The Leading Voices in Food podcast series features real people, scientists, farmers, policy experts and world leaders all working to improve our food system and food policy. You'll learn about issues across the food system spectrum such as food insecurity, obesity, agriculture, access and equity, food safety, food defense, and food policy. Produced by the Duke World Food Policy Center at wfpc.sanford.duke.edu.
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Nov 13, 2026 · 33:56
This episode is a co-production of the "Leading Voices in Food" and "Policy 360" podcasts. Both are from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke. Two investigative stories…
Jun 10, 2026 · 30:22
Today we're talking with Kevin Hoban and Jordie Simkovic, the creators and starring characters of Captain & Cat, a popular YouTube kids show with 200,000 subscribers and over 200…
Jun 10, 2026 · 17:55
North Carolina is one of the nation's top agricultural producing states. And it is also a state where one in seven residents don't have the resources to provide food on their…
Jun 9, 2026 · 18:45
For many people, the FDA-approved drug class called GLP-1s has been a game changer for managing type 2 diabetes and weight loss. An estimated one in eight US adults is using this…
Jun 8, 2026 · 22:29
Interview Transcript Kate - Welcome to the Leading Voices in Food podcast. I'm Kate Stanley, a researcher at the World Food Policy Center at Duke University. I'm joined today by…
Jun 2, 2026 · 27:38
Kelly Brownell interviews Jon-Paul Bianchi, Director of Systems Change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, about the foundation's systems-change approach linking food, health, early…
Apr 30, 2026 · 19:42
I'm delighted today to be joined by Dr. Joseph Skelton, professor of Pediatrics, founder and director of Brenner Fit, a program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. FIT…
Apr 27, 2026 · 30:47
So going back more than 30 years, I was involved in work on childhood obesity. It was a prevalent problem at the time, but little attention was being devoted to children and…
Apr 14, 2026 · 25:09
It's the story of a guy on a road trip across the country, checking out America's classic greasy spoons. And the adventure is all about finding the restaurant owners and creative…
Apr 8, 2026 · 26:29
If someone asked you about French, Korean, or Thai food, you could probably name some signature flavors and dishes. I certainly can. Well, what about American food? What stands…
Apr 2, 2026 · 47:41
Transcript Paper: Gearhardt AN, Brownell KD, Brandt AM. From Tobacco to Ultraprocessed Food: How Industry Engineering Fuels the Epidemic of Preventable Disease. Milbank Q.…
Mar 26, 2026 · 27:34
In 1881, African American educator and political leader Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. The school's mission was to provide practical…
Mar 19, 2026 · 23:19
Over the last several years, I have been thinking about food waste and food loss a lot. It's been a topic that we've seen in many spaces in the US and around the world. And it's…
Mar 6, 2026 · 14:13
It seems like the frequency of weather-related disasters is increasing. Across the US we're seeing wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold with snow…
Feb 24, 2026 · 19:22
As global demand for meat grows, this episode of Duke University's Leading Voices in Food podcast examines cell-cultivated protein—real meat grown from animal cells—and the…
Jan 15, 2026 · 39:13
Do you ever wonder whether your grocery store cares about whether you have a healthy diet? Every time we shop or read advertisement flyers, food retailers influence our diets…
Dec 16, 2025 · 33:30
In this episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast, Norbert Wilson of Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy speaks with researchers Jean Adams from the University…
Nov 25, 2025 · 32:45
In this episode, Kelly Brownell speaks with Jerold Mande, CEO of Nourish Science, adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, and former Deputy Undersecretary for…
Nov 4, 2025 · 33:10
In this episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast, host Norbert Wilson is joined by food and nutrition policy economists Will Masters and Parke Wilde from Tufts University's…
Oct 23, 2025 · 19:44
The gut is in the news. It's really in the news. Catapulted there from exciting developments coming from laboratories all around the world. Links of gut health with overall…
Oct 16, 2025 · 33:32
An avalanche of information besets us on what to eat. It comes from the news, from influencers of every ilk, from scientists, from government, and of course from the food…
Sep 24, 2025 · 32:58
Interview Summary You know I really like the innovative nature of Food On The Move, and I'm eager for you to tell us more about what it involves. But before we do that, how does…
Sep 19, 2025 · 32:20
In today's episode, we're discussing the complex and urgent topic of global food demand. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, ask countries to make…
Aug 28, 2025 · 47:42
