Hello and welcome week we're talking

which is another slate money mini series this one devoted to the economics of

everything to do with food and this week we're talking about race

We're talking about McDonald's we're talking about food deserts and we have the best possible person to talk about all of these things.

Marsha Chattlin, hi Marsha.

Hello.

You are well known to slate podcast listeners because you co-host The Waves.

But you also have a day job, which is.

When I am not ranting about feminism and current events

in popular culture, I teach African American history at Georgetown University.

And when you're not doing that you're writing books, the latest one of which is...

franchise, the Golden Arches in Black America.

Wow, what a coincidence.

You've written a whole book about exactly what we wanted to talk to you about.

How perfectly perfect.

Yeah, we are going to talk to you about McDonald's,

its role in Black America, and more broadly

about the franchise model, about food deserts, and about whether capitalism is compatible with healthy eating.

It's going to be a great discussion, so that is coming up on slate money food.

So let's start with McDonald's because it's a subject we've covered on slate money in the past but not in probably as much detail as we're about to go into right here.

Big picture, final verdict, Marsha, good for Black America or bad for Black America.

I don't know if I'm the one to say if it was good or bad but

...