PRK On The Air: Chickens, Crops, and Clams

Goldie aka “Mama hen” with 3-week-old chicks Thor, a Cuckoo Marans and Guinevere, a Golden Lackenvelders (Courtesy Khrysti Smyth)

We’ve had a hearty week of food news and fun here at WBUR.  Here & Now kicked if off with a tour of resident chef Kathy Gunst’s farm in Maine.  In true Gunst fashion, there’s some yummy extras, including seriously delicious recipes like this one for a summer pea and lettuce soup.

Radio Boston took on chickens– urban chickens, to be precise. I visited Khrysti Smyth (AKA The Chicken Lady) in Somerville earlier in the day and was greeted by 14 of her lovely “girls” (and one little guy named Thor). The on-air segment was robust and full of great information. The comment thread provided a bit more controversy with some listeners complaining that chickens should stay away from city backyards and go back where they belong– the farm.  Your thoughts?

On Friday, Radio Boston visits Chef Jasper White at the Summer Shack in Cambridge, scoring a cooking lesson along the way.  The loot? White’s secret to making his trademark clam catapala.

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About

Associate Producer, Here & Now Most recently, Jessica worked as an associate producer at WBUR's daily local program, Radio Boston. Jessica moved to Boston in 2008 and has lived many places since leaving her native Texas. After graduating from college, Jessica worked as a federal employee, documentary film festival producer, oral historian, university teaching assistant, traveling saleswoman and klezmer musician. Her work and projects have appeared in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Bust, Barnard Magazine, National Public Radio, Public Radio International (PRI), and the BBC. Jessica's freelance radio work has received various awards including accolades from the Religion Newswriters Association and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. As a Fulbright Scholar in El Salvador, Jessica collected and studied oral histories from the Jewish Community based in San Salvador. Jessica received her B.A. in political science from Columbia University’s Barnard College and her M.A. in history from Indiana University. She learned how to make radio from the phenomenal folks at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Jessica lives in Somerville with her husband, twin son and daughter, and two cats. To learn more about Jessica’s projects, both current and past, please visit www.jessicaalpert.com.