Wolfing Down Food Science

Summer Science 1: "FOODBALL" US vs Mexico Food Culture Match 29.06.2026 25min

Send us Fan Mail Soccer, which is known to most to most of the world as football has captured the world's attention during this time of the "Cup That Shall Not Be Named". My long-time friend, TR Masino (co-host of the Stairway to Eleven music podast) joined me in Mexico City to discuss US vs Mexican food culture, in the context of a "foodball" game. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Our GOOOOOOALLL!!! is to provide an overview of the similarities, differences, and changes we've se...

A Great British Baking Show Finalist uses Food to Communicate Chemistry (S9:E11) 01.05.2026 31min

Send us Fan Mail We are joined by a guest who is just as comfortable with a pipette as he is with a piping bag. Dr. Josh Smalley is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Leicester, specializing in the synthesis of peptidomimetic materials. But to millions of viewers worldwide, he is better known as the meticulous finalist from the 2023 series of The Great British Baking Show. Josh has pioneered a unique niche in science communication, recently launching the 'Science Kitchen'—...

Are You an Apocaloptimist? Review of the AI Doc with Adam Yee 24.04.2026 44min

Send us Fan Mail AI is here to stay. Will AI be the end of humanity or will it create a utopia? The AI Doc or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a documentary that looks at the positives, negative, and mixed effects AI may have on society in the near future. Here is a link to the AI Doc movie trailer: https://youtu.be/xkPbV3IRe4Y?si=fzvdMz_ZolZIfaZk Serial entrepreneur, podcaster, and (now) grad student Adam Yee and I went to see the AI Doc a few weeks ago and have been talki...

Navigating American Nutrition - One Size Fits All? (S9:E11) 10.04.2026 36min

Send us Fan Mail Every five years, a massive set of rules, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), quietly changes the way 300 million people are "supposed" to eat. But who actually writes these rules? Is it pure science, or is it just the latest dietary trend? In this episode, we sit down with April Fogelman to go behind the scenes of the federal nutrition recommendations that were recently updated. We’re digging into the evolution of American nutrition, from the nostalgia of the pyramid...

Teaching, Toons, and TEDx with Dr. Colleen Kelley! 27.03.2026 39min

Send us Fan Mail In this energizing episode, we chat with TEDx Speaker and Champion of Molecular Literacy, Dr. Colleen Kelley. Colleen is a science and chemistry teacher, a bilingual author, an Army veteran, and TEDx speaker. Her educational range is impressive. She has taught classes from K-12 through the university. Colleen has an amazing ability to communicate enthusiasm about science through public speaking, podcasts, and video. Colleen has used cartoon chara...

Live from BakingTECH 2026 with Heather Simpson. We're on a Roll! 09.03.2026 21min

Send us Fan Mail This episode was recorded live at the BakingTECH 2026 meeting in Chicago with our guest, Heather Simpson. Heather Simpson has built a diverse career in the food industry, leveraging her Food Science education from Purdue University. Her journey began at Mars Corp's DoveBar plant gaining experience in production. She then transitioned to the dairy industry, working with a hydrocolloid ingredient company to support McDonald's shake and soft serve products, deepening her experti...

Escaping Ordinary Food Safety Training with Escape Rooms! 23.02.2026 27min

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we've "escaped" our ordinary format to talk with three amazing guests at once: Clint Stevenson, NC State Professor and Distance Ed CoordinatorDave Seddon, Co-Founder and Chief Safety Officer at FoodReadyDavid Wilson, Chief Creative Officer at Intoxicated by Riddles and Co-Founder of the True/False Film FestThe topic? Clint, Dave, and David's collaborative project using the concept of escape rooms to teach food safety skills. For the beta-test...

PodFest Decompress and BakingTECH Preview 30.01.2026 17min

Send us Fan Mail To start out the new year, we're recapping PodFest 2026, which wrapped in mid January and looking ahead to BakingTECH 2026. Podcast was about every type of podcast and every aspect of podcasting you can think of, while BakingTECH is really focused in on the commercial baking industry. In this episode, we talk about some of the surprising and cool things about PodFest, including what Pecha Kucha is and training with stand-up comics. To our surprise and deligh...

Looking Back at 2025: With Special Guests... Ourselves!!! 29.12.2025 22min

Send us Fan Mail It has been a great 2025 for WDFS. We spoke with wonderful, highly accomplished guests who provided a plethora of good advice about food science careers, about professionalism, and about life. We welcomed Stella as our podcast editor. We had our first Spanish/English bilingual podcast. We were pleasantly surprised to be invited to do a live podcast at the American Society of Baking annual conference. Incredibly (for us, anyway) the podcast is now...

FORM TUF ABS™ and Build Soft Skills with Arnie Sair 18.12.2025 20min

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Arnie Sair is a third generation Ph.D. food scientist, a returning guest to WDFS, and Head of Global Quality & Food Safety at Bunge. Arnie returns to WDFS with a new endeavor: the Core Ready™ leadership program. Core Ready is focused on building the soft skills and leadership habits students need to thrive in the workforce from day one using the FORM TUF ABS™ approach. In this episode, Arnie explains what each letter of FORM TUF ABS™ means and how ea...

