Good morning!
This is Issue 66.3 of Digestable, your thrice-weekly mouthful of things happening in the world.
Today’s news, fermented:
It’s climate disaster season, folks.
While summer has long been a time for hurricanes and tornadoes, this season is lengthening every year. This is terrifying and tragic* and it’s really great to see headlines across news outlets actually talking about climate change as the powerful force behind increased intensity of storms, fires, floods, and so on.
*I recently heard someone say that ‘tragic’ means ‘a disaster that could have been avoided.’ That seems particularly apt here, not just because of the fossil fuel industry’s role in causing the climate crisis—the US Chamber of Commerce also knew, and also lied.
So, a few weekend reads/watches/listens in acknowledgement of climate disaster season.
Objects of Fire, a set of oral histories from California wildfires; and an article about the female inmates fighting those wildfires
Some nasty footage of flooding in NYC this past week, a flashback for folks who were around during Hurricane Sandy, plus some on-point commentary (thank you to Chris!)
Berta Cáceres’s murderer was finally convicted
The oil and gas industry, whose scientists have spoken out about its anticipation of climate disaster, is suing the Biden Admin for preventing continued extraction on public (stolen) land
…all of which is why we need humor (the monthly board meeting of the Coalbastards Corporation) and the utopian imagination and models for climate migration.
Last but not least, it turns out that conservation actually works, so giant pandas are no longer on the verge of extinction.
(via)
DJ toMoR0’s low-key Music Show
Well here’s an honest peek into what’s been in my ears lately - audiobooks and podcasts. I know you can’t really dance to the thrilling dramatic vocal performances of YA authors and at-home podcasters, but it’s been great company during all the transitions of busy summer days and (finally) trips out of the house.
The podcast I want to share with you this week is a miniseries I only found recently, but was published during the height of quarantine. Meet Home Cooking, hosted by my all time food educator idol Samin Nosrat who you may know from Salt Fat Acid Heat, and co-hosted by Hrishi Hirway of Song Exploder, another excellent and music-centric podcast so worth your time.
Home Cooking is my ideal blend of chit chat, bad puns, good food that’s not pretentious, and amazing guests. It’s not self-indulgently long...like they make a point and then move on, and don’t have gimmicky segments. It just flows really well, and it’s endearing to hear them make each other laugh so genuinely.
If you’re looking for at-home cooking inspiration for all those summer farmer’s market or CSA veggies, this pod is for you. If you like dad jokes, this is definitely for you. If you have ingredient questions or kitchen quandaries, record a voice memo for the show and get it answered on air.
We are now in this weird Internet-age-only moment when we can revisit pandemic media from this time last year. Do you remember where you were one year ago? Sam Sanders (who is also a delightful host and under rated NPR cutie) was making frittata at home, and you’ll definitely want to cook along. In this episode they also touch on cooling recipes for hot summer days that require no stovetops or much labor. Wow, how strange, we’re having record high temps again this year, too...
Most importantly, if you ever wanted to know what Yo-Yo Ma eats at home (you knew there was another musical overlap coming,) you better tune in to this **featured pod** stat.