Here Are The Best Food Podcasts For Your Commute

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Podcasts have become a popular form of information consumption and entertainment during our morning commutes. They make us feel like we’re part of a conversation without actually having to turn to our neighbor and chat it up (kind of sad, but it’s true).

Through podcasts, we’re introduced to all kinds of new people, things and ideas. If you know you have a hefty morning commute or a long road trip ahead of you and you want to know how food intersects with different aspects of your life, here are the best podcasts for you.

1. The Splendid Table

Former New York Times Magazine columnist and award-winning host Francis Lam leads The Spendid Table, a podcast produced by American Public Media. The podcast provides information on food, prepration, appreciation and culture with travel-related material on restaurants and cuisine from around the country and the globe. Guests change from week to week, but there are more permanent fixtures like well-known food writers. You learn about food myths, new ingredients and all aspects of the food industry.

2. Burnt Toast

The James Beard Award-nominated host and producer Kenzi Wilbur, Gabrille Lewis and Food52 co-founders Amanada Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, collaborate to bring you the quirky Burnt Toast podcast. Burnt Toast follows all of the ways that food intersects with our lives and gives listeners the “perfect pieces of cocktail party fodder — all inside of a commute’s time.” Most episodes are under a half hour and they give you plenty of material to bring to your next Bumble date with episodes like “Where Did the Banana Pee Slipping Gag Come From.”

3. Bite

If you want to feel in the know with science, politics and pop culture when it comes to the food industry, the Bite podcast by Mother Jones is perfect for you. Each bi-weekly episode features co-hosts Tom Philpott and Mother Jones editors Maddie Oatman and Kiera Butler. They chat with a rotating guest list of farmers, writers, scientists and chefs to uncover surprising stories behind what’s on your plate. You get informed on how food overlaps with all kinds of relevant issues in the world. Find episodes like “Sex, Drugs and Oysters: What It’s Really Like To Work At A Fancy Restaurant” and “We Watch ‘Game of Thrones’ for the Food Porn.”

4. Gravy

This half-hour podcast by the Southern Food Alliance takes deep dives into everything that has shaped southern food culture. Gravy shares stories of the changing American South through the different foods we eat. It uses food as a means to explore the voices of those who grow, cook and choose to immerse themselves in southern cuisine. Gravy digs into areas of the south that we wouldn’t normally explore and opens up topics of certain stereotypes for discussion.

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5. The Eater Upsell

Hosted by Eater editors Helen Rosner and Greg Morabito, The Eater Upsell is “smart talk and shameless gossip with the food world’s most interesting people.” You get to listen to can’t-miss conversations happening in the food world like raw talks with David Chang (founder of the Momofuku restaurant empire) and Dan Barber (the mastermind behind the sought-after Blue Hill). With an A-list roster of guests, you know The Eater Upsell has some serious street cred in the restaurant industry. The content is interesting, funny and gives you something to look forward to on Mondays.

6. Spilled Milk

Every week on Spilled Milk, comedians and writers Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton start off with some kind of food-related topic and basically, go on a hilarious rant. The podcast covers everything involving cooking and recipes. Listen to these comedians go on tangents about everything from junk food to boxed mac and cheese to Bloody Marys. If you want a good laugh in the morning or during a painful car ride, Spilled Milk is a good choice.

7. The Sporkful

Here’s how The Sporkful markets itself: “It’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters.” It’s hosted by Dan Pashman of Cooking Channel’s “You’re Eating It Wrong” and the book “Eat More Better.” The James Beard-nominated The Sporkful obsesses about food in order to learn more about people. Pashman uncovers the truth about food and people with topics like what it’s like to go out to a restaurant when you’re in a wheelchair. Each week The Sporkful goes into thoughtful conversations about race, culture and body image, but it also has humorous talks with comics about how they like to eat their food.

8. Special Sauce

Serious Eats’ Podcast Special Sauce lets food lovers all over the place “eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about food and life between host and Serious Eats founder Ed Levine and his well-known famous friends and acquaintances. ” These conversations take place in and out of food culture and could feature anyone from Top Chef’s Gail Simmons to Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman.