If we at Gastropod were asked to name a perfect food, the oyster would be at the top of our list. Oysters are pretty much always our answer to the question of what we'd like to eat this evening—but are they also the answer to the slow-motion disaster of disappearing coastlines worldwide? Join us this episode as we discover how this magical mollusk contains a pearl of hope in the fight to counter rising sea-levels, prevent erosion, and buffer storm surges everywhere from hurricane-hit New Orleans to New York City's flood-prone fringes. But be prepared: you just might join the ranks of the oyster obsessed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
So this is the nature conservancy reef.
I think it's almost 2 miles now and you can see it sticking up.
The tide's so low that we're having trouble getting close to it, but you can see all that growth on them.
Oysters.
That's oysters.
I'd never seen oysters growing out in the wild.
This was exciting.
I was this close to hopping in and harvesting them myself.
We love oysters here at gastropod and gastropod is what you're listening to.
We're the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history.
I'm Nicola Twilley.
And I'm Cynthia graeber.
And we were on a boat floating only a few feet away from a man made oyster reef.
Not just because we really do love to eat oysters, it's true, we do.
But because we wanted to know why groups around the country are spending millions of dollars to create new homes for these tasty bivalves.
Oysters are always the answer to the question of what to eat.
But are they also the answer to some of the biggest problems facing coastal cities today?
This episode we consider the oyster why Americans used to be in love with it, how we kind of fell out of love, and why reigniting that passion is not only good for us, but also might help save the world.
This episode is supported in part by the Alfred P.
Sloan foundation for the public understanding of science, technology and economics, and by you, our fabulous listener supporters.