To tell a truly engaging story, you have to dig deep beneath the surface. When it comes to radio storytelling, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, also known as the Kitchen Sisters, are masters. Through projects like Lost and Found Sound and Hidden World of Girls, the independent producers tell stories for NPR and online "from the flip side of history."

On this week's show, we take a journey in sound with these two radio luminaries, discuss their amazing trajectory on NPR, and learn how they came to uncover Hidden Kitchens, their duPont-Columbia and James Beard Award-winning radio series.

Ten Restaurants, Four Seasons

On this week’s show, we take an in-depth look the evolution of restaurant dining in the America and speak with the co-owner of one the nation's top restaurants.

We begin by exploring two centuries of historical and cultural changes with acclaimed Yale historian Paul Freedman. His book Ten Restaurants That Changed America weaves together culinary and social history, from the innovators of roadside dining to the vanguards of haute cuisine.

Quick Bites: Italian Creole

On this week’s episode, we sit down with Loyola University history professor Justin Nystrom to explore the influence that Sicilian Americans have had on New Orleans foodways. Surprisingly, that influence didn’tbegin with the heavy influx of Sicilians who populated the city in great numbers during the late 1880’s. Those rural Sicilians made their mark on the French Market and created the sandwich we know as the muffalatta. Actually, the first wave of Italian immigrants were urban dwellers who arrived on our shores in the 1830’s and became wealthy importers and restaurateurs. Who knew that Commander’s Palace was actually founded by the son of an immigrant from Ustica whose father had Americanized his surname from Camarda to Commander? Or that those same Ustican immigrants were important members of the Southern Yacht Club – taking their leisure racing sloops on Lake Pontchartrain? Not exactly the image you might have in your mind of our Sicilian immigrants.

Following Fish Tales From Antarctica To Barataria Bay

On this week’s show, we’re celebrating all things pescatarian across Louisiana. To begin, we travel from Port Sulphur to Barataria Bay for a taste of authentic Louisiana seafood with the Landry family of Don’s Seafood. The Landrys host us at their fishing camp and share stories that have been passed down through the generations.

Suicide And Rebirth At Tales Of The Cocktail

The suicide of Anthony Bourdain in June sent shock waves through the world, but especially the industry he loved. Since then, the conversation about mental health in the hospitality community has come into sharp focus. On this week's show, we speak with individuals close to the issue who gathered in New Orleans in July as part of Tales of the Cocktail's new Beyond The Bar initiative. Intended to help the hospitality industry take care of its own, Beyond the Bar offered compelling seminars on wellness and recovery.

Dreaming of a Place at the Table

On this week’s show, we take a look at immigration and its impact on the American food landscape.

We begin with Rick Bayless, whose award-winning Frontera restaurants are bolstered by workers who come from immigrant backgrounds. Rick explains how many of his staff members were brought to the country as children and are now facing an uncertain future.

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