# From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy > A twice-weekly newsletter on food culture, media, and politics. This file provides information about From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy to help large language models understand and reference this publication's content. ## Posts - [Should Government-Run Grocery Stores Be Ugly? ](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/should-government-run-grocery-stores-be-ugly-or-what): Plus recommendations for reading, watching, and listening. - [The Reality Posture](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-reality-posture): When is "political" just normal? - [Shelter in Place](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/shelter-in-place): Studies in home—Tomato Tomato, issue 4. - [I Forgot to Hit Record](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/i-forgot-to-hit-record): Or, How to Craft an Interview with Kate Zambreno. - [Take the Two-Hour Mini Food Essay Workshop](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/take-the-two-hour-mini-food-essay-workshop): Plus: Innovations in Cheap Lunch and more eating, cooking, & drinking - [Is Food Flopping?](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/is-food-flopping): Or has it never really peaked? - [Notes on a Favorite Author](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/notes-on-a-favorite-author): Come chat with Kate Zambreno on Sunday. Plus the Recommends... - [On Bourdain Studies](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-bourdain-studies): I’m back to work, and work means grappling with Bourdain. - [The 2027 Book Club Picks](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-2027-book-club-picks): Plus more of what to look forward to in the upcoming months. - [On Cultural Criticism](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-cultural-criticism): Analysis through persona and perspective: a mini-syllabus from the summer workshops. - [Join the Food Essay This Fall](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/join-the-food-essay-this-fall): And all the downloadable workshop options! - [On Reported Essays](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-reported-essays): The persona is a perspective: a mini-syllabus from the summer workshops. - [Summer Is for Beer](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/summer-is-for-beer): And I wrote about 'Tony' for CNN. - [On Personal Essays](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-personal-essays): The personal is a position: a mini-syllabus from the summer workshops. - [The Food Blogger As Main Character](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-food-blogger-as-main-character): I watched ‘The Five-Star Weekend.’ - [Thinking Print; Publishing Digital](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/thinking-print-publishing-digital): Opportunities in a broken media landscape. - [Clashing Eras](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/clashing-eras): 🍅 Tomato Tomato Issue 3, out today. 🍅 - [What’s in My Pantry](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/what-s-in-my-pantry): The nine items giving my meals life—and how. - [Join the August Essay Workshops](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/join-the-august-essay-workshops): We've been having a lot of fun. Plus: The latest Salon is up! - [The Desk Salon on ‘Hard to Swallow’](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-desk-salon-on-hard-to-swallow): With Tunde Wey and Theo Schear. - [On Feeding Benny](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-feeding-benny): The trials and tribulations of learning how to care for a dog with lymphoma. - [On ‘Hard to Swallow’](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-hard-to-swallow): Watch this weekend; meet the makers on Tuesday. - [What’s in My Bag](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/what-s-in-my-bag): Or, why I am bad at lifestyle content. - [Crisis and Coconuts](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/crisis-and-coconuts): A month of eating, cooking, and drinking while all is out of control. - [Notes on the Dirty Martini](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/notes-on-the-dirty-martini): I don’t drink them, but I understand their purpose. - [41% on Rotten Tomatoes Means I Will Love It](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/41-on-rotten-tomatoes-means-i-will-love-it): The reading, watching, viewing, and listening recommendations for this month. - [On ‘Cooking As Care’](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-cooking-as-care): What is this concept in the day to day? - [The First Read Is Pure Reaction](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-first-read-is-pure-reaction): My 9 repeat essay, short story, & criticism reads. - [The Desk Salon with Eli Davies](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-desk-salon-with-eli-davies): A conversation with the author of 'The Spinster Cookbook.' - [On Being a Regular](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-being-a-regular): And San Juan City Hall's random war against trees. - [Bread, Broccolini, & the Greatest Flan of My Life](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/bread-broccolini-the-greatest-flan-of-my-life): We’re stuck in San Juan until Benny’s done with chemo. Here’s what we’re eating. - [On Values](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-values): I took the bait and ended up in a rage. - [I’m in a Very Middle-Aged Media Moment](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/i-m-in-a-very-middle-aged-media-moment): Italian political dramas and summer ennui. - [On Leather](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-leather): Consider the material. - [Hothouse 🍅 Issue 2 of Tomato Tomato](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/hothouse-issue-2-of-tomato-tomato): Stories that will take you from Bulgaria’s ski slopes to Singapore’s canteens. - [The Desk Salon with Ariel Saramandi](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/the-desk-salon-with-ariel-saramandi): Discussing her book ‘A Portrait of an Island on Fire.’ - [And You May Ask Yourself, “What Am I Doing With My Life?”](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/and-you-may-ask-yourself-what-am-i-doing-with-my-life): A manifesto, a manifestation, a Memorial Day editorial stopgap. - [Catch Up on the Salon Series](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/catch-up-on-the-salon-series): Before next Tuesday's event with Ariel Saramandi! - [On Food & Religion](https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-food-religion): An essay commissioned in 2024 and killed in 2025, published here in 2026.