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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Host Rachel Belle celebrated the launch of Open Sesame at Book Larder, Seattle's only dedicated cookbook store. The event sold out, but you can listen in!

Rachel is usually the one asking the questions, but on November 13 the tables were turned! She was in conversation with Becky Selengut, a beloved Seattle cookbook author, cooking instructor, podcast host and chef.

Rachel tells the magical story of how she was offered a book deal (despite having a small social media presence!), a reminder of the importance of building in-person, real-life professional relationships. She tells Becky what it was like to write a cookbook in only six months, describes how the testing process works, shares her biggest recipe fails & talks about how the word “fart” ended up in Open Sesame. Plus, an audience Q&A!

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This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France, two of the stars of the popular Netflix show Queer Eye.

Last week on Your Last Meal, Tan said his love language is cooking for the people he loves. So just imagine the fight that breaks out in this episode when Tan tells JVN he’ll bring him take-out instead of a homecooked meal!

Tan and JVN reveal their favorite city to eat in and Jonathan, an avid home farmer, gives us a report on what’s growing in his garden.

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Queer Eye Season 9 just dropped on Netflix, and Jonathan Van Ness (beauty expert), Tan France (fashion expert) and the rest of The Fab Five are back to make over folks who have big hearts but need lots of help in the self-care department.

This episode is chock full of big energy and big personalities – so much so that host Rachel Belle hardly had to lift a finger as the buddies interviewed, complimented and lovingly roasted each other!

British-born-and-raised Tan talks about his first-ever magical visit to Olive Garden and what he thinks of the food in Utah, where he now lives with his husband and children.

Rachel asks, “Have you ever eaten pet food?” and JVN and Tan talk about what it’s like going to a restaurant with Antoni Porowski, Queer Eye’s food and wine expert.

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This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Al Roker, longtime weather presenter and co-anchor of NBC’s Today. Al and his chef daughter Courtney Roker Laga just released a cookbook called Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By – Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion.

Al tells me about the strangest recipe in the cookbook (hint: It involves fish + breakfast cereal), which of his recipes Henry Winkler is obsessed with & his opinion on leftovers. Also: When is the perfect time to show up for a party?

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Longtime Today show weatherman and anchor, Al Roker, just released a cookbook of family recipes with his chef daughter called Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By...but it took some convincing.

When Courtney Roker Laga asked her dad if he wanted to write a cookbook together, he knew his answer immediately: No thanks! Fifty years into a busy career, Al wrote a couple cookbooks years ago and knows how much work goes into them. But finally, they made a deal: Al would write the headnotes if Courtney develops and tests all the recipes.

Al tells host Rachel Belle about a breakfast tradition that started with his dad, that he carried on with his own teenaged son. Several of the cookbook’s breakfast recipes call for American cheese, so Rachel called up a cheese scientist (with a Ph.D. in cheese!) to find out what American cheese actually is, and in the process learns that it wasn’t even invented in America!

And Rachel couldn’t resist asking the weatherman what he likes to cook when it’s raining, snowing, sunny and the perfect spring day.

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