Starting off this project I did not know what topic relating to food I wanted to cover. After starting and stopping so many different podcasts I decided that I was interested in reasons why people overindulge themselves when they sit at a table. The three podcasts I chose were Eating Matters “Weight, You Too?”, A Taste of the Past “How Big is Your Plate? Redesigning How We Eat” and The Sporkful “When Weight Loss Surgery Is Like a Bad Breakup”. I chose these three podcasts because one of the biggest concerns I have about the future is being overweight and the complications that come with it. Each of these podcasts look at some aspect of why we physically overeat and the more mental aspects of it. Two of the podcasts even contained interviews from the same professor, Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, who studies food behavior in consumers. The three podcasts are all one on one interviews with people who have experience on the topic of overeating (either first hand or because the study it).
The first podcast I listened to was Eating Matters. This episode begins with Dr. Wansink talking about how when people are given the same amount of food, packaged into 100 calorie portions, will eat less than if they had all the food given to them at once. Wansink says that eating healthy starts at a behavioral level instead of the industrial level since it is easier to make changes on the consumer’s part. Another study he did was incentivized purchases at grocery stores and it was found that people were less likely to buy something that is taxed more (like soda) but also less likely to buy healthier foods. The interview also discusses Wansink’s newest article about how comments to teen aged girls can lead to more body image issues and eating disorders when they are older. The study found that any amount of negative criticism from parents would lead to women feeling like they need to lose 6-7 pounds on average compared to similarly sized women who reported no criticism growing up. Some of Wansik’s studies such as the incentives on food experiment made me think about the “Forbidding use of food stamps” article and how SNAP programs tested similar ideas and found similar results that people would buy more fruits and vegetables but never mentioned the opposition. The article really brings forth the mental processes people have about eating and how it might make them eat more. Simple things like spacing at a super market can alter whether they buy fruit or not. Even comments made by parent’s years ago can have detrimental effects on the eating habits of the daughter and cause her to perceive herself as overweight.
This podcast began with an intro song and leads into a short synopsis of the show by the host, Jenna Liut, to pull listeners in. The beginning between the host and another member of the crew is very casual as they talk about new policies about food and the environment being introduced and their opinions on them. Besides this opening segment there was little narration unless the show was transitioning into a new segment. During the interview portion Jenna was more formal with Dr. Wansink but there was still jokes between the two. The show used music between transitions between segments and also into and out of ad reads. The use of music was helpful because it gave the listener the idea that a new topic was coming up so they were not confused over the change. During the actual segments no music was used and it was nice having clear voices not muddied by music underneath.
The second podcast I listened to was A Taste of the Past hosted by Linda Pelaccio. This podcast looked into the differences in the sizes of dinner plates and how they have an effect on portion sizes. Dr. Wansink found that when a dinner plate has a low contrast to the food on it (eg white rice on white plates) people were more likely to give themselves larger portions. He also found that in Paris, people where done eating dinner when they “were no longer hungry” but in Chicago people were done when the plate was empty. Even the sizes of plates actually made a difference, the sizes of plates since the 19th century has increased two inches from 9.5 to 11.5 inches which leads to bigger portion sizes and “bigger waist sizes” as Pelaccio put it. This podcast made me think a lot of difference in food cultures and specifically the Hungry Planet project and how Americans always had lots of food on their tables. I thought about how much of that food they were eating at once and if they were actually using larger plates than the European families shown. I never thought how I always eat everything on my plate even when I am no longer hungry until listening to this episode. It made me wonder why this is a distinctly American idea to eat until it hurts and not to an appropriate level.
This podcast was much more formal compared to the first one. It opened up with narration from the host and then transitioned to the interview. The interview was between Pelaccio and Wansink and they discussed the research conducted by Wansink much more. There were jokes told by both side but it seemed to be more focused on the content of the research than being entertaining. A Taste of the Past had much less music used only in the intro song, middle break, and outro song. There was not much production value that was outwardly seen in this podcast.
The Sporkful is the third and final podcast I listened to and was the most different of the three. The episode discussed people who have had weight loss surgeries feel about themselves after their surgery and how it can affect their family lives. The interviewee, Nikki, had gastric bypass surgery and after had no desire to eat but she wanted to go to super markets to just look at food. She had always been overweight but unlike the other podcast she did not have parents who made negative comments. Nikki’s eating habits were to eat out often and when she ate at home it was a lot of typical African American foods such as collard greens, fried chicken and fish. Eating for Nikki was always an emotional experience and she would use it as a coping mechanism. When she felt more comfortable with her own weight Nikki was worried about her own kid’s weight since they were much larger than they should be. She also felt like she was denying her kids their cultural identity by not making the foods her mother made at home. This podcast made me think about how often people who are already overweight think about their health. Nikki would try to explain to her kids about eating better but they still would choose to eat unhealthy. This podcast made me question people’s desires to really make a difference in their own lives as far as their eating habits. I thought about how in the article by Julie Guthman people have a certain habitus about how they should be eating it can be really hard to break but unlike most people Nikki was able to get over her cultural and social expectations and lose a lot of her weight which she was concerned about. Her children on the other had do not want to break their habitus of eating poorly.
This podcast had the most production value out of the three in my opinion. It’s draw to listeners is a slow tune with an excerpt from the interviewee and a short narration by the host Dan Pashman about what the episode will be about. It also has a secondary intro with the general song of the show. The use has more use of tunes between segments and uses it as a transition piece like the other two podcasts. It is a much more informal podcast which is a friendly conversation about the interviewee’s past story about her weight loss. It also contains short bursts of narration to clarify any misconception and to use it as a segue between questions the host asks.
