Interviews

Octavia Butler on Religion and the Spirituality of Symbiosis

“On many levels, we wind up being strengthened by what we join, or what joins us, as well as by what we combat.” …

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How to Be a Living Poem: Lucille Clifton on the Balance of Intellect and Intuition in Creative Work and the Healing Power of Connection

“I didn’t graduate from college, which isn’t necessary to be a poet. It is only necessary to be interested in humans and to be in touch with yourself as a human.” …

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Octavia Butler’s Advice on Writing

“No matter how tired you get, no matter how you feel like you can’t possibly do this, somehow you do.” …

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’These Are People You Should Know About’: a Q&A with Klancy Miller on Her Stunning Second Book

Food wasn’t always the path for Klancy Miller. But, after earning a diplôme de pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, it was an easy choice. Now, her work has been featured in New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food Network, Vogue, and more (including Food52!). After her debut cookbook in 2016: Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking For Yourself, Klancy turned to self-publishing, where the concept of her magazine, For the Culture, was born. Klancy’s second, eponymous cookbook—a comprehensive anthology of 66 Black women and femmes in the modern food world—is a triumphant blend of food history, pop culture, wisdom, and recipes. For the Culture features interviews with industry leaders from Mashama Bailey to Carla Hall and, of course, a bunch of delicious recipes to go along with it. Read More >> …

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The Human Scale: Oliver Sacks on How to Save Humanity from Itself

“…or there will be genocide, atomic bombs, and we’ll all perish and take the planet with us.” …

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Lisa Says Gah’s Recipe for Success: Slow Fashion, Sustainability & Snacky Prints

This article is part of an interview series called Ladies Who (Wear) Lunch, an exploration of the intersection of food and fashion. Read More >> …

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Abi Balingit’s Ube Cheesecake Bars Are a Host’s Dream—Here’s Why

This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.
Here at Food52, we love hosting. Whether it’s dinner parties, pizza nights, or backyard barbecues, we’re obsessed with sharing good food—and good times—with friends and loved ones. But let’s be honest: Not everyone has the space to host a huge soirée. I certainly don’t, and whenever I decide to cook dinner for friends in my two-room apartment (okay, three if you count the bathroom), making the most of my limited space is of the utmost importance. Read More >> …

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Audre Lorde on What to Do When Difference Ruptures Society

Living into the risk and responsibility of the multiple identities we carry. …

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Maya Angelou on Writing and Our Responsibility to Our Creative Gifts

“I believe talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it.” …

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Farokh Talati’s New Cookbook Is an Ode to All Things Parsi

Chef Farokh Talati’s latest project, Parsi: From Persia to Bombay: Recipes & Tales From the Ancient Culture, delves into the world of Parsi food—a cuisine that, for too long, has been overlooked by American food media. The cookbook is an ambitious one, at once documenting traditional Parsi recipes (many of which come from Talati’s relatives) and merging them with his own experiences as a fine-dining chef. We had the pleasure of speaking to Talati, who is also the head chef at London’s St. John Bread and Wine, about the key elements of Parsi food, the cookbook-writing process, and more. From Our Shop Sale! Staub Cast Iron Tall Cocotte, 5QT $514–$543 $149.99–$169.99 More Colors

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3 Things to Learn from a Child, 7 from a Thief: Bob Dylan’s Favorite Hasidic Teaching

On the value of remaining resolutely what you are. …

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Why This Veteran Food Editor Is Breaking Into Indie Publishing

There’s nothing casual about making a magazine. I know this because up until a few years ago, I was eating, sleeping, and breathing print media as the editor of not one but two publications, Culture Cheese Magazine (my then-full-time job) and GRLSQUASH, my now-defunct self-funded indie mag side project. Between sticking to strict printer deadlines, managing a seemingly endless sea of freelancers, proofing until you want to cry (and inevitably missing at least a handful of typos), and somehow financing the whole endeavor—selling ads? Crowd-funding? Asking for donations?—print can feel, well, grueling. But it’s also so damn rewarding. Once you’ve fallen in love with print it’s tough to fall out of love, which is probably why Dana Cowin is back in the publishing game, this time bolder (and broader) than ever. After a decades-long career as editor-in-chief of Food & Wine that ended in 2015, Cowin has turned to indie publishing. Speaking Broadly encapsulates her eponymous…

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Cheech Marin Loves Snacks, Noodles & Decriminalizing Cannabis

