Everyone's gotta eat.

Food is, of course, something we need to consume in order to survive.

But eating also brings people together.

After all, as famed chef James Beard once said,

food is our common ground, a universal experience.

Hosting someone for a meal can indicate friendship or a celebration, and when it comes to international relations,

sharing a meal can also be an opportunity to build trust between leaders, even at the highest level. As chef and

author Anthony Bourdain said, with no reservations, nothing is more political than food. I'm

Gabrielle Sierra and this is Why It Matters, live. Today, yeah.

Today for this special live taping,

we're talking about food diplomacy.

The power it has to facilitate connection

and relationships and even bridge cultural divides

in times of conflict.

Thank you to everyone for joining us live and also to those of you joining us virtually.

So while we will be joined on stage by our guest in a few minutes, we also had the chance to sit down with Matthew Costello before this live taping.

Matt is the senior historian at the White House Historical Association.

And we got to hear some of his favorite state dinner stories and gain some insight into the role food has played in U.S. foreign policy. So we have those recorded,

and here he is to kick us off. So today, we just want to narrow in on one topic, even though

I have a million questions for you. So the topic is something near and dear to everyone's

heart, food. So what is food diplomacy and why does it matter historically?

I feel like it's probably closer to your stomach than your heart.

...