Sometimes it feels as if I am the only person in the known world not listening to the mould-breaking podcast Serial. I'm not. In fact only about 1.5 million people downloaded the show each week, but that still broke all records for a podcast. One reason I didn't subscribe is that I'm listening to so much else already that unheard episodes would just pile on the guilt, and one of those other shows I listen to gave me a peculiar, vicarious thrill this morning. Enough of a thrill to rouse me from my blogging torpor.

There’s more ➢

This is counter-intuititive; wearing a helmet makes biking more dangerous -- at least in Bath and Salisbury. Dr Ian Walker, a pychologist at the University of Bath, discovered that cars, trucks and buses gave him much less room when he wore a helmet that when he didn’t. Walker reckons that this may...

There’s more ➢

Amy Trubek, my guest on the latest Eat This Podcast, studies cheese and maple syrup, separately. This post suggests she bring them together.

When we spoke, Professor Trubek threw away a remark that first stopped me in my tracks and then sent me scurrying to the internet. Artificial maple flavour, she said, is made from fenugreek. Huh? I know fenugreek only as a somewhat pungent spice that I sometimes put in Indian food. To me, it smells of curries, not maple syrup.

There’s more ➢

Of course information wants to be free. But information (and entertainment) providers have to live too. And they want to be loved. Recognition is a powerful motivator, and with a little effort can also be a bit financially rewarding, which is why I signed up with Flattr.

There’s more ➢

What is terroir? I know what it is supposed to be -- "the combination of factors, including soil, climate, and environment, that gives a wine its distinctive character" -- but I don't really buy that people can taste terroir. I don't dispute that discriminating palates can distinguish this wine from that, or even this side of the river from that, although the evidence on that score is not overwhelming. I do dispute that terroir is an adequate explanation for either the differences between similar products or the unique characteristics of a particular product. And "product" by now has extended way beyond wine to encompass cheese, sausages, beer and, for all I know, much else besides.

There’s more ➢