Maryn McKenna is an independent journalist and author who specializes in public health, global health and food policy. She is a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and the author of the new book Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats (2017), named a Best Science Book of 2017 by Amazon and Smithsonian Magazine and a Best Food Book of 2017 by Civil Eats. Her 2015 TED Talk, "What do we do when antibiotics don't work any more?", has been viewed more than 1.5 million times and translated into 32 languages.
She writes for The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, NPR, Newsweek, WIRED, Scientific American, Nature, The Guardian, and other magazines and sites. She is the creator of the Tumblr Today in Ebolanoia, which has been cited in medical and biodefense literature for documenting public overreaction to disease threats.
She received the 2014 Leadership Award from the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and the 2013 Byron H. Waksman Award for Excellence in the Public Communication of Life Sciences. Her piece for Modern Farmer on the beyond-organic farm White Oak Pastures received a first-place award from the Association of Food Journalists, and her essay for the Food and Environment Reporting Network, "Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future," was a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Media Award and has been republished in Russian, Norwegian and French.
Her earlier books are SUPERBUG (Free Press/Simon & Schuster 2010), on the international epidemic of drug-resistant staph in hospitals, families and farms, which won the 2013 June Roth Memorial Book Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the 2011 Science in Society Award given by the National Association of Science Writers; and BEATING BACK THE DEVIL: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (Free Press/S&S 2004), the first history of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, for which she embedded with the corps for a year.
Download this episode (right click and save)
Seitan Marsala
2 packages seitan, traditional (white wave or Rays brands are good)
1 organic egg, beaten
1 c. bread crumbs, whole wheat or natural, seasoned w/oregano, garlic powder, basil, S& P
olive oil
1 pound mushrooms
1 stick butter
Marsala wine
tamari
4 cloves garlic
flour, salt, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning Slice seitan into ¼” thick slices. Lay out seitan slices on dry towel, cover with another towel, and press lightly, to dry.
Bread seitan slices by dipping in egg and then bread crumbs, until all the pieces are done. Cover bottom of pan with olive oil. When oil is hot, fry all the pieces of seitan until golden brown on one side, turn over and repeat. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to absorb oil. In another saucepan, sauté mushrooms and garlic in 2 tbs. butter and a little olive oil, until soft. Add 1 tbs. Marsala wine, sauté for another minute, and remove from heat. Put mushrooms in bowl and set aside. Wipe out pan to reuse. To Make Sauce: Melt 6 Tbs of butter in heavy sauce pan, add 6 Tbs. flour to melted butter, with a whisk, mix the Roux (mixture of butter and flour) over medium heat until color turns light brown. Add ¼ cup Marsala wine, keep whisking, add 2 cups water or vegetable stock, keep whisking to prevent lumps. Add 1 tbs. tamari, salt and pepper to taste, ¼ tsp poultry spice, and sprinkle of thyme. Taste. Add more wine or stock to get right thickness for sauce. Taste. Adjust spices to your liking, more garlic? More tamari? More poultry spice? Lay out Seitan on platter, cover with Marsala sauce, and Garnish with chopped parsley.