Lots of talk these days about ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Along with confusion about what in the heck they are or what they're not, how bad they are for us, and what ought to…
Aug 25, 2025 · 30:56
The Food and Drug Administration or FDA regulates roughly 78% of the US food supply. This includes packaged products, food additives, infant formula, ultra-processed foods, and…
Jul 31, 2025 · 26:16
Every day, with few exceptions, I eat a handful of nuts. Usually a combination of almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, and pistachios. And they taste good for sure. But I'm…
Jul 15, 2025 · 43:13
Interview Summary So, you two, along with a number of other people in the field, wrote a chapter for a recently published book called The Handbook of Children and Screens. We…
Jun 27, 2025 · 25:27
Today we're talking with health and nutrition expert Dr. Stuart Gillespie, author of a new book entitled Food Fight: from Plunder and Profit to People and Planet . Using decades…
Jun 20, 2025 · 23:45
Interest and grave concern have been mounting over the impact of agriculture and the food choices we all make on the environment, particularly on climate change. With natural…
Jun 16, 2025 · 31:00
I was at a professional meeting recently and I heard an inspiring and insightful and forward-looking talk by journalist and author Roger Thurow. Roger was a reporter for the Wall…
Jun 5, 2025 · 24:48
Recently I was asked to review a forthcoming book for American Scientist magazine. The book was entitled, Sweet and Deadly: How Coca-Cola Spreads Disinformation and Makes us Sick…
May 29, 2025 · 18:03
As someone who's been mostly vegetarian for a number of years, I have tried a lot of plant-based foods and there's a variety of them. And so how do they really taste, not just…
May 22, 2025 · 26:13
Do you pay attention to information printed on food labels? From eye-catching designs companies use to entice you to buy a product to nutrition facts panels to the tiny dates…
May 13, 2025 · 29:15
So even the people that follow the topic closely are stunned by the digital landscape that engulfs our children, how quickly it evolves, and the potential social cost. Two people…
Apr 16, 2025 · 19:36
As any parent knows, it is really important to help our children to make healthy food choices. I know as a father who cooks for my child, it is really critical that I introduce…
Apr 9, 2025 · 39:38
The amount of time children and adolescents spend with a screen is absolutely stunning. Lots of people, including parents, health leaders, educators, elected leaders from both…
Mar 26, 2025 · 24:40
How big is too big? When it comes to corporate concentration many observers raise concerns about the tech industry. However, in the new book, Titans of Industrial Agriculture:…
Mar 24, 2025 · 21:10
The climate crisis is devastating the ability of African farmers to support themselves and their communities. Farmers struggle with a lack of running water, electricity,…
Mar 13, 2025 · 36:57
The food and nutrition landscape in our schools is really important. School meals affect the health, wellbeing, energy, vitality, and ability to learn for millions and millions…
Feb 26, 2025 · 27:11
Everyone knows that it's a good idea to be physically active, but behind that basic knowledge lies a fascinating field of research on the role that physical activity plays in…
Feb 17, 2025 · 25:47
Today we're exploring civil society's efforts to shape the food system and land use in the United Kingdom. Our guest today is Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the Food, Farming,…
Feb 5, 2025 · 16:51
Today, we're going to explore Daily Table, an innovative non profit grocery chain dedicated to providing fresh, convenient, and nutritious food affordable to everyone, even those…
Jan 30, 2025 · 23:04
On our podcast, we have often talked about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In many of those conversations, we've talked about the benefits and…
Jan 23, 2025 · 14:16
For many years in talks that I gave, I showed a slide with an ingredient list from a food most people know. Just to see if the audience could guess what the food was. based on…
Jan 14, 2025 · 13:36
I don't know about you and your household, but in my home, we have a long history of opening the refrigerator and discovering pasta sauce or mayonnaise that we don't remember…
Jan 9, 2025 · 41:50
About two years ago, we released a podcast with Dr. Thomas Wadden of the University of Pennsylvania describing work on a new generation of medications to treat diabetes and…
Dec 19, 2024 · 29:10
For much of history, the word 'epidemic' applied to infectious diseases. Large numbers of cases of disease caused by organisms such as bacteria and viruses that spread through…
Dec 4, 2024 · 33:02
In 2021, American University and 15 partner institutions across the U. S. launched the Multiscale RECIPES Research Network with the goal of transforming our wasted food system…
Nov 21, 2024 · 26:32
Now more than ever, it's important to challenge the world's food and beverage manufacturers to address nutrition issues like obesity and undernutrition. Today, we're going to…