I think content and design of the podcast both important aspects of creating a show format that people actually want to listen to. In a time where people can listen or watch any media they want at any time it is important to create something lasting. The design of the podcast is what may draw people in for a first listen but it is the content that makes people want to keep listening. The three that I chose were the most interesting to me right off the bat and the ideas they were discussing kept me around. Both content and design are important since my favorite podcast of these three The Sporkful had the most work on its design and helped keep me engaged throughout the episode. The features of all three podcasts were what helped me choose the topic of overeating.
The first podcast I listened to was Eating Matters. This episode begins with Dr. Wansink talking about how when people are given the same amount of food, packaged into 100 calorie portions, will eat less than if they had all the food given to them at once. Wansink says that eating healthy starts at a behavioral level instead of the industrial level since it is easier to make changes on the consumer’s part. Another study he did was incentivized purchases at grocery stores and it was found that people were less likely to buy something that is taxed more (like soda) but also less likely to buy healthier foods. The interview also discusses Wansink’s newest article about how comments to teen aged girls can lead to more body image issues and eating disorders when they are older. The study found that any amount of negative criticism from parents would lead to women feeling like they need to lose 6-7 pounds on average compared to similarly sized women who reported no criticism growing up. Some of Wansik’s studies such as the incentives on food experiment made me think about the “Forbidding use of food stamps” article and how SNAP programs tested similar ideas and found similar results that people would buy more fruits and vegetables but never mentioned the opposition. The article really brings forth the mental processes people have about eating and how it might make them eat more. Simple things like spacing at a super market can alter whether they buy fruit or not. Even comments made by parent’s years ago can have detrimental effects on the eating habits of the daughter and cause her to perceive herself as overweight.
This podcast began with an intro song and leads into a short synopsis of the show by the host, Jenna Liut, to pull listeners in. The beginning between the host and another member of the crew is very casual as they talk about new policies about food and the environment being introduced and their opinions on them. Besides this opening segment there was little narration unless the show was transitioning into a new segment. During the interview portion Jenna was more formal with Dr. Wansink but there was still jokes between the two. The show used music between transitions between segments and also into and out of ad reads. The use of music was helpful because it gave the listener the idea that a new topic was coming up so they were not confused over the change. During the actual segments no music was used and it was nice having clear voices not muddied by music underneath.
The second podcast I listened to was A Taste of the Past hosted by Linda Pelaccio. This podcast looked into the differences in the sizes of dinner plates and how they have an effect on portion sizes. Dr. Wansink found that when a dinner plate has a low contrast to the food on it (eg white rice on white plates) people were more likely to give themselves larger portions. He also found that in Paris, people where done eating dinner when they “were no longer hungry” but in Chicago people were done when the plate was empty. Even the sizes of plates actually made a difference, the sizes of plates since the 19th century has increased two inches from 9.5 to 11.5 inches which leads to bigger portion sizes and “bigger waist sizes” as Pelaccio put it. This podcast made me think a lot of difference in food cultures and specifically the Hungry Planet project and how Americans always had lots of food on their tables. I thought about how much of that food they were eating at once and if they were actually using larger plates than the European families shown. I never thought how I always eat everything on my plate even when I am no longer hungry until listening to this episode. It made me wonder why this is a distinctly American idea to eat until it hurts and not to an appropriate level.
This podcast was much more formal compared to the first one. It opened up with narration from the host and then transitioned to the interview. The interview was between Pelaccio and Wansink and they discussed the research conducted by Wansink much more. There were jokes told by both side but it seemed to be more focused on the content of the research than being entertaining. A Taste of the Past had much less music used only in the intro song, middle break, and outro song. There was not much production value that was outwardly seen in this podcast.
The Sporkful is the third and final podcast I listened to and was the most different of the three. The episode discussed people who have had weight loss surgeries feel about themselves after their surgery and how it can affect their family lives. The interviewee, Nikki, had gastric bypass surgery and after had no desire to eat but she wanted to go to super markets to just look at food. She had always been overweight but unlike the other podcast she did not have parents who made negative comments. Nikki’s eating habits were to eat out often and when she ate at home it was a lot of typical African American foods such as collard greens, fried chicken and fish. Eating for Nikki was always an emotional experience and she would use it as a coping mechanism. When she felt more comfortable with her own weight Nikki was worried about her own kid’s weight since they were much larger than they should be. She also felt like she was denying her kids their cultural identity by not making the foods her mother made at home. This podcast made me think about how often people who are already overweight think about their health. Nikki would try to explain to her kids about eating better but they still would choose to eat unhealthy. This podcast made me question people’s desires to really make a difference in their own lives as far as their eating habits. I thought about how in the article by Julie Guthman people have a certain habitus about how they should be eating it can be really hard to break but unlike most people Nikki was able to get over her cultural and social expectations and lose a lot of her weight which she was concerned about. Her children on the other had do not want to break their habitus of eating poorly.
This podcast had the most production value out of the three in my opinion. It’s draw to listeners is a slow tune with an excerpt from the interviewee and a short narration by the host Dan Pashman about what the episode will be about. It also has a secondary intro with the general song of the show. The use has more use of tunes between segments and uses it as a transition piece like the other two podcasts. It is a much more informal podcast which is a friendly conversation about the interviewee’s past story about her weight loss. It also contains short bursts of narration to clarify any misconception and to use it as a segue between questions the host asks.
I think content and design of the podcast both important aspects of creating a show format that people actually want to listen to. In a time where people can listen or watch any media they want at any time it is important to create something lasting. The design of the podcast is what may draw people in for a first listen but it is the content that makes people want to keep listening. The three that I chose were the most interesting to me right off the bat and the ideas they were discussing kept me around. Both content and design are important since my favorite podcast of these three The Sporkful had the most work on its design and helped keep me engaged throughout the episode. The features of all three podcasts were what helped me choose the topic of overeating.