Award-winning food writer and journalist Mark Bittman walks us through the evolution of his relationship with all things culinary, beginning with his upbringing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bittman describes how he first started using cookbooks, the impact of global politics on his perspective, and how his mother and grandmother influenced his cooking habits. Mark Bittman is a food writer and journalist who has authored thirty books on a variety of topics. His work discusses the...

Nationally renowned women’s health advocate Dr. Sharon Malone takes us back to her childhood in Mobile, Alabama where she lived through a monumental moment in civil rights history led by her sister, Vivian Malone. Dr. Malone talks about how she views cooking together with family as an act of love, and what better way to show love than baking a decadent pound cake. Dr. Sharon Malone is an OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner who has been an active advocate for reproductive rights,...

In this episode, Nicole Avant—daughter of legendary music mogul Clarence Avant—looks back at her bustling childhood kitchen, where prominent Black figures were always stopping by. She’ll tell us about her mother’s snow cookies recipe as well as reflect on the loss of her mother and share tips for consoling someone experiencing deep grief.  Nicole Avant is a film producer, author, and former ambassador for the Bahamas. She wrote the critically acclaimed book Think You’ll be Happy: Moving...

Award winning, best-selling author Kristin Hannah recounts her outdoorsy childhood living in farmhouses and campsites built by her adventurous dad. We get a glimpse into what inspired Hannah to venture into historical fiction and what her mom managed to cook for her and her siblings with a wood fire stove. Plus we hear how to make her mama’s buttermilk cornbread. Kristin Hannah is an American historical fiction author. She’s written over twenty novels, many of them securing spots in the New...

On this episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, we’re joined by Maria Bamford. She’s a comedian, actor, and now a New York Times bestselling author with her memoir Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, released in late 2023. Maria talks about her Midwestern upbringing, her journey with obsessive compulsive disorder, and the delicious pot roast she still craves from childhood. Maria Bamford is an American actress and stand-up comedian. She’s the first female comic with two half-hour “Comedy Central Presents”...

Bestselling children’s book author and literary legend Judy Blume takes us back to her childhood New Jersey kitchen in the ‘40s, where she ate lamb chops and baked potato scrapings as a baby. She also shares a precious memento: her mother’s little yellow recipe box, filled with complicated, mid-century dishes her mother never made. We’ll hear about Judy’s major sweet tooth, which is perfectly captured by the recipe she chose to share with us: her mother’s sweet noodle pudding.   Judy Blume is...

Mark Cuban — entrepreneur, fixture on the reality TV show Shark Tank, and born outsider — joins Michele this week. Mark shares how he acquired a do-what-needs-to-be-done attitude from his Jewish immigrant grandparents when he was a boy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; how he first tapped his entrepreneurial spirit by selling garbage bags to neighbors. And – ignoring the way things “should” be done – fast-forwarded his education to start achieving the financial success he’s known for today. But...

Award-winning novelist Tayari Jones speaks on her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was raised in the midst of the historic civil rights movement, women’s liberation, and the tragic Atlanta child murders. She reflects on the role feminism played in her home life and how she learned to love cooking by cooking things she liked. Plus, she tells us about her delectable red velvet cake.   Tayari Jones is a writer and novelist. Her 2018 novel An American Marriage won the Women’s Prize for...

Bryant Terry – cookbook author, chef, food activist, conceptual artist and publisher – joins Michele at his University of California Berkeley art studio to discuss one of the biggest influences behind all of his work: his grandmother, Margie Bryant; or, as his family affectionately called her, Ma’dear. In Ma’dear’s Memphis, Tennessee kitchen, Bryant spent hours helping her shell peas, peel potatoes or pour sugar into the pot for her sweet fruit preserves. It was in her kitchen that Bryant...

Comedian and actress Leslie Jones makes us laugh and gets philosophical about the gift of comedy in this episode. We get a glimpse into her childhood kitchen in Southern California, where her father was the primary cook and funnyman. She opens up about dealing with the loss of both her parents and using humor as a form of therapy. We also get to hear her talk about her grandmother’s cornbread stuffing that is so good, Leslie has it all year round, not just on holidays.   Leslie Jones is a...

In this episode, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey bring listeners into their marriage, from how they first met over margaritas to cooking steak sushi to make amends. Matthew’s sometimes chaotic upbringing in Texas could not be more different from Camila’s family-filled, farm-to-table childhood in Brazil, but they found ways to connect and thrive together in their kitchen in Austin. Plus, Camila teaches us how to make her family’s Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff, which is...

Michele is joined by author, civil rights activist, and famed Star Trek actor George Takei. George’s story of his mother’s kitchen is far different than our other guests—he didn’t have one growing up. He shares his harrowing experiences living in an internment camp as a child, how he adjusted to life after, and what led to becoming Sulu. He’ll also share two foods that gave him solace throughout his life: his mother’s East LA-influenced tacos and her “footballs,” or Inari. George Takei is a...

