are familiar, but both kosher restaurants and authent…

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Southern Cooking Comes to Portugal 25:39

14d ago25:39

25:39

In “Southern Cooking Comes to Portugal,” Gravy producer Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong takes listeners to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, which anchors the northern region. Porto is famous for its wine and its hearty francesinha sandwiches. But this city of a quarter million people has a food scene whose depth might surprise you. Porto runs the …

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We Sure Eat Good When Someone Dies 23:29

1M ago23:29

23:29

In “We Sure Eat Good When Someone Dies,” Gravy producer Caleb Johnson takes listeners back to August 2024, when his extended family gathered inside a Baptist church in Arley, Alabama, to mourn the loss of their matriarch—his grandmother, Celia Sampley. Before the funeral service, the church served lunch for the family, including chicken and dumplin…

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Virginia Public Schools Serve Indigenous Cuisine 27:32

2M ago27:32

27:32

In “Virginia Public Schools Serve Indigenous Cuisine,” Gravy producer Anya Groner takes listeners to the second annual Indigenous PeoplesFeast at the College of William & Mary. The evening’s menu showcasesindigenous food–foraged wild rice, duck confit, acorn grits, and a four-cornstew. But these dishes aren’t just for enjoying tonight. With the hel…

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Culinary Characters Unlocked: Marisa Baggett 39:18

2M ago39:18

39:18

This week, Gravy is excited to share a special episode from a show we think you’ll love: Culinary Characters Unlocked. Hosted by David Page, the creator of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, the show highlights bold food makers whose stories might surprise you. In this episode, we meet chef Marisa Baggett, a Black, Jewish, female sushi chef whose journey…

1
Planting it Forward in Houston 24:47

2M ago24:47

24:47

While immigration is at the forefront of today’s news cycle,it’s hardly a new issue in Southeast Texas. Since the 1800s, Galveston has been a major port of entry for foreign newcomers. That pattern continues today up Highway 45 in Houston, which ranks among America’s largest destinations for refugee resettlement. While Harris County has many resour…

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What's Brewing in Memphis? 17:14

2M ago17:14

17:14

In “What's Brewing in Memphis?” Gravy producer and reporterBrandi Hunter takes listeners to Memphis to explore what it takes to build acraft beer brand in an industry where less than one percent of breweries areBlack-owned, and systemic barriers continue to limit growth. Kelvin Kolheim, founder of Beale Street Brewing Company, isat the center of th…

1
There’s No Business Like Hansen’s Sno Bliz-ness 22:52

3M ago22:52

22:52

In “There’s No Business Like Hansen’s Sno Bliz-ness,” Gravy producer Eve Troeh takes us to New Orleans, home of the sno-ball. In the South you need strategies to beat the summer heat, and ice plays a big role. Street vendors used to shave big blocks of ice by hand and add flavored syrup—a treat that became known as a sno-ball in the Big Easy. In th…

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From Stuckey's to Buc-ee's 26:16

3M ago26:16

26:16

Few companies have inspired more fanatical devotion among Texans than the convenience chain Buc-ee’s. Described by the New York Times as both a “Disneyland of roadside capitalism” and the “through line of America’s second most sprawling state,” its iconic, buck-toothed beaver mascot has been spotted not just on billboards, but on wedding cakes and …

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Oh, Snapper! Mislabeled Mississippi Seafood 27:54

4M ago27:54

27:54

In “Oh, Snapper! Mislabeled Mississippi Seafood,” Gravy producer Boyce Upholt takes listeners to Biloxi, Mississippi—a town that haslong called itself the Seafood Capital of the World. But in May 2024, shocking news hit the community: Mary Mahoney's Old French House, an iconic restaurant, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to misbrand fish and wire fraud…

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Buzzkill: Save which bees? 33:19

4M ago33:19

33:19

Gravy podcast is excited to share a special episode of a new podcast called Buzzkill, from our friends at FERN, the Food and Environmental Reporting Network. Buzzkill explores the dramatic decline of pollinators, including the American bumblebee, whose numbers have plummeted by 90% in just two decades. The series, hosted by Teresa Cotsilos, delves …

