August 22, 2006

It's all about the politics of food, and how food doesn't track politics very well. We talk to Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why. and Rod Dreher, author of Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party). There's a surprising degree of overlap, and we learn about how the Internet is revolutionizing small farming and how foodie impulses and back-to-the-land sentiments defy traditional political categories. Plus, the dangers of vegetarianism, the health benefits of beef and butter, and advice on how to shop healthy, and save money, even at ordinary grocery stores. And Helen spars with Rod Dreher in defense of libertarian hedonism.

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Music is "Myrtle Lee" and "Rough Skeleton," by John T. Baker.

As usual, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.