Pod Insights The Sporkful The Great Office Coffee Election (Reheat) About this episode “The time has come for us to change the coffee brand that we offer and we want your input!” The email came from Myiesha Gordon in the HR Department at WNYC. Like many others, Myiesha hated the office coffee.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Dan Pashman? There's nothing quite like Aruba. The white sand beaches are truly unlike anything you've seen. But what really stands out is the food. Because Aruba's not like other Caribbean islands. French pastries, Spanish paella, Peruvian barbecue, papardelle that has no business being that good that far from Florence. Not to mention the local fare. Aruba's food scene pulls you in with its astonishing variety of cuisines and beyond satisfies you with its unexpected flavors. So plan your escape to culinary delight at aruba.com. Your taste buds will thank you. As we turn to fall and the weather starts to cool down, I think of things like crunching leaves. I think of sharing from the sidelines of a soccer game, walking the dog in the woods. And when I think of doing all those things,
0:43 Dan Pashman? I'm usually wearing something from LL Bean. Whether it's my puffer vest, my puffer coat, my scarf, whatever you're doing outside this year, you probably need something from LL Bean. Whether it's their boots, their Scotch plaid flannel, their rugged field coat, or more. Grab the layers and people you love and get outside. Visit llbean.com to shop the fall collection. LL Bean, be an outsider.
1:18 Dan Pashman? Hey, it's Dan here and I love this episode that we are sharing with you today. So it's called "The Great Office Coffee Election", and it is a, I wouldn't say minute by minute, but it is a beat by beat accounting of a very momentous thing that happened at the New York Public Radio offices when we used to do the Sporkful there. They decided to pick a new office coffee. There would be all this employee involvement. It got very intense and we chronicled the whole thing. We also, on the way, learned a lot about how caffeine affects the brain and productivity at work. You're gonna love it. As always, if there's an episode you want us to pull out of the deep freezer for a reheat, drop me a line at [email protected] . Thanks so much and enjoy.
2:02 Dan Pashman? Ayesha, can I ask you to read your email? Okay. The mic, please. Okay.
2:07 Speaker 01 New coffee for the office. We love coffee around here and thankfully, we get it for free all day in the office. The time has come for us to change the coffee brand that we offer and we want your input. Step one, go to this link and make your suggestions. The top eight suggestions will be selected for an all-staff taste test. Step two, attend the all-staff taste testing event. Step three, vote for your favorite coffee. Step four, wait anxiously for the new coffee to be revealed.
2:50 Speaker 02 Oh my god, when I saw that email, I immediately responded, not reply, oh by the way, I am 45 years old, not a child. I just responded and said, "You are the most amazing person in the entire world."
3:03 Speaker 03 I was bouncing up and down in this seat because it's very exciting to have new delicious coffee potentially here for free, so I never have to leave the office again.
3:13 Speaker 04 No matter what gets chosen, it'll definitely be better than what we have now.
3:21 Dan Pashman? This is The Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. And this week, we will follow one woman's quest to get better coffee in her office. A quest that culminates in a company-wide taste test.
3:38 Speaker 01 I really couldn't sleep last night. I was tossing and turning, anticipating this day. I hope everything turns out alright.
3:45 Dan Pashman? Later, we'll talk with a caffeine researcher and a behavioral economist. Do free office coffee and tea actually make us better workers? Do they make us happier in our jobs? Or most of us rather just have the cash? And what does one expert say about my own diabolical office coffee plan?
4:03 Speaker 05 There might be some individuals who will respond quite differently and it would be probably not very safe.
4:16 Dan Pashman? So the office where this big coffee election happened is WNYC, where we used to produce the Sporkful. The process was led by a woman in HR named Myiesha Gordon. Maisha is the one who you heard before, who was tossing and turning before the big taste test. This whole project was her baby. And I can tell you, when her email went out announcing that we were getting a new office coffee, people were pumped. But as I told Maisha, I actually don't mind the coffee. Like, I don't love it, but I don't mind it. You know, I do drink it, and it doesn't bother me.
4:45 Speaker 01 Is it because it's free?
4:47 Dan Pashman? That's part of it.
4:48 Speaker 01 Yeah.
