This week’s interview is for those who prefer to go big or go home. We talk with hobbyist chef Masid Cader about his experience fast-tracking his interest in gourmet cooking, including training with a Michelin-starred restaurant during the weekends, all while working full-time in investment banking.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• International Culinary Institute, New York City
• “Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques” on Masterclass
• Daniel Humm, owner and chef of 21 Madison Park
• The Food Lab, by J. Kenji López-Alt
• L’Artusi restaurant, NYC

You can learn more about our guest at:

IG @masidcader

Just in time for Thanksgiving, we interview Maryam Jillani about her journey as a food journalist and her experience writing the groundbreaking cookbook PAKISTAN. In our conversation, we learn about how Maryam’s background in public policy, education, and international development gave her a unique perspective on food writing while bringing her cookbook project to life.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• PAKISTAN by Maryam Jillani, published by Hardie Grant
• Pakistan Eats food blog (www.pakistaneats.com/)

You can learn more about our guest at:

https://www.maryamjillani.com/

IG: @maryamxjillani

This week, we talk with marine biologist and medical technician Nova Hanson about her love for birding and photography, and how she keeps her hobby fun and meaningful.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• “American Robin” (National Park Service)

You can learn more about our guest at:

IG @novarrh

In this week’s episode, we get a look behind the showroom curtain in our interview with Tommy Zoppa, better known as the drag queen Tammy Kay Queen. In our interview, we hear about how Tommy took a break from working in international aid and tech to create the popular and hilarious "Monologues" drag show at the Trade Bar in DC.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Trade DC (1410 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005)
• RuPaul’s Drag Race
• “The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia” monologue from Designing Women (1986)
• “The Defense is Wrong” monologue from My Cousin Vinny (1992)
• “Cerulean Top” monologue from The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1996)
• Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
• The Birdcage (1996)
• Let the Record Show by Sara Schulman

You can learn more about our guest at:

IG @TammyKayQueen

This week, we interview Jenny Nam, a data analyst and hobbyist potter in Philadelphia, about her basement home studio and her mother’s 10-year rule when trying out new things.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
• Small Favors show at the Clay Studio, Philadelphia
• The Ceramic Shop, Norristown, Philadelphia
• Bird Seed Florals, Philadelphia

You can learn more about our guest at:

https://www.sjnampottery.com

@sjnampottery (Instagram)

This week, we continue learning about gardens and major career pivots with Sharad Wertheimer, a former labor organizer and current medical student in Washington, D.C. In our conversation, Sharad talks about discovering his passion for urban agriculture…and how 10,000 worms helped him find his purpose.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Farmacology, Daphne Miller
• Sharad’s syllabus on Intro to Vermiculture

You can learn more about our guest at:

GroW for Health at George Washington School of Medicine

In this episode, we talk with Honor Hawkins, a landscape designer and horticulturalist in New York City, about her serendipitous career pivot from media and technical writing to professionally designing urban gardens.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Gardener’s World (BBC) (https://www.gardenersworld.com/)
• Dan Pearson’s online magazine, Dig Delve (digdelve.com)
• Stonecrop Garden’s Seminum/Rarium (https://www.stonecrop.org/seminum-rarium/)
• Gardens Illustrated (https://www.gardensillustrated.com/)
• One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

You can learn more about our guest at:

https://www.honorhawkins.net/

In our first conversation, we interview family physician Dr. Claudia Ma about Claudia’s Confections, her new licensed home baking venture in Boston, MA, and how she cares for others through medicine and baking.

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

Cambridge Culinary Institute

You can learn more about our guest at:

@drclaudias_confections