Eating History

In this episode of Eating History, Stephen and Adrienne trace the bizarre and fascinating evolution of the PB&J. They explore how a high-society specialty item transformed into America's ultimate childhood comfort food, driven by the Great Depression, the invention of sliced bread, and the mass commercialization of affordable ingredients.

Inside this episode:

The earliest known PB&J recipe from Julia Davis Chandler, featuring peanut paste and tart currant jelly on thin bread

The strange Battle Creek Sanitarium history, where Dr. John Harvey Kellogg insisted on boiling peanuts to create a flavorless spread<...

Welcome to Episode 4 of Eating History’s sandwich season! This week, Stephen and Adrienne dig into the disputed origins and massive cultural rise of the ultimate American sandwich: the hamburger. From its roots as a 19th-century German meat dish to the 1906 publication that nearly destroyed the public's trust in ground beef, discover how the hamburger overcame the odds to become a 50-billion-a-year global phenomenon. 

In this episode, we explore:

The Louis' Lunch Myth: Why New Haven's famous 1900 origin story is contradicted by an 1894 Texas newspaper ad

The 1834 Forgery: How historians uncovered a fake Del...

Welcome to Episode 3 of Eating History’s sandwich season! This week, Stephen and Adrienne explore how the Industrial Revolution took the sandwich out of aristocratic parlors and put it into the hands of the working class. Discover how the rise of factories, densely packed cities, and fast-moving railroads forced humanity to eat by the clock, and why the sandwich was the perfect culinary technology for the job.

In this episode, we explore:

The Rise of the Sandwich: The grim reality of 19th-century railway food, and why paying for a terrible, sawdusty sandwich was better than mi...

Welcome to Episode 2 of Eating History’s sandwich season! This week, Stephen and Adrienne track the sandwich as it escapes 18th-century England and begins its journey across the globe. From a brief military ceasefire in France to a bustling railway station in Japan, discover how the sandwich traveled not as a rigid recipe, but as a flexible culinary category that adapted perfectly to every culture it encountered.

In this episode, we explore:

The 1802 French Crossover: Why France borrowed the English word "sandwich" during a brief pause in the Napoleonic Wars

Silver Sandwich Cases: El...

Welcome to the official kickoff of Eating History Season 2! This week, Adrienne and Stephen tackle one of the most famous origin stories in the culinary world: Did John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, really invent his namesake meal to keep his hands clean during an all-night gambling bender? Join the hosts as they explore how an ancient, practical way of eating evolved into a distinct cultural category, and why one 18th-century English aristocrat still gets all the credit.

In this episode, we explore:

The legendary myth of the gambling Earl and why the story...

Welcome back to a brand new season of Eating History! After tracking the evolution of pizza across the globe, Adrienne and Stephen return to tackle an entirely new culinary mystery: What exactly is a sandwich? Join them as they explore how "food inside bread" evolved from a prehistoric practice into a powerful cultural category, and why we are all still furiously debating the hot dog.

In this episode, we explore:

The Sandwich Meter: How we put different “sandwiches” into categories

The Definition Dilemma: Why traditional rules (like "two pieces of bread") accidentally turn burr...

Welcome to the grand finale of Pizza Bites! After an entire season devoted to the evolution of the slice, Adrienne and Stephen tackle the biggest question of them all: When exactly did pizza stop being an Italian import and become an undeniable American staple? By narrowing down the historical timeline between World War II and the rise of fast-food chains, they pinpoint the exact day pizza officially conquered American pop culture.

In this episode, we explore:

Why returning WWII soldiers sparked the fire, but didn't immediately make the dish mainstream

The incredible six-year...

Welcome to the newest slice of Pizza Bites! This week, Adrienne and Stephen take a nostalgic trip back to the 1980s to explore the cultural phenomenon of Pizza Hut. What started as a humble $600 investment grew into a $2.7 billion empire that defined the modern experiential dining era. Discover how a brand that once represented the futuristic cutting edge of pop culture is now successfully betting on the comforting power of the past.

In this episode, we explore:

The 1958 origins of Pizza Hut and the delayed arrival of its iconic red roof

The brilliant 1984...