4:48 Dan Pashman? Yes, free things do tend to taste better, I think.
4:50 Speaker 01 For me, I'm like, ah.
4:51 Dan Pashman? I think I need to raise my at-home coffee game, because I do not make good coffee at home. So I actually fill up my, my travel mug before I leave here with the coffee, and I bring it home, put it in the fridge, and I wake up in the morning, I have my iced coffee, and it's day-old WNYC coffee.
5:07 Speaker 01 That...
5:08 Dan Pashman? That I drink in my house.
5:09 Speaker 01 Is an abomination. Oh, my goodness. Oh. When I started working here a few years ago, I hated the coffee. And I couldn't understand, like, I thought I was the only one. But after several conversations, like side conversations in the, the pantries with coworkers, it became evident that I wasn't the only one. And I swear, I probably, every person that I informally polled hated the coffee. So it's kind of been my personal mission to get new coffee.
5:48 Speaker 06 Maisha's like the agent of change here.
5:50 Dan Pashman? This is Melissa Bauttizar. She works with Maisha.
5:53 Speaker 06 I started working here in 2012, and I was charged with changing the office coffee. Alison Murphy had this in the works for years. I know that for a long time, people have been dissatisfied with our coffee, and so now we're, like, able to really do something about it.
6:11 Dan Pashman? So this is big then, because whatever we get from this process, it's what we're gonna have for a while.
6:16 Speaker 01 Yeah, no pressure.
6:17 Speaker 03 Sure.
6:19 Dan Pashman? Has anyone around the office been lobbying either of you?
6:22 Speaker 03 Not yet, but we need to get that going.
6:29 Dan Pashman? A couple of days after Maisha's email to the staff, there were nearly 100 different suggestions for the new coffee. But some were long shots.
6:37 Speaker 07 My strong feeling on office coffee is that it should be replaced by Japanese canned coffee, which is delicious.
6:42 Dan Pashman? Is it sweetened?
6:44 Speaker 07 A lot of it is. Some is unsweetened. I just really like Japanese canned coffee.
6:48 Dan Pashman? Yeah, the setup we have is the one where you put the coffee grounds in a paper filter, and you put that into a machine, and it brews coffee into a carafe with a pump on top. The winner was probably gonna have to work in that system. After the submission process ended, I took the pulse of the office.
7:03 Speaker 03 I will drink whatever coffee my peers choose, and I'll drink tons of it.
7:08 Dan Pashman? Do you know that excess caffeine consumption can increase anxiety and irritability?
7:15 Dan Pashman? Did that question upset you?
7:16 Speaker 03 It did upset me, and you're kind of a jerk.
7:22 Dan Pashman? Do you think there's any chance that the winning coffee will please everyone?
7:28 Speaker 03 Hell, no. Never. That's all right. It's a change, Dan, and we celebrate change.
7:33 Dan Pashman? What's the best we can hope for here?
7:35 Speaker 03 I think the best to hope for would be my choices.
7:41 Dan Pashman? It was time for Maisha to select the top eight coffees for the taste test. But it wasn't a straight vote. The eight finalists had to be screened to make sure they were within the budget and that there was a vendor for them. I mean, you gotta realize, there are about 400 people who work at WNYC, so these are not small concerns. And Maisha and Melissa were worried about finding eight finalists that fit within these parameters. Here's Melissa.
8:04 Speaker 06 There are other variables that we're looking at. It has to be comparable with what we're currently paying, and they have to be able to service our account in the way that we're being serviced now. So there's a lot of other criterias that they'll have to meet to stay on this list.
8:21 Speaker 03 Yeah. Are we gonna be able to get, you know, the top requests?
8:27 Dan Pashman? Do you feel like the people who voted in this first round understand all of these factors?
8:36 Speaker 01 I don't think they understand, but I also don't think they care necessarily. Yeah, I don't think they they understand, like the the the price factor and our limitations. Yeah, I don't think they they understand.
8:52 Dan Pashman? I think one of the things that is often true with the way that people vote in real elections is that they they just want someone to tell them that they're going to get what they want. I want to hear you talk to those people, put it in real terms. If I'm, you know, worker X, I just want the best coffee. I don't care. I don't want to hear any explanations, Maisha. I just want, just, just make me a promise that it's all going to be perfect. What do you say to me?