Singer, songwriter, composer, and genuine music lover Jon Batiste serenades us with his harmonica-keyboard while reminiscing on the sounds of his childhood kitchen in New Orleans. He describes what it was like to grow up in a big, musical family of jazz legends, and shares some of their favorite Christmas traditions—including competing to see who could make the best and truest gumbo. Jon Batiste is a multiple Oscar and Grammy award-winning musician and TV personality. He was the bandleader...

Michele joins chef Samin Nosrat, author of the New York Times bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, to tell stories of Nosrat’s mother’s kitchen, who and what else shaped her as she grew up, and a very special trip Nosrat took to her native Iran when she was just a kid. Samin Nosrat is a San Diego-born, Oakland-based chef, writer, and teacher. Netflix’s documentary series Salt Fat Acid Heat, based on her book, was released in 2018. She has also starred in...

Singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy discusses cherished memories from his childhood kitchen in Illinois, and the invaluable time he spent at his kitchen table with his mother, and he explains how his favorite home-cooked dish today–known simply as The Dish–became a Tweedy family hit.  Jeff Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Born and raised in Belleville, Illinois, Tweedy started his music career in high...

Author, journalist, and professor Michael Pollan talks about the influence Julia Child had on his mother’s kitchen and the nature of kitchens in America today, and shares his unexpected favorite dish growing up.  Michael Pollan is a renowned advocate for responsible farming, gardening, and slow, local eating. Pollan has been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine since 1987 and is the author of several successful books. Pollan writes about “the places where the human and natural...

On this special Thanksgiving episode, we’re joined by America’s weatherman Al Roker. He shares Thanksgiving traditions new and old, plus tips on how to perfect his mama’s oxtail stew with dumplings. Al Roker is the longtime host of Today’s weather programing on NBC. He led NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade 26 years in a row, up until 2021. He had his own program on Food Network called Roker on the Road and a podcast, Cooking up a Storm with Al Roker. Hosted on Acast. See...

In this episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, comedian, writer and TV host Hari Kondabolu talks about growing up in Queens, New York City, where his mother brought her native South India to the dinner table with an unforgettable peanut chutney. Hari also discusses his parents’ quiet activism – and how, from his mother, Hari learned to use humor to confront the world’s injustices.   Hari Kondabolu is a comedian, writer, TV host, and podcaster based in Brooklyn, New York. His comedy covers subjects...

Uzo Aduba is an actress best known for her roles in television shows like Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and Hulu’s Mrs. America, but her talents extend beyond the screen and into the kitchen, where she deftly cooks up the Nigerian staples she was raised on in Boston’s outer suburbs. Throughout her childhood, Uzo and her siblings learned to cook alongside their mother, who taught them how to create Nigerian dishes like jollof and fufu. Although she loved her mother’s delicious food, at...

Actor Andy Garcia is someone who loves everything about food. Cooking it, shopping for it, talking about it. And that might be a surprise to some, because Andy Garcia is more known for his roles in iconic films such as The Untouchables, When a Man Loves a Woman, Ocean's 11 and, of course, The Godfather Part III.  But Andy was born into a different life and a different culture in Havana, Cuba. His family escaped Fidel Castro's regime with Andy and his two siblings in tow to join a community of...

TV’s funniest redhead, Conan O’ Brien, talks about growing up in a big, loud Irish-Catholic family in Massachusetts. He opens up about being an insecure kid and how he first learned to be funny at the kitchen table. We learn about why Halloween is his favorite holiday, and he shares his favorite childhood meal: fried ham. Yes, you heard that right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Broderick has been celebrated for the iconic characters he’s played on stage and on screen. In this episode, he talks about what it was like to grow up in New York City with a family of artists, and how he prefers to eat when he’s on the road for different roles. He shares fond memories of the housekeeper who helped raise him and her recipe for ratatouille that he cherishes to this day. Matthew Broderick is a two-time Tony award-winning actor best known for his iconic portrayal of the...

 Kerry Washington is many things—actress, producer, director, activist, mother, and wife. She’s always projected a strong, family-focused persona, but in a new memoir called Thicker than Water, she details the struggles that sometimes roiled beneath that perfect veneer. She joins the show to discuss her book, the importance of a kitchen in the Catskills, and how a pit stop in India changed her life and career. Additionally, she shares her family’s delectable Jamaican Black Cake recipe. ...

Comedian, activist, and creative executive W. Kamau Bell talks about growing up in different cities across the country with his mother and spending summers with his father’s side of the family in Mobile, Alabama. He opens up about what it means to be a good parent and reminisces on his grandmother’s lost recipe for her fried pies. W. Kamau Bell is known for his social commentary on race, justice, and inequality. He hosts and executive produces the Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries United...