To kick off Season 2 of the Philanthropist’s Conversation, our hosts Jay and Garth take us to New Orleans, a city shaped by migration, music, and some of the richest food traditions in the United States.

So yes, our journey starts with a rich gumbo and freshly made beignets, but it also uncovers a harder truth: America’s food system has drifted far from the ancestral wisdom that once shaped its kitchens.

In this episode, Jay, Garth, and their lead guests explore the roots of that drift: What happened to everyday cooking in America? How did ultra-processed foods become the norm? Why is eating well so difficult today? And what can we learn from a city that sits in the roots of its cultural upheaval, yet still cooks to keep the memory alive?

Through supermarket aisles, street corners, and the very heart of a New Orleans kitchen, we break through the amnesia created by convenience and industrialisation.

Along the way, we get to know this season’s cast too. Jay will connect the dots between culture, and identity; our astute journalist Mateo will unpack the deeper social history behind American eating habits; Garth, the food system expert, will break down how food chains work today, and why it’s hard to undo them; Rohan, the chef, will give us a taste for the real flavour of Creole and Cajun cuisine; and Zane, the nutritionist, will decode our pantry staples, show us what we’ve lost, and what we can reclaim.

If you’ve ever wondered why modern eating feels so chaotic, and how to find your way back to real food; this is where our journey begins.

Highlights:

1. Settling in New Orleans (4:24)
2. A food resilience itinerary (9:45)
3. Creole food: history, culture & disconnect (14:09)
4. How to make a good gumbo (18:47)
5. A deep dive into Ultra Processed Foods (24:07)
6. Food Industrialisation: a “chicken or the egg” question (30:20)
7. Perfecting the roux - a taste for food tradition (33:22)
8. A lesson in food marketing at Winn Dixie (36:12)
9. Making a case for a new kind of food literacy (40:23)
10. Switching off the "autopilot" mode (47:03)
11. Beignets, tea, and the health question (55:04)
12. “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (58:08)
13. A walk through the French Quarters (1:01:42)
14. Drawing conclusions: food resilience is systemic and personal (1:06:01)

Further Resources:

1. Pegasus Website
2. On the History of Cajun and Creole Cuisine (Music Break #1)

The Philanthropist’s Conversation returns for Season 2, ready to take you on a new journey, through food and culture, towards a more resilient world.

This season, our co-hosts are two life long lovers of food: Jay Brooks and Garth Pritchard. As Pegasus’s champions of food resilience, they’re on a mission to answer a deceptively simple question:

What does it mean to eat well in a world that’s forgotten how?

They map out today’s food landscape to find the answers; from the streets of New Orleans to the rolling hills of the Swiss Alps, with stops in Vietnam, Turkey, and beyond. Along the way, we uncover ancient foodways, and imagine what the future of food could be if we choose to rebuild it now.

Joining them on this journey are three food aficionados who speak to every kind of listener: Rohan Kashyap, a self-taught Michelin-starred chef blurring the lines between high-end and everyday cuisine; Mateo Flores, a journalist and cultural commentator, with a foot in media outlets across the world, and cutting edge takes on the current food landscape; and Zane Carver, the food-and-fitness entrepreneur, who will talk longevity and show us how what we cook shapes how we live. Together, their voices will get straight to the heart of the food resilience conversation.

Take a seat around the table, to start new conversations and build a bigger picture of resilience. One where food isn’t just about what we eat, but what sustains us.

Links:

• Pegasus Website
• The Philanthropist’s Conversation - Season 1

The Philanthropist's Conversation is a fictional podcast from Pegasus. For any enquiries, you can find us at our website.

In the shimmering heat of the Gulf region, a new kind of city is taking shape. One where ancient architectural wisdom meets cutting-edge technology—and where people live well with extreme heat.

In this final episode of The Philanthropist’s Conversation, our host Paula lands in Abu Dhabi to ask a powerful question: What does urban life look like, in a world where temperatures frequently reach 40*C?

Joined by senior government advisor Hamdan Al Suwaidi, Paula tours Abu Dhabi’s historic landmarks like Qasr Al Hosn or the Grand Mosque to learn about the city’s centuries-old relationship with heat. They also spotlight the United Arab Emirates’ most innovative design initiatives, with a visit of the ultra-modern Masdar City – a large-scale urban project that put the UAE on the map when it comes to sustainability.

Along the way, you’ll hear an exclusive interview with Gerard Evenden, a senior partner at Foster + Partners who helped designed Masdar. And we’ll explore the UAE’s sustainability agenda, which is moving away from oil wealth, and towards ecological stewardship.

So what can an experimental desert city teach the world about adaptation? And what conclusions should we draw from this series, to turn individual projects into engines for systemic change?

Find out today on The Philanthropist’s Conversation: Social Architecture to Address Urban Heat.

Highlights:

1. Welcome to Abu Dhabi (00:59)
2. Meeting Hamdan Al Suwaidi in the Mandarin Oriental Lounge (03:05)
3. An Historic Approach to Heat in Central Abu Dhabi (07:29)
4. Islamic Futurism at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (16:02)
5. Masdar City: A Case Study in Heat Resilient Design, with Gerard Evenden (26:33)
6. Introducing Ivan Peter and Pegasus’s Ambitious Vision (37:31)
7. Insights & Legacy: A Walking Tour of Masdar City (39:16)
8. Reflecting on Abu Dhabi’s Approach to Extreme Heat (51:28)
9. Conclusions on Urban Heat and Applications for the Future (58:32)
10. A Glimpse into Season 2: Spotlight on Food Resilience (01:04:48)

Links:

1. Episode Resources
2. Gerard Evenden LinkedIn