Jonathan Lee: Novelist and Screenwriter on Taco Tuesdays, Trauma, and the Power of Stories

Paragini Amin: Designer on Indian-American Identity, a Husband Who Cooks Like a Chef, and a Game That Opens Kids Up

Paragini Amin grew up in Jersey City in a Gujarati household where dinner, cooked daily by her mother, was always Indian food, and everything else was negotiable. Today, her husband does all the cooking, and he's exceptional at it: French technique one night, Caribbean-Southeast Asian the next, with an instinct for sniffing out the best restaurant on any highway. In this episode, Paragini takes us through the experiences that shaped her, including the early racism she experienced in school, and the radically intentional desegregation high school where she learned what happens when kids from different backgrounds are just given room to be. She tells us what a psychic once said about getting into the kitchen, and why she still hasn't done it. We get into Things & Things, the conversation game she designed — cards paired with physical objects — that helped her quiet, heady eight-year-old finally open up at the dinner table. And we talk perimenopause and HRT, because we're all in our forties and we have things to say. Paragini is co-founder and creative director of Design for Progress [https://designforprogress.co/], a brand strategy firm serving social justice nonprofits focused on criminal justice reform and mass incarceration. In this episode: * Growing up Gujarati in Jersey City, and her parents' approach to two cultures at the dinner table * The racism Paragini faced as a young Indian-American girl, and how she made sense of it * The quietly radical desegregation high school in Jersey City that just worked * The husband who does all the cooking, and his nose for the best restaurant on any highway * What a psychic once told Paragini about getting into the kitchen, and why she still hasn't done it * Things & Things: a conversation game with cards and objects that opened up her quiet eight-year-old at the dinner table * Perimenopause, HRT, and the conversations we should all be having in our 40s Mentioned in this episode: * Things & Things [https://designforprogress.co/things-and-things], Paragini's conversation game * Design for Progress [https://designforprogress.co/], Paragini and Chris's design firm * The First 40 Days [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-first-forty-days-the-essential-art-of-nourishing-the-new-mother-amely-greeven/6433c0315ff66ec2?ean=9781617691836&next=t&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D&utm_content=6443417794&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16235479093&gbraid=0AAAAACfld43T5PnR_7eXN0Zq-Qen3kyBv&gclid=CjwKCAjwt7XQBhBkEiwAtStpp_lY_fVJnYgTqEjNj6Hdcmkl0e2STse8neLSr84Qgfv0Eu6rRUeX2xoCASkQAvD_BwE] by Heng Ou * Earlier episode with Eliza Blank [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JbWiMMghTawLwreQllU5o?si=mhHDNI2dQm6SDeHUivi4zQ] on Farmlink and food waste * Cornell Prison Education Program [https://cpep.cornell.edu/] Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and ⁠subscribe to our newsletter⁠ [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/]. If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways ⁠CLICK HERE⁠ [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform] to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us * Substack: ⁠subscribe to our newsletter⁠ [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/] * YouTube: ⁠@DinnerLastNightPod⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod] * Instagram: ⁠@dinnerlastnightpod⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet] * Website: ⁠dinnerlastnightpod.com⁠ [https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/] Credits * Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., ⁠REP Studio⁠ [https://repstudio.com/], and Stuart Hetzler * Editing: ⁠REP Studio⁠ [https://repstudio.com/] and Stuart Hetzler * Music by: ⁠⁣⁠ [https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/]⁠Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en] (feat. ⁠Drew Martin⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en] on Saxophone)

Stefan Merrill Block: Novelist and Memoirist on Being Homeschooled, Cooking as Rebellion, and The Power of Writing to Heal