Nov 18, 2024 · 30:08
The U. S. is the largest importer of aquatic foods, which includes fresh and saltwater fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants served in restaurants and homes. A critical…
Oct 31, 2024 · 15:20
If you feel like your grocery budget just doesn't buy you as much as it once did, you're not alone. According to U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices rose 11. 4 percent…
Oct 30, 2024 · 14:48
When we talk about problems with food insecurity and the food system, we tend to reference challenges at the national or international level. And of course, work at that level…
Oct 22, 2024 · 23:33
In today's podcast, we're discussing Fast and Furious. But it's not the movie series starring Vin Diesel. Instead, the catchphrase describes rapidly increasing and somewhat…
Oct 14, 2024 · 20:44
Today's podcast is a gastronomic treat. I'm talking with Chef William Dissen, James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of the restaurant, The Marketplace, located in Asheville,…
Oct 8, 2024 · 18:33
Join Kelly Brownell in a conversation with Michael Dimock, Executive Director of Roots of Change, about transforming food systems through innovative policies. Discover how Roots…
Oct 3, 2024 · 31:57
Study after study has shown that consumption of sugar sweetened beverages poses clear health risk. So how have the big soda companies, Coke and Pepsi in particular, reacted to…
Sep 26, 2024 · 40:01
Join host Norbert Wilson and co-host Kerilyn Schewel in the latest episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast as they dive deep into the world of small-scale fisheries with…
Sep 26, 2024 · 28:27
With food insecurity rising the world over, we cannot escape the reality that climate change is changing our food supply. This means people's livelihoods and lifestyles are…
Sep 16, 2024 · 16:22
I'm Norbert Wilson, a professor of public policy at Duke university and director of the world food policy center. Now, I am an agricultural economist by training and today's…
Sep 9, 2024 · 29:08
When you hear university dining, you likely have images in your mind of college students with trays and hand waiting in a line for a meal in a dining hall. You may even think of…
Sep 4, 2024 · 15:49
Today we discuss a new and provocatively titled book written by Southwestern Law School professor Andrea Freeman, an expert on issues of race, food policy, and health from both…
Aug 27, 2024 · 29:11
Empowering Women in AgriFood Tech: A Conversation with Amy Wu of From Farms to Incubators - In this episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast, host Norbert Wilson speaks with…
Aug 23, 2024 · 18:27
In today's discussion, we will explore the application of debt relief to large investments in environmental sustainability, which can also support local development, including…
Aug 13, 2024 · 12:50
We've recorded a series of podcasts on the microbiome and its wide ranging impacts. But boy is this a field that moves rapidly. As soon as you think you've covered much of the…
Jul 30, 2024 · 26:04
Food companies market their products in a great many ways. Connecting their brands and products to sports and major sporting events is one such way and is drawing a lot of…
Jul 16, 2024 · 17:31
Today we're talking about who has access to full-service supermarkets in America's cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities. According to The Reinvestment Fund's "2023…
Jun 27, 2024 · 18:21
Nonprofit organizations can play a very important role in building healthy communities by providing services that contribute to community stability, social mobility, public…
May 24, 2024 · 25:11
Is it possible to decarbonize agriculture and make the food system more resilient to climate change? Today, I'm speaking with agricultural policy expert Peter Lehner about his…
May 2, 2024 · 17:38
The first nutrition labels mandated by the Food and Drug Administration appeared on food packages in 1994. A key update occurred in 2016, informed by new science on the link…
Apr 22, 2024 · 17:01
Traditional clinical weight loss interventions can be costly, time consuming, and inaccessible to low-income populations and people without adequate health insurance. Today's…
Apr 8, 2024 · 24:33
Fast food is part of American life. As much a part of our background as the sky and the clouds. But it wasn't always that way, and over the decades, the fast food landscape has…
Apr 1, 2024 · 15:34
A growing number of research studies show that the cognitive and brain development of low-income children differs from that of children in higher income families. For any family,…
Mar 18, 2024 · 13:29
Today's podcast is a story of one man's personal journey to making a difference by building communities. Zach Wyatt grew up caretaking an old 300-acre farm in Virginia. He went…
Feb 27, 2024 · 11:50
If people knew how much food they threw away each week, would they change their food-wasting ways? That's a question scientists explore in the 2023 State of Food Waste in America…
Feb 22, 2024 · 15:27
