Shows / The food files
The food files
Every food has a story, and some are stranger than we imagine. From the industrial processes that transform ordinary ingredients into familiar products to food fraud, misleading labels, and the chemistry behind flavor, The Food Files investigates what really goes into the foods we eat.
Episodes
- The food files
Decaf's Paint-Stripper Problem? How Methylene Chloride Takes the Caffeine Out
Some of the decaf in American cups is made with methylene chloride, a solvent best known from paint strippers, and in 2026 it's at the center of an open FDA…
- The food files
Why Farmed Salmon Is Pink
Wild salmon get their famous color from their diet, but farmed salmon would be pale gray without a little help. In this episode, we explore astaxanthin, the…
- The food files
The Great Olive Oil Deception: Is Your "Extra Virgin" Really Extra Virgin?
Olive oil is one of the most fraud-prone foods in the world, and the bottle in your kitchen may not be what the label claims. In this episode, we explore what…
The food filesThe Boy Scouts Abuse Scandal: When a Trusted Institution Kept Its Own Secret Files
For generations, the Boy Scouts of America represented character, leadership, service, and childhood adventure. But behind that trusted image existed internal…
- The food files
Penn State: The Warning That Went No Further
In 2001, a Penn State graduate assistant walked into a football building and witnessed something involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and a young…
- The food files
Episode 2: The Boston Church Scandal — When Protecting the Institution Failed the Children
In 2002, the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team published an investigation showing that the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston had reassigned priests despite abuse…
- The food files
Episode 1: Larry Nassar — When Authority Became a Shield
Larry Nassar occupied a position athletes are taught to trust: physician. Yet hundreds of women and girls eventually came forward with accounts of sexual…
The food filesThe Acid Base Seesaw: Sorting Out Mixed Disturbances and the Anion Gap
Renal physiology only tells half the story until it collides with pulmonology at the bedside. This episode breaks down a three step method for reading any…
- The food files
The Renal Clearance Matrix: Decoding GFR, RPF, and the Diuretic Trap
This episode examines the core physiologic and quantitative principles of renal function, focusing on glomerular filtration dynamics governed by Starling…