How a weak yen made Japanese beef the new truffle. Plus the fall and rise of chicken thighs and a food fight between credit card companies that's making it impossible to get dinner reservations. With guest Adam Chandler of the WSJ.

Adam Chandler's WSJ articles are available at https://www.wsj.com/news/author/adam-chandler

"What the Rise of Chicken Thighs Says About America," Adam Chandler, WSJ, March 19, 2026 https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/food-cooking/chicken-thighs-popularity-rise-27b5b355

"Reservation Apps Have Made Getting Into a Restaurant a Nightmare," Adam Chandler and Heather Haddon, WSJ, August 8, 2026 https://www.wsj.com/business/restaurant-reservation-apps-30a29e6b

"How Wagyu, Japan's Prized Beef, Took Over America," Adam Chandler, WSJ, August 22, 2206 https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/food-cooking/how-wagyu-japans-prized-beef-took-over-america-20546680

"Japan's Beef With a Weak Yen: The Best Wagyu Is Just for the Tourists," Miho Inada, WSJ, May 18, 2024 https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/japans-beef-with-a-weak-yen-the-best-wagyu-is-just-for-the-tourists-42be2a7b

"'Wagyu' Used to Guarantee Quality Beef. What Are You Paying for Today?" Tejal Rao, NYT, April 21, 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/dining/wagyu-beef.html

"Caviar 'Bumps' Are All the Rage," Alyson Krueger, NYT, June 7, 2022 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/style/caviar-bump.html

Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom by Adam Chandler https://www.adamchandler.com/drive-thru-dreams

"Mass Psychosis in Food Science: Americans happily ate monosodium glutamate for decades, but one (fake?) letter sparked mass hysteria and the bogus MSG scare was born." Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon, November 7, 2023 https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disappearing-pod/mass-psychosis-in-food-science/

Heather Haddon's WSJ articles https://www.wsj.com/news/author/heather-haddon