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The Southern Genius of the Cuban Sandwich 25:54

5M ago25:54

25:54

The Cuban sandwich. If it’s made with ingredients different from someone else’s recipe, you might find yourself in an hours-long argument in the middle of Little Havana. In Miami and Tampa, Florida, restaurant owners, historians, and Cuban Americans recount their own memories of the Cuban sandwich, as well as the story of its origins. In this episo…

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A Muddy Future for Louisiana Crawfish 22:17

5M ago22:17

22:17

In “A Muddy Future for Louisiana Crawfish,” Gravy producer Eva Tesfaye traces the aftermath of the summer of 2023, when a severe drought in Louisiana devastated the 2024 crawfish season. The dry soil and extreme heat killed the crawfish while they were still burrowed underground, meaning when farmers flooded their fields in the fall, they found the…

1
Fruitcake in Space 28:48

6M ago28:48

28:48

In “Fruitcake in Space,” Gravy producer Bronwen Wyatt explores a bizarre footnote in the annals of human space travel. In 1968, a scientist at a military research facility developed a very unusual recipe: a nutritionally-fortified fruitcake designed as an emergency ration for astronauts. It might be easy to dismiss this fruitcake, but we’re here to…

1
Got (Raw) Milk? The Small Family Dairy Farms Behind a Big Controversy 30:29

6M ago30:29

30:29

In “Got (Raw) Milk? The Small Family Dairy Farms Behind a Big Controversy,” Gravy producer Bianca Garcia takes listeners to Milky Way Farm, the last dairy in Anderson County, South Carolina, where raw milk sales are keeping the Peeler family afloat. Their neighbors have succumbed to the pressures that have defined a generation of farmers. Between 2…

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What’s in Store for the Pawpaw Patch? 28:04

7M ago28:04

28:04

In “What’s in Store for the Pawpaw Patch?” Gravy producer Anya Groner examines the pawpaw, a long-overlooked fruit that’s now being domesticated, making its way into farmers’ markets, restaurants, and even beer. What plant has leaves that smell like green pepper, fruit that can taste like pineapple or turpentine, and bark that can be woven into bas…

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Flambéed! The Art & Theater of Bananas Foster 21:55

7M ago21:55

21:55

In “Flambéed! The Art & Theater of Bananas Foster,” Gravy producer Eve Troeh takes listeners to Brennan’s, the iconic restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where skilled servers pull off one sensational culinary feat, table after table and day after day—Bananas Foster, flambéed tableside. Brennan’s opened its doors more than seventy years ago,…

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Conch: Queen of the Florida Keys 28:00

8M ago28:00

28:00

In “Conch: Queen of the Florida Keys,” Gravy producer Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong takes listeners to the Keys, where queen conch is plastered across menus: conch fritters, conch salad, even conch chowder. The shells are a visual icon in Key West, even gracing its (semi-joking) flag as a sovereign nation: The Conch Republic. Which is fascinating… because …

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South Asian Food Makes Northwest Arkansas Taste Like Home 23:45

8M ago23:45

23:45

In “South Asian Food Makes Northwest Arkansas Taste Like Home,” Gravy producer Mackenzie Martin heads back to Northwest Arkansas (NWA), where Walmart began, to look at the retail giant’s influence on the region’s demographics and culinary landscape—specifically, spurring a boom of South Asian restaurants and food shops. Walmart is seen by some as t…

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Cultivating Mexico in Northwest Arkansas 27:37

9M ago27:37

27:37

In “Cultivating Mexico in Northwest Arkansas,” Gravy producer Mackenzie Martin digs into the story of Yeyo’s, a vibrant family-run Mexican restaurant in Northwest Arkansas. Here, the once-rural Ozarks are now one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. That’s partly thanks to major employers like Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hun…

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A Pea for the Past, a Pea for the Future 26:12

