Today, I launched my very first audio course! As I briefly mentioned last week, it's called How To Eat Now, and I couldn't be more excited about how it turned out. The course is a collaboration with an awesome company called Knowable; they're a new platform of audio courses led by top experts in various fields, so that busy people can learn interesting/important things and skills without having to devote huge amounts of time, effort, or attention. Like any podcast, you can listen to these while doing whatever: walking, driving, gardening, or, in our case, cooking.

Anyway, shortly after the pandemic set in here in the States, I started talking with the people at Knowable about how suddenly being stuck at home reinforced for a lot of people the importance of being able to cook for yourself (ideally in a way that's healthful, enjoyable, and sustainable for a whole lifetime). We discussed doing a course geared particularly towards cooking in quarantine, but ultimately figured that it would be even better to create something that would be useful to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The result is a course (20 or so short audio lessons, plus some favorite recipes, shopping lists, and more in the app) that's basically my guide to being an eater in the modern world. What does that mean in practice for people who listen to it? Among other things, you'll learn how to shop smartly, ethically and sustainably, build your own recipes, develop a balanced diet, and even advocate for better food policies. I also roped in Holly Haines () to talk about dining with company (which, in case you've forgotten, is something that used to happen before the world got knocked off its axis). I had a surprising amount of fun recording this course, and am proud to have created something that I think, in my endless quest to convince as many as people as possible of the myriad benefits of cooking, moves the ball forward.

I'm also particularly excited that a third of the proceeds from this course are going to One Fair Wage, a nonprofit that is working to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers. (There's lots more to say on this maddening and incredibly detrimental policy, but for now I'd urge you to read more about it here.)

Whatever your skill level, I'd like to think that there's always more to learn about how to be a happy, healthy and conscious cook. That's why I decided to do this course, and I'm glad that I did. You can check it out here, or by clicking the link below. Maybe it's right for you or for someone you know, or maybe not; either way, thanks for letting me share it with you here, and see you Friday.

—Mark

CHECK OUT MY AUDIOCOURSE

Talk To Me, Goose!

Questions, comments, brilliant suggestions? Just want to share the recipe for your grandma's potato salad, or your mom's meatloaf, or your uncle Drew's three-day 100-percent rye loaf (yes, please)? Don't hesitate to reach out anytime.