
About this episode
Sourdough starters! Ancient yeasts! Why we need/knead dough! And why you don't need to buy a starter (or yeast!) to start. Polymath, particle physicist, inventor of the Xbox, and truly delightful fermentation nerd Seamus Blackley joins to chat about his kitchen adventures resurrecting dormant yeasts from 4,000 year old Egyptian baking vessels, plus wild yeasts, farting microbes, gas bubbles, the debt we owe our ancestors, and the joy of getting to know your dough.
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A donation went to Boys and Girls Clubs of America
Full-length (*not* G-rated) Gastroegyptology episode + tons of science links
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Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris
Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Jacob Chaffee, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin Talbert
Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm
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