When Stefan Merrill Block was nine, his mother concluded that his teachers were stifling his creativity and pulled him out of public school. He wouldn't return until ninth grade. Those five years in between shaped everything that came after, including, eventually, his relationship with food and cooking. Stefan is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Homeschooled [https://bookshop.org/p/books/homeschooled-a-new-york-times-bestselling-memoir-and-read-with-jenna-pick-stefan-merrill-block/7e9b1465fdf608ff?ean=9781335000989&next=t&next=t&affiliate=397], which traces a fiercely loved boy through the years he spent learning at home with a mother whose ideas grew more inventive (and more unsteady) as the months went on. In this episode, we follow the food: his mother's recipe-less cooking, the Dallas chicken tortilla soup that tasted like friendship and a bigger world, and the long road that led Stefan at 30, alone on 250 acres of Texas land, to fall in love with cooking on his own terms. We also talk about writing a memoir with a novelist's instincts, feeling anger for your younger self for the first time, and the homeschool reform conversations the book has sparked in three states. In this episode: * Why Stefan's mother pulled him from school at nine, and how that impacted his later years * His mother's recipe-less cooking, and the meals that felt like something to endure * The Dallas chicken tortilla soup that tasted like friendship and a bigger world * Falling in love with cooking at 30, alone on 250 acres of Texas land * Cooking three separate dinners as the main cook in his household * Writing a memoir with a novelist's instincts, and feeling anger for your younger self * Co-owning Skate Time 209, the beloved roller rink in Accord, NY Mentioned in this episode: * Stefan's Website [https://www.stefanmerrillblock.com/ ] * Follow Stefan on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stefanmblock] * Get a copy of Stefan's memoir, Homeschooled [https://bookshop.org/p/books/homeschooled-a-new-york-times-bestselling-memoir-and-read-with-jenna-pick-stefan-merrill-block/7e9b1465fdf608ff?ean=9781335000989&next=t] * The Coalition for Responsible Home Education [https://crhe.org/] * Skate Time 209 Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/]. If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways CLICK HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform] to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us * Substack: subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/] * YouTube: @DinnerLastNightPod [https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod] * Instagram: @dinnerlastnightpod [https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet] * Website: dinnerlastnightpod.com [https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/] Credits * Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/], and Stuart Hetzler * Editing: REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/] and Stuart Hetzler * Music by: ⁣ [https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/]Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett [https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en] (feat. Drew Martin [https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en] on Saxophone)

Virginia Craddock: Fashion Founder and Mother on Conscious Consumption, Blending Families, and Finding Clarity in Everything

Virginia Craddock is the founder of Inside Out Agency, a multi-brand showroom working to shift the way we think about what we wear, how we consume, and what it all means. Virginia grew up eating Brazilian moqueca in two different households — her parents had both spent time in the Peace Corps in Brazil — and now she makes the dish her own way. We talk about scruffy hospitality and why clarity in how you invite people into your home changes everything about the experience. And in one of the most moving moments of the season, Virginia shares how blending her and her partner's families is her biggest triumph, and why. The phrase her business teacher gave her — “clarity is connection” — turns out to be the thread running through it all. In this episode: * A Brazilian moqueca passed down from Peace Corps parents, adapted and made her own * Building Inside Out Agency to shift how we think about clothing and consumption * Scruffy hospitality, and the freeing power of low-stakes gathering * How knowing where your clothes come from changes how much you love them * The Art of Gathering, and hosting with intention instead of effort * Blending three boys, two households, and years of hard conversations into one family * “Clarity is connection” — her business teacher's mantra that became her life's Mentioned in the episode: * Virginia on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/virginia_craddock/] * Inside Out Agency [https://www.insideout-agency.com/about] * The Art of Gathering [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-art-of-gathering-how-we-meet-and-why-it-matters_priya-parker/18627063/item/37708715/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&vector_id=14637440387&vector_source=GOOGLE&vector_campaign=shopping_new_condition_books_high&utm_campaign=shopping_new_condition_books_high_14637440387&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=545752079965&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14637440387&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45jncSHhgA9RiWWT_rZNhwgte&gclid=CjwKCAjw46HPBhAMEiwASZpLRIqhhJt2YrtVt7I0KNuEIxLtkdgL6xb4Hb8CSuo4UytADtdinU0uthoC0sYQAvD_BwE#idiq=37708715&edition=29474366] by Priya Parker * Meditations for Mortals [https://bookshop.org/p/books/meditations-for-mortals-four-weeks-to-embrace-your-limitations-and-make-time-for-what-counts-oliver-burkeman/d5648b5349145ef6?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content={adgroupname}&utm_term=dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gbraid=0AAAAACfld40Q73L7_ZBjSgVzzFcKf2qbZ&gclid=CjwKCAjw46HPBhAMEiwASZpLREe-G4YvZ0b2TmGt6rMawvLomgXHyG_RxOnw7uymh10aFpJcnXYIXBoChv4QAvD_BwE] by Oliver Burkeman Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/]. If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways CLICK HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform] to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us * Substack: subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/] * YouTube: @DinnerLastNightPod [https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod] * Instagram: @dinnerlastnightpod [https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet] * Website: dinnerlastnightpod.com [https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/] Credits * Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/], and Stuart Hetzler * Editing: REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/] and Stuart Hetzler * Music by: ⁣ [https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/]Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett [https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en] (feat. Drew Martin [https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en] on Saxophone)