9M ago26:12

26:12

The black-eyed pea is not your average bean. Like many staple foods of the African Diaspora, it’s become a powerful symbol of food sovereignty and survival. With the migration of the black-eyed pea from West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade came a superstition about good luck. This belief combines folklore from West Africa and Western Eu…

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What Makes Gumbo...Gumbo? 25:43

9M ago25:43

25:43

In “What Makes Gumbo...Gumbo?” Gravy producer Katie Carter King takes us all the way to Northern California to understand what folklorist John Lauden meant when he said, “Gumbo is not a word, it’s a syntax, a way of putting something together.” Cooks and culinarians have long argued about gumbo. Is it Creole or Cajun in its roots and history? Is it…

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The Joyful Black History of the Sweet Potato 29:32

10M ago29:32

29:32

In “The Joyful Black History of the Sweet Potato,” Kayla Stewart reports for Gravy on sweet potatoes, which Southern-born Black Americans have baked, roasted, fried, distilled—and long revered. Stewart takes listeners across the United States to learn how African Americans are finding new, interesting ways to enjoy sweet potatoes. Harvey and Donna …

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Eating at the End of the World 25:33

10M ago25:33

25:33

In “Eating at the End of the World,” Gravy producer Katie Jane Fernelius takes a close look at the culture of disaster prep, especially how people eat when disaster strikes. As it turns out, how people provision for disaster can differ wildly from how they actually feed themselves, and each other, once a storm blows through. After living without po…

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Where There's (Southern) Smoke, There's Help for Restaurant Workers 26:13

11M ago26:13

26:13

In “Where There's (Southern) Smoke, There's Help for Restaurant Workers,” Gravy producer Evan Stern introduces listeners to the Southern Smoke Foundation, a relief organization dedicated to providing a safety net for food and beverage workers. As the pandemic reminded us, restaurants aren’t just places where people go to satisfy hunger. The best on…

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Catch of the Day: Why Alabama Loves Red Snapper 26:18

11M ago26:18

26:18

In the episode “Catch of the Day: Why Alabama Loves Red Snapper,” Gravy producer Irina Zhorov takes listeners to the fisherman’s paradise of the Gulf of Mexico, where you’ll find tuna, amberjacks, mahi mahi, swordfish, and more. There’s a commercial fishery worth nearly $1 billion annually and the Gulf has the highest level of spending by recreatio…

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The Deli Diaspora 25:52

12M ago25:52

25:52

Order a hot pastrami on rye at any delicatessen and you’ll taste the briny terroir of the Jewish Diaspora. Pastrami is an iconic cured meat that migrated with Eastern European Jews to America and became synonymous with the deli, a beloved third place for Jewish communities across the country. In Jackson, Mississippi, that place was the Olde Tyme De…

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America's Lost Peanut and the Price of Bringing it Back 28:45

1y ago28:45

28:45

In “America’s Lost Peanut and the Price of Bringing it Back,” Gravy producer Otis Gray takes listeners on a journey through the history and revival of the Carolina African Runner Peanut, an heirloom crop thought to be extinct until 2013. Today, a contingency of heirloom enthusiasts and chefs are trying to bring the historic peanut back into the spo…

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Apalachicola Oysters and the Battle for a Florida Bay 28:32

1y ago28:32

28:32

In “Apalachicola Oysters and the Battle for a Florida Bay,” Gravy producer Betsy Wallace takes listeners to Franklin County, Florida to find out if a new tourist development could be the biggest threat to a decades-long, $30 million investment in the Apalachicola Bay Oyster Fishery Restoration. Franklin County is tucked into Florida’s Forgotten Coa…

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The Kitchen Electric: Selling Power to Rural America 24:32

1y ago24:32

24:32

When we think of the industrialization of America and the rise of electricity, we’re printed to think about people in cities and factories, where machines and assembly lines abound. We think of Charlie Chaplin tangled up in conveyor belts and cogs in the movie Modern Times. We think of electric motors, coal mining, steam engines. But electricity tr…