From Rheology to Resilience: Scaling the Ranks of Food Science Leadership (S9:E5) 01.12.2025 32min

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we sit down with Dr. Chris Daubert, who brings a wealth of experience from every corner of the Food Science world. Currently serving as Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri Columbia, Dr. Daubert shares his unique career path—from his roots in agricultural engineering and becoming a recognized expert in rheology (the study of flow), to his pivotal roles as Department Head at NC State (2010-...

Stop studying your weakness (S9:E4) 14.11.2025 31min

Send us Fan Mail April Hix Morrison is an alumna of our department and has, for the last 17 years, served as our professional Academic Advisor across all three of our Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Science majors. A big part of April’s job is helping students’ thrive at NC State. To aid in this, NC State University, and many others, have implemented Clifton Strengths assessments to help students discover and develop their greatest talents. April became a Clifton Strength...

Tell us a story, the connection between storytelling and leading (S9:E3) 31.10.2025 25min

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Katie McKee is an Associate Professor and Leadership Educator in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at NC State University. Her work focuses on transformative leadership and its application to solving complex challenges to enable communities to thrive. Her research and extension efforts, including the Agents for Change program, a center on developing leadership capacity among youth, college students, and professionals to address "big, messy challenges" in t...

Out Standing in Her Field (literally). Science Communication with Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola: 1st Bilingual Episode! (S9:E2) 17.10.2025 40min

Send us Fan Mail In our first English/Spanish bilingual episode we talk international science communication with agronomist Dr. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola. Malu is equally comfortable giving lectures in university classroom or (out standing) in the middle of a wheat field. Note: We switch from English to Spanish at 20:20. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola earned her Master's in Crop Science and Genetics, as well as her Doctorate in Agronomy and Crop Science at Oregon State University.&nbsp...

The New Era of WDFS is Here: Now With More to See and Hear! (S9:E1) 03.10.2025 33min

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Fernanda Santos’ route to food science was not direct. But one thing is for sure, she has found a home in food science at NC State University. Dr. Santos teaches 13 classes at NC State, one of which is a project-based class for seniors in food science and bioprocessing. Through collaboration with faculty and industry, she is giving students real-world experience. We are excited to hear about her path to food science and her newest collaboration wit...

Keith's Summer Picks: The World's Dumbest Problem: Food Waste (S9:E5) 25.07.2025 50min

Send us Fan Mail Food waste. It’s been called the world’s dumbest problem. Did you know that about a third of the food grown on farms is wasted, meaning it never gets to a factory, a grocery store, or to a consumer? This is not because farmers are wasteful. Far from it. It's because it's sometimes hard to harvest all the food that's been produced, especially if it's underground (think sweet potatoes). Food waste is not just an economic problem, although it can dr...

Keith's Summer Picks: Being All That You Can Be As a Food Safety Auditor (S9:E4) 18.07.2025 46min

Send us Fan Mail Chief Warrant Officer 5* Terrence Ward is a year 2016 alumnus of the Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences Department at NC State University. Terrence discovered his interest in Food Science during his service in the US Army. Today, as part of his continuing Army career, he audits food processing facilities around the US and around the world to assure that the food produced and sold is safe for the US Armed Forces. He uses his extensive experienc...

Paige's Summer Picks: From a High School Job at McDonalds to a Food Science Career with Arnie Sair (S9:E3) 02.07.2025 37min

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Arnie Sair has worked for General Mills, Signature Brands and now, Bunge. Throughout his career one thing has held constant, his focus on food safety and quality. As a Ph.D. recipient at NC State University, an outstanding alumni award winner, and who started out as a high school student working at McDonalds, Arnie has great insight into the food industry. Join us as we talk about carrying on the legacy of being a 3rd generation, Ph.D. food scientist (wh...

Paige's Summer Picks: Cruise Ship Viruses and Vomit Machines. Just Another Day at the Office for Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus (S9:E2) 02.07.2025 1t 1min

Send us Fan Mail We all love a good story, and Dr. Leann Jaykus, a professor emeritus at NC State University, has some good ones to tell. As a virologist she has unique insights into food safety. We talk to Leann about cruise ship food safety, norovirus, coronavirus, vomit machines, and, oh yes, mentoring on this episode. Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.com Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and co...

Paige's Summer Picks: Empowering Your Career Journey with Mandy Taylor (S9:E1) 02.07.2025 32min

Send us Fan Mail After graduating from NC State, Mandy Taylor spent time in product development for a variety of food companies. Her years of experience gave her the knowledge and desire to foster career growth in others by managing the summer intern program in research and development at Mars Wrigley. We talk to Mandy about her time in product development and what she sees as the most challenging and rewarding parts of working with and fostering new food scientists. And we have a...