Julia Turshen: Cookbook Author on Power Lifting, Working for Home Cooks, and Feeding Loved Ones

Cookbook author and former competitive powerlifter Julia Turshen sits down for a warm, wide-ranging conversation about healing a lifelong eating disorder, the daily labor of home cooking, and how food can heal the people you love. From her grandparents' Brooklyn bread bakery to her 81-year-old mom's illustrated cooking class notes, Julia shares the threads that have shaped her relationship with food, family, and feeding others. It's a thoughtful, moving episode about the rituals that anchor us — and the people we cook for along the way. In this episode: * The concept of “the everlasting meal” * Growing up in a workaholic household, and the Brooklyn bread bakery her Jewish grandparents ran * Her mother's illustrated cooking class notes, and their evolving relationship * Navigating disordered eating and finding healing through powerlifting * How food works in her home with spouse Grace, a therapist with Type 1 diabetes * Why investing in neighbors and community is the most important thing any of us can do Mentioned in this episode: * Julia's website and books: www.juliaturshen.com [http://www.juliaturshen.com] * Julia's Substack newsletter Keep Calm and Cook On [https://juliaturshen.substack.com/] * Follow Julia on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/turshen/] * Reem Kassis [https://www.instagram.com/reem.kassis/], Palestinian cookbook author mentioned by Julia * An Everlasting Meal [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/an-everlasting-meal-cooking-with-economy-and-grace_tamar-adler/300850/item/9620398/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pmax_high_vol_scarce_under_%2410_17389091670&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17400878150&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45gUpXZ-uLkdOne-ufH0T7oNu&gclid=CjwKCAjw-dfOBhAjEiwAq0RwI-m7BXyMj81ud8_w2yw8oitAuj71eU20AEB2O_wgwe6JddMOAvk38hoCp1UQAvD_BwE#idiq=9620398&edition=6986762] by Tamar Adler Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/]. If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways CLICK HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform] to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us * Substack: subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/] * YouTube: @DinnerLastNightPod [https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod] * Instagram: @dinnerlastnightpod [https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet] * Website: dinnerlastnightpod.com [https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/] Credits * Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/], and Stuart Hetzler * Editing: REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/] and Stuart Hetzler * Music by: ⁣ [https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/]Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett [https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en] (feat. Drew Martin [https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en] on Saxophone)

Jonathan Lee: Novelist and Screenwriter on Taco Tuesdays, Trauma, and the Power of Stories

Novelist, screenwriter, and father Jonathan Lee joins us for a riveting conversation about family dinners, storytelling, and the surprising parenting lessons hidden in Taco Night. From the “perils of precedent” — why kids love Tuesday Tacos but not Monday Tacos — to writing about real-life tragedy in High Dive and The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Jonathan shares insights on parenting, trauma, and the role of food in stories. Plus, a hilarious dinner-table storytelling game you'll want to try at home. In this episode: * Why “branding” dinner matters for kids * Jonathan's journey to becoming a full-time writer * The realities of writing about trauma, and the self-care it requires * How food shapes storytelling even in moments of crisis and connection * Talking to children about difficult topics * Behind the scenes of The Bombing of Pan Am 103 * A playful dinner table storytelling game Mentioned in this episode: * Jonathan’s website and books: www.jonathanleewriter.com [http://www.jonathanleewriter.com/] * Episode 09 of Dinner Last Night with his wife, Amy Lee [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/p/episode-09-dinner-last-night-amy] * Television Show: The Bombing of Pan Am 103 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002cfrz] Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/]. If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways CLICK HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform] to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us * Substack: subscribe to our newsletter [https://emmafrisch.substack.com/] * YouTube: @DinnerLastNightPod [https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod] * Instagram: @dinnerlastnightpod [https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet] * Website: dinnerlastnightpod.com [https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/] Credits * Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/], and Stuart Hetzler * Editing: REP Studio [https://repstudio.com/] and Stuart Hetzler * Music by: ⁣ [https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/]Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett [https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en] (feat. Drew Martin [https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en] on Saxophone)