11 episodes

The Modernist Pizza Podcast will record the science, history, and culture of pizza, all told through in-depth interviews by host Michael Harlan Turkell, as well as insights by Nathan Myhrvold & Francisco Migoya, the coauthors of Modernist Pizza a 1700+ page book all about pizza. They’ll chew over the world’s most popular food, with the people who have been part of its storied past, and are shaping its yet to be told future.
Each slice of this series examines a different piece of pizza, from its origins to evolution, deep dives into flour, sauce, and cheese, as well as the proliferation of regional styles and its boundless global influence. From Naples to New York City, South America to Japan, pop-ups to frozen mail-order pies, listen in as we talk to experts, enthusiasts, and the pizza elite who have put this humble pizza pie on the map.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Modernist Pizza Podcast Modernist Cuisine / Michael Harlan Turkell

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 51 Ratings

The Modernist Pizza Podcast will record the science, history, and culture of pizza, all told through in-depth interviews by host Michael Harlan Turkell, as well as insights by Nathan Myhrvold & Francisco Migoya, the coauthors of Modernist Pizza a 1700+ page book all about pizza. They’ll chew over the world’s most popular food, with the people who have been part of its storied past, and are shaping its yet to be told future.
Each slice of this series examines a different piece of pizza, from its origins to evolution, deep dives into flour, sauce, and cheese, as well as the proliferation of regional styles and its boundless global influence. From Naples to New York City, South America to Japan, pop-ups to frozen mail-order pies, listen in as we talk to experts, enthusiasts, and the pizza elite who have put this humble pizza pie on the map.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Modernist Pizza Podcast trailer

    Modernist Pizza Podcast trailer

    🍕
    Modernist Pizza Podcast will record the science, history, and culture of pizza, all told through in-depth interviews with the book’s coauthors and the people who are shaping the future of the world’s most popular food.
    🍕
    Each slice of this series examines a different aspect of pizza, from deep dives into flour, sauce, and cheese, to its roots and the evolution of regional styles. From Naples to New York City, South America to St. Louis, slice joints to frozen pies, listen in as we talk to experts, enthusiasts, and the pizza elite who put this humble pizza pie on the map.
    🍕

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 29 sec
    Pizza In Space

    Pizza In Space

    🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 As this is the last episode of Season 1, we’ll take a moment to reflect on pizza’s long and winding path to pervasiveness. It’s impossible to put pizza in a box, but we’ll do our best here — or at least freeze a few pies for future consideration, and ship some straight from Naples. We’ll attend the Union Nations of pizza school, or maybe retreat to the woods, all the while finding ways to give back that way pizza has given to all of us. We’ll write love letters to pen pals, read some pizza-themed kids’ lit, and look towards the next generation of pizza makers, who maybe, just maybe, might see pizza in space.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 29 min
    La Boca & Tokyo Marinara

    La Boca & Tokyo Marinara

    🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 Pizza is a universal language, one of love, and legend.
    We’ll start with a trip to South America, by way of Argentina and Brazil … No, we’re not doing this alphabetically, but rather, chronologically. The first pizzas sold in Buenos Aires were by Don Agustin Banchero, at his bakery Olivarria in 1893, who, surprisingly, was a Genoan immigrant, not Neapolitan. Banchero, the standalone pizzeria, wasn’t opened until the 1930s in the La Boca port area.
    Whereas Brazil’s pizza culture dates back to the early 1900s, thanks to an influx of immigrants from Campania — here, the style is personal pies, served at dinner only, and eaten with a knife and fork.
    In Japan, there’s an emergence of Tokyo-style marinara, a 50/50 ratio of tomato sauce to olive oil, but what seems to be most important there, is the experience, or as they call it: ometanashi.
    And of course we’re going to talk about Italy … but what is there to say that hasn’t been said already? A lot it seems! We’ll hear from modern day masters, a chef in Rome applying modernist techniques to toppings, as well as the making of “mountain pies” in the hills between Venice and the Dolomites.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 33 min
    We Bought The Pizza Farm

    We Bought The Pizza Farm

    🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 Don’t worry, we’ll address the elephant in the room: why does Modernist Cuisine think Portland, Oregon, is the pizza capital of the United States? Francisco will make this abundantly clear. We’ll also clarify California-style pizza, do a deep dive into Chicago’s pizza allegiances, get our fricco on with Detroit’s cheesy crust, and drive a 250-mile stretch of highway along the Mississippi river to visit seasonal pizza farms in Wisconsin. We’ll also cross bridges and tunnels to find out why the best pizza in the tristate area may be from New Jersey? And how Mystic, Connecticut, a seaport town that came to fame in the late 1980s for a pizza-themed movie, now has a umami-packed pie of its own!
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Burning Down The House

    Burning Down The House

    🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 We survey the multitude of pizza making ovens around the world, why wood is the romantic choice for fuel source, how one pizzeria had to burn to the ground to reinvent themselves, what the first steps to building your own oven are, and how to take that portable pizza oven from the backyard to realizing your own brick and mortar — not to mention how pizza trucks are driving the pizza oven revolution. Oh, and pans. Because who doesn’t love a pan pizza!
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 21 min
    Frankencheeses & Cherries On Top

    Frankencheeses & Cherries On Top

    🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 Why is buffalo mozzarella considered a luxury cheese, and what makes it different from regular mozzarella, anyway? And why don’t more people make mozzarella at home? We’ll talk to the makers of DIY mozzarella kits, how Wisconsin brick cheese defined Detroit-style pizza, and how to make your own Franken-cheeses like St. Louis’ Provel, as well as why vegans are nuts for imitation cheeses. Modernist Cuisine will teach you the tricks of infusing your mozzarella for extra flavor like you’ve never had before — even before you put on your pepperoni, pineapple, anchovies, and/or mayonnaise.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 22 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
51 Ratings

51 Ratings

HalfBakedHippie ,

Want more!!!

The content on here is great, just wish their was more!!!

Rob DiNapoli ,

Pizza Sauces

Great exploration into sauces and the folks who make and use them! History, education and inspiratation.
Terrific!

LIZ1351 ,

Can’t wait for more!

Love this topic, love this host! I can’t wait to learn more about pizza through Michaels curious and thoughtful view.

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