9:20 Speaker 01 Well, we are thankful that our employer provides free coffee for us, first of all. As with anything, we have restrictions, like we don't have an unlimited budget that will allow us to please only you. So what we want to do is have something that is beneficial for, you know, most of the people.
9:46 Dan Pashman? Clearly, Maisha is thoughtful, prudent, and fair. And with that kind of attitude, she's not going to get elected to anything. We'll get to the big taste test in just a few minutes, but I wanted to look at all the reasons why office coffee is so important to us. I know for me, when I get my caffeine buzz going, I just feel like my brain works better. But does it really? Or is that just all in my head?
10:18 Speaker 05 It's probably one of the most widely consumed psychostimulants in the world, so it acts as a psychostimulant.
10:25 Dan Pashman? This is Marilyn Cornelis. She's a professor at Northwestern who studies caffeine. She says it doesn't actually give you energy. Caffeine makes you feel more energetic by blocking the part of the brain that tells you to be tired.
10:37 Speaker 05 It increases your alertness, your mood, you you feel better. And if you're feeling better, you just, you become more productive, you're focused.
10:46 Dan Pashman? So it is quite literally a performance-enhancing drug?
10:50 Speaker 05 Um, yeah.
10:51 Dan Pashman? If I were an employer who wanted to get more productivity for my employees, would it make sense for me to switch to a different type of coffee that had a lot more caffeine? Would that be a good move? Would I have a more productive workforce?
11:07 Speaker 05 Individuals do respond differently to coffee or caffeine. So while generally the benefits might outweigh the risks, there might be some individuals who will react to it quite differently, and it would be probably not very safe.
11:21 Dan Pashman? But Marilyn, I'm trying to do this in a way that they're not going to know that I'm slipping more caffeine in. Because if they know that the coffee is stronger, they may be liable to drink less of it. And then my secret plan to increase productivity will fail.
11:33 Speaker 05 Actually, it's funny you mention that because I'm not sure if this was published work, but a colleague of mine, they actually did this, where they alter the caffeine quantity of the coffee that they had in the break room. And people naturally reduce their intake. If they're already feeling very stimulated, they will naturally cut back. So I'd be very interested to see if you were to do that kind of experiment in your office, I bet you people will reduce the number of cups of coffee that they consume.
12:02 Dan Pashman? And Marilyn, how much coffee do you drink?
12:06 Speaker 05 I only just moved to Chicago about two years ago. And prior to that, I didn't consume coffee because I didn't like the taste. I like the effects of caffeine, but I got caffeine from like tea or Diet Coke. But I only started drinking coffee when it came to Chicago. Actually, the very first day of my work, I think I had my first cup. I could drink maybe two cups a day, but generally maybe one cup.
12:26 Dan Pashman? And do you find that you're more productive now?
12:29 Speaker 05 That, but I also feel more social. I think that's what's interesting about coffee is that when people talk about, you know, let's just go out for a coffee, it's like a social event. And around here, I attend a lot of research seminars, and coffee is what they're always serving, so coffee it is.
12:54 Dan Pashman? Coming up, I'll talk with a behavioral economist about whether free office coffee is something companies should actually be spending money on. And of course, the taste test. Eight coffees enter, but only one can emerge victorious. Stick around.
13:21 Dan Pashman? Ooh, advertisements. Yummy.
13:26 Dan Pashman? There's nothing quite like Aruba. The white sand beaches are truly unlike anything you've seen. But what really stands out is the food. Because Aruba's not like other Caribbean islands. French pastries, Spanish paella, Peruvian barbecue, papardelle that has no business being that good that far from Florence. Not to mention the local fair. Aruba's food scene pulls you in with its astonishing variety of cuisines and beyond satisfies you with its unexpected flavors. So plan your escape to culinary delight at aruba.com. Your taste buds will thank you.
