Veteran comedian Paula Poundstone loves Ring Dings, her favorite little chocolate snack cakes only sold in a handful of East Coast states. She once told a very skeptical Michael Pollan, on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, that they are her reason for living.

So host Rachel Belle interviews the pastry chef/owner of The Ring Ding Bar in New York City, a bakery that’s recreated the confection with “real ingredients” in 25 flavors.

Paula talks about how she lived on a Greyhound bus in the 80s, when she didn’t have enough money for motels, why you should read the recipe on the marshmallow fluff jar very carefully, and why Dick Van Dyke will most likely never have dinner at Paula’s house again.

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This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Ani DiFranco, singer/songwriter, activist and feminist icon.

Ani started her own record company in 1989, put out her first record in 1990 and just released her 23rd album. But what do her two school-aged children think about her music? She will discuss!

Plus she shares her family’s boozy holiday traditions, and reveals what is no longer on her rider.

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If you listened to the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter in the ’90s, she wants you to know she’s still making music: Ani DiFranco just released her 23rd album!

Ani is known for lyrics that explore politics, social justice and feminism, but in real life she is smiley, friendly and down-to-earth – not the “angry feminist” she was often mislabeled as.

Ani grew up in Buffalo, New York, where she was tasked with cooking dinner for her family starting at age 9. Today she enjoys cooking for her own family in New Orleans – a soothing ritual that balances the craziness of touring.

Ani says she’ll eat anything, so I pulled out a list of America’s most hated foods & quizzed her – listen in to hear what they are! And a social psychologist joins the show to talk about how a country’s culture influences our likes and dislikes.

Plus, Ani’s opinion of school lunch and a story about a school district that refuses to dumb down dishes for its young eaters.

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Order Rachel’s brand-new cookbook Open Sesame!

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.