The Sporkful

The two comics are old friends, but how well do they really know each other's eating quirks? Plus, Kamau gives us an update on the racist incident he told us about last time he was on the show, and Dan reveals what comedians have taught him about food.  Today's sponsors: Go to BenJerry.com to find out where you can get Ben & Jerry's Pint Slices. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to SunBasket.com/Sporkful to get $35 off your first order.

When comedian Hari Kondabolu isn't delivering incisive jokes about politics and identity, he's dreaming of being locked inside a magical bakery. Plus, Hari tells us why you shouldn't ask him about Indian food, and shares his take on whether famous Simpsons food scenes with Apu are racist or not. Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to ControlGX...

After months of searching, we finally meet Ted Ngoy, aka "the Donut King", and learn what happened to him. He's returned to the Cambodian community seeking redemption. But will he find it? Today's sponsors: Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean.com/Sporkful to learn how the Magic Eraser can help you clean up around the house. Go to SpiceIslands.com/Sporkful for spice facts and recipes. Go to ThirdLove...

After escaping Cambodia's "Killing Fields," Ted Ngoy built a donut empire in California. Then he lost it all, and disappeared. This week we're searching for The Donut King -- and his legacy.  Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean.com/Sporkful to learn how the Magic Eraser can help you clean up around the house. Go to SpiceIslands.com/Sporkful for spice facts and recipes.

Gustavo Alvarez didn't learn to cook until he went to prison. Sharing food there was a good way to win friends and find comfort in a rough place. But, for Gustavo, cooking also proved to be the ultimate survival skill. Today's sponsors: Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean.com/Sporkful to learn how the Magic Eraser can help you clean up around the house. Go to SunBasket.com/Sporkful to get $35 off your first order.

A couple calls in for advice about food tensions in their intercultural relationship, and New Yorker food writer Helen Rosner tells us why all relationships are "inter-everything." Plus, an atheist listener struggles with his religious family's insistence on saying grace before meals. Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean...

In cooking and eating, sound is the forgotten sense. But you can tell whether you're cutting scallions correctly, or how good your chocolate is, by the sounds they make. Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean.com/Sporkful to learn how the Magic Eraser can help you clean up around the house. Go to ThirdLove.com/Sporkful to get 15% off your first purchase.

Is there really a difference between cheap and expensive vodkas? In this collaboration with NPR's Planet Money, we go on a mission to learn how super premium vodka is made and marketed. Then we make our own, to see how it measures up. Today's sponsors: Go to ChefSteps.com/Joule and get $15 off a Joule Sous Vide, using the promo code SPORKFUL (case sensitive). Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean...

Comic Paul F. Tompkins says his approach to comedy is like his mother's approach to cooking. Both are more elaborate than they need to be, and better for it. Plus he discusses his Comedy Bang Bang character Cake Boss and why Philly people love the chain Wawa. Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean...

When one culture's holiday becomes everyone's excuse to party, what's gained and what's lost? And how does it feel when it's your holiday? We go to a Chinese New Year party with no Chinese people and a Passover seder with no Jewish people to find out. Plus comedian Jenny Yang offers advice for marketing new holidays. Today's sponsors: Go to AmazonMusic.com to start your free 30-day trial. Go to BobsRedMill.com to explore their huge range of products and recipes. Go to MrClean...