Dollar stores are the fastest growing food retailer in the United States, both by sheer number of stores and consumer food purchases. Just two corporations, Dollar General and…
Feb 14, 2024 · 19:24
How did the Nutrition Facts label come to appear on millions of food products in the U.S.? As Auburn University historian, Xaq Frohlich, reveals in his new book, "From Label to…
Feb 5, 2024 · 18:28
In 2022, Congress established Summer EBT, the first new permanent federal food assistance program in almost 50 years. The authorization of Summer EBT represents a historic…
Jan 31, 2024 · 25:41
In 2022, more than 6 million people visited farmers markets across North Carolina. Today, we're talking with a team of people who are the driving force behind the North Carolina…
Jan 24, 2024 · 17:29
It has been said many times that a picture is worth a thousand words. Our guest today is documentary photographer Sally Thomson, the creative genius behind the book "Homeground."…
Jan 17, 2024 · 24:04
Our guest today is Jasmine Crowe-Houston, social entrepreneur, and founder of Goodr.co. Jasmine started her journey cooking soul food for hungry unhoused people in her kitchen in…
Jan 16, 2024 · 19:59
Stories from the past help us understand who we are and who we can be. In today's podcast, we will explore a gripping new book titled "Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the…
Dec 20, 2023 · 19:24
In August of 2023, the Food and Drug Administration issued something known as a direct final rule, disregarded trans fats in the food supply. Consumers won't notice changes as…
Dec 7, 2023 · 24:51
White Oak Pastures is a sixth generation, 156-year-old family farm in Bluffton, Georgia. It's also the home of Rancher Will Harris who runs an expansive, zero waste production…
Nov 30, 2023 · 12:56
As the parent of a 12-year-old child, I know that raising a child is one of the most profound and rewarding experiences of a person's life. It is also shockingly expensive. The…
Nov 6, 2023 · 17:28
Diet-related disease such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes create a crushing burden on individuals, families, and the healthcare system in the United States. However,…
Oct 25, 2023 · 19:35
Does the term Policy Advocate conjure up the image of a chef? Today we're speaking with Katherine Miller, Founding Executive Director of the Chef Action Network, and author of…
Oct 19, 2023 · 20:09
With record-breaking food prices in 2022, it has become more expensive for families to buy the foods that they need. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps…
Oct 12, 2023 · 10:52
A diversity of bacteria and microorganisms making up the gut microbiome supports both our physical and our mental health. Research has shown that stress and trauma can negatively…
Oct 5, 2023 · 13:03
I read a study recently featuring a term I had not heard or seen before: "disproportionate beef eaters." The study was done by Dr. Amelia Willits-Smith, Diego Rose and colleagues…
Sep 25, 2023 · 15:08
The third largest food assistance program in the United States is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC for short. WIC is designed…
Sep 13, 2023 · 16:37
Our guest today is Dr. Caree Cotwright, director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at the Food and Nutrition Service at the US Department of Agriculture. Dr. Cotwright is…
Aug 25, 2023 · 20:46
In the United States, food insecurity is unevenly distributed. Recent data suggests that white households have nearly a third to one half the food insecurity rate of Black and…
Aug 17, 2023 · 18:56
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is one of the largest poverty alleviation programs in the United States and provides help to around 14% of the US population. Since…
Aug 1, 2023 · 7:25
There's much excitement out there about regenerative and organic agriculture, but how can they be financed and how can capital providers support these important approaches to…
Jul 24, 2023 · 12:37
Sugar replacements, known generally as artificial sweeteners or non-nutritive sweeteners, have been in the news a lot. Rising concerns exist about safety and the effects of the…
Jul 13, 2023 · 17:01
The microbiome is fascinating and how diet affects it is something we all want to know. The work of today's guest, Dr. Abigail Johnson, tells us a lot. She's on the faculty and…
Jul 6, 2023 · 23:22
If you want to improve your digestion, your immune system, and your overall health, one might begin with a focus on a healthy gut microbiome. Today we're talking with Stanford…
Jun 28, 2023 · 24:09
Today's podcast is a continuation of our series exploring the safety of non-sugar sweeteners in both food and beverages. In 2022, the World Health Organization conducted a…
Jun 6, 2023 · 12:13
No one actually wants to waste food, right? And yet, a new national study on food waste at home shows we've become more wasteful recently. US families self-reported a 280%…
May 17, 2023 · 26:05
Today we speak with an expert on sugar and things meant to replace it. The stakes are high. Very high. Sugar consumption in the population is astronomical and so is the use of…
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