In The Green Scene, there’s no such thing as a silly question about cannabis. What’s the difference between THC and CBD? How the heck do I make edibles at home? What home design advice can dispensaries teach me? Kick back—we have the answers. The good news is that Cheech Marin is awake. “Kind of. Sort of,” the comedy legend says, logging in over Zoom at his home on the west coast. The only bad news is—well actually, there’s no bad news to speak of for the next 40 minutes, because I’m talking with the Cheech Marin: the school bus driver, the guy who stands outside the club in Dusk Till Dawn and goes over the, um, entertainment inside; the Cheech in Cheech and Chong, the guys who mainstreamed good, fun stoner vibes into the bloodstream of America over 50 years ago. Read More >> …

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Aloneness, Belonging, and the Paradox of Vulnerability, in Love and Creative Work

Wisdom on the elementary particles of our shared humanity from Alain de Botton, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Alexander, and other visionaries across the spectrum of the creative life. …

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Bob Dylan on Emotion, Vulnerability as the Price of Integrity, and Music as an Instrument of Truth

“You must be vulnerable to be sensitive to reality. And to me being vulnerable is just another way of saying that one has nothing more to lose.” …

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‘What Does Diwali Mean to Us This Year?’ We Asked 8 Food Pros.

Figuratively and literally the most lit festival that exists, the word derives from the Sanskrit word “deepavali,” translating to “a row of lamps.” Mythology explains that it was first celebrated when after 14 years in exile, Lord Rama came home to Ayodhya in northern India and the entire village was lit up in his honor. Even today, Indians all over the world celebrate the five days that fall in the Kartik month of the Hindu calendar. In a year different than any other Diwali before it, I checked in with chefs and food professionals—both in India and part of the diaspora—about what Diwali means to them, both generally and in 2020. One thing shone brighter than the warq on my kaju katli: While we may all have our cultural take and sui generis rituals, what accompanies the covey of sweets is a nostalgia-filled culinary narrative that is common to every Indian no matter where they are….

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I Asked My Grandma About Her 62 Thanksgivings Before Me

As an editor and writer, I interview for a living—cookbook authors, restaurant owners, dairy farmers—but rarely someone I meet outside of work. This article is an exception. I interviewed my 90-year-old grandma, Jolly (yes, that’s her name, and often her vibe), about Thanksgiving, and what it was like in our family long before I was born. Read More >> …

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22 Questions Job Candidates Should Ask the Hiring Manager (and HR) in a Job Interview

“Do you have any questions for me?” We’ve all been on the receiving end of that question in an interview. If you’re prepared, you’ve probably got some good questions you usually cycle through. …

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Elizabeth Gilbert on Love, Loss, and How to Move Through Grief as Grief Moves Through You

“Grief is a force of energy that cannot be controlled or predicted. It comes and goes on its own schedule. Grief does not obey your plans, or your wishes. Grief will do whatever it wants to you, whenever it wants to. In that regard, Grief has a lot in common with Love.” …

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Borges on Turning Trauma, Misfortune, and Humiliation into Raw Material for Art

“All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” …

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The Woman Teaching People How to Eat Well on a Food Stamp Budget

Rachel Bolden-Kramer knows what it means to struggle. Despite being the first in her family to go to college (she graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Social Studies and Spanish), she scrambled to find employment in the midst of the financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession. A physical injury inspired her to learn yoga and other natural healing practices, which led her to open a yoga center in New York. But she still relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table. Even on a fixed, limited budget, Bolden-Kramer stretched every dollar to eat the most nutritious foods possible. She learned to navigate the challenges of the social welfare system, and used her organizational and advocating skills to teach workshops on radical healing—living in a way to minimize inflammation and disease—commissioned by the New York City Housing Authority. The birth of her daughter brought her home to San Francisco,…

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16 of the Best Job Interview Questions to Ask Candidates (And What to Look for in Their Answers)

How lucky are you, and why? How many times heavier than a mouse is an elephant? How many square feet of pizza are consumed in the United States each year? Hiring managers have heard about using these “curveball” questions to identify the best candidates. Fortunately, for intelligent and qualified candidates everywhere, studies have found that the brainteaser interview questions made famous by Silicon Valley and Wall Street are just as silly as they sound. …

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She Survived the Great Depression—Then, at 91, Became a YouTube Star

Clara Cannucciari became internet famous at 91 years old. She was 66 when video cameras first went on sale and 74 when the World Wide Web was born. She never wanted to be on camera because she didn’t like the way she photographed, so when her grandson, Chris Cannucciari, first asked if he could film her cooking, she resisted. But they struck a deal: He could film her on the condition that he produce one worthy portrait of her that she could use at her wake. She was, after all, 91 years old. So Clara sat for a portrait and Chris photographed her, and she liked it. “Fine,” she said. “You can film me.” Read More >> …

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7 of the Best Situational Interview Questions

In an interview, let’s say I asked you, “Tell me about a time you worked through a conflict with a coworker?” …

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