The Joy of Podcasts

We did a thing!

One day this summer, our friend Sarah Marshall texted me out of the blue and asked if she could come over. I was in the middle of a day of yard work and said as much, so she offered to help pull weeds and plant things. As it happens, there was an ulterior motive for her visit, but a good one.

She asked if we’d ever considered doing a podcast.

Well, sure, but it had always seemed like either too much work or expense. And besides, John and I are introverts. It might be hard for us to rattle on for an hour.

What if someone else did the recording, editing, coordinating, and work of finding sponsors? What if you had a cohost to keep the conversation flowing?

I guess that’s a pretty compelling set up, I told her.

Sarah has had a podcast about food startups since 2019, and her husband Dirk started his podcast about movies at about the same time. Earlier this year, they began to produce their podcasts themselves. Now, she said, they had decided to start their own production company and wanted their first new podcast to be about the Joy of Cooking.

In the ensuing months, we slowly started to bring the podcast to life. And today, somehow (“somehow” being Sarah’s hard work and organizational skills), the podcast has been unleashed on the world (too grandiose?).

To solve for the complexities of two quiet people doing a podcast, our dear friend Shannon—an amazing home cook in her own right—agreed to join us as a cohost. We wanted our podcast to sound like a few friends gathered around a dinner table, and since we’ve known Shannon for over 10 years, the conversation flows more freely thanks to her (we love you, Shan!).

The first episode is about eggplant. Actually, it’s an eggplant podcast (jk).

What the Joy of Cooking Podcast Is All About

Our show is about home cooking and home cooks. Each week, we talk through a topic determined by a listener question, and we have a guest. Some of our guests are regular home cooks we know and others are cookbook authors, writers, and other food pros. We weave in tidbits about the history of the Joy of Cooking, too.

Our first episode is now available on Simplecast (soon to be available wherever you listen to podcasts—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.). We’d be so honored if you gave it a listen, but also, please call or text our hotline and ask us a question or tell us a story. We’d love to hear from you! Our number is 503-395-8858.

Listen to the first episode here.