Proof

Proof isn't the cooking podcast you'd expect from America's Test Kitchen. There are no recipes here, no taste tests, no equipment reviews. Instead, host Jack Bishop and the ATK team produce a narrative-driven show that chases down the strangest, most fascinating stories hiding inside your food. One episode follows the Alaska Native Medical Center, where doctors serve wild game to patients because Indigenous foods offer something modern medicine can't replicate on its own. Another traces the bizarre history of in-flight fine dining, back when airlines actually tried to impress you at 35,000 feet. They've covered the psychology behind why we feel guilty eating meat, how Chicago-style gyros became a regional obsession, and what radio homemakers in the mid-20th century meant to American cooking culture. New episodes drop every Thursday, and each one runs like a tightly produced mini-documentary. The research is meticulous -- you'd expect nothing less from the ATK brand -- but the storytelling keeps things moving. Bishop brings genuine curiosity without the professorial tone that can make food history feel like homework. The show launched in 2018 and has built a devoted audience over multiple seasons. It took a brief hiatus and returned in 2025 with fresh episodes that haven't lost a step. If you're the kind of person who wants to know why your food exists, not just how to cook it, Proof rewards that curiosity every single week.