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Bala’s Bistro: Where Mali Meets Memphis 25:10

1y ago25:10

25:10

In “Bala’s Bistro: Where Mali Meets Memphis,” Gravy producers Marie Cascione and Joshua Carlucci profile Malian chefs, cousins, and business partners Bala Tounkara and Mady Magassa. Their story takes us from West Africa to the casinos of Tunica, Mississippi, and finally to South Memphis, where their restaurant, Bala’s Bistro, has become an emblem o…

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Minnie Bell’s Feeds the Fillmore’s Soul 20:27

1y ago20:27

20:27

In “Minnie Bell’s Feeds the Fillmore’s Soul,” Gravy producer Sarah Jessee takes listeners to the spring 2024 opening of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, where chef Fernay McPherson—and her food—have come home. McPherson’s family came to the Fillmore from Texas in the 1960s, as part of the Second Great Migration that…

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Reel It In: Building Local Markets for Fresh Fish 25:25

1y ago25:25

25:25

In “Reel It In: Building Local Markets for Fresh Fish" Gravy producer Irina Zhorov looks for fresh fish in shops along the Gulf of Mexico, where it should be plentiful but can be surprisingly difficult to find. Between 80 to 90% of seafood in the U.S. is imported, despite the country’s generous coasts and well-managed fisheries. Even in seaside com…

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Ironies and Onion Rings: The Layered Story of the Vidalia Onion 31:04

1y ago31:04

31:04

If you know and love the Vidalia onion—an onion sweet enough, its fans say, to eat like an apple—you likely also know it as a product of Georgia, as proudly claimed as the peach. But the story of the Vidalia’s popularity is far more complex than just one of a local onion made good. In this episode of Gravy: an onion’s success story, born of clever …

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Gravy Recommends the Podcast Sea Change 33:37

1+ y ago33:37

33:37

If you're looking for a taste of something new (and Southern) in your podcast playlist, then you should really check out Sea Change, produced by our friends over at WWNO New Orleans Public Radio and distributed by PRX. Nominated for “Best Green” Podcast at the 2024 iHeart Podcast Awards, Sea Change brings you stories that illuminate, inspire, and s…

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Flambéed! The Art & Theater of Bananas Foster 22:23

1+ y ago22:23

22:23

In “Flambéed! The Art & Theater of Banana’s Foster” Gravy producer Eve Troeh takes listeners to Brennan’s, the iconic restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where skilled servers pull off one sensational culinary feat, table after table and day after day—Bananas Foster, flambéed tableside. Brennan’s opened its doors more than seventy years ago,…

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How Mi Tierra Shaped Modern San Antonio 26:49

1+ y ago26:49

26:49

In 2017, San Antonio, Texas, was officially designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. One of only two American cities to receive this distinction, its culinary history spans centuries. It claims a dining scene flush with James Beard nominated chefs, old-world German delicatessens, and farm-to-table restaurants that source game and beef from …

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The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pitmaster Ed Mitcehll 26:31

1+ y ago26:31

26:31

Ed Mitchell’s name has come to be synonymous with Eastern North Carolina wood-smoked whole-hog barbecue. From Wilson, North Carolina, he grew up smoking hogs and has tried to continue that tradition, using old techniques and traditionally farm-raised pigs. But almost since the start, Ed Mitchell’s barbeque journey has not been a straight line—busin…

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Wherefore art thou, ROMEO? At Jack’s! 27:38

1+ y ago27:38

27:38

In “Wherefore art thou, ROMEO? At Jack’s!" Gravy producer Irina Zhorov takes listeners to a busy fast food restaurant in Jasper, Alabama, to sit at a round table with a group of friends who meet there daily. The group, who call themselves ROMEO—Retired Old Men Eating Out—are a fixture at this restaurant. Over coffee and biscuits they share stories,…

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How Pineywoods Cattle Bucks Big Beef 23:34