13:59 Dan Pashman? As we turn to fall and the weather starts to cool down, I think of things like crunching leaves. I think of sharing from the sidelines of a soccer game, walking the dog in the woods. And when I think of doing all those things, I'm usually wearing something from LL Bean. Whether it's my puffer vest, my puffer coat, my scarf, whatever you're doing outside this year, you probably need something from LL Bean. Whether it's their boots, their Scotch plaid flannel, their rugged field coat, or more. Grab the layers and people you love and get outside. Visit llbean.com to shop the fall collection. LL Bean, be an outsider.
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15:04 Dan Pashman? Welcome back to another Sporkful Reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. Hey, if you want to hear what I'm eating and reading every week, you should sign up for the Sporkful newsletter. I'll give you my weekly recommendations and so do our producers and the whole rest of our team. We also share announcements about exciting things happening with the show, when there's special discounts on my pastas. And on top of all that, if you subscribe to the newsletter, you're automatically entered into giveaways for cookbooks featured on the show, as long as you live in the US or Canada. There's literally no downside. Sign up right now at sporkful.com/newsletter. I promise we won't spam you. We're only going to send you really good stuff. Again, that's sporkful.com/newsletter. Thanks. Okay, back to the great office coffee election. After a lot of anticipation and several schedule changes, the day for the big taste test arrived.
15:49 Dan Pashman? Maisha set up seven carafes of coffee in the office cafeteria. Not eight, because of the top employee submissions, only seven made it through the vetting. There was a cup in front of each carafe where people could put their votes, and a little description of the coffee next to each one. Number one, espresso roast, dark, pure, bold blend with a rich, full-bodied flavor. Number two, fruity notes with pleasant acidity and medium body with nutty, sweet, chocolatey notes. I do have to say, that part of the methodology was a little suspect to me. I mean, we know from research that if you tell people a drink has certain tasting notes, they're more likely to perceive those flavors. So, I was worried that those descriptions could skew the vote. But, Maisha, she was worried about everything.
16:31 Speaker 01 Um, I don't know, I really couldn't sleep last night. I was tossing and turning, anticipating this, this day. I'm anxious, I, I'm excited, I feel, you know, hopeful that something good, something that I like is gonna win. So, I don't know, it's just, I'm a ball of nerves.
16:51 Dan Pashman? Pretty soon, the taste test was underway. So, I make the first batch every morning. I get in about 4:40, and at about 4:45, I'm standing in the back in our kitchen, brewing the very first pot of the day, cleaning out the old stuff from like, 18 hours before. What does the office coffee mean to you? Like, why is it important to you? It means everything. I mean, honestly, if I can't get a little bit of wake-up in the morning, then our morning programming is just, it's just gonna suffer. Our morning host is gonna say something that I wrote that's gonna be horrible, and I'm gonna blame it on the coffee. But so, if we get new and improved coffee now, you're gonna have no excuses. See, that's what I'm worried about.
17:36 Dan Pashman? Thea, what are your thoughts?
17:38 Speaker 03 I don't like this one.
17:40 Dan Pashman? Number two?
17:41 Speaker 03 Yeah, Sky said he really liked it.
17:43 Dan Pashman? So you can't trust what people tell you?
17:45 Speaker 03 It's too acidic.
17:46 Dan Pashman? Too acidic.
17:46 Speaker 03 And it's too light.
17:49 Speaker 07 You know, I like good coffee, but I don't mind bad coffee. I think it helps you be more resilient in life.
17:56 Dan Pashman? What'd you vote for?
17:57 Speaker 07 I think I voted for number one.
18:01 Dan Pashman? One is disgusting. I can't believe anybody voted for it. Look at these. Look at how many are in here. What is going on? This has gotta be a mistake.
18:08 Speaker 03 No, that can't be.
18:09 Dan Pashman? These people are masochists.
18:10 Speaker 03 Why do they do this? Does coffee need to be bitter in order to work? I disagree.
18:17 Dan Pashman? They associate it with childhood trauma and they just need to be.
18:21 Speaker 03 Let's stuff the bell.
18:24 Speaker 03 Come on, number four.
18:27 Dan Pashman? Alright, I gotta try some more coffee.
18:31 Dan Pashman? Hey Anna, how you doing?
18:32 Speaker 04 Hi, is this live coverage?
18:33 Dan Pashman? Yeah, Sporkful Team coverage.
