nom nom nom

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You might not think much about the sticky bottle of vanilla sitting in the back of your pantry. But that flavor – one of the most common in the world – has a fascinating history, involving a fickle orchid and a 12-year-old enslaved boy who made the discovery of a lifetime. That’s the sort of tale that attracts poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. From peacock feathers to the sounds of garden insects, her work is known for magnifying the wonders of the natural world. Her latest book of essays, “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees,” explores the unexpected connections between food, memory, and community. So take a seat and pour yourself an aperitif, as Aimee Nezhukumatathil shares a few of these miniature morsels with Outside/In host Nate Hegyi: a three-course meal of grape jelly, sweet nostalgia, and just a hint of vanilla bean. Featuring Aimee Nezhukumatathil This episode originally aired in 2024. SUPPORT Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram and BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS You can find Aimee’s book of essays, Bite by Bite, at your local bookstore or online. CREDITS Produced by Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, this is outside in a show where curiosity and the natural world collide.
0:05.3	I'm Nate Hetchie.
0:06.4	So far, I have spent my January shoveling snow, like a ton of snow.
0:13.2	Six feet, to be exact.
0:15.6	My arm hurts, my shoulder hurts.
0:18.1	All that's to say, I sincerely hope your new year has been a little bit
0:21.9	more relaxing than mine. But relaxing or not, you know what I bet your past few weeks have been
0:26.9	full of? Really good food. We're talking turkeys, stews, pies, maybe some black-eyed peas on
0:34.5	New Year's Day. I swear, there are certain foods that just taste better around the holidays.
0:40.5	There's an episode we did last year that celebrates exactly this.
0:44.2	It's like a tasty little love letter to food.
0:47.2	And even though author Amy Nizuka Matatil and I talked in the middle of summer,
0:51.9	I mean, heck, I was still living in Montana,
0:54.1	it felt like the perfect conversation to return to for this season.
0:57.9	So here it is, and bonapete.
1:00.1	Right now, it is the middle of the summer.
1:11.9	Where I am in Montana, this is the best time of the year.
1:15.0	Hot, clear skies, rivers are flowing.
1:17.9	But down in the south, in Mississippi, summer is a whole other story.
1:26.9	It is sweltering, oppressive, which is why poet Amy Nizucumatatat.
1:33.5	Is so excited for the state's annual watermelon carnival.
1:37.5	That comes in August when the entire south is that it's the hottest, you know, most human part, and then when you get that first chilled slice of watermelon, there's just, that is summer.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NHPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NHPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.