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The Kentucky Derby Is Fueled by Tamales, and Other Gems From a Great New Podcast

Mother Jones

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When you think about the Kentucky Derby, what flavors come to mind? A refreshing mint julep? Pillowy biscuits propping up salty glazed ham? The sweet tang of pickled shrimp? Or how about…tamales? As radio journalist Tina Antolini discovered, that’s the dish that best embodies “the backside” of the Derby, where horse walkers, grooms, stable cleaners, and trainers live and work. The majority hail from Central America, and due to the migratory nature of the job and a lack of kitchen access, they rely on hot plates and crockpots to re-create their traditional cuisine.

Tina Antolini Photo by Pableaux Johnson

Antolini dug into this Derby subculture for an episode of Gravy, a new biweekly podcast from the Southern Foodways Alliance that explores a changing American South through the lens of food. The podcast’s host and producer isn’t exactly a good ol’ girl; Antolini grew up in a coastal Maine town full of “lobstermen and artists.” Her mom, a cookbook editor, would spend “three hours making a complicated deal for dinner,” so she developed an early interest in all things culinary. Jobs at pier-side seafood joints and upscale restaurants fortified her passion—food would become a theme in her reporting for New England Public Radio and later for the podcast State of the (Re)Union, for which she is still a senior producer.

Having a Yankee host doesn’t seem to have detracted from Gravy‘s allure. The podcast, along with its quarterly print version, won Publication of the Year at the 2015 James Beard Foundation Awards—a.k.a. the “Oscars of the food world.” Dorothy Kalins, chair of the awards committee, commended Gravy for its “humor and style” and for “giving voice to the unsung characters who grow, cook, and serve our food.”

But don’t come looking for recipes—Antolini rarely gets into ingredient lists. Rather, she uses food as a launchpad for stories about race, culture, health, and business. “The food has to take us somewhere,” she told me. Episodes have covered water wars from the perspective of feuding oyster farms, the buried history of black culinarians, and military vets who turn to farming. And Gravy transcends geography. As illustrated by the Kentucky Derby episode, “the themes we are dealing with in these Southern-based stories,” Antolini says, “are really at the heart of understanding the United States.”

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The Kentucky Derby Is Fueled by Tamales, and Other Gems From a Great New Podcast

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Washington’s brand-new governor, Jay Inslee, wastes no time promoting clean energy

Washington’s brand-new governor, Jay Inslee, wastes no time promoting clean energy

Yesterday, the state of Washington got itself a new governor. During the campaign, environmental advocates were bullish on Jay Inslee’s prospects as a leader on green issues; our Lisa Hymas suggested he might be the greenest governor in the country.

Inslee didn’t waste much time in trying to meet those expectations. From the Olympian:

Inslee, a Democrat with an eye to putting Washington ahead of other states on green jobs and responding to climate change, revisited those themes in his [inaugural] address, which also touch on school funding, the economy and other themes. He also spoke of bringing “innovation” to the culture of Olympia.

Hoping to lend his message urgency, Inslee’s speech was titled, “The World Will Not Wait.” …

Notably, Inslee said: “There is no challenge greater for Washington, with more opportunity for job growth, and more suited to our particular brand of genius and ingenuity, than leading the world’s clean energy economy. It is clear to me that we are the right state, at the right time, with the right people, and it’s also clear to me that we face grave and immediate danger if we fail to act.”

By the time he gave that address, Inslee had already taken action on those words. This photo was taken shortly before he spoke.

govinslee

The photo is titled, “Governor Inslee’s first act.” Its caption?

Writing a letter to the head of a clean energy company the Governor hopes will relocate to Washington: “I took the oath of office 45 minutes ago and my first act as Governor is to write you to invite you to join us in Washington in building a new energy economy. I look forward to shaking your hand. Jay”

Inslee will be governor for four years. With one day down, it’s safe to assume that environmental activists are looking forward to the next 1,459.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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Washington’s brand-new governor, Jay Inslee, wastes no time promoting clean energy

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