Mother’s Day with ‘Top Chef’ Padma Lakshmi

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture, Film Interviews, Tv & Film

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, we sit with writer and television host Padma Lakshmi! At the top, we discuss the return of her Hulu docuseries Taste the Nation (6:40), a formative episode in El Paso, Texas (10:14), and how the show connects to Padma’s personal history (13:59). Then, she reflects on her childhood in New York City (16:07), a heartbreaking event at seven (19:05*), and her unexpected entry to the modeling industry (27:14).

On the back-half, we walk through the early years of her trailblazing career (35:52), the patriarchal systems she fought back against (40:58), and her painful essay in The Times in response to the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (43:16*). To close, Padma talks about her powerful work through EndoFound (48:30), the activist underpinnings of Taste the Nation (51:21), and the stories she hopes to tell in years to come (54:44).

*At this time-code, there is a discussion about sexual assault.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Pushkin. This is talk easy. I'm San by writer and television host Padma Lakshmi.
0:47.0	Since 2006, Padma has been a co-host and executive producer of the Emmy Award winning series Top Chef, which recently reined in its 20th season this spring.
1:00.0	Since the start of that run, she's also authored six books,
1:04.3	including her New York Times best-selling memoir, Love, Loss,
1:08.8	and What We Eight.
1:10.0	Her latest endeavor is a docueries entitled Taste the Nation.
1:14.4	It premiered back in the summer of 2020
1:17.3	and it's recently returned to Hulu this month for its second season.
1:21.6	In the series, she breaks bread with people across America,
1:26.0	focusing on the immigrant communities that shape our country,
1:29.8	and so often grow, prepare, and serve the food seen on the show.
1:34.8	For a taste, I'm sorry, here. So you grew up eating like this?
1:50.0	Pretty much. Must be sad for you when you have to eat out.
1:53.0	There's always something new to discover.
1:58.0	I've never butchered the face of anything in my life.
2:01.0	We're going to skip the gloves. Okay. A little bit more
2:03.4	sensual. For me or the pig. Come with me as I travel and taste the nation.
2:11.4	Every dish on the truck is 50% Pakistani, 50% Appalachian.
2:15.0	Look at that. Goodness.
2:17.0	It's all about texture.
2:19.0	Oh my God. Oh.
2:23.0	There is this idealized image of America.
	...

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