Feel the Beet: The Most Fascinating Woman You've Never Heard Of

Feel the Beet: The Most Fascinating Woman You've Never Heard Of

From Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

May 5, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

This episode explores the life of Lydia Maria Child and her connection to beets, along with their culinary renaissance.

For those who like its earthy flavor, the humble beet can do a lot for a salad or a soup. But could it help end slavery? In the 1800s, one woman believed it could—and she wasn't just any old woman. This episode, meet Lydia Maria Child, who wrote the first children's periodical magazine, the first New England historical novel, and one of America's first successful self-help books—all before she turned thirty, in an era where women were still considered property. This episode, we've got the fascinating story of why she bet big on beets, as well as how, more than a century later, Wolfgang Puck and Martha Stewart paired this much maligned vegetable with goat cheese to spark today's beet renaissance. Meanwhile, for the haters among us: is it possible to de-beet the beet, and get rid of that earthy flavor altogether? Listen in now as we meet the astonishing Lydia Maria Child, in the curious tale of the beet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Cynthia Graber, Nicola Twilley

Topics covered

  • beets
  • Lydia Maria Child
  • history
  • food
  • slavery
  • cooking
  • women's rights

Keywords

  • beet
  • Lydia Maria Child
  • cooking
  • history
  • slavery
  • food
  • women's rights
  • Wolfgang Puck
  • Martha Stewart

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