This week, we are proud to share episodes of California Foodways, the insanely ambitious series from KALW’s very own Lisa Morehouse. More than a decade ago, she began her quest to tell the story of California’s food and agriculture, and the people that make both possible. Her plan: to report from each of the state’s 58 counties. She just completed her epic series. And to honor the achievement, we are airing a week of stories that look back at some of the people she’s met and places she’s been.
In this installment, two stories that consider California history through food and farming:
- "A Humble Burger Helped Fuel the Building of Shasta Dam" — In Redding, there’s a hamburger joint that’s been making its signature item the same way since the 1930s — a burger so thin it gets crispy on the edges, and never, ever comes with a tomato. Damburger helped fuel one of California’s most impactful engineering feats — the Shasta Dam — by nourishing the workers who built it. It was originally released in 2019
- "Farming with Ghosts in Fresno County" — Lisa introduces us the Masumotos, a multi-generational family of organic farmers in Fresno whose lives were deeply impacted by the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two.