Episode notes
Alex Schmidt and Katie Goldin explore why root beer is secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week’s bonus episode.
LINKS FOR KATIE GOLDIN:
- Katie Goldin on Bluesky
- @ProBirdRights on Bluesky
- ‘Creature Feature’ podcast (iHeartRadio)
- When Is a Bird a ‘Birb’? An Extremely Important Guide (Audubon)
RESOURCES USED TO INFORM THE EPISODE’S LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
- native-land.ca
- U.S. Department Of Arts And Culture
- The True Native New Yorkers Can Never Truly Reclaim Their Homeland (Smithsonian)
- “Finding Lenapehoking” (YouTube / Hudson River Maritime Museum)
- Why Do They Call It Beacon? (The Highlands Current)
- Dutch & Native American Heritage In The Hudson River Valley (National Park Service)
RESEARCH SOURCES:
- Sassafras: Native gem of North America (Cornell Botanic Gardens)
- Smilax pumila — Sarsaparilla Vine, Wild Sarsaparilla, Dwarf Smilax, Dwarf Greenbriar (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)
- Down South: What Does Sassafras Taste Like? (Serious Eats)
- CHEROKEE EATS: Sassafras Tea (Cherokee Phoenix)
- What goes into Old West favorites sarsaparilla, sassafras and root beer (The Seattle Times)
- How a Viral Tweet Brought Back a Boozy Root Beer Called Cronk (Gastro Obscura)
- Root Beer vs. Birch Beer vs. Sarsaparilla: What’s the Difference? (Mental Floss)
- How the South Cornered the Soda Market (Serious Eats)
- The Hidden History of Root Beer Floats in Chicago (Eater.com)
- 10 Things You Might Not Know About Root Beer Magnate Charles Hires (Philadelphia Magazine)
- The Root in Root Beer is Sassafras (McGill University Office for Science and Society)
- How Did Root Beer Get Its Name? (Mental Floss)
- The Food and Drug Administration: the Continued History of Drug Advertising (Weill Cornell Medicine Samuel J. Wood Library)
- Applebee’s Accidentally Serves Kids Alcoholic Root Beer (Eater.com)
- How Sweet, Boozy Root Beer Found an Audience Among Men (Eater.com)
- Barq’s Sodas: Brothers Edward and Gaston Barq began bottling carbonated water and soft drinks in New Orleans in 1890. (64Parishes.org)
- Barq’s Root Beer (Difford’s Guide)
- How Root Beer, an American Favorite, Became a Staple in Sonora (Texas Monthly)
- Lodi, California — The Original Home of A&W Root Beer (Atlas Obscura)
- If You Bought A&W Root Beer in the Past 7 Years, the Company Might Owe You Money (Mental Floss)
- Need a Quick 5 Bucks? A&W Owes You Money Over Misleadingly-Labeled Root Beer (Food & Wine Magazine)
- A Tenacious and Wild Pekingese Is the Ugliest Dog, After Five Tries (The New York Times)
- The brief story of how one of America’s favorite root beer brands started in San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Secretly Incredibly Fascinating: World’s Fairs
- Secretly Incredibly Fascinating: Ranch Dressing
In this episode...
About the show
A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator, and ‘Jeopardy!‘ champion Alex Schmidt. Join Alex & his co-host Katie Goldin for a joyful deep dive into seeing the world a whole new way!
Get in touch with the show
@sifpod
@sifpod
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