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.
The Thomas Jefferson Trilogy ends with an discussion of the third President’s very expensive tastes that eventually made him go into heavy debt. We explore Jefferson’s famed cattiness, including his snide comments about whiskey-drinkers. We also discuss how Jefferson, though a smart farmer, was pretty terrible at it, unlike George Washington. But, apparently, Jefferson was a great gardener and vegetarian. Finally, Faye takes issue with Thomas Jefferson’s dinner menu for a Tunisian diplomat.
We’re back with an all new episode to inaugurate our second season of Follow the Crumbs. We begin by destroying your Disney dreams and demystifying America’s two favorite mythical Native Americans – Pocahontas and Squanto. We explore Ben Franklin’s love affair with corn and how it connected to the South’s love affair with tobacco and rum. Finally, Faye pitches yet another HBO historical fiction series focused on Paul Revere’s famed drunken horse ride through Massachusetts.
In the penultimate episode of Season 1, we’re continuing our bovine fascination, but this time we’re yakking about cows’ Tibetan cousins: yaks. We trace the roots of yaks and how they drove Chinese economics for centuries, pitch an amazing HBO mini-series about the Qin Dynasty, and discuss the monetary value of yak in dowries. Finally, Faye’s cat/familiar makes a special appearance.
This week, we go deep into the four bellies of a cow to uncover the mystery of where cows are from. We discuss the mechanics of cow running, the best geographic strategy for cattle trading, and the legacy of cows in college rivalries. Finally, Faye laments a missed opportunity in American history to glorify another bovine creature – the American Buffalo.
This week, we dive into the crazy and very much not-Disney-approved life of an American folk legend and learn how the bad apples he sold contributed to the United States’s budding hard apple cider industry. We also discover that good apples violated Johnny Appleseed’s religious beliefs, but we never find out why he used a tin cooking pot for a hat. Finally, we discuss how Johnny Appleseed’s name has misled Americans for decades.
In this very special episode, Mary makes her prodigal return to discuss her favorite booze. Our Executive Producer joins us as we discuss why William of Orange banned brandy, the English’s 50-year drunken bender, and how gin and tonics kept the sun shining on the British Empire. Finally, we debate whether or not liking gin makes you a psychopath.
Eat a grapefruit, because this episode should come with a high blood pressure warning. That’s right, we’re talking about #saltsowhite. In this episode, we discuss the Celts (the unsung heroes of European history), salt churches in Poland, and Julius’s Caesar’s appetite for salt-cured ham. Finally, we dig into the rich salting mining history of Central Europe.
In our final installment of the Follow the Crumbs Indian Starter Pack, we explore how British laziness (or stupidity) created the greatest lie ever told about Indian food: the existence of curry. We also uncover Faye’s American Arab identity and complete the circle of life through vindaloo and beer. Special note: Faye recorded this episode while avoiding a fiery death at the hands of a hairy space heater.
In the third installment of our India series, we discuss how teenage angst fueled the creation of the Mughal Empire, why Babur hated India (for no valid reasons, Ria might add), and how Akbar brought shame to his ancestors by allowing Indian culture to corrupt him. Finally, we trace the cultural mixing that led to the evolution of biryani.