What if we told you the story of McDonald’s didn’t start with the Big Mac, drive-thrus, or billions of burgers? In this special episode, Eating History presents one of our favorite episodes of History Daily, exploring the surprising story of how McDonald’s got its start, and the people and ideas that would ultimately change the way the world eats. 

Every weekday, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history.

So if you’re stuck in traffic, bore...

On the latest Pizza Bite, Adrienne and Stephen unpack a beloved cultural phenomenon: how Friday became America’s undisputed pizza night. Instead of being engineered by a clever corporate marketing campaign, this shared national ritual evolved organically from the everyday choices of millions of exhausted families looking to kick off the weekend with ease.

In this episode:

Welcome to the newest installment of Pizza Bites! This week, Adrienne and Stephen explore the origins of pizzas delivered straight to your door. While pizza didn't invent the concept of food delivery, it was uniquely built to perfect it. Discover how post-WWII suburban sprawl, the rise of the telephone, and the golden age of home video rentals turned a convenient dinner choice into a beloved American cultural tradition.

In this episode:

The culinary engineering that makes pizza the perfect travel food (hint: it's all in the crust and cheese)

How suburban growth and...

This week, Stephen and Adrienne uncover the unexpected military history behind America's favorite food. When millions of servicemen returned home from Naples, their deep cravings transformed pizza from a regional Italian-American specialty into a nationwide phenomenon.

In this episode:

Why the strategic port of Naples became the greatest accidental pizza field trip in history

The reality of wartime pizza: Why severe ingredient scarcity meant these slices looked very different from today's pizza

How returning soldiers fueled pizza's rapid expansion across America

Why the grassroots post-war pizza...

Welcome to episode five of Pizza Bites! This week, Adrienne and Stephen explore how a single coal-fired oven in early 20th-century New York City sparked an entire culinary dynasty. Tune in to discover the intricate family tree of New York pizza and how master pizzaiolos passed down the unwritten secrets of the craft from one generation to the next.

In this episode:

Welcome to episode four of Pizza Bites! This week, Adrienne and Stephen tackle a fierce Midwestern debate: If Chicago is famous for deep-dish, why do most locals actually eat tavern-style pizza? Tune in to explore the 1930s neighborhood origins, the culinary differences, and the ultimate showdown between the city's two iconic pies.

In this episode:

The defining characteristics of tavern-style pie (crispy edges, caramelized cheese, and toppings to the rim)

The 1930s tavern origins and the brilliant business strategy behind the square "party cut"

The legendary baseball-related origin story of Home...

In the third edition of Pizza Bites from Eating History, Adrienne and Stephen ask a big question: Is New Haven, Connecticut, the real pizza capital of America? Tune in to explore the intense family rivalries and unique coal-fired "apizza" that put this small city on the culinary map.

In this episode:

Why New Haven produces more elite pizza per capita than any other city in America

The defining characteristics of coal-fired "apizza" (and how to properly pronounce it)

The fierce, decades-long family rivalry between Frank Pepe's and Sally's

Why...

In the second Pizza Bite from Eating History, Adrienne and Stephen tackle America’s undisputed favorite pizza topping: pepperoni. From the surprising reality of ordering "peperoni" in Italy to its mysterious origins in early 20th-century New York, they explore how an Italian-American community creation transformed into a national culinary staple.

In this episode:

Why ordering a "pepperoni" pizza in Naples will get you a pie covered in bell peppers

The 1919 debut of the word and its evolution from Southern Italian cured meat traditions

The culinary science behind why pepperoni’s high fat...

Welcome to the first installment of Pizza Bites, a new series from Eating History featuring short stories from the evolution of pizza. This week, Adrienne and Stephen tackle one of the culinary world's most polarizing debates: pineapple on pizza. From an international controversy involving Iceland’s proposed ban to its true origins in Canada, they explore how a 1960s experiment by a Greek immigrant sparked a global phenomenon.

In this episode:

The international pineapple-on-pizza controversy, from Iceland to Canada

How Greek immigrant Sam Panopoulos invented this variety at the Satellite Restaurant

Th...

