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Your Mama’s Kitchen

Your Mama’s Kitchen

By: Higher Ground
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About this listen

“Tell me about your mama's kitchen.” That’s the simple request which begins each episode of this Audible Original podcast from acclaimed journalist Michele Norris (NPR’s All Things Considered, The Washington Post) and Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama's media company.

Every week, hear guests like Michelle Obama, Conan O'Brien, Ina Garten, José Andrés, John Legend, and more explore the complexities of family life and how their earliest culinary experiences helped shape their personal and professional lives—and of course, each guest brings a recipe for a favorite dish from their youth so you can taste a bit of their story.

With a delicious buffet of actors, authors, chefs, musicians, and more, the rich conversations that flow from that simple, initial prompt reveal the histories, memories, and cultures that emerge from the kitchen—the heart of the home—where we are nourished physically and spiritually. Your Mama’s Kitchen is a podcast about cuisine and culture, ingredients and identities, and the meals and memories that make us who we are.

Your Mama’s Kitchen is a production of Higher Ground.

Produced by Sonia Htoon.

Associate Producers are Jenna Levin, Stella Hartman, Itxy Quintinilla and Camila Thur de Koos.

Sound design and engineering from Andrew Eapen, Ryan Kozlowski and Roy Baum.

Executive producers for Higher Ground are Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman and Michele Norris.

The show’s closing song is 504 by The Soul Rebels.

Editorial and web support from Melissa Bear and Say What Media. Our talent booker is Angela Peluso.

Copyright 2024 by Higher Ground Audio, LLC / Sound Recording copyright 2024 by Higher Ground Audio, LLC.

© Higher Ground, LLC. Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Jurnee Smollett Clocks in as the Flavor Flav of the Family

    Jurnee Smollett Clocks in as the Flavor Flav of the Family
    Jul 29 2025

    Actress Jurnee Smollett talks lessons in activism and creativity from her family. Being one of six children, Jurnee recounts how her mother was able to juggle care for all the kids while prioritizing their creative spark. From the Smollett's Swiss-Family-Robinson-style upbringing, to her mother befriending craft services for custom meals, Jurnee paints the picture of her childhood as a young actress to now. And she share's her mother's recipe for 7th Ward Gumbo!

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    50 mins
  • Sam Sanders on the Healing Powers of Smothered Chicken

    Sam Sanders on the Healing Powers of Smothered Chicken
    Jul 22 2025

    Journalist, podcast host and radio star Sam Sanders takes us back to his roots in Texas, where everyone one in his house was a cook and there was a local "rabbit" man who sold all kinds of meat from his truck; including possum. Sam opens up about a special moment he shared with his mom as she was recovering from stroke, while cooking her special Smothered Chicken Recipe.

    Check out Sam's podcast The Sam Sanders Show and Vibe Check.

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    52 mins
  • Molly Jong-Fast on Alcoholism, Dementia and a Mom Addicted to Fame

    Molly Jong-Fast on Alcoholism, Dementia and a Mom Addicted to Fame
    Jul 15 2025

    Michele chats with author, journalist, and political commentator Molly Jong-Fast. Molly's new book, How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir depicts the emotionally complex relationship she had with her mother, feminist icon Erica Jong. Through sobriety at 19, to stepping out of her mother's overbearing shadow, and finally parenting her mother through dementia, Molly bares it all. Plus she shares her recipe for a decadently sweet Baked Alaska!

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    49 mins
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