18:37 Speaker 04 Awesome. I love coffee. And I do also believe in free coffee. So I rely on the office coffee. It's a part of my daily life, so this is really important. This is a really important day.
18:51 Dan Pashman? Why? What do you think it is that makes office coffee so important?
18:55 Speaker 04 Well, I think sometimes when I drink the current office coffee, I think I don't have enough self-respect.
19:02 Speaker 04 This is part of my daily routine.
19:06 Speaker 04 Because it's just not, it's pretty weak. It's just not that great. But the other thing that's important about office coffee is it's what you offer guests. And so when you have to offer coffee to guests with the caveat, "It's really not that great a coffee, but if you really need some, we have some." So if it's like, you know, if we get an improvement on the office coffee, I think it's gonna just, it'll improve my everyday morning and also make me feel like a more hospitable radio host.
19:33 Dan Pashman? I'm with Freakonomics Radio, so I think about this stuff a lot, but it's interesting.
19:37 Speaker 06 To think like utility maximizing what would make us most happy theoretically would for them to just give us money. Just because the coffee is a form of compensation. So this is an in kind compensation that they're providing us to us. That's interesting.
19:51 Dan Pashman? I would suspect that most people, if they went out to buy cups of coffee, it would cost more per person.
19:55 Speaker 06 Right. So there's an economy of scale here.
19:58 Dan Pashman? But like, but what they could do is they could, because some people don't drink any coffee. Some people drink tea. So it is a little bit unfair.
20:04 Speaker 06 It is unfair. It's like a redistribution of wealth from non coffee drinkers to coffee drinkers. If I, if they weren't giving it to me here, I would have to go all the way downstairs, nine floors. Like there's a lost productivity. It's, it's, it's an interesting argument. I don't know. But I, I think I'm definitely on the side of free coffee. And also number two, because it has fruity notes and is, it is really nice.
20:37 Dan Pashman? For my vote, I was torn between number five and number six. In the end, I went with six. It was described as rich, long lasting and bold. And in just a minute, we will have the big reveal and the reaction. But I wanted to get more into some of those questions of economics. We heard earlier that coffee does make us more productive in terms of what it does to our brains. But what about the psychology of free office coffee? Does it make us like our jobs more and in turn work harder?
21:02 Speaker 03 If you're talking about the, the same worker and getting her to work harder. I'm not sure that offering coffee is actually going to have a long-term effect.
21:10 Dan Pashman? This is Ian Larkin. He's a behavioral economist at UCLA.
21:13 Speaker 03 There's a lot of research that shows that, that good workers just work to the, the best of their ability anyway. My sense is it's probably not about productivity. It's more about attracting and retaining good workers that are already likely to be the type who work harder. Everybody likes to work in a supportive workplace where they.
21:32 Dan Pashman? Feel valued and I think coffee can help contribute to that. So these perks are less about motivating people, more about getting and keeping the best people. And at many tech companies, it's gone way beyond free coffee. Google has a whole Indian restaurant at their headquarters. Facebook has 11 restaurants at theirs. And the food at most of these places is free or heavily subsidized. They use the these lunches as a way to stand out above and beyond other companies, tech companies in Silicon Valley, when they're trying to recruit workers. And I think it's it's really effective because it underscores what a fantastic work environment these companies have. But as other companies start to copy you,
22:14 Dan Pashman? it can quickly become something that just becomes expected and it doesn't really affect anybody's decision anymore. And so you've just added additional cost. Ian says with office coffee, it's similar. As employees come to expect it, it has less value to us. But he says, even if it doesn't make us work harder, coffee and snacks can make us work smarter. People that, for example, are more full, feel more full and satisfied. They've just eaten a really satisfying meal. Tend to take fewer risks and actually have a longer term outlook. People that are feeling hungry or people that are feeling tired are more prone to decision making biases such as seeking risk or making decisions that are focused on the very short term.
