“Chinese Protest Recipes” is an antiracist zine from chef and activist Clarence Kwan, who insists food and cooking are political.

Food photographer Oriana Koren talks about their work researching and documenting Black contributions to American cuisine, as well as the politics behind the camera.

Incoming Sacramento city councilmember Katie Valenzuela discusses AB-626, legal and social challenges facing restaurant pop-ups, and the importance of being civically engaged.

A California wildfire burned down the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood. Here’s what some former employees have to say about its highly-disciplined — and allegedly toxic — work environment

Serena Dai, the new senior features editor for The San Francisco Chronicle, talks about why food awards are here to stay — even amid a pandemic.

Chronicle wine critic Esther Mobley shares talks about the impact the Glass Fire is having on California wineries and restaurants, already hurt by previous fires.

Matt Horn, the pitmaster and owner of Horn BBQ, talks about his legendary Texas-style barbecue and opening a highly anticipated brick-and-mortar space in Oakland

Brenda Buenviaje, chef and owner of a chain of New Orleans-style restaurants in the Bay Area, talks with hosts Justin Phillips and Soleil Ho about coping in the time of coronavirus.

Palestinian chef Mona Leena Michael talks about how the health department shut her Oakland food pop-up down due to an anonymous complaint — even during a pandemic that has rendered many food industry workers like her unemployable.

Mark Canha, outfielder for the Oakland Athletics, talks about his unlikely turn as a Bay Area food influencer

Shawn Naputi and Shawn Camacho of restaurant Prubechu discuss how the pandemic is reshaping restaurants

Toriano Gordon, a rapper-turned-restaurateur, talks about finding his place in veganism, meat’s masculinity problem and the history of plant-based eating in Black communities.

Gabriela Alemán of the Mission Meals Coalition and Ashley Rahimi Syed of SF Community Fridge have teamed up to bring a fridge stocked with fresh food to the Mission District amid the pandemic. They talk about protecting the dignity of those they serve, and mitigating the “performative” aspect of some of the giving.

Korsha Wilson talks about her website and podcast, A Hungry Society, and how she’s protected her byline. Her focus on Caribbean cuisine and Black foodways at large has been an inspiration to Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips.

Simileoluwa Adebajo, owner of San Francisco’s Eko Kitchen, speaks with hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips just hours after her restaurant burned down in a major fire.

San Francisco food blogger and professional companion Adahlia Cole talks about the ways in which sex work intersects with the food industry.

Anthony Strong, the chef and owner of San Francisco's Prairie, talks about his restaurant’s quick pivot to a general store at the onset of the pandemic. Hang on to the end to hear some nonsense about Hot Pot Panic, Soleil Ho's new favorite computer game made by a Bay Area local.

Bay Area chef and community organizer Jocelyn Jackson is the founder of JustUs Kitchen, a project that provides healing food experiences for Black women and femmes. Jackson, also the co-founder of the People’s Kitchen Collective, talks about what it means to create liberated spaces, the ancient history of mutual aid, and how we can sustain the political moment,

Hawa Hassan, CEO of Basbaas Somali Foods, talks about her work to promote African cuisines here in the U.S. and her new cookbook, “In Bibi’s Kitchen.” She also has a frank discussion of her work with Bon Appetit’s Test Kitchen, which she says used her image to uphold the illusion of diversity while not affording her the respect she deserved. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Writer and advice columnist Daniel M. Lavery about potatoes for dessert, imaginary restaurant ideas and the persistence of the dinner table as the place where familial tensions come to a head. Plus: Ho and co-host Justin Phillips dole out their own advice about making it as professional food writer on the Dear Spicy segment of the podcast.

Organizer and sommelier Vinny Eng talks about working with SF New Deal, a nonprofit that has provided financial relief for restaurants by enlisting them to cook meals for people and organizations in need.

Master fermenter Kelly McVicker geeks out about pickles. She says an increased interest in the craft during the coronavirus pandemic is a sign that people are rethinking the place of pickles in our food system.

The writer and television personality talks about her new show, Taste the Nation. Lakshmi, an award-winning author who previously hosted “Top Chef,” talks about using her show to broaden the definition of “American food.”

San Francisco Chronicle food writers and columnists Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips talk to fascinating food folks in the Bay Area and beyond about restaurant life, cookbooks and the devastating horror of ranch dressing. Their attempts to decipher the bizarro happenings of the food world will stimulate your mind and your appetite.