Marion Cunningham: Late Bloomer, Agoraphobic, Food Pioneer
The Kitchen Sisters Present
The Kitchen Sisters & Radiotopia
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 January 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
They don't make 'em like Marion Cunningham these days. Food writer, home cook, Fannie Farmer's new incarnation, James Beard’s sidekick, wizard of waffles. Marion was a treasured friend of The Kitchen Sisters, and in 2003, we sat down with her and recorded a long conversation.
We've been digging through our archive of late looking for people and stories that inspire, that illuminate, that cut a new path and nourish the soul. Marion's story ticks all those boxes and more.
Marion died in 2012. She left such a big hole in the firmament when she passed, but she left so much love, wisdom, guidance, and her amazing recipe for waffles behind. You can find that recipe on our website, kitchensisters.org.
This story is part of The Kitchen Sisters Grand Dames of Cooking stories — kitchen visionaries who worked to preserve, develop and pass on traditional foodways and cultural history through the art of cooking.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | RadioTopia. Welcome to the Kitchen Sisters present. |
| 0:04.0 | From PRX. We're the Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson, and Nikki Silva. |
| 0:11.0 | Articles of Interest is a show about clothing for people who don't necessarily think they're interested in clothing. |
| 0:18.0 | My name is Avery Truffleman. I make the show, and I just finished a whole season about the intersection between the military and the outdoor industry. |
| 0:26.6 | Would you believe they are deeply, deeply interwoven? |
| 0:30.6 | And this year in 2026, they're going to be new episodes about tattoos and what they mean for our self-expression, about bras and whether or not their technology is outdated, an episode about the greatest designer you've never heard of, and a look at what it means to make clothes truly accessible for everyone. |
| 0:50.1 | If you're ready to change your relationship with the clothes you wear every day, check out articles of interest wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:01.3 | If your popovers won't pop and if your muffins crumble and if your scones are like lead, you need a lesson from Marion Cunningham. |
| 1:16.4 | And here she is. What are you going to start with? |
| 1:18.7 | I'm going to start with crumb muffins, Julia. |
| 1:22.3 | They don't make them like Marion Cunningham these days. Food writer, home cook, Fanny Farmer's new incarnation, James Beard's |
| 1:31.4 | sidekick, Wizard of Waffles. This recipe has been around about 100 years, and I'm going to use |
| 1:39.0 | all-purpose flour. Level it off. Right? You just level it off with your fingers. |
| 1:45.2 | Yeah. |
| 1:46.0 | Marian was a treasured friend of the kitchen sisters, and in 2003 we sat down with her |
| 1:51.5 | and recorded a long conversation. |
| 1:54.7 | My name is Marion Cunningham. |
| 1:57.4 | I live in Walnut Creek at the foot of Mount Diablo. |
| 2:01.0 | I've been in the same home for 42 years. |
| 2:05.0 | The country is beautiful out there. |
| 2:07.8 | We've been digging through our archive of late, |
| 2:10.1 | looking for people and stories that inspire, |
... |
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