22:58 Dan Pashman? So I could certainly believe that coffee, because of its caffeine intake, causes people to make better decisions just because they're they're more awake. I asked Ian the question that Greg from Freakonomics posed. Would we just be happier with the cash instead of free coffee? Ian says if you polled people, most would say they prefer the cash. But There's a whole host of research that shows that when it comes to these small incremental nudges like awards or Coffee or the food, we tend to underestimate how much we really value it. Coming up, the big reveal. What will be our new brew? We'll find out. Stick around.
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25:16 Dan Pashman? Welcome back. Let's return now to the great office coffee election. Now, it's the moment you've been waiting for. A few days after the taste test, we gathered again in the cafeteria. The president and CEO of New York Public Radio, Laura Walker, made the announcement.
25:32 Speaker 04 So, the winner is Brooklyn Roasting Company's Mexican Chiapas Roast.
25:44 Speaker 04 From Oaxaca, Mexico. Characteristics. This is how they describe it. Smoke, peach, sandalwood, pecan, honey. I think we should all enjoy it, live with it, and celebrate the fact that we did get this done, and we have a great improvement. So, thank you, Maisha.
26:02 Dan Pashman? Yeah, a big hand for Maisha. So, Maisha, here we are. We have a winner.
26:12 Speaker 01 Yes, finally. We're here.
26:14 Dan Pashman? How are you feeling?
26:15 Speaker 01 I feel so...I know I said I felt relieved the other day, but I really feel relieved now.
26:20 Dan Pashman? Well, but you know, it's an interesting thing in political campaigns. They often talk about how running a campaign is very different from governing.
26:26 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
26:27 Dan Pashman? You know, we now have a coffee elect here at WNYC.
26:30 Speaker 01 Yep.
26:31 Dan Pashman? But it has not yet been inaugurated.
26:32 Speaker 01 Exactly.
26:33 Dan Pashman? You need to put in a transition team in place.
26:35 Speaker 01 Oh, my gosh.
26:36 Dan Pashman? And now you've got to deliver on all this hope and change you promised.
26:38 Speaker 01 Oh, no. You have no idea the anxiety, the overwhelming anxiety that I just sensed right now. Because we do, you're right, we have to put it in place, but I don't think it's going to be like a, you know, ceremonious thing, like we'll just switch it off next week.
26:57 Dan Pashman? Wow. So, this inauguration day is coming.
27:01 Speaker 01 Yes, it is.
27:02 Dan Pashman? And, you know, right after the inauguration, there's going to be a certain amount of sort of political goodwill that you will have built up.
27:08 Speaker 01 Yeah.
27:09 Dan Pashman? Everyone will just be excited for a new cup of coffee.
27:10 Speaker 01 Yeah, yeah.
27:11 Dan Pashman? But, you know, that burns out eventually.
27:13 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
27:14 Dan Pashman? And, you know, down the road, people are going to start to say, you know, it wasn't as great as we thought it was going to be.
27:19 Speaker 01 Right, right, right.
27:20 Dan Pashman? How are you concerned about that, and how do you plan to deal with that?
27:23 Speaker 01 So, I expect that. We'll deal with that when it comes. And again, at one point, I was bringing in my own coffee, so people always have that option.
27:34 Dan Pashman? That's right. People can always just go live in a cabin in the woods.
27:37 Speaker 01 Exactly.
27:38 Dan Pashman? Choose not to take part in the system.
27:39 Speaker 01 Yeah. Get off the grid, the coffee grid.
27:55 Dan Pashman? So the winner, Brooklyn Roasting Company's Mexican Chiapas Roast, which they now call their Mexico Roast. That was number four, described as medium to heavy body with dark chocolate and malt tasting notes. And after the new coffee was put in around the office, most people agreed it was a big improvement. But I was curious to see how long that goodwill would last. So, months later, I took the pulse of the office again.
28:19 Speaker 03 Well, I refused to drink it before, and now I drink it every day.
28:23 Dan Pashman? So this has really been a positive change for you?
28:25 Speaker 03 It's been a huge change in my life. It's like a life upgrade.
28:27 Dan Pashman? So how much money have you saved? How much money per year would you save? Do you save by getting coffee in the office?
28:33 Speaker 03 Oh my god, hold on.
28:35 Dan Pashman? Let's run the numbers.
28:35 Speaker 03 Let me, I'm doing it right now. Let's see, 365, right? Is that what it is, 365?
