Bread: The Song of Angry Men

This week, we start part 1 of our two part series on the French Revolution by talking about the precursor: the Flour War. We discuss the importance of grain prices, the origins of capitalism, and the complete mess that was known as the Ancien RĂ©gime. Finally, we discuss how taxes work in Massachusetts.

A special thanks to the Revolutions Podcast and Cynthia Bouton for providing the bulk of today’s source materials.

The Best Pies in Hanoi

This week, we’re going to a part of the world we haven’t really talked about yet: southeast Asia. And, of course, we have to talk about colonialism. We discuss the basic tenets of Vietnamese cuisine, the fabled origin story of puff pastry, and how pate chaud traveled from the streets of revolutionary France to kitchens all across Vietnam. Finally, we discuss the universality of meat in wrappers.

Liberté, Egalité, Sucre

Get ready with your favorite Victor Hugo novel, because we’ve got Francophone revolutions on our mind this week. But we’re not talking about any revolutions in France. Instead, we dive into the complex history of the Haitian revolution and the ties between the French sugar trade and the first country for black folks in the New World. Also, Faye casts Denzel Washington and Chadwick Boseman in her upcoming Hollywood Oscar-bait film dramatizing the Haitian revolution.

The Great French Lie: A Croissant Expose

Inspired by a discussion with our very favorite executive producer, Mary Vo, we decided to explore a great misconception about everyone’s favorite breakfast pastry. Turns out, croissants aren’t French at all. We trace the known history of croissants and speculate wildly about how medieval crescent rolls became the buttery, flaky rolls of heaven that we know and love today. We also discuss the life and times of the extraordinary baking pioneer/newspaper mogul August Zang.