Hello

No news this week. Well, there probably was some, and I’ll find it digging back over the next few days, but nothing for me to report apart from the fact that I have been looking after myself.

A nasty cold with bronchitis knocked me flat shortly after Christmas and kept me in bed for four whole days. That’s longer than I can remember. Even covid couldn’t keep me down that long, but down I stayed, and I’m glad I did because I now feel much better.

It’s a funny thing, though. The enforced rest means I have nothing to share and yet we have an assumed contract that compels to write to share just that, and something else. My gratitude.

You, the reader, are the reason I do this, and I am conscious of the privilege of being allowed into your inbox. I am especially grateful to paid supporters, who help to defray expenses and so make it possible to offer everything I do freely. I am not, and never have been, in the business of growing my subscriber list at any cost, so I am glad that some of you find what I do of actual value. It is easy enough to join those supporters, if you wish.

It has been a busy year and a satisfying one. I don’t keep very detailed records, but I do track downloads, and it is good to see that you all are roughly as interested in Neanderthal diets and a new theory of domestication as you are in salt, spice bags, and kosher pigs.

But you tell me; what were the stand-out episodes this past year? And, though I make no promises, what would you most like to hear in a future episode?

As I mentioned, I don’t push the newsletter or the podcast very hard in public. Somehow, people do find it, and it is always a thrill to see a new subscriber. So one last request; please recommend Eat This Podcast to a friend. No new episodes for a month or so, though there will — I promise — be newsletters, and there is a huge back catalogue to explore.

Many thanks, and here’s to a good 2026.

All the best

Jeremy