1+ y ago23:34

23:34

In “How Pineywoods Cattle Bucks Big Beef,” Gravy producer Stephanie Burt takes listeners out to the rolling pastures of the South to meet Pineywoods cattle, a breed that’s been grazing in the Southern region of the United States since the 1500s. The cow that some see as old fashioned is being considered in new ways when it comes to farming in the t…

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#4 - Swish His D*ck 2:01:12

1+ y ago2:01:12

2:01:12

The guys are back after a three month hiatus to bring more stories from work, meat diets, movies with J-Town and more!By PIPE LAYER

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Unshelled: George Washington Carver's Real Legacy 25:56

1+ y ago25:56

25:56

In “Unshelled: George Washington Carver's Real Legacy," producers Ishan Thakore and Katie Jane Fernelius explore a lesser-known aspect of Dr. George Washington Carver’s legacy: his role as a conservationist and a practitioner of sustainable agriculture. Carver’s life defies easy explanation. He was born enslaved and rose to the heights of American …

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Yock Is for Lovers: Chinese Soul Food in Tidewater Virginia 30:21

1+ y ago30:21

30:21

In "Yock Is for Lovers: Chinese Soul Food in Tidewater Virginia," Gravy producer Nicole Hutcheson delves into the history of Yock-a-Mein, tracing its origins to the Tidewater region of Virginia and delving into its significant role in shaping the distinctive culinary tradition known as Chinese soul food. Originally created by a novice noodle maker …

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Catering: Behind the Pipe and Drape 25:49

1+ y ago25:49

25:49

Have you ever been to a wedding and wondered how hundreds of plates of food arrive at the right destinations at the right time? Often without an on-site kitchen. This is high-concept cooking, done without a net. Cookbook authors Matt Lee and Ted Lee spent four years immersed in the catering industry and wrote a book about their experiences and reve…

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California Dreams and Flossie’s Mississippi Tamales 34:12

1+ y ago34:12

34:12

In “California Dreams and Flossie’s Mississippi Tamales,” journalist and Gravy producer Eve Troeh joins businesswoman Sandra Miller Foster to tell the story of the restaurant Flossie’s, and the mother-daughter dream that fueled it. This story grew from a simple question: “Does anyone serve Mississippi-style hot tamales in Los Angeles?” The answer w…

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Gravy Travels Due South 50:40

1+ y ago50:40

50:40

If you're looking for a show that is a source for news, information, and perspectives from across North Carolina and the South, then you should really check out Due South from our public radio friends at WUNC—North Carolina Public Radio. Due South is a place to make sense of what’s happening in our community. The show takes deep dives into the news…

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The Miracle of Slaw and Fishes: Louisiana’s Lenten Fish Fries 22:28

1+ y ago22:28

22:28

Order a catfish po-boy or a few pounds of crawfish in Acadiana any Friday between Mardi Gras and Easter, and you may be surprised to learn that your delight is another person’s sacrifice. The Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat during Fridays in Lent is alive and well in Southwest Louisiana, a region where more than a third identify as Catho…

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#3 - D*** Cheese 1:55:57

1+ y ago1:55:57

1:55:57

On this weeks episode, the guys bring in a surprise guest in place of the legendary “Tater Tot” in order to carry on the weekly tradition. In talks of big rig trucking, would you rather, and tasting an odd snack, the boys bring another heater to the table!By PIPE LAYER

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From Stuckey's to Buc-ee's 27:52

1+ y ago27:52

27:52

Few companies have inspired more fanatical devotion among Texans than the convenience chain Buc-ee’s. Described by the New York Times as both a “Disneyland of roadside capitalism,” and the “through line of America’s second most sprawling state,” its iconic, buck-toothed beaver mascot has been spotted not just on billboards, but on wedding cakes and…

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#2 - Poocasso 2:19:01

1+ y ago2:19:01

2:19:01

This week on PIPE DOWN, the guys bring in and discuss their favorite gas station snacks, eating wings, job-site bathrooms, and more!By PIPE LAYER