February Archives

  • 3 Fruit Outcasts

    Kris Holechek Peters
    February 27, 2012 1:34 PM
    Food

    High school, popularity and... citrus? A story of fruit rejection and redemption that John Hughes would have given his seal of approval. Read more...

  • The Dinner Party Oscar Ballot

    Rico Gagliano
    February 26, 2012 2:47 PM
    Artists , Movies , People

    Our Oscar picks, based on the only criteria that matters - whether the nominee was on our show. Read more...

  • Episode 137: Geoff Dyer, Bug Juice, and Damn Good Advice

    February 24, 2012 12:27 PM
    Episodes

    This week: Celebrated UK writer Geoff Dyer takes us into the "Zona"... Top Chef's Gail Simmons survives internship hell and gets her Angel wings... Damn Good Advice from legendary ad man George Lois... Bees you can drink... A big empire built on small change... Winning an election... And nomophobia on the rise. Plus: picture books for grownups, Islands with Hallways, and a Fun joke. Read more...

  • The Dark and Wooly

    Kris Holechek Peters
    February 24, 2012 8:38 AM
    Recipes , ice cream , rum

    This week back in 1879, a young F.W. Woolworth opened the first Five-and-Dime store. Learn about how he turned small change into a massive empire, then drink down a cocktail direct from the source. Read more...

  • Episode 136: Michel Hazanavicius, New Fruit, and Undead Presidents

    February 17, 2012 3:16 PM
    Episodes
    Getty Images

    This week: "The Artist" director Michel Hazanavicius breaks the silence... Brendan witnesses the arrival of a fruit sensation... Titanic sound achievements, selected by a 7-time Oscar-winning sound designer... Sharon Van Etten's moody party soundtrack... the real "Bonfire of the Vanities"... and Comedian Sarah Colonna breaks up with eHarmony. Plus, travel trends, a reality-check for gamers, and a joke from Miranda July. Read more...

  • Anello De Fuoco

    Kris Holechek Peters
    February 17, 2012 8:32 AM
    Recipes , bitters , cognac , dessert wine , orange , vergano americano

    Around this time in 1497, in the middle of Florence's Piazza Della Signoria, a Dominican priest named Savonarola had a pile of Renaissance treasures set ablaze. Learn about the famous bonfire, then kick back with the conflagrant drink it inspired. Read more...

  • Episode 135: The Shins, Lovable Fools, and Boardwalk Empires

    February 10, 2012 3:51 PM
    Episodes
    Columbia Records

    This week: The Shins' James Mercer blows the lid off a government cover-up... author Krys Lee's inspired immigrant tales... An Oscar-nominated Undefeated team... Emily Post's offspring get aggressive-aggressive... a tourist's guide to a city you can't visit... and Victorian puddings on the rise (plus a recipe). Plus: The weirdest bands of the year, a kiddie joke from Youth Lagoon, and a prescription for dull dinner parties from Dr. Dog. Read more...

  • The Boardwalk Fizz

    Kris Holechek Peters
    February 10, 2012 8:27 AM
    Recipes , gin , lemon , simple syrup

    In 1904 Elizabeth Magie patented a board game called The Landlord's Game, in the hope that it would teach people about the evils of landgrabbing. Learn about how her game eventually inspired Charles Darrow's "Monopoly" (first marketed by Parker Bros this week in 1935), then sip this drink while building your real estate empire. Read more...

  • Episode 134: Anjelica Huston, Doomsday Planes, and Things about Chicken Wings

    February 3, 2012 2:52 PM
    Episodes
    Photo by: Patrick Randak (NBC)

    This week: Actress Anjelica Huston reveals her secret good-luck charm ... Writer-provocateur Caitlin Flanagan blends etiquette, therapy, and cake... "The Artist's" James Cromwell talks quiet... Chickens with four wings... Greeks invade Britain... We toast the end of the world... A poem from imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo... Plus, nurture-over-nature, and a Major find from the Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Read more...

  • If You Push the Button...

    Kris Holechek Peters
    February 3, 2012 8:21 AM
    Recipes , bitters , bourbon , cointreau , orange juice , sherry

    This week in 1961, at the height of the cold War, the U.S. created "Operation: Looking Glass" to oversee its nuclear response from above... should the worst happen on the ground. Read more...

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    • Hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam

      The Dinner Party Download is a fast and funny ‘booster shot’ of news and culture designed to help you dazzle your friends and family at this weekend’s dinner party. Hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam set the table every Friday. Hear what our guests are saying about us inside... more

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