Something About Food?

John Robinson started his company, Our Ability, as a mentor network that has morphed into a business that utilizes AI and technology to build a career path for people with disabilities. He talks about including marginalized populations in the workforce, spiedies in Binghamton, NY, and hand cycling across Scotland.

Chef Eric Silverstein was born in Tokyo, Japan, where he was heavily influenced by Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian cuisine. At the age of ten, Eric moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he was introduced to traditional Southern cuisine. These divergent flavors and cuisines serve as the backdrop for The Peached Tortilla's menu. He discusses ghost kitchens, how pickles can elevate a plate, and how MSG has gotten a bad rap.

Jarvis Green is a two-time Super Bowl champ who started his own shrimp company, Oceans 97. He chats about eating pho with his Vietnamese “cousins”, all the arancini variations in Sicily, and how you can’t eat to be sexy on the defensive line.

Molly Kiely is an artist and illustrator living with her daughter in the desert outside Tucson, Arizona. She talks about her Italian grandmother’s garden, Nanaimo bars, and her sex-positive and life-affirming art. You can see her art at mollykiely.com.

Bryan Gilvesy is the owner of the YU Ranch, a sustainable grass-fed beef ranching operation in Norfolk County, Ontario. He is also C.E.O. of ALUS Canada, a national community-led, farmer delivered charitable program that rewards farmers for producing more ecosystem services. We talk about carbon farming, cabbage rolls, Winnipeg wings, and being open to change in order to build a more sustainable and bio-diverse community.

Stacey Mei Yan Fong is a home baker and the creator of the project 50 Pies/50 States in which she is baking a pie for every state as a love letter to the country she has chosen to call home. We chatted about the project, the hug that curry laksa brings you, the otherworldly landscapes in Iceland, and many, many more food connections.

Molly Roe is the account manager for SweetGrass Trading Company, an online Native American food and gift store owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. She talks about Chicken in a Hurry, putting potato chips on a Sloppy Joe, and discovering the culinary roots of your culture as well as the the Authentic Native American foods and gifts that SweetGrass Trading Co offers.

Professor Edray Herber Goins is a Professor of Mathematics at Pomona College and runs an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates. He talks about getting more underrepresented students into Mathematics, Thai Yellow Curry and baking cakes with his mother.

Eboné F. Bell is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tagg Magazine and Tagg Communication LLC. After seeing a lack of queer women represented in local publications, she decided to start a magazine and website to tell stories, provide resources, and create events. She talks about Queer Prom, Lobster Deviled Eggs, and how important it is to be seen for who you are and what you can do.

The vegan world has a strong champion to look up to in bodybuilder Torre Washington. He talks about discovering the variety that jackfruit offers, training movie superheroes, and going hunting for vegan food when he travels.

Lori L. Tharps is a journalist and award-winning author whose work meets at the intersection of race and real life. Her most recent book is titled Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America's Diverse Families. Tharps is also the host of the My American Meltingpot blog and podcast. She talks about her role as a “Diversity Diva” with her podcast, learning to love eating lamb, and cooking pancakes for dinner.

Iman Jodeh is a first-generation Palestinian American, and Executive Director and Founder of the locally based non-profit, Meet the Middle East (MTME), which fosters relationships between the US and the Middle East through education and immersion travel. She talks about the food she loves (especially the nourishing cuisine of the Levant) and running for office in her native Colorado.

Scott Wiener writes a monthly column for Pizza Today Magazine, judges pizza competitions, speaks at pizza industry trade shows and events, consults for pizzerias and ingredient producers, and hosts the hit web series “Really Dough?” for Thrillist. Not surprisingly, he talks all things pizza, including cold cheese slices and other regional variations, pizza-adjacent foods like calzones and stromboli, and tracking his slice count.

Aryenish Birdie founded Encompass after witnessing and experiencing the urgent need for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive animal protection movement. In addition to her passion for racial equity within animal welfare advocacy, she really appreciates her mother’s global cooking and is keeping an eye out for the perfect vegan tiramisu. https://encompassmovement.org/