28:40 Dan Pashman? Yes, that's how many days are in a year.
28:41 Speaker 03 Okay, great, great. $1,095. Because I'm here every day. I never go home. I work 365 days a year. Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous.
28:52 Dan Pashman? Yeah, okay.
28:52 Speaker 03 Yeah. The most disappointing thing since then, if this is to be the follow-up interview, is that we don't have urn cleaner. So the coffee has always got a bitter residue.
29:06 Dan Pashman? I believe the technical term is gunk. It's the gunk.
29:09 Speaker 03 The gunk that has accumulated in these fabulous urns has started to make the coffee selection process another pointless venture and we might as well never have changed.
29:20 Speaker 02 I prefer cold brew coffee.
29:23 Dan Pashman? Ugh, where in Brooklyn do you live?
29:25 Speaker 02 Greenpoint. I'm a cliche. The coffee is great, and it's free, and it's provided by my job, which makes me feel good about the place I work. I mean, it's been a positive change to the point where I often, when I'm like listing what I'm grateful for, as we're supposed to do, I'm like, I'm grateful for free coffee at work. And I am.
29:48 Dan Pashman? Would you have said that with the old coffee?
29:51 Speaker 02 I did say it with the old coffee, but at the time I didn't know that it could be so much better.
30:09 Dan Pashman? As for Maisha, a few months after the new coffee was rolled out, she decided to leave WNYC to travel the world. On her last day, I dragged her into the studio one more time. The coffee is like your legacy, right?
30:21 Speaker 01 It is. That's sad.
30:24 Dan Pashman? Why is it sad? You should be proud.
30:26 Speaker 01 No, I am proud. I am proud and I think it was an improvement. It was such a small thing, but such a big thing. People really appreciated the effort that we put into making this change. And yeah, I don't mind this being my legacy.
30:50 Dan Pashman? And now we have an all-new update on Maisha. She did travel the world. She met her now-husband in Denmark, moved to the UK. They got married there, moved back to the US and had a baby. They're currently in Tulsa, where Maisha is working on an art project for next year's Centennial of the Greenwood Race Massacre, which was the burning of a neighborhood called Black Wall Street by a group of white residents. Maisha also reports that she's drinking her coffee differently. She switched to a pour-over method in the UK because she couldn't find a good coffee machine in the small town they were in. And she's stuck with it. She says it's a lot of work, but it makes a better cup of coffee.
31:28 Dan Pashman? This episode was originally produced by Anne Sanni, Shoshana Gold and me. Editing help from Dan Charles. Music help from Black Label Music. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
31:37 Speaker 02 And this is Carrie Duggan. And Sarah Jamison. From Alexandria, Virginia. Reminding you to eat more. Eat better. And eat more better.
31:56 Speaker 01 Stay caffeinated, my friends.
32:01 Dan Pashman? This reheat was produced by
32:02 Speaker 03 Gianna Palmer.
32:03 Dan Pashman? The team that produces The Sporkful today includes me along with managing producer
32:07 Speaker 01 Emma Morgenstern.
32:08 Dan Pashman? And senior producer Andres O'Hara. Our engineer is
32:11 Speaker 07 Jared O'Connell.
32:12 Dan Pashman? Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of SiriusXM Podcasts. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, did you know you can listen to The Sporkful on the SiriusXM app? Yes, the SiriusXM app, it has all your favorite podcasts, plus over 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, plus live sports coverage. Does your podcasting app have that? And there's interviews with A-list stars and so much more. It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app all rolled into one. And right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
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33:37 Speaker 05 While Active ETFs offer the potential to outperform an index, these products may more significantly trail an index as compared with passive ETFs. ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments. ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC, member NYSE, SIPC.
33:55 Speaker 05 Hey, it's me, Teddy Swims. You hear that? That's life. So go grab it. Grab your old friends, grab new friends, grab a White Claw. Grab flavor for everyone in your group. Grab music, laughter, and moments you'll never forget. You'll never regret it. Oh, hey, man. Grab new friends, grab old friends, grab life. By the Claw, White Claw. Please drink responsibly. White Claw Seltzer Works, Chicago, Illinois.
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