Three Squares: Show Segments
The following are individual show segments from the BackStory episode “Three Squares: A History of American Meals,” broadcast in November 2012. You can listen to the entire episode here.
Party Like It’s 1889
Don’t bite down on bread, don’t eat off your knife, and definitely don’t talk about the food. Historian John Kasson walks Brian Balogh through everything he could do wrong at a Victorian meal.
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Good Humors
Historian Trudy Eden explains that food in the early colonies was believed to affect more than just your waistline–it could change the very essence of what makes you you.
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At the Kids’ Table
In between building fires and engaging in food fight warfare, campers in the early twentieth century were learning mealtime lessons about how to be men and women. Historian Abby Van Slyck talks about the subtle and not so subtle messages summer camps were sending their diminutive diners.
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Meals on Wheels
Contributor Meg Cramer tells the story of America’s first chain restaurant, the Harvey House.
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Mystery Meat
Susan Levine talks about the politics and pitfalls at the beginning of the federal school lunches program.
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Listener Calls
Brian, Ed, and Peter take listener calls.
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