The Sporkful

Ahead of Veterans Day, we're recognizing our American troops. A lot of them will spend the holidays far from their families — but hopefully not far from a good meal. Of course, if you’re in a war zone, finding that good meal gets a lot harder. That was the situation for Charles Hedrick, who served in the Marines during the first Gulf War. After he volunteered to go to the front lines, he wound up in a metal shipping box (below) in the Saudi desert not far from Kuwait, where the fighting was happening. Charles and the four other guys living in that box were told to await orders. After a few weeks, they heard a rumor about a civilian settlement nearby where they could do laundry. So they set out walking into the desert with their guns and their dirty laundry. The experience changed him forever. We hear Charles's story, and then veterans call in to tell us about their memorable meals in combat — from fishing with grenades in World War II and rooftop barbecues in Vietnam, to bartering with Girl Scout cookies in Iraq after the U.S. invasion.
This episode originally aired on December 31, 2012, November 9, 2015, November 7, 2016, and November 9, 2018. It was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Aviva DeKornfeld, Gianna Palmer, and Dan Dzula. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer.
Every Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at hello@sporkful.com, and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of The Sporkful ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

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A bottle of whiskey with no online footprint. A bar that’s long been closed. An address that doesn’t exist. Ten years ago, Akhil and Nisha Dayal found a whiskey bottle at an estate sale whose backstory they couldn’t trace. Can The Sporkful uncover the origins of this mysterious whiskey?
This episode originally aired on November 14, 2022 and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Johanna Mayer, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of The Sporkful ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.



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When Food Network star Duff Goldman got into baking elaborate cakes, he was just trying to pay the bills while pursuing his real dream of rock stardom. So what happened? This week we talk with the Ace of Cakes host about his deep artistic roots, the risks he took as a teenage graffiti artist, and why he almost gave up on the food industry altogether. More than ten years after Ace of Cakes ended, Duff is still starring in Food Network shows — but he can’t completely shake the sense that any moment, it could all disappear.
This episode originally aired on April 11, 2022, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Johanna Mayer, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer.
Every Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at hello@sporkful.com, and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of The Sporkful ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.



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On Halloween night in 1974, an eight-year-old boy in the Houston suburbs got Pixy Stix laced with cyanide. He wasn’t the only one. So did four other kids who were trick-or-treating that night. It made poisoned candy an overnight terror to parents nationwide. In this episode from our friends at the food true crime podcast Outlaw’s Digest, we hear the story that inspired a fear of Halloween candy for decades to come. Along the way, we take a dip into the surprising origins of Pixy Stix, and check in with host KC Hysmith’s family to hear how the candy poisonings change candy’s peak holiday.
The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This episode was produced by Good Egg Audio, an independent worker cooperative, and KC Hysmith.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of The Sporkful ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

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This week we have a Reheat double-header. First up, from way down in the crevices of that deep freezer: a throwdown over proper buffet priorities, in which we also cover seat selection, line etiquette, and how far one should go to win the age-old battle against the Buffet Master. Next up: Should you send a dish back to the kitchen simply because you don't love it? Or should you just suck it up and eat it anyway? Sporkful listener Lynn and her dad, Joseph, are at odds — so Lynn called in the big guns, and sought advice from Dan and chef/cookbook author/YouTuber Kenji López-Alt.
These episodes originally aired on June 1, 2010, and December 16, 2016, and were produced by Dan Pashman, Mark Garrison, Anne Saini, Shoshanna Gold, Dan Charles, and Irene Trudell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. This update was produced by Gianna Palmer.
Every Friday, we reach into our deep freezer and reheat an episode to serve up to you. We're calling these our Reheats. If you have a show you want reheated, send us an email or voice memo at hello@sporkful.com, and include your name, your location, which episode, and why.
Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of The Sporkful ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.