In episode eight of Eating History, hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey look ahead to the future of pizza while asking one final question: what is pizza now? After tracing its journey from the streets of Naples to every corner of the globe, they explore how technology, sustainability, and changing ideas about authenticity are shaping the next chapter of one of the world’s most beloved foods.

Topics Covered:

What pizza means in the modern world

The debate between authenticity and “authentic-ish” pizza

Ghost kitchens and delivery-only pizza brands

Automa...

In episode seven of Eating History, hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey explore the gourmet pizza revolution that transformed pizza from an everyday meal into a culinary canvas. From Beverly Hills restaurants to neighborhood pizzerias, they trace how innovative chefs, changing tastes, and new technologies challenged traditional ideas about what pizza could be.

Topics Covered:

How Wolfgang Puck and Ed LaDou launched the California pizza movement at Spago

The rise of California Pizza Kitchen and the national spread of gourmet pizza

The debate between tradition and innovation

Chris Bianco...

In episode six of Eating History, Adrienne and Stephen follow pizza on an unexpected journey back home. After conquering America and much of the world, pizza returned to Italy transformed, forcing Italians to reconsider a food that had once been a regional specialty. Along the way, they explore how migration, globalization, and cultural exchange helped turn pizza into a true international phenomenon.

Topics Covered:

The spread of pizza beyond Naples and across Italy

Luigi Giordano and the first modern pizzeria in northern Italy

How southern Italian migration reshaped Italy's pizza culture<...

In episode five of Eating History, Adrienne and Stephen explore the battle that changed pizza forever. What happens when a beloved local food becomes a national business? From a small pizza shop founded by two brothers in Kansas to the rise of massive restaurant chains, this episode examines how franchising transformed pizza from a regional specialty into one of the world's most recognizable foods.

Topics Covered:

The founding stories of Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and more

How franchising revolutionized the pizza business

The shift from regional pizza traditions to standardized products

In episode four of Eating History, hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey dive into one of pizza’s greatest debates: how did America’s regional pizza styles emerge, and why do people defend them so fiercely? From wartime Chicago to the factories of Detroit, they explore the innovators who transformed pizza from an immigrant tradition into a distinctly American phenomenon.

Topics Covered:

The origins of Chicago deep dish pizza

The partnership that launched Pizzeria Uno

How deep dish challenged conventional ideas of what pizza could be

The key differences betw...

In episode three of Eating History, hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey follow pizza across the Atlantic as it makes its way from the streets of Naples to the immigrant neighborhoods of New York City. Discover how pioneers like Gennaro Lombardi helped transform pizza from a quick street snack into a sit-down dining experience, setting the stage for America's pizza obsession.

Topics Covered:

Gennaro Lombardi and the birth of New York's early pizzerias

The surprising ingredient differences between Italy and the United States

Pizza's evolution in New Haven, Buenos Aires, São...

Join us on episode one of Eating History as we explore the fascinating origins of pizza. Hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey start at the very beginning. Discover how this beloved dish evolved from ancient flatbreads to a global icon.

Topics Covered:

Perfect for food lovers and history enthusiasts alike, this episode uncovers the rich history...

In episode two of Eating History, hosts Adrienne Cheatham and Stephen Bailey continue the saga of Pizza’s origins. Discover the intriguing story of how pizza evolved from a simple Neapolitan street food to a symbol of Italian identity. Was it truly a royal favorite, or just a clever marketing tale? 

Topics Covered:

The legendary story of Queen ’s pizza

Pizza as a symbol of Italian pride

The iconic tomato, mozzarella, and basil combo

How migration spread pizza globally

Perfect for food enthusiasts and history lovers, this episo...

Every bite has a backstory. Welcome to Eating History, the podcast that serves up the wild, scandalous, and mouth-watering tales behind the foods that changed the world.

Join Michelin-starred chef and Top Chef runner-up Adrienne Cheatham and her husband, history buff Stephen Bailey, as they pair elite culinary expertise with epic historical deep-dives.

For Season 1, we’re slicing into the ultimate global obsession: Pizza. Discover how a dirt-cheap street food from the back alleys of Naples conquered the globe, sparked endless fiery debates, and built a multi-billion-dollar empire. Along the way, you’ll cross paths with...