M. Ward: Chile Rellenos
Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle
Rachel Belle
4.8 • 730 Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Singer-songwriter and guitarist M. Ward is also half of She & Him (with volcalist Zooey Deschanel) and a member of the indie supergroup Monsters of Folk. And I don't know how to tell him that he may never have his last meal ever again - the restaurant that makes the dish shut down late last year!
M. Ward's last meal comes from Tucson, Arizona, one of only two UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy in the United States. What does that mean? What makes Tucson's food scene so special? You're about to find out!
Ward also shares why he became a vegetarian, his family's immigration story and the Mexican dishes that he grew up with that he still makes to this day.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Rachel Bell, and this is your last meal. |
| 0:12.3 | The show where celebrities share stories about the foods they love most, and we dig into the history, culture, or science of those meals with experts from around the world. |
| 0:21.8 | Today on the program, singer, songwriter, and guitarist, M. Ward. |
| 0:26.1 | What do you do with the pieces of broken heart? |
| 0:34.6 | And how can a man like me remain in the light? |
| 0:42.3 | Ward is also half of the Grammy-nominated duo, She and Him. |
| 0:46.6 | The She being Zoe Deschanal. |
| 0:48.7 | And he's in the supergroup Monsters of Folk, with members of My Morning Jacket and Bright Eyes. |
| 0:59.0 | I have been a fan of Em Ward's music and she and him for a very long time. Have you ever heard of a UNESCO City of Gastronomy? |
| 1:02.0 | We only have two in the United States, and I chat with one of the cities in question |
| 1:07.0 | about what this designation means and what makes that city's food scene so special. |
| 1:12.3 | But first, my conversation with M. Ward. |
| 1:16.2 | And if life is really as short as they say, then why he's done nice so long? |
| 1:24.7 | And then the sun went out and he played for me this song. |
| 1:34.6 | Hello, hello. |
| 1:35.8 | Hello, how are you? |
| 1:37.6 | I'm not bad. |
| 1:38.3 | How are you? |
| 1:39.0 | I want to go back to your 2020 album, Migration Stories, because immigration is such a big topic and issue right now in our |
| 1:45.8 | country. Can you share your grandpa's immigration story and then also what motivated you to learn |
| 1:50.9 | more about it just five years ago? Yes. Both my grandparents on my mother's side were born in Mexico. |
| 1:59.0 | My grandfather purchased a very, very cheap green card to cross over the |
... |
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