Gravy
by Southern Foodways Alliance
Gravy shares stories of the changing American South through the foods we eat. Gravy showcases a South that is constantly evolving, accommodating new immigrants, adopting new traditions, and lovingly maintaining old ones. It uses food as a means to explore all of that, to dig into lesser-known corners of the region, complicate stereotypes, document new dynamics, and give voice to the unsung folk who grow, cook, and serve our daily meals.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
11/17/2014
Email Addresses
1 available
Phone Numbers
0 available
Recent Episodes
April 23, 2025
A Muddy Future for Louisiana Crawfish
Eva Tesfaye investigates the devastating impact of the 2023 Louisiana drought on crawfish farming and speaks with Michael Moreaux and Bruno Sagrera about innovative, sustainable practices to protect future harvests in this interview.
April 9, 2025
Fruitcake in Space
In “Fruitcake in Space,” Gravy producer Bronwen Wyatt explores a bizarre footnote in the annals of human space travel. In 1968, a scientist at a military research facility developed a very unusual recipe: a nutritionally-fortified fruitcake designed as an emergency ration for astronauts. It might be easy to dismiss this fruitcake, but we’re here to argue that it’s part of a larger story—one that takes us from the early days of NASA’s space program to our current quest for Mars. Wyatt investigates the importance of safe preservation techniques in space, how NASA determines what food astronauts will actually eat, and why fruitcake actually makes perfect sense as an emergency ration. In an archival interview from 1966, dietician Mary Klicka at the Natick Laboratory Army Research, Development, and Engineering Center points to the unique challenges of preparing acceptable menus for long-term space travel. Wyatt speaks to Vickie Kloeris, who managed NASA’s food systems for nearly thirty years from the laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Jennifer Levasseur, a curator specializing in food at the Air and Space Museum. Finally, retired astronaut Cady Coleman shares her perspective on dining in orbit. Coleman, who volunteered for the role of "food czar" on the International Space Station, tells how food becomes a form of currency and a tool for building camaraderie among astronauts. Kloeris, Levasseur, and Coleman emphasize that dining space is about more than the mechanical function of obtaining enough calories to survive. Even in the most barren environments, our cultural drive to bond over food is a connection to our lives on earth and part of what makes us human. The selection and preparation of food—work that is often dismissed as inconsequential domestic labor—is a crucial part of the success of any mission in space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
March 26, 2025
Got (Raw) Milk? The Small Family Dairy Farms Behind a Big Controversy
In “Got (Raw) Milk? The Small Family Dairy Farms Behind a Big Controversy,” Gravy producer Bianca Garcia takes listeners to Milky Way Farm, the last dairy in Anderson County, South Carolina, where raw milk sales are keeping the Peeler family afloat. Their neighbors have succumbed to the pressures that have defined a generation of farmers. Between 2003 and 2022, South Carolina—where the state beverage is a glass of cold milk—lost 75 percent of licensed dairy operations. They have found their market in a niche constituency, though the wider public might disapprove. Raw milk is a risky product, often considered a public health risk. Raw milk is unpasteurized, meaning it hasn’t been through a sanitizing kill step. Scientists worry that it can make consumers vulnerable to bacterial or viral infection, but raw milk lovers can’t get enough of the creamy taste and allegedly healthful properties. This debate is situated in what seems to be a public health emergency. Reports of bird flu infecting dairy cattle leave public health officials worried that drinking raw milk can spread disease. Under the Trump presidency, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to increase public access to raw milk as a part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda. Raw influencers and “tradwives” promote it endlessly on social media. Through all this noise, it’s easy to lose sense of the fact that this is an issue that starts on the farm. In this episode, you will hear from L.D. Peeler, acting patriarch of Milky Way Farm, his daughter, Iris, and son, Davis. Each plays a role on their small family farm, which raises 120 Jersey cows: Davis works on the farm, L.D. manages the finances, and Iris does the public relations. They each have different, but entangled, stories to tell. At Milky Way Farm, we are reminded that, just like any other food, raw milk starts with the land, the animals, and the people that make it possible. Guided by the community’s desire for a tasty and safe product, the Peelers have shaped their business to meet this need. Thus, in the face of economic pressures of the dairy industry and cultural pressures around the product, they have risen above—like the cream beneath the lid of their bottled pints. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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