Conversations on The Road

As part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal response to the Great Depression, he created the Federal Writers Project, sending writers to various parts of the land to write on various topics – including food. The project, called “America Eats”, was abandoned in the early 1940′s because of World War II and never completed. Instead the files were archived in the Library of Congress.

Food historian Mark Kurlansky joins us to discuss the book he wrote based on these lost files. “The Food of a Younger Land” brought the unassembled materials to light and created this version of the guide that never was.

 Kurlansky’s book captures the stories of the time and combines them with recipes, anecdotes, photys and his own. The provide a portrait of American food – before teh national highway system, before chain restaurants, and before frozen food, when the nation’s food was seasonal regional and traditional. 

From New York automats to Georgia Coca-Cola parties, from Arkansas possum eating clubs to Puget Sound salmon bakes, from Choctaw funerals to South Carolina barbecues, there’s enoromous diversity, depth and impact to these narratives.

 

 WPA Food [26:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On July 4, it will be 12 years since the passing of Charles Kuralt – the CBS News journalist best known for  his “On the Road” essays.

In this conversation, we speak with Donald Shaw from North carolina who shares with us his passion for Kuralt and what his work represented.

We hear about how Kuralt’s work and his CBS office have been preserved at the University of North Carolina’s Charles Kuralt Learning Center (Kuralt is buried on campus at Chapel Hill).

We also talk of what Kuralt meant and continues to represent these years later.

 

 Kuralt Learning Center [13:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Since 1988, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute has headed a movement to highlight this specialized pastime. In this conversation, we speak with Gordon Javna from the Institute, who is also publisher of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader about National Bathroom Reading Month, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute, and about Uncle John.

 

 National Bathroom Reading Month [10:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download