Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong.

Today's book is less of a straight-up cookbook and more like an appreciation of a romantic ode for the onion.

It is in a lot of ways of vegetable with an attitude, a personality.

There's a reason why one of the greatest wisemen of our time, Shrek, compared ogres to onions as a way of denoting complexity.

And I thought I loved onions, but today's author, Mark Kirlanski, loves onions.

His book is titled The Core of an Onion, and after the break, he talks to hear now Scott Tong about better understanding and appreciating the onion.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Quote, I can easily make a whole meal of onion sandwiches.

For me, they are one of the greatest treats I know.

That would be the celebrated American chef and TV personality James Beard. Okay, one more. Who decided that onion

sandwiches were the perfect lunch while out fishing? Answer, Ernest Hemingway. Well, there's a new

book, a very fun book on the topic. The book is

The Core of an Onion by Mark Kirlanski. You may know his previous deep dives into salt

and cod and milk. And Mark Kulanski joins us now. Welcome. Thank you. There's a lot of history

and science and cooking I want to ask you about, but there's so much fun in this book.

Can we start with some fun facts, some lightning round questions for you about onions?

Sure.

All right, I want to get into the case for onions being a good thing.

...