On Starting a Podcast
Plus, reflections on the ever-changing food media landscape
I’m a note-taker, and I suspect many (most?) cookbook authors are the same. From time to time I like to flip back through my notes to assess what’s changed - or how I’ve changed - over time. In the pages that I’ve scribbled while making this podcast, one theme arises time and again: the food media landscape transforms at a speed that seems to accelerate with each passing season. I realize this is a gross understatement, but what’s important to consider is how the changes affect our work as creators and cookbook authors.
Fortunately, it’s not my job to keep up or predict what may happen next. Still, I am always fascinated - and humbled - to talk to anyone who manages to keep their finger on the pulse of the current state of food media and this week’s guest is one such person. Across the span of her career, Maggie Hoffman has worked as a journalist, managing editor at Serious Eats, digital director at Epicurious, cookbook author, blogger, Substack-er, and now she’s joined the ranks of podcasters. In Maggie’s own words, she’s “been at this for a very long time.”
This past February, Maggie got our attention (not that she wasn’t already on our radar) when she wrote an essay, How to Start a Podcast of Your Own, in which she explained the nuts and bolts of what goes into making a podcast, including costs, equipment, support needed, and time involved. Maggie explains that she was inspired by Carla Lalli Music’s recent forthright essay sharing the true costs involved in making YouTube videos, and we, in turn, were inspired by Maggie’s transparency about the real work and finances that go into making a podcast, so we invited her on to talk more about it.
When Kate, Kristin, and I sat down to speak with Maggie, we knew we wanted to get into the behind-the-scenes reality of making a podcast. We also hoped to unpack the essential question for anyone considering launching a show of their own: Should you make a podcast? But those topics turned out to be a starting point for all that Maggie shared. In the end, our conversation turned into an engaging exploration of some of the more significant trends that Maggie has witnessed in her career in food media, from print to the internet, the reign of SEO, the viral recipe, the creator era, the return of the homepage (maybe?), and now into the great beyond of AI. She covered a lot of ground! I do hope you’ll tune in. You may want your notebook handy (or notes app) because I’m guessing there will be things you’ll want to jot down. I know I did.
In the end, we had to ask: Why a food podcast? Why now? The answer is simple: Maggie loves chatting with people about food, and she wants to help people discover (or re-discover) joy in their kitchens - something that can become elusive for so many reasons. If our conversation is any indication, she’s succeeding on both counts.
Links from today’s chat:
The Dinner Plan newsletter
What to Drink newsletter
The Vintage Table newsletter (Maggie launched this one after we spoke with her!)
Maggiejhoffman Instagram
How to Battle Kitchen Burnout (And Still Get Dinner on the Table), Maggie’ article on Epicurious
5 Spices, 50 Dishes, by Ruta Kahate
Staples + 5, by Tanorria Askew
The One-Bottle Cocktail, by Maggie Hoffman
Batch Cocktails, by Maggie Hoffman
Dinner, by Meera Sodha
The Secret of Cooking, by Bee Wilson
Perfectly Good Food, by Margaret Li and Irene Li
Salt Sugar MSG, by Calvin Eng
What Goes with What, by Julia Turshen
Ambitious Kitchen, by Monique Volz
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of books mentioned in the show
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Next up:
On next week’s show, Kate and Kristin speak with Barkha Cardoz about expanding her late husband Floyd Cardoz's legacy. Barkha speaks about her new cookbook, With Love and Masalas, the experience of crowd-sourcing the recipe testing, and the freedom found in self-publishing the book. We hear about her collaboration with Burlap & Barrel on a collection of spice blends and how her efforts have led to a second life for Floyd’s 2016 cookbook Flavorwalla.
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Bye for now. I’ll be back here next week and hope to see you. In the meantime, keep on writing, reading, and cooking.
Molly and the EVCB gang
I'm actively on the hunt for new podcasts, so thank you!
What a fabulous and generous discussion. Maggie is so smart!!