Jessica Soffer explores the connections between food, writing, culture in her first novel, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. Jessica joins Cathy Erway for this week's Eat Your Words to talk about her Iraqi Jew heritage, and how the food culture of her people is underrepresented in New York City, and the world. Learn more about the novel, and the trend of books that includes evocative plots involving food and heritage. Have you ever had masgouf? Learn about the traditional Iraqi dish that includes butterflying and grilling a white fish vertically. What other novelists does Jessica admire? Find out all of this and more on this week's installment of Eat Your Words! This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. Thanks to The California Honeydrops for today's music.

"I think there's an explicit connection: getting affirmation from cooking and writing." [6:30]

"Masgouf is the national dish of Iraq, which is interesting because it's so different from what it once was." [17:50]

-- Jessica Soffer on Eat Your Words

Cereal has been a part of Americans' breakfast since the 1950s, but Erica Wides is here to tell you that- once again- the public has been hoodwinked by Foodiness. This week on Let's Get Real, Erica is diving into a big bowl of sugary cereal to tell listeners that cereal isn't real food. Tune into this episode to hear how industrial agriculture has taken over the Midwest to turn grains into corn syrup clusters. How have the fake food corporations brainwashed people to believe that breakfast cereals are a necessary part of every morning? Listen in to learn how some cereal brands have expanded to make other foodiness products in addition to their unhealthy, bastardized oats! Thanks to Cain Vineyard & Winery for sponsoring today's program, and thanks to Knifeshow for today's break music.

"Cereal is the quintessential foodiness product because we were raised to believe in it." [6:45]

"If cereal was the original foodiness product, it has gone even further down the rabbit hole because now there are foodiness versions of foodiness those products." [18:00]

-- Erica Wides on Let's Get Real

We spoke with Rae Bernamoff of Mile End about the clean up effort and collaboration happening on the Red Hook waterfront. The Mile End commissary kitchen - where they produce cured and smoked meats and fish, pickled goods and fresh baked goods - was completely destroyed.

"We honestly could not have gotten through the last few days without the support of the Red Hook Initiative. They have been so fundamental to the effort down there."--Rae Bernamoff of Mile End