In today's podcast, I focus on  examples of loss of liberty.  The first is JS Bach being imprisoned for having the effrontery of asking his employer to let him go so he could seek a more lucrative employment elsewhere.  It’s shoc...

TOM’S PODCAST #56:  AN EXPERIMENT IN TASTING CHOCOLATEIn today's podcast, I start with one of Chopin's Mazurkas, a dance form that, put to music, recreated his love for his native country, Poland.  Chocolate is my mazurk...

It’s been a while.  Seems like things just get more complicated by the day.  First, toward the end of September, Jacq N’Guessan and I flew to Côte d’Ivoire.  Jacq is the manager of the local radio and he and I meet weekly regardi...

In this podcast, we start by considering the current environmentally caused crisis in the chocolate industry.  If the cocoa farmer is to survive this crisis, the need for participating in more of the value chain has never been more critica...

Today's podcast begins with a history of how the cocoa tree made its way to West Africa, which now produces over 65% of the world's cocoa beans.  We then consider the primary barrier that keeps the West African cocoa farmer poor--the divis...

In today's podcast, I compare music and food.  I  start with Chopin's Prelude #8, in F# Minor and we learn a little about complexity.  I talk about how vibrations are processed via the eardrum, cochlea, auditory nerve, and audito...

On December 12th, Dr. Peggy Papathakis and I, Tom Neuhaus, did an interview at a local radio station, KVEC, here in San Luis Obispo, California.  The host of the show was Dave Congalton, one of the most popular interviewers on the Central ...

In preparation for this podcast I spent 6 days in the CocoaTown booth at the 2023 Salon du Chocolat in Paris talking chocolate, literally to thousands of people.  I sold our Village Chocolates bars, I sold chocolates from my store in Corde...

In this podcast, we learn about the history of our relationship with a town of 2,000 inhabitants, Pezoan.  I interview Evariste, who introduced me to the village back in 2005.   I interview Bob Peak, who has an amusing anecdote on our...

In this podcast, Peggie Bates, a PH&F board member, and I visit the three PH&F villages.  In the first, N'Douci, we establish our third chocolate-producing mini-factory.  This includes hooking up and troubleshooting all the ma...

In this podcast, I describe Le Comptoir du Cacao, a chocolate café that features products made with the chocolate we are importing into France.  These include chocolate bars, crystallized cocoa beans , truffle assortments.  On the com...

We start with Chopin's Prelude #16 in B-flat minor.The first day, we visited three lovely towns and eat our way through them.  These include:  Tricase Porto, where we ate really delicate seafood and a wonderful fennel cream so...

My podcast #42 starts with Chopin's Prelude No. 8 in F#Minor.  This is a tricky thing that takes quite a lot of practice to get it sounding halfway decent.  But it's really gorgeous.Today's podcast is about our first three day...

This is the first of four podcast about Eve's and my trip to the Salento peninsula, the tip of the boot of Italy.   This podcast is about a three-day train trip to get there.  As usual, there's lots about food and history.The ...

When people ask me why I care so much about the social justice issues surrounding chocolate, particularly issues of child slavery and worst forms of child labor as well as environmental issues associated with the destruction of virgin forests t...

As promised,  this podcast is about my trip to Paris, where I spent 5 days in the Ivoirian CCC (Conseil du Café Cacao) booth with David Logbo Zigro talking about our joint project to establish village-based chocolate making.I begin...

The title of this podcast is a pun on doors and on the future.  I start by playing "Light My Fire" written by the Doors, and truly one of the greatest pieces in the history of Rock and Roll.  Then I talk about how Project Hope and Fai...

In this podcast (actually #37--ignore the fact that I said Podcast #36), we compare six preludes in three keys:  C Major, A Minor, and G Major.  I begin the podcast, though, by telling you what's happening in the wonderful world of ch...

In this podcast, I start once again with Chopin's Prelude Number 1 in C Major but I finish with Bach's Prelude #1 in C Major.  This is the first of 24 podcasts that starts with a Chopin prelude and finishes with a Bach prelude, allowing us...

In 1968, I was lent a copy of "Bien Manger Pour Bien Vivre" with the stipulation that I would get academic credit for translating it.  I did not do that.  Instead, as you know from podcast #34, I elected to cook 5 meals inspired by Ju...

In this podcast, I describe how important Julia Child has been to my life as a foodie.  I describe four encounters:  one written, in which I read Julia's book The Cooking of Provincial France, one physical, in which I visit the taping...

I start the podcast with Chopin's Prelude Number 9 in E Major.  Much has happened since last December.  Today, I begin with a description of our considerable success at the last fundraiser.  Then I talk about the Project Redwood ...

Did you know how much food and music resemble each other.? In this podcast, we explore my African 16-Truffle assortment, whose members I liken to members of a choir.  Some are sopranos, some are mezzo-sopranos, some altos, tenors and basse...

In this podcast, I start by exploring 10 factors that typify the Baby Boomer generation.  The 10th factor is Trust, or lack thereof.  I bravely state that loss of trust might well be the most important factor in showing who we boomers...

Welcome to my 30th Podcast, which is the end of Uncle Vic’s manuscript.  In this podcast, I talk a little about international development and about the rubber industry.  Many West African cocoa farmers vacillate back and forth between...