Ube Industrial Complex

Release Date: October 15, 2026

In episode 3, we welcome special guest Bettina Makalintal from Eater to talk about why food culture is so important to Filipinos in the diaspora. Moving beyond typical takes that focus on the “food, family, fun” trifecta that frames us as enthusiastic eaters, we are interested in how Filipinos in N. America and around the world have honed a critical sensibility, our own set of pronounced tastes, and a penchant for giving candid feedback.

About our guest: Bettina Makalintal is a senior reporter at Eater, covering national trends in dining and food culture. She was born in the Philippines, raised outside Philadelphia, and currently lives in Brooklyn. Previously, she was an associate print editor at Bon Appétit and a staff writer at Vice’s Munchies.

Release Date: October 8th, 2026

In this episode, we each talk about our “Proustian madeleine” or the taste sensation that sends our memories flooding back, and sets us off “in search of things past.” We think critically about the role nostalgia plays in our food worlds, while exploring how place, fantasy and the formation of taste is related to certain Filipino foods.

We get into our attraction, repulsion and “lunch box politics” with various family dishes that were meant to be meaningful to us. Plus, our scene report dives into noodles (cold and hot), California-style bodega sandwiches, and a lively, large-format iteration of okoy.

Release Date: 10/1/2026

Welcome to Ube Industrial Complex, a food-motivated limited podcast series that explores culinary scenes and broader pop cultural appetites from a Filipino American and Canadian POV. Co-hosted across three cities by Karen Tongson (L.A.), Adrian De Leon (NY), and James Zarsadiaz (SF), the show boasts both local perspectives, and a worldly sensibility across generations, migration routes, foodways, trends and tastes. In episode 1, we talk about ube, its origins, its role in food trends and why we think it has evolved into an “industrial complex” in Filipino food cultures. Plus, we offer scene reports about the places that have our attention in L.A., N.Y. and S.F., while bringing in some observations from our recent travels beyond our home cities.