Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

Can bacteria be bred to feed crops, and do it for a fraction of the cost of chemical fertilizer? This week on the show, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a soil microbiologist at Embrapa (the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), 2025 World Food Prize laureate, and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026. They discuss how nitrogen-fixing...

What can microbes living in the dark, mineral-rich corners of a cave tell us about the next generation of medicines?

In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with biomedical geoscientist Dr. Rachel Washburn, director of the Washburn CHAOS Lab (Complex Host and Abiotic Systems). Her team studies the whole system at once: which microbes are prese...

Why do humans have a sweet tooth, and what does the glycemic index actually tell us about food? Dr. Cassandra Quave talks with University of Sydney nutrition scientist Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller about the role of fruit and sugar in human evolution, how different carbohydrates affect blood glucose, and why the type of rice you choose may matter more than whether it’s white or bro...

What if the value of a farm were measured not only by what it produces, but also by the communities, skills, and ecosystems it sustains? This week on Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave welcomes environmental anthropologist Dr. Andrew Flachs back to the show to discuss his new book, Feeding the World as if People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields.