We’re joined by New York Times book critic and author Dwight Garner. He presents food quips from his favorite writers, as well as John Updike’s lunch routine and Hunter S. Thompson’s party tricks. Plus, anthropologist Manvir Singh helps us digest the world of “meat-fluencers” and their all-meat diets; A Way with Words give credit to the Old Norse words lingering in our kitchens; and we prepare a Pakistani-Style Chicken Biryani.

Questions in this episode:

"I'm making a wedding cake and need help with my salted caramel filling consistency. What should I do?"

"How can you tell when different cheeses have gone bad?"

"How do you reheat soup with kale without it turning bitter?"