The Birth of Cool: How Refrigeration Changed Everything

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For as long as we’ve been making Gastropod, co-host Nicky has also been working on another project: writing a book all about refrigeration. Well, time to pop the champagne you’ve had stashed in the icebox, because that book comes out June 25—and we’re giving Gastropod listeners an exclusive preview! This episode, Cynthia and Nicky talk about how a high school dropout's get-rich-quick scheme, some deadly explosions, and lots and lots of beer brought us the humming boxes of cold now ubiquitous in the modern kitchen—and how the proliferation of this portable, on-demand winter has transformed our food (not always for the better) while heating up our planet. It's almost impossible to imagine living without a fridge, but Nicky’s book totally changed the way we look at preserving food. Is there a better way? Listen to find out, and for the rest of the story, be sure to pre-order Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So I'd like to start with the easiest question and that's if you could say your name and
0:09.2	you know to make sure I pronounce it correctly and also how you'd like to be identified like the host of what or
0:14.1	the author of what? Well Cynthia it's a pleasure to meet you first of all and I'm
0:21.6	so honored to be on the show and you can call me Nicky. I am of course the co-host of
0:28.7	Gasterpot you might have heard of it. It's pretty awesome. I've heard a little about it, yeah. And so have you, dear
0:34.8	listeners because you're in fact listening to Gaster Pod, the podcast that looks at food through
0:39.4	the lens of science and history, and I am indeed Nicola Twilly.
0:43.4	And I'm Cynthia Graber and here it is at long last the episode we've been waiting for.
0:48.6	Drum roll please?
0:50.0	Nicky's refrigeration book.
0:51.6	Or as it is known online and in the bookstores,
0:54.8	Frostbite, how refrigeration changed our food,
0:58.0	our planet, and ourselves.
0:59.8	It's coming out on June 25th, and you can and should pre-order it now. Not that I'm biased. But we've
1:06.2	got a bunch of extremely delightful limited edition Frostbite Fridge Poetry Magnets
1:11.8	to give away to lucky listeners who email us with proof of purchase at contact at gastropod.com.
1:18.0	So this episode of gastropod obviously isn't about everything in the book. That would be impossible, but I picked some of my
1:24.3	favorite stories and I got to turn the tables and interview Nicky about them.
1:28.4	That's Cynthia, she grilled me. Now I need a nice cold beer, but first, the scoop on Frostbite.
1:35.4	Dastrobot is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network in partnership with Eater.
1:39.2	There's no distance too far for the perfect trip.
1:45.0	